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Geology Exam 2: Minerals, Rocks, and Earthquakes - Prof. John Alan Chermak, Study notes of Geology

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)Geology

Prof. John Alan Chermak

A study guide for exam 2 in geology, focusing on minerals, rocks, and earthquakes. Topics include sustainability, minerals and their properties, rock types, and earthquake basics. Learn about minerals such as asbestos and their health effects, the chemical and physical properties of minerals, and the classification of rocks. Understand the concept of seismology and the different types of waves, as well as the causes and effects of earthquakes.

Typology: Study notes

Pre 2010

Uploaded on 09/20/2008

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Geology – Exam 2 Study Guide

Minerals and Rocks

- Sustainability – meeting today’s needs without compromising the ability to meet needs in the future

- many companies are leading the way in sustainability because they are only buying materials

that are taken from the earth correctly

- Loma Preitar – 7.1 on the Richter scale

- epicenter was located at Santa Cruz

- not vertical strike slip like expected

- 18 kilometers down (deep for California)

- 8 seconds of shaking

- Mineral Dust:

- Fine grained mineral particles that get into lungs, generally harmless

Asbestos – a broad commercial term for a group of naturally occurring hydrated silicate

minerals that crystallize in a fibrous habitat, collagen deposition caused

by chronic inflammation reduces the flexibility of lung tissue

Mesothelioma – malignant tumor growth in lining of chest and abdominal cavity

- Diamonds are presently being mined in igneous rocks and sedimentary rocks

- a mineral is crystalline (containing a crystal lattice) while a glass is not

- Chemical Classification of minerals based on Anions:

- silicates +/- aluminum rich (continental)

- oxygen and silicon make up 70% of the weight of the continental crust

- feldspar – account for 60% of all the minerals in the continental crust

- muscovite mica (potassium rich)

- iron magnesium rich (oceanic) – denser and more heavy than silicates

- olivine – magnesium + silica or iron + silica

- pyroxene group – single chain silicate – the tetrahedron link to form a chain by sharing

two oxygen atoms each, two cleavage directions at 90° to each other

Discover Study notes of Geology Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)

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Download Geology Exam 2: Minerals, Rocks, and Earthquakes - Prof. John Alan Chermak and more Study notes Geology in PDF only on Docsity!

Geology – Exam 2 Study Guide

Minerals and Rocks

Sustainability – meeting today’s needs without compromising the ability to meet needs in the future
- many companies are leading the way in sustainability because they are only buying materials that are taken from the earth correctly
Loma Preitar – 7.1 on the Richter scale
- epicenter was located at Santa Cruz
- not vertical strike slip like expected
- 18 kilometers down (deep for California)
- 8 seconds of shaking
Mineral Dust:
- Fine grained mineral particles that get into lungs, generally harmless Asbestos – a broad commercial term for a group of naturally occurring hydrated silicate minerals that crystallize in a fibrous habitat, collagen deposition caused by chronic inflammation reduces the flexibility of lung tissue Mesothelioma – malignant tumor growth in lining of chest and abdominal cavity
Diamonds are presently being mined in igneous rocks and sedimentary rocks
a mineral is crystalline (containing a crystal lattice) while a glass is not - Chemical Classification of minerals based on Anions:
- silicates +/- aluminum rich (continental)
  - oxygen and silicon make up 70% of the weight of the continental crust
  - feldspar – account for 60% of all the minerals in the continental crust
  - muscovite mica (potassium rich)
- iron magnesium rich (oceanic) – denser and more heavy than silicates
  - olivine – magnesium + silica or iron + silica
  - pyroxene group – single chain silicate – the tetrahedron link to form a chain by sharing two oxygen atoms each, two cleavage directions at 90° to each other

amphibole group - double chain silicate – tetrahedron link to form a double chain by sharing two or three oxygen atoms, two cleavage directions at 60° to each other
biotite mica – sheet silicates – single strong cleavage in one direction, all share three oxygen atoms and therefore link to form two-dimensional sheets
50% of earth’s crust is Calcium and Sodium rich feldspar and potassium rich feldspar - Chemical classification of Minerals:
Native elements – pure masses of a single metal (gold and copper), can charge themselves
Sulfides – metal cation bonded to a sulfide anion (have a metallic luster)
Pyrite - FeS 2
Oxides and Hydroxides – metal cations bonded to oxygen anions (both examples are rusts)
Hematite - Fe 2 O 3
Goethite - FeO(OH)
Hywasy, VA – pure iron deposit used to make colors for crayons -Carbonates – calcium and magnesium bond to this group
Calcite – CaCO 3
Sulfates – metal cation bonded to SO 4 anionic group
form from precipitation out of water at or near the Earth’s surface
used to make sheetrock
Gypsum – CaSO 4 ·2H 2 O
Halides – the anion is a halogen ion (such as chlorine or fluorine)
Halite (rock salt) – NaCl - Physical Properties of Minerals:
Density – mass/volume
specific gravity- density of a mineral as specified by the ratio between the weight of a volume of the mineral and the weight of an equal volume of water at 4°C

