Earth

What is the nebular hypothesis?

Those elements are floating in a cloud, gravity brings them in forming a mass, that mass starts rotating, the rotation brings in dust and gas and rocks and forms protoplanets which begin to rotate around the sun, and then the planets become rocky planets and gas giants. This is the most widely accepted formula of the formation of our solar system.

How old is the universe?

13.7 billion years.

How old is the solar system?

4.5 billion years

What are the major elements in Earth’s atmosphere?

20% Oxygen, 79% Nitrogen, .9% Argon, rest is h20 vapors.

How did Earth’s atmosphere form?

Impacts liberated elements in the early atmosphere and then UV rays helped this process.

What is the dominant element in Mars’ atmosphere?

Carbon dioxide

What is a meteor? A meteorite?

Meteorite is from space, small, and has already hit the Earth. A meteor is high light in the atmosphere.

How does a comet differ from an asteroid?

A comet is ice, gas, and dirt, asteroids are just rocks in space

How did the Moon form?

Early heavy bombardment. It was either captured, or it broke off. We think it broke off because earth rocks are similar to moon rocks.

What rocks make up most of the mantle?

Olivine

What are the major components of seawater?

Chloride, Sodium and Sulfate

What are the major layers of the Earth?

Crust, Mantle (lithosphere asthenosphere), outer core, inner core

What is the moho?

The boundary between the crust and the mantle?

What are the two major elements in Earth’s crust?

Oxygen, Silicone,

How thick is oceanic crust? The continental crust?

Oceanic – 5miles. Continental – significantly thicker

****What is a hot-spot? A mantle plume?

A hot-spot is a region of volcanic activity where the crust moves over a volcanic spot, forming islands, e.g. Hawaii. A mantle plume?

What is a large igneous province? Give an example.

An extremely large accumulation of igneous rocks in the...