First Section Homework Assignment

Week One: Intro to Geology/Maps/Geologic Time

View the following image. Then answer the questions:

1. Which city on the map is located near 45 degrees N and 123 degrees W?

2. Which city on the map is closest to 35 degrees N?

3. View the “Rules for Making and Interpreting Topographic Contours” on page 247 of
your lab manual. Then answer the following questions:

3a. The contour lines in the graphic below have hachure marks on the downhill side.
What feature do these contour lines represent in real life?
 3b. What kind of slope is seen in the red circle below?

3c. What landform does the map feature below represent?

4. What is the elevation of the contour line indicated in the graphic below?
5. Refer to Figure 9.5 on page 239 of your lab book. What is the bearing from point C to
D?

6. Using the map image on page 237 of your lab book, tell me what type of vegetation
surrounds the Puritan Mine in the southwest section of the map. HINT: A closer-up
section of this part of the map is also seen in Figure A9.2.1 on page 257.

7. Visit the following website, complete the listed questions and try out the interactive
drop-and-drag feature: https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/maps-and-satellite-
imagery

7a. How many hilltops are shown in this map?

7b. At what elevation is Joe (blue star) standing?

For the next section of questions, download and install Google Earth from
https://earth.google.com/web/ (or use a computer that has it installed). Locate the search
icon and type in your home address. Hit the “Enter” key and watch the software “fly” to
your home. Then answer the following questions.

8. Once you’ve searched your address, at the bottom of the screen (towards the right),
you will see your latitude, longitude and elevation listed. You will also see the camera
altitude, and right above is a plus and minus sign for zooming out (higher in elevation)
and zooming in (lower in elevation).

8a. List your house latitude.

 8b. List your house longitude.

9. Repeat the steps above for the following locations, searching each plate or set of
coordinates, and then answering questions for each. You may need to zoom out and zoom
in to get a better feel of the whole area before answering the questions.

9a. 38.795, -100.764

Continent/Island:
Country:
What did you find there (include a description of what you see and what
major landmark is nearby)?

9b. 44.525, -110.838

Continent/Island:
Country:
What did you find there?

10. Search anywhere in the world – anywhere at all (HINT: You can find some
suggestions on page 20 of your lab book)! When you find something that interests you,
tell me the latitude, longitude and “camera elevation” used to see it. What did you find?
Why did you find it interesting?

11. According to your textbook, approximately how old is the Earth?

12. Use the geologic time scale from your textbook, on page 486, to answer the following
questions:

12a. The Phanerozoic eon is comprised of what three eras?

12b. What eon, era, period, and epoch are we currently living in? (Hint: It is the
most recent on the chart!)

12c. In what era did the Cretaceous period occur?

13. In which period does the first abundant fossil evidence appear in the geologic record?
What organisms existed prior to this time?

14. Refer to Figure 8.13 in your lab book (page 217). Answer the following questions:

14a. During what period did Baculites fossils live?

14b. Name one creature (from the chart) that began and ended their existence
during the Paleogene period.

14c. In what period did the dinosaurs begin?

15. Using your lab manual, complete Activity 8.2 A (Cross Section 2 ONLY), on page
223.

16. Sketch and label four simple diagrams that illustrate each of the following relative
dating principles: superposition, original horizontality, lateral continuity, and cross-
cutting relationships.

17. What’s the difference between a disconformity and an angular unconformity?

Week Two: Earth’s Layers/Plate Tectonics/Earthquakes

Use your textbook (Chapters 1 and 2) to answer the following questions:

1. The Earth is composed of the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core. Describe each
layer in terms of chemical composition (what rocks, minerals, or elements are found
there?) and physical attributes (is the layer solid or liquid?).

2. The rift valley located on Iceland and the East African Rift valley are examples of
what kind of plate boundary? Describe what is happening at this kind of plate boundary.

3. The Cascades mountain range in the western United States and the Himalayas are
examples of what kind of plate boundary? Describe what is happening at this kind of
plate boundary.

4. The Great Alpine Fault in New Zealand and the San Andreas Fault in California are
examples of what kind of plate boundary? Describe what is happening at this kind of
plate boundary.

5. Compare and contrast continental crust and oceanic crust, including information about
density, color, thickness, age, and rock/mineral content.

