EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE REVIEWER

LESSON 5: MINERALS AND ROCKS

Rocks- are in general made up of two of more minerals, mixed up through geological
processes.

Types of Rock
1. Igneous rocks- from Latin, ‘ignis’ meaning fire.
-At plate boundaries, or hot spots, some rocks get heated deep inside the Earth and melt.
Intrusive- Granite
Extrusive- Obsidian

2. Sedimentary rocks- processes of weathering, erosion, and transportation gradually

break up rocks into sediments.

3. Metamorphic- are subject to intense heat and intense pressure, which produces physical
and/or chemical change

LESSON 6 EXOGENIC PROCESSES

Exogenic Processes - are processes that take place at or near the Earth’s surface

Types of Exogenic Processes

Weathering- