1. First Quarter Review

2. What are the characteristics of a mineral? Solid Inorganic – not living Crystalline structure/pattern Definite chemical makeup – same elements/compounds Naturally occurring – not man-made

3. How are minerals used? Ore - valuable Gemstones/jewelry Nutrition Diamond drill bits Cleaning products Reclamation: fix the land after mining – return to original or better condition

4. How are rocks classified? Texture – mineral grains: coarse, medium, fine Mineral composition – mixture of more than 1 mineral, sediment Formation – how they are formed, not where they are found

5. The Rock Cycle Continual – no beginning, no end Rocks can travel any path Actions between changes… Look for key words

6. Sedimentary Rocks Sediment – bits of rock WEDCC: weathering (breaking down to create sediment), erosion (moving of sediment), deposition (dropping of sediment), compaction (squeezing of sediment), and cementation (sediment glued together after the evaporation of mineral solution) Can be formed from any type of rock

7. Sedimentary Rock Types Organic – once living material: limestone, coral Chemical – minerals crystallize out of water - evaporation Clastic – cemented together: conglomerate, sandstone, silt, shale

8. Igneous Rocks Melting, cooling, and hardening Intrusive: magma – below surface, cools slowly, large crystals; coarse-grained texture – granite Extrusive: lava, above surface, cools quickly, small crystals, fine-grained or glassy texture – basalt, obsidian Stone Mountain - batholith

9. Metamorphic Rocks Heat – from mantle Pressure – from layers of rock above Foliated (banded, layered) and nonfoliated (nonbanded, not layered) Composition can actually be changed Can be formed from any rock type Gneiss, marble, slate, phylite, schist

10. Fossils Remains or traces of once living things Mold (imprint), cast (rock fills in), petrified (mineral replacement - forests), amber, tar/asphalt (LeBrea Tar Pits) Trace fossils – evidence of activity (tail, footprint) Index fossils – short lifespan, widespread geographically, numerous: trilobite and ammonite

11. Relative Age/Dating Approximate Index fossils date rock layers Superposition (older on bottom in geologic column) Original horizontality – undisturbed Uniformitarianism – gradual, consistent – past helps us understand present

12. Absolute Age/Dating Exact age in years Radioactive decay: rate of decay in radioactive element – unstable to stable (half life) Carbon-14: on once living organisms (carbon, organic) – up to 50,000 years

13. Geologic Time Breaks geologic time into manageable parts: eon, era, period, epoch Based on changes in fossil evidence (life changes) Paleozoic (largest mass extinction), Mesozoic (reptiles – dinosaurs), Cenozoic (mammals, now) Gaps in time – only a few organisms fossilized

14. Fossil Fuels From once living organisms; millions of years to form We rely on them Photochemical smog (worse in spring, summer), acidic precipitation (rain), worsens global warming/ozone damage Nonrenewable - depleting rapidly Coal, petroleum (oil), natural gas

15. Alternative Energy Expensive to implement Less pollution Wind (renewable), biomass (organic, renewable), solar (Sun’s radiation, photocell, renewable), hydroelectric (Lake Lanier, dam, renewable), geothermal (renewable), nuclear (fission, nonrenewable, radioactivity?)

16. Conservation Use less Use what we do have more efficiently Recycle Water at night, don’t let the water run, carpool, turn the lights off, use energy-saver settings on appliances

17. Causes of Soil Erosion/Pollution Mining Farming Deforestation Desertification Building/development (business and residential) Business/factory waste Human littering Vehicles

18. Soil Conservation Prevent erosion of soil Dust Bowl – loss of topsoil due to erosion (wind) Cover crops (protect topsoil), contour plowing, crop rotation (prevent nutrient depletion), terracing (flat sections on hills), windbreaks (slow down wind)