dike- a tabular, sheet-like (thin but laterally extensive) body of igneous rock that cuts across the layering or fabric of the rock into which it intrudes
sills - tabular and sheet-like, like a dike, but runs parallel to the layering of the rocks into which it intrudes
laccolith - is parallel to the layering of the rocks into which it intrudes, but forces the layers of rock above it to bend, forming a dome
batholiths - the largest kind of pluton, an intrusive igneous body of irregular shape that cuts across the layering or other fabric of the rock into which it intrudes
Applied Igneous Rocks:
In-situ vitrification (ISV) - ability to get rid of low-level radioactive waste by using electricity to melt the waste and surrounding soil in place, then cooling it to form glass, contaminants not destroyed by the heat are encapsulated within the glass so they cannot leach into the surrounding soil or groundwater.
Classification:
characterized by texture
size, shape, arrangement and cooling rate
Phaneritic (cooled slowly) – large minerals that are easy to see with the naked eye
ex. granite (clear minerals are quartz and opal are feldspar)
Aphanitic (cooled fast) – needs magnification to see individual minerals
characterized by composition
minerals and elements
Bowen’s Reaction Series – discovered that as new crystals form during crystallization, they extract certain chemicals preferentially from the melt, thus the chemical composition of the remaining melt progressively changes as the melt cools, and even more once the crystals are formed they still continue to react with the remaining melt
High temperature materials – dark color and oceanic material
mafic – silica poor (more dense), black (Basalt and Gabbro)
low viscosity (flows easily)
iron, magnesium, biotite, pyroxene, amphibole

Low temperature materials – light color and continental material
- felsic – silica rich (less dense), white (Rhyolite and Granite)
  - high viscosity (resistant to flow)
  - potential for explosive eruption
  - quartz, feldspar, muscovite
Intermediate –between that of felsic and mafic (Andesite and Diorite) - Rocks to Know 1.) Gabbro – oceanic, iron rich, phaneritic 2.) Basalt – oceanic (most abundant), iron rich, aphanitic, most common kind of extrusive rock (1 and 2 are same minerals) 3.) Diorite – from explosive volcanoes, fine grain, fast cooled 4.) Andesite – from explosive volcanoes, fine grain, fast cooled (3 and 4 are same minerals) 5.) Granite – course grain, rich in quartz and silica 6.) Rhyolite – fine grain, rich in quartz and silica (5 and 6 are same minerals)
Rhyolitic magma – abundant on the continental crust
Andesitic magma – occur on both oceanic and continental crust, a line around the pacific separate andesitic volcanoes from those that erupt only basaltic lava
Basaltic magma – occur on both oceanic and continental crust, source must be the mantle, volcanoes along the midocean ridges erupt basaltic magma, Hawaiian volcanoes

Earthquakes

subduction zones have the quakes - Spheres:

Moho – researcher who noticed that an earthquake waves velocity increased at about a depth of 50 km, and it was suggested that this increase was caused by an abrupt change in the properties of rock, brought about the crust-mantle boundary which is now referred to as the Moho, seismic discontinuity that marks the base of the crust

Periodic Table

left side – positively charged (cations)
right side – negatively charged (anions)
- oxygen is the most abundant anion and has the purest negative charge
sodium + chlorine = table salt -SiO 2 = quartz
Al 2 O 3 = aluminum
Silica Tetrahedron – (SiO 4 )4-^ - building block for most minerals
- most abundant mineral in Earth’s crust

Nuclear Energy

US is 13” behind in rainfall (drought)
1/3 of Virginia’s electricity is nuclear
is 20% of US’ source of electricity
Uranium deposit on a farm in Chatham, Virginia worth $10 billion
Disasters:
Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986:
runaway chain reaction and graphite core burned
many western European countries are in the process of phasing out nuclear power
flawed reactor design, inexperienced workers, and a power surge led to the explosion, core meltdown and the release of high levels of radioactivity and radioactive Iodine gas which concentrates in your thyroid
Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania in 1979:
mechanical and electrical malfunctions, combined with human error led to a release of a small amount of radioactive xenon gas

Fuel Cycle – Bio ↔ Atmo ↔ Hydro ↔ Geo ↔ Bio Atmo ↔ Geo
Nuclear Fission:
- bombard 235 U nuclei with neutrons, sets off chain reaction
- if chain reaction is controlled, can be harness released heat to generate steam and electricity, if not controlled it can release huge amounts of energy
Safety and Security:
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) estimates there is a 15-45% chance of core meltdown in the US in the next 20 years
- in 1998, almost half of the operating nuclear power plants failed ground based security tests
Radioactive Waste Disposal:
- 40,000 tons of nuclear power waste and 8,000 tons of weapons waste
- waste remains radioactive and is harmful to humans for 10,000 years
  - after 10 years, from one yard away, becomes lethal dose in less than 3 minutes
- currently waste is being stored in pools of water and these facilities are beyond their max
Where to place waste:
- above water table
- away from earthquake prone areas
- no volcanic eruptions – two small volcanoes 12 and 27 miles away from Yucca Mountain, NV
  - which is composed of young volcanic rocks, primarily from ash and rock named tuff

Geology Exam 2: Minerals, Rocks, and Earthquakes - Prof. John Alan Chermak, Study notes of Geology

Related documents

Partial preview of the text

Download Geology Exam 2: Minerals, Rocks, and Earthquakes - Prof. John Alan Chermak and more Study notes Geology in PDF only on Docsity!

Geology – Exam 2 Study Guide

Minerals and Rocks

Earthquakes

Periodic Table

Nuclear Energy