1 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE – 1st MIDTERM EXAMINATION REVIEWER
EARTH, A HABITABLE PLANET
Habitable zone - It is the range of orbits around a star in
which planets can support liquid water on their surfaces.
It is also called the "Goldilocks Zone", in which normal
temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold.
What makes a planet habitable?
• Having the right distance from the sun
• Kept warm by an insulating atmosphere
• Having the right chemicals for life
• Being protected from harmful solar radiation
• Having water on its surfaces
• Effective polar molecule
3 Planets in the Habitable Zone
1. Venus
- It is the 2nd planet in our solar system and is
considered the earth's twin planet.
- Due to Venus' lack of water on the surface, carbon
dioxide built up in the atmosphere leading to a
runaway greenhouse effect.
- The planet's atmosphere is so thick that it traps all
the heat, and the temperature reaches over 800 °f.
2. Earth
- It is the 3rd planet in our solar system, and it is known
as a unique planet as life exists on it.
- The main prerequisite for a planet becoming
habitable is the presence of liquid water. Water is a
highly efficient polar molecule, making it a superb
solvent and facilitator for the intricate chemistry of
life.
- It has a magnetic field that protects itself from
harmful solar radiation.
- It has the necessary chemical components for life,
including water and carbon.
- it has a powerful force of attraction known as
gravitational force.
- It is completely covered by an insulating atmosphere
which keeps the planet warm.
- Early land species were protected from deadly
radiation by a layer of ozone created at high altitudes
by ancient plant-like organisms in the oceans.
3. Mars
- It is the 4th planet in our solar system and is
sometimes known as "the red planet."
- The average temperature on mars is a chilly -63°c.
The planet's day temperature may get up to 20°c and
can plummet to about -73°c at night.
- Mars has no magnetic fields and has a thin
atmosphere, meaning there is no protection from
solar radiation.
Surface and Composition of Atmosphere
Venus
Atmosphere: 96.5% Carbon Dioxide, 3.5% Nitrogen, and
small traces of other gases.
Surface: Solid surface covered in dome-like volcanoes,
rifts, and mountains, with expansive volcanic plains and
vast, ridged plateaus.
Earth
Atmosphere: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, and
0.1% of other gases.
Surface: Solid and dynamic surface of mountains,
canyons, plains and more.
Mars
Atmosphere: 95% carbon dioxide, 2.6% nitrogen, 1.9%
argon, 0.16% oxygen, and 0.6% carbon monoxide.
Surface: Solid surface that has been altered by volcanoes,
impacts, winds, crustal movement and chemical
reactions.
Natural Greenhouse Effect - is a warming of the earth's
surface and lower atmosphere brought on by gases like
carbon dioxide and water vapor that allow solar energy
to reach the ground but prevent it from reaching space
again.
The heat that is reflected back up into the atmosphere is
trapped by greenhouse gases, which allow the sun's light
to reach the earth's surface.
They function similarly to the greenhouse's insulating
glass walls in this way. The climatic comfort of earth is
maintained by the greenhouse effect.
EARTH’S SUBSYSTEMS
1. Atmosphere (Gaseous Envelope)
- Thin, gaseous envelope
- Components: nitrogen, oxygen and trace gases
- Water vapor and aerosols are the variable
components for weather and climate
- Layers (from lowest to highest layer): Troposphere
(Mount Everest), Stratosphere (Ozone Layer),
Mesosphere (Meteor Shower), Thermosphere
(Aurora Borealis), and Exosphere (Space Shuttle).
Source: From PowerPoint Presentations
2 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE – 1st MIDTERM EXAMINATION REVIEWER
2. Geosphere (Solid Component)
- includes all rocks, sediments and soils, surface
landforms and the processes that shape the Earth's
surface.
- Depth 6400km
- 94% of the solid Earth is made up of the following
elements
- The movement creates continents, oceans, and their
landforms through a process called Plate Tectonics.
3. Biosphere (Living Component)
- Is associated with living systems such as biomes or
ecosystems.
- Each ecosystem is composed of an intricate set of
species adapted to prevailing conditions, from below
ocean floors, to the land surface, to above the
highest mountains.
- It includes life forms ranging in size from microscopic
bacteria to the gargantuan blue whale.
- Anthroposphere (Human Sphere)
4. Hydrosphere (Water Portion)
- Makes up 71% of Earth’s surface
- Freshwater found in glaciers, rivers, streams, lakes,
acquifers and streams
- Groundwater
5. Cryosphere (Ice/Glaciers)
- Is the sum of frozen water around the globe.
- Ice sheets, snow, and sea ice
- Permafrost covers large high latitude areas and hosts
its own unique ecosystems
Hydrologic Cycle / Water Cycle
Evaporation – Condensation – Precipitation – Run off -
Percolation
Energy Flows
• Powered by two sources of energy
Biogeochemical Cycles
Three of the key biogeochemical cycles are the Nitrogen,
Carbon and Sulphur cycles.
• cycles occur in closed systems
• key materials that cycle through the major
biogeochemical cycles
• components
Norman L. Bowen’s Reaction Series
• Minerals crystalizes from a basaltic magma depends
on temperature
• Olivine and Ca-rich plagioclase crystallizes first
• Olivine reacts with liquid (siliceous) to produce
pyroxene
• Ca-rich plagioclase react with liquid produce less Ca-
rich plagioclase.
• Initial composition of magma
• Melting of mantle (garnet peridotite)
• Melting of crustal sources yields more siliceous
magmas (low degree of partial melting)
• Mafic (olivine & pyroxene) - felsic/intermediate
• Ultramafic (peridotite source) - basaltic magma
ROCK
• A rock is a naturally occurring solid mixture of one or
more minerals, or organic matter
• Rocks are classified by how they are formed, their
composition, and texture
• Rocks change over time through the rock cycle
Igneous Rock (from the Latin word for fire) form when
hot, molten rock crystallizes and solidifies.
- Majority of the Earth’s crust is igneous rock.
- Intrusive and Extrusive
Classification of Rocks According to Texture
1. PHANERITIC
- Coarse grained texture-magma cools slowly
beneath Earth’s surface
2. PEGMATITIC
- Contains almost entirely of crystals
- Has composition similar to granite with abundant
quartz, feldspar and mica
3. APHANITIC
- Fine grained texture
4. PORPHYRITIC
- Develop when slow cooling is followed by fast
cooling
- Phenocryst
- Matrix/groundmass
Sedimentary Rocks are derived from sediments which is
a loose accumulation of unconsolidated fragments.
- Detritus
- Sedimentation
- Clastic, Biochemical, Organic and Chemical
- The texture depends on mode of transportation.
o Poorly Sorted Sediment
o Well Sorted Sediment
- Limestone, Breccia, Chert, Sandstone, Shale,
Mudstone, and Conglomerate
Source: From PowerPoint Presentations
3 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE – 1st MIDTERM EXAMINATION REVIEWER

Biochemical and Organic 3. Hardness - Refers to the measure of the resistance of

- Lithify from the remains of organisms a mineral to abrasion or scratching.
Scale
Chemical Mineral
Number
- Dissolved ions released into water Talc 1
- When water evaporates the concentration gets Gypsum 2
too high as a result of some other processes. Calcite 3
- Evaporation of sea/lake water Fluorite 4
- Produces salt and gypsum deposits by chemical Apatite 5
precipitation Orthoclase 6
- Lakes that have no outlets (great Salt Lake, Quartz 7
Mediterranean/Gulf of Mexico) Topaz 8
Corundum 9
Metamorphic Rock
Diamond 10
- Change form
- Typically, harder and more compact, reoriented
4. Color - The most obvious feature of a mineral but
crystalline structure and more resistant to
often an unreliable diagnostic property. The colors
weathering
were attributed by the impurities added to the
- Foliated
minerals.
- Non-Foliated
5. Streak - It is obtained by scratching the mineral on an
Minerals - is a naturally occurring, solid crystalline unpolished piece of white porcelain called streak
substance, generally inorganic, with a specific chemical plate. Streaking reveals the internal color of the
composition. It is the building block of rocks. mineral.
6. Transparency and Luster - The property that
1. Naturally Occurring - Form through natural describes the appearance of a mineral when light is
processes, including volcanic eruptions, precipitation reflected on a surface.
of a solid out of a liquid and weathering pre-existing 7. Cleavage - It is the tendency of minerals to break
minerals. along flat planar surfaces into geometries that are
2. Solid - Form through natural processes, including determined by their crystal structure.
volcanic eruptions, precipitation of a solid out of a 8. Fracture - is the tendency of a mineral to break along
liquid and weathering pre-existing minerals. curved surfaces without a definite shape. These
3. Crystalline Substance - Displays a specific, repeated, minerals do not have planes of weakness and break
three-dimensional structure irregularly.
- Some form actual crystals
- Shape is an expression of the mineral’s Other Properties
molecular structure • Taste
4. Mineraloids - a naturally occurring, inorganic solid • Smell
that does not exhibit crystallinity. • Magnetism
5. Specific Chemical Composition - a naturally • Double refraction
occurring, inorganic solid that does not exhibit • Reaction to hydrochloric acid
crystallinity. • Specific gravity
Properties of Minerals Chemical Properties of Minerals – mainly reflect the
chemical properties of the atoms present in each.
1. Crystal Structure - It is the external expression of a
mineral that reflects the orderly internal Native Elements - Minerals are naturally occurring in
arrangement of atoms. nature in an uncombined form with a distinct mineral
2. Crystal Habit - Refers to the overall shape of a structure.
mineral. - Metals, semimetals and nonmetals
- Silver, Gold, etc.

Source: From PowerPoint Presentations

4 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE – 1st MIDTERM EXAMINATION REVIEWER
1. Silicates
• Most abundant minerals in the Earth's crust.
• Silicate ion (tetrahedron), SiO44-
• Quartz (SiO2), K-feldspar (KAlSi3O8), Olivine ((Mg,
Fe2SiO4), Kaolinite (Al2Si2O5(OH)4)
- Silicate Structure
• Most of the most common rocks in the crust are
silicates.
• Silicate tetrahedra can combine in several ways
to form many common minerals.
• Typical cations: K+, Ca+, Na+, Mg2+, Al3+, Fe2+
2. Carbonates
• Cations with carbonate ion (CO32-)
• Calcite (CaCO3), Dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2), Siderite
(FeCO3), Smithsonite (ZnCO3)
• Make up many common rocks including
dolomite, limestone and marble.
3. Oxides
• Compounds of metallic cations and oxygen
• Important for many metal ores needed to make
things (e.g., iron, chromium, titanium)
• Ores are economically useful (i.e., possible to
mine) mineral deposits.
4. Sulfides
• Metallic cations with sulfide (S2-) ion
• Important for ores of copper, zinc, nickel, lead,
iron
• Pyrite (FeS2), galena (PbS)
5. Halides
• From halogen elements like chlorine, bromine,
fluorine, and Iodine combined with metallic
elements
• Soft and easily dissolved in water
• Table salt
6. Phosphates
• Often formed when other minerals are broken
down
• Brightly colored
• Apatite
7. Mineraloids
• Substances that do not fit neatly into one of the
eight classes
• Amber
8. Sulfates
• Minerals with sulfate ion (SO42- )
• Gypsum (CaSO4 ∙ H2O), Anhydrite (CaSO4)
Rock Forming Minerals
• Feldspars
• Quartz
• Amphiboles
• Micas
• Olivine
• Garnet
• Calcite
• Pyroxenes.
WEATHERING - is the process that breaks down rock and
other substances on Earth’s surface.
1. Mechanical Weathering
• Abrasion - Sand and other rock particles carried
by wind and water grind away rock like
sandpaper on wood.
• Plant Growth – Roots of trees and other plants
grow in the cracks of rocks and pry them apart.
• Animal Action – Animals dig in the soil and
loosen and break apart rocks.
• Freezing and Thawing / Ice Wedging - When
water freezes it expands. Ice in the crack of a rock
expands and makes the crack larger.
• Release of Pressure - When rocks reach Earth’s
surface, reduced pressure can cause cracks and
flakes in the rock.
2. Chemical Weathering - is the process that slowly
breaks down rock with chemical changes, including
changes in the minerals.
• Water – It is the most important cause of
chemical weathering. When a rock dissolves in
water, it mixes completely with the water.
• Oxygen - Iron combines with oxygen and water
in a process called oxidation. The result is rust.
Oxidation of a rock makes it soft, crumbly and red
or brown.
• Carbon Dioxide - Carbon dioxide in the air
dissolves in rainwater, becoming a weak acid
called carbolic acid. Acids weather rocks such as
limestone and marble.
• Living Organisms - Plants, and other living
organisms such as lichen, release weak acids that
slowly dissolve rocks.
• Acid Rain - Burning coal, oil, and gas for energy
produces pollution. This pollution combines with
air and water, to create acid rain, and fast
chemical weathering.
Source: From PowerPoint Presentations
5 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE – 1st MIDTERM EXAMINATION REVIEWER
Rate of Weathering
The most important factors for the rate (speed) of
weathering are Rock Type and Climate.
• Mechanical weathering increases the surface area
available for chemical weathering.
• Increased surface area usually results in faster
chemical reactions (Chemical weathering).
• A permeable rock weathers easily because it contains
many small, connected air spaces.
• Wet climates with high temperatures speed up both
mechanical and chemical weathering.
EARTH’S INTERNAL HEAT
The majority of our planet's interior heat is left behind
from when it originated 4.5 billion years ago. As
numerous smaller particles crashed and clumped
together, Earth and the other planets in the solar system
began to take shape. The energy emitted by the severe
impacts was converted into heat energy. Gravity began to
drag stuff toward the center of the early Earth as it
became larger. Internal heat was raised even further by
the tremendous compression of material deep within the
Earth. When temperatures reached a certain point, the
element iron began to melt and sink toward the core,
while less dense stuff rose to the surface. Even more heat
was created by the friction of the iron going down
through the other substance. Layers formed inside the
Earth as denser stuff sank: Core, Mantle, and Crust.
3 Sources of Internal Heat
1. Primordial Heat – came from a word Primordialis
means "of the beginning".
- It is the energy in a planet's interior that is left
