Exam 1: The Dynamic and Evolving Earth

A proposed explanation for an observed natural phenomena is a(n) ____________________.

The largest layer of Earth, in terms of volume, is the ____.

The most interior division of planet Earth is the core, which is liquid at its center because of extreme pressures, but solid toward Earth's surface.

What are the four basic forces in the universe?

Planets located farther from the Sun are ____, and are ____ than planets closer to the Sun.

Which principle asserts that processes operating in the present world can be used to interpret events of the past?

Uniformitarianism states that geologic processes today operated with equal intensities and rates in the past.

Liquid water in Earth's oceans are part of the Earth's ____.

Earth's age is thought by most geologists to be ____________________ years old.

One line of evidence supporting the Big Bang is the expansion of the universe. Explain how we know the universe is expanding and how it helps us determine an age for the universe.

Tectonic plates move in response to ____.

Saturn is the largest planet in the solar system.

The asthenosphere is the outer layer of Earth, which is rigid and is broken into individual plates.

What is the study of the origin and evolution of Earth, its continents, oceans, atmosphere, and life?

Plate tectonic theory provides a framework for the study of geology due to its predictive and explanatory powers. Define plate tectonics and give three examples of what plate tectonics predicts or explains.

The asteroids in the asteroid belt are the remnants of a very large planet in the early solar system that was broken apart through impact with another planetary body.

Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old.

Why is it a misconception to assume that because scientific theories can change, that they cannot be trusted?

The Doppler effect suggests that the universe is ____________________.

The "Goldilocks zone" is a region around a star where conditions are favorable for the presence of liquid water.