Earthscience Reviewer Q1

EARTH
SCIENCE
REVIEWER
• Inner planets - have shorter orbits,
slower spin, no rings, and they are
made of rock and metal.
• Outer planets - have longer orbits,
faster spins, thick atmosphere, a
composition of gases and liquids,
numerous moons, and rings.
•Earth's surface into space
and the Earth would have an
average temperature of
about -20°C.
The four subsystems of the Earth are:
1. Atmosphere – the gaseous layer above the
Earth’s surface primarily composed of different
gases such as nitrogen and oxygen.
2. Biosphere – the zone of the Earth where all
forms of life exist. This serves as the ecosystem
of all living and non- living organisms.
• Geosphere – the solid part of the
Earth that consists the entire planet
• Hydrosphere – the water part of the
Earth that includes oceans and
glaciers.
• Calcite –mineral that produces bubbles
when placed with weak acid
• Quartz - most common light-coloured
minerals
• A mineral's hardness is a measure of
its relative resistance to scratching,
measured by scratching the mineral
against another substance of known
hardness on the Mohs Hardness Scale.
• Phosphorescence is a phenomenon where
the mineral continues to glow even after the
UV light source has been removed.
• Fluorescence is a phenomenon that causes
a mineral to "glow" in the within the
visible spectrum when exposed to ultraviolet
light.
• Igneous rocks are formed from melted rock
deep inside the Earth. (Granite, basalt, obsidian)
• Sedimentary rocks are formed from layers of
sand, silt, dead plants, and animal skeletons.
(shale, limestone, chalk)
• Metamorphic rocks formed from other rocks
that are changed by heat and pressure
underground. (marble, gneiss, slate)
Igneous Rock Texture
• Diorite – Phaneritic
• Rhyolite – Aphanitic
• Basalt - Aphanitic
• Andesite - aphanitic
• Silica - used in ceramics and in making glass.
• Chromium – mineral used in manufacturing
knives
• Graphite – used in pencil leads
• Halite (table salt) – used for food
preservation and seasoning
ORE DEPOSITS
• Magmatic ore deposits are derived from accumulations of
crystals of metallic oxides, or oxide liquids that formed
during the cooling and crystallization of magma.
• Hydrothermal ore deposit is one in which the ore

minerals were precipitated from aqueous high -temperature
fluid solutions, where: Aqueous implies that the solvent is
water.
• Placers are a type of mineral deposit in which grains of a
valuable mineral like gold or the rare earths are mixed with
sand deposited by a river or glacier.
The Stages of the Mining Life Cycle
• Exploration - Methods such as geological surface mapping
and sampling, geophysical measurements and geochemical
analysis is often applied to pin out potential deposits.
• Mine-site design and planning - This typically consist of

studies to help companies determine if and how a project
can be safe, environmentally sound, economically viable and
socially responsible.
• Construction - The construction process occurs after
research, permitting and approvals are complete.
The Stages of the Mining Life Cycle
• Production
A. The first step in the production stage is recovering the

minerals. This is the process of extracting the ore from rock using a
variety of tools and machinery.
B. The second step is processing. The recovered minerals are

processed through huge crushers or mills to separate commercially
valuable minerals from their ores.
C. The final step in production is smelting. This process involves

melting the concentrate in a furnance to extract the metal from its ore.
The ore is then poured into moulds, producing bars of bullion, which are
then ready for sale.
Fossil fuels
• A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material such as
coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's
crust from the remains of dead plants and animals
• When fossil fuels are burned, they release large
amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the
air. Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere,
causing global warming.
How coal is formed
• Over time, the decaying plant material formed
into peat —a soil-like partially decayed mineral
matter—then lignite , then bituminous coal,
then anthracite. Geologists estimate that it
took about 10 feet of leaves, tree trunks, and
other organic matter to produce a one-foot layer
of coal.
• Natural gas - is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas
with the mixture of methane.
• Oil - is an organic material, mostly algae, which was buried

in mud at the bottom of the sea and lakes.
• Coal resources are found predominantly where forest
trees, plants and marshes existed before being buried and
compressed millions of years ago.
Geothermal energy
• The heat generated beneath the ground is called
geothermal energy, that when harnessed can generate
electrical energy for community use.
• Dry steam plants use steam directly from a geothermal
reservoir to turn generator turbines. Dry steam power
plant turns the turbogenerator with steam piped from a
geothermal reservoir.
Freshwater
• Ninety-eight percent of Earth's available fresh water is
groundwater. Most of the world's fresh water is not
easily accessible to humans. Earth's fresh water is
locked away in the form of ice in glaciers and polar
ice caps,
• ThAe majority of total freshwater on Earth, about
68.7 percent, is held in ice caps and glaciers.
• Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer on
or under Earth's surface. Permafrost usually
remains at or below 0°C (32ºF) for at least
two years.
• Eutrophication is the process in which the
water body becomes overly enriched with
nutrients, leading to an increase in the
production of algae and macrophytes.
• It deteriorates the water quality and depletes
the dissolved oxygen of water bodies.

Earthscience Reviewer Q1

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Earthscience Reviewer Q1

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EARTH

• Hydrothermal ore deposit is one in which the ore

• Mine-site design and planning - This typically consist of

A. The first step in the production stage is recovering the

B. The second step is processing. The recovered minerals are

C. The final step in production is smelting. This process involves

• Oil - is an organic material, mostly algae, which was buried

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