over from the heating of the planet during its
formation.
- Internal heat energy that gradually gathers
together by means of dispersion in the planet
during its few million years of evolution.
- Deposited energy during the early formation of
the planet.
2. Frictional Heat – it is caused by denser core material
sinking to the center of the planet.
3. Radiogenic Heat – Thermal energy released as a
result of spontaneous nuclear disintegration.
• Estimated 47 terawatts flow of heat from
radiogenic heat, produced by radioactive decay
of the isotopes in the mantle and crust.
Radioactive Decay – Radioactive elements are elements
that break down through a process known as radioactive
decay. This radioactive decay in the Earth's crust and
mantle constantly contributes heat and delays cooling.
Sources of Heat Transfer
1. Convection - process where heat energy is
transmitted through collisions between neighboring
atoms or molecules.
2. Conduction - transfer of heat by the movement of
mass which is a more efficient means of heat
transport in the Earth.
3. Radiation - process of heat exchange between the
Sun and the Earth; emission or transmission of
energy in the form of waves or particles.
HOW MAGMA IS FORMED
Magma - is a molten and semi-molten rock mixture found
under the surface of the Earth. This mixture is usually
made up of four parts:
• a hot liquid base, called the melt
• minerals crystallized by the melt
• solid rocks incorporated into the melt from the
surrounding confines and dissolved gases.
When magma is ejected by a volcano or other vent, the
material is called Lava.
Formation of Magma
1. Decompression Melting
- It involves the upward movement of Earth's
mostly-solid mantle.
- This hot material rises to an area of lower
pressure through the process of convection.
- It often occurs at Divergent Boundaries.
2. Transfer of Heat
- Magma can also be created when hot, liquid rock
intrudes into Earth’s cold crust.
- As the liquid rock solidifies, it loses its heat to the
surrounding crust.
- It often occurs at Convergent Boundaries.
3. Flux Melting
- It occurs when water or carbon dioxide are
added to rock.
- These compounds cause the rock to melt at
lower temperatures. This creates magma in
places where it originally maintained a solid
structure.
Source: From PowerPoint Presentations
6 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE – 1st MIDTERM EXAMINATION REVIEWER
- It also occurs around subduction zones.
Magma Escape Routes
1. Intrusion
- It can form features such as dikes and xenoliths.
- Magma can intrude into a low-density area of
another geologic formation, such as a
sedimentary rock structure.
- Pluton is an intrusion of magma that wells up
from below the surface. Plutons can include
dikes and xenoliths.
- A magmatic dike is simply a large slab of
magmatic material that has intruded into
another rock body.
- A xenolith is a piece of rock trapped in
another type of rock. Many xenoliths are
crystals torn from inside the Earth and
embedded in magma while the magma
was cooling.
2. Extrusion
- An extrusion could include lava and volcanic
rock.
- The most familiar way for magma to escape, or
extrude, to Earth’s surface is through lava. Lava
eruptions can be “fire fountains” of liquid rock or
thick, slow moving rivers of molten material.
Lava cools to form volcanic rock as well as
volcanic glass.
- Magma can also extrude into Earth’s atmosphere
as part of a violent volcanic explosion. This
magma solidifies in the air to form volcanic rock
called tephra.
- Tephra is more often called volcanic ash.
As it falls to Earth, tephra includes rocks
such as pumice.
Magma Chambers
In areas where temperature, pressure, and structural
formation allow, magma can collect in magma chambers.
Most magma chambers sit far beneath the surface of the
Earth. The pool of magma in a magma chamber is
layered. The least dense magma rises to the top. The
densest magma sinks near the bottom of the chamber.
Types of Magma
1. Mafic Magma
- Has low silica content, roughly 50%, and higher
contents of Iron and Magnesium.
- Has low gas content and viscosity.
- Has high mean temperature of 1000°C and
2000°C (1832°F and 3632°F).
2. Intermediate Magma
- It has higher silica content, roughly 60%.
- Has higher gas content and viscosity.
- Has mean temperature from 800°C to 1000°C
(1472°F to 1832°F).
- Intermediate magma builds up pressure below
the Earth’s surface before it can be released as
lava.
3. Felsic Magma
- It has the highest silica content, between 65-70%
- It has the highest gas content and viscosity
- It has the lowest mean temperature between
650°C to 800°C (1202°F to 1472°F)
- It can trap gas bubbles in a volcano’s magma
chamber that can cause explosive and
destructive eruptions.
FOLDING AND FAULTING OF ROCKS
Rocks that were originally deposited in horizontal layers
can subsequently deform by tectonic forces into folds
and faults.
Folds - Constitute the twists and bends in rocks.
Faults - Planes of detachment resulting when rocks on
either side of the displacement slip past one another.
Three types of tectonic forces that can deform rocks.
• Compressive forces squeeze and shorten a body.
• Tensional forces stretch a body and pulls it apart
• Shearing forces push different parts of a body in
opposite directions
The type of deformation experienced by a rock body
depends largely on the type of force exerted.
1. Compressive forces
- generate folding and faulting as a consequence
of shortening.
- it is common along convergent plate boundaries
resulting in mountain ranges.
2. Tensional forces
• cause stretching and thinning of the rocks,
usually accompanied by tensional faults.
• It is common along extensional plate boundaries
such as mid-ocean ridges.
3. Shearing forces
Source: From PowerPoint Presentations
7 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE – 1st MIDTERM EXAMINATION REVIEWER
• cause rocks to slide horizontally past one another
such as along transform plate boundaries to
produce extensive fault systems.
Confining Pressure - Confining pressures within the earth
are caused by the weight of the overlying rock pushing
downward and from all sides.
Brittle Deformation - When an external force is applied
to buried rocks under low confining pressure, such as
near the surface of the earth, the rock typically deforms
by simple fracturing.
A continuous, force is applied to a rock. As the force is
gradually increased, little change occurs in the rock until
suddenly it fractures.
Ductile Deformation - At higher confining pressures, a
similarly directed external force will cause the deeply
buried rock to actually flow and deform without
fracturing.
The rock is said to behave plastically. A gradually
increasing force will cause the rock to undergo smooth
and continuous plastic deformation. The rock will contort
and change shape without fracturing.
Strike - The direction of a line formed by the intersection
of a rock layer with a horizonal surface. The strike is
described in terms of direction such as N 10° W.
Dip - Measured at right angles to the strike and is a
measure of the angle at which the surface tilts relative to
a horizontal surface. The dip is indicated in terms of angle
and direction (e.g., 35° E).
Folds are a result of ductile deformation of rocks in
response to external forces.
Anticlines - Layered rocks folded into arches. Troughs are
referred to as synclines.
Anticlines - The surface rock exposures become
progressively older towards the fold axis.
Synclines - Rock exposures become progressively
younger towards the axis of synclines.
Limbs - Two sides of a fold. The two limbs come together
to form an imaginary line called the fold axis.
Dome - An anticlinal structure where the flanking beds
encircle a central point and dip radially away from it.
Basin - A synclinal structure appearing as a bowl-shaped
depression where rock layers dip radially towards a
central point.
Symmetrical Folds - Axial plane is vertical an beds dip at
approximately the same angle, but in opposite directions,
on either side of the plane.
Asymmetrical Folds - Axial planes are inclined and one
limb of the fold dips more steeply than the opposite limb,
but still in opposite directions.
Overturned Folds - Axial plane is inclined and both limbs
of the fold dip in the same direction.
Rocks that undergo brittle deformation tend to fracture
into joints and faults.
Joint - A crack in a rock along which no appreciable
movement has occurred.
Fault - A plane of dislocation where rocks on one side of
the fault have moved relative to rocks on the other side.
• Fault Plane - Divides a rock unit into two blocks.
• Hanging Wall - The block of rock above an
inclined fault plane.
• Footwall - The block of rock below an inclined
fault plane
Types of Faults
Normal Fault - The hanging wall slips downward relative
to the footwall.
Rift Valleys- These are formed from tensional forces of
normal faults. The down-faulted block in a rift valley is
called a graben while the uplifted block is referred to as a
horst.
Strike-Slip Faults - Produced when shear forces block
slips horizontally past another.
Reverse Fault - Produced when compressional forces
push the hanging wall upward relative to the footwall.
Thrust fault - A reverse fault in which the dip of the fault
plane is so small as to be almost horizontal.
Oblique Faults - Occur where there is both a strike-slip
and dip-slip component to the fault.
Source: From PowerPoint Presentations
8 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE – 1st MIDTERM EXAMINATION REVIEWER

HOW LAYERS OF ROCKS FORMED Methods in determining the age of Stratified Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks - are also called stratified rocks.
Stratification - refers to the way sediment layers are
stacked over each other. It is also the process of creating
rock layers.
Relative Dating is a method of arranging geological
events based on the rock sequence.
A method of determining the age of rocks in each layer
by identifying the relative order of previous events.

Stratified Rocks - rocks that hardened over time. Prior to absolute age measurements, geologists used
field observations to determine the relative ages. They
Bed - Layering in sedimentary rock which are greater than
used simple principle in order to get the relative ages.
1 cm thick.
Absolute Dating is a method that gives an actual date of
Lamina (Laminae) - Layering in sedimentary rock which
the rock or period of an event.
are less than 1 cm thick.
A method of figuring the numerical age of rocks using
Bedding Plane - a surface that separates BEDS.
radioactive decay.
Stratigraphy - is the classification of different layers or
It is the process of establishing the age of an object by
layering of sedimentary rocks. This field is important in
determining the number of years it has existed.
understanding the geological history and forms the basis
for classification of rocks.

Stratum (Strata) - a sedimentary rock layer bounded by Principles of Relative Dating

two stratification planes, the latter being produced by
Steno’s Law of Stratigraphy
visible changes in the grain size, texture, or other
diagnostic features of the rocks above and below the Stratigraphic Laws - branch of geology that deals with the
plane. origin, composition, distribution, and succession of strata
(layers of rock in the ground). It used by geologists in
Stratigraphic Column - a representation used to describe
conducting relationship analysis, or rock layers.
the vertical location of rock units in a particular area.
Law of Original Horizontally - sediments are deposited in
Law of Superposition - a major principle of stratigraphy
flat layers. The layers of rocks are deposited from above,
stating that within a sequence of layers of sedimentary
such as sediments and lava flows are originally laid down
rock, the oldest layer is at the base and that the layers are
horizontally.
progressively younger with ascending order in the
sequence. Law of Lateral Continuity - states that rock layers extend
laterally or out to the sides. These layers may cover broad
surfaces. Erosion may have worn away some parts of the
Formation of Stratified Rocks rock, but the layers on either side of the eroded areas still
match.
1. Weathering - rocks are broken down into smaller
pieces. Law of cross-cutting relationship - states that fault lines
2. Erosion - process of transporting rock particles and and igneous rocks are younger features that cut through
other material from one place to another. older features of rocks.
3. Deposition - process by which sediments settle in a
Inclusion - Rock fragments found in another rock/layer
certain place after being eroded.
must be existing before being part of the rock.
4. Compaction - deposited sediments will begin to stick
to one another, cemented together with clay, other Faunal succession – Rock layers contain fossils that can
minerals and fossils, and compacted creating a layer be used to identify and correlate rocks.
of sedimentary rock.
5. Cementation - particles glued together as mineral
solution harden.

Source: From PowerPoint Presentations

9 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE – 1st MIDTERM EXAMINATION REVIEWER

Unconformity – describes a layer of rock that have been Principle of Inclusion

deformed or eroded before another layer is deposited,
resulting in rock layer mismatching.

• Angular Unconformity - layers are horizontally

layered before being layered with the existing
rock.
• Disconformity - Layers brittle before being
deposited to the currently existing rock.
• Nonconformity - Igneous rocks are present in a
sedimentary layered rock.

Law of Superposition - it states that, in any sequence of

layered sedimentary rocks, the top layer is younger than
the bottom layer. It is important in the interpretation of
the Earth's history because it indicates the relative age of
the rock layers and fossils.

Angular Unconformity, Disconformity, and

Nonconformity

Principle of Faunal Succession Isotopes - Atom of a same element which have the
similar number of protons but they have different
numbers of neutrons.

Radioactive - Unstable isotopes that need to break down

into stable isotopes.

Radioactive Decay - The process by which an unstable

atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation.

• Parent Isotope – Unstable radioactive isotope

• Daughter Isotope - Stable isotope produced by
the radioactive decay of the parent isotope.

Half-Life - The time needed for half of a sample of a

radioactive element to undergo radioactive decay and
form daughter isotopes.

Source: From PowerPoint Presentations