6. Refer to Figure 2.13 on page 49 in your lab book. The current location of the Hawaiian
hotspot is interpreted to be south of Kilauea Volcano near the Lo’ihi Seamount. Which
island was the hotspot thought to be under 5.1 million years ago?

7. Watch this 4-minute video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL3Ez9bxMTo. How

is Earth’s mantle like a lava lamp?

8. Use your lab book, page 421, to answer the following questions: A single earthquake
produced the seismograms at three different locations (Alaska, North Carolina, and
Hawaii).

Times have been standardized to Charlotte, N.C., to simplify comparison. Estimate, to the
nearest tenth of a minute, the times that P-waves and S-waves first arrived at each
recording station (seismograph location). Then, subtract P from S to get the S-minus-P
time interval. (HINT: Figure 16.4 on page 413 can help you read this. ALSO, there is a
video posted in the homework/lecture forum in Moodle.)

8a.
City First P arrival First S arrival S-minus-P
Sitka, AK
Charlotte, NC
Honolulu, HI

8b. Based on the above information, which location would you expect to be
closest to the earthquake’s epicenter? Why?

8c. Let’s see if you are correct. Using the S-minus-P time intervals above and the
time travel curves in Figure 16.5 (page 414), determine the distance from the
epicenter (in kilometers) for each recording station: (HINT: Your textbook also
shows how to do this on page 247).

Sitka, AK _______km Charlotte, NC _______km Honolulu, HI _______km

Use your textbook (Chapter 9) to answer the following questions:

9. List the major differences between P, S, and surface waves. Include

information about relative velocity (which one is fastest?), the kind of matter each
can move through, and the direction of movement.

10. What zone on Earth has the greatest amount of seismic activity?

11. Explain why an earthquake east of the Rockies may produce damage over a
larger area than one of similar magnitude in California.

12. According to the table on page 258, Shensi, China, was the deadliest
earthquake ever recorded. What year did this happen and how many died?

Week Three: Minerals

Using your lab book and textbook (Chapter 3 for both), answer the following
questions:
1. What mineral is seen in the opening photo of Chapter 3 on page 66 of your
textbook?

2. According to your textbook, substances classified as minerals exhibit which five

specific characteristics?
 3. Based on the definition of a mineral, which of the following – gold, liquid water,
man-made diamonds, ice, and wood – are NOT classified as minerals? Why?

4. Why is color not always a useful property in mineral identification? Give an

example of a mineral that supports your answer.

5. 5a. Describe the properties of sodium, including its atomic number and its
physical/chemical properties.

5b. Then, describe the properties of chlorine using the same information.

5c. Surprisingly, what is created when these two elements combine?

6. List the eight most common elements in the Earth’s crust.

7. The brassy/gold-colored, opaque, metallic mineral in Figure 3.3A (page 74 in the

lab book) will scratch glass and is not magnetic.

a. Based on the mineral identification table, what is the name of

this mineral?
b. Based on the Mineral Database, what is the chemical name
and formula for this mineral?
c. Based on the Mineral Database, how is this mineral used by
society?

8. According to the Mohs Scale, what is the hardness of a streak plate?

9. What product at your home might be made from magnetite (refer to the Mineral
Database in Figure 3.22 as needed)?

Use your rock and mineral kit to answer the following questions:
10. Which specimen is harder: 3, 23, or 6?

11. What happens if you apply acid to mineral specimen 3? What gas is given off?

Visit the following website and answer the questions below:

https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/energy-mineral-land-resources/north-carolina-
geological-survey/mineral-resources/mineral-resources-faq
12. Until 1849, North Carolina was the nation’s leading producer of what valuable
mineral?

13. Name two industrial minerals commonly mined in North Carolina.

14. What three counties are the main gem-collecting sites in North Carolina?
 15. What region of North Carolina is thought to have the most potential for oil and
gas?

16. A small area in what two North Carolina counties contains more than 80 percent
of the known lithium ore reserves in the United States?

17. About 95 percent of all phosphate production ion the United States comes from
what two states?

THIS IS THE END OF YOUR FIRST SECTION HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT.

You do not need to turn this assignment in for a grade; instead, you will take a test on the
answers and information you have provided later in the semester. Your test grade will
count as your homework credit.