ESS First Semester Exam

Front

What are seismic waves?

Back

Vibrations that travel through Earth's layers, used to study the Earth's interior.

Front

How do you calculate the age of a rock using half-lives?

Back

If a rock contains 25% of the original parent isotope and the half-life is 6,000 years, the rock is 12,000 years old (2 half-lives).

Front

What is the melting point in relation to the asthenosphere?

Back

Rocks in the asthenosphere are near their melting point, which makes them ductile.

Front

What does 1 AU represent?

Back

1 Astronomical Unit (AU) is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun, approximately 93 million miles.

Front

How do you determine the distance of a planet from the Sun based on its year length?

Back

Using Kepler's Third Law, if a planet's year is 4.5 Earth years, it is approximately 2.73 AU from the Sun.

Front

What is the half-life of an isotope?

Back

The time required for half of the parent isotope in a sample to decay into its daughter isotope.

Front

How do you find the age of a fossil using isotopes?

Back

If a fossil has a 1:31 ratio of parent to daughter isotope and the half-life is 2,360 years, the fossil is 11,800 years old (5 half-lives).

Front

What is the significance of the asthenosphere in geology?

Back

The asthenosphere is a semi-fluid layer of the mantle that allows tectonic plates to move.

Front

What is the difference between parent and daughter isotopes?

Back

Parent isotopes are the original radioactive isotopes, while daughter isotopes are the products of their decay.

Front

What is the formula for calculating the age of a sample using half-lives?

Back

Age = (number of half-lives) x (half-life duration).