You should be familiar with the key terms (listed below) as you read. Please plan on spending about 3 weeks to cover this material (15 week semester) ... only 7 calendar days if you are doing this over the summer.
See all the links that say "click here" below? Each one takes you to my web notes. You will want to study each one because it contains material you will need to know for practice quiz #1 and test #1. Within my web notes I've placed several links to additional web sites just in case you wish to learn more or need additional clarification. You are not responsible for the material on these additional links.
Click here to learn about the way science works
Key Terms
scientific method
The nature of matter - elements, minerals and rocks - click
here for more information
An important rock group (no ... not Metallica ... the Silicates) -
click here for
more information.
Depositing Minerals - click here
to learn some ways nature makes mineral deposits
Rocks don't last forever - click here to
learn more about basic rock types and the rock cycle
What kind of rock is that ???? Just check out its properties -
click here to see the many ways to classify a rock
crystallization
element
extrusive
hydrothermal
solutions
igneous
intrusive
lava
lithification
magma
metamorphic
mineral
ore
rock
rock cycle
sedimentary
silicate
viscosity
Silicates (important) ... which has the highest melting point? Which has the highest silica content? Which has the lowest viscosity (when molten)? Which is densest? Which makes up most of the continental crust?? or oceanic crust?? Why is that???
olivine group
pyroxene group
amphibole group
mica group
feldspar group
quartz
Listed below are some common rocks: You should know how each is formed (what conditions), what kind (igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic) each is, and which ones can be grouped together in the rock cycle (ex: limestone yields marble)
andesite
basalt
conglomerate
gneiss
granite
limestone
marble
obsidian
quartzite
rhyolite
sandstone
shale
slate
When studying this material, look for the "big picture". Do not let yourself
get bogged down by lots of terms and definitions. Look for general properties
(of the silicates) and how and why they are different. Also see why these
differences are important. Remember, continental crust is different from
oceanic crust ... you should not only know what those differences are but how it
is possible to account for those differences. If this is not real clear,
please email me and get it straight.
You will have to rely on an elementary understanding of plate tectonics (covered
in detail ... next unit) to put this all together
Breaking up is hard to do (Sorry, Neil Sadaka) ... but rocks do break up!
Mechanical Weathering and Chemical Weathering - click here for the details
And once you breakup ... it's time to move on ... in the rock world that is called erosion - click here for more information
Get Down! Get Funky! - When rocks do it, it's called Mass Wasting - click here for more information
So what to make of all these tiny bits of rock that come from distant locations? Soil - click here for more information
Note: Realize that frost wedging is the most effective weathering agent and that running water is the most effective erosion agent. Pay attention to the way a stream can change the landscape.
Key Terms
artificial cutoff
base level
bed load
creep
delta
dissolved load
discharge
erosion
floodplain
gradient
hydrologic cycle
Lake Missoula
levee
mass wasting
meander
oxbow lake
soil
sheeting
spheroidal weathering
suspended load
weathering
Before you take test #1, please make sure you have looked at quiz #1. This quiz will give you a chance to see what kind of questions I tend to ask on exams. If you are taking this class on-line, the quizzes and tests are found in blackboard (course documents icon). If you are an on-line student, the quizzes do not count in your grade ... they are for practice only.
ŠJim Mihal 2004, 2006 - all rights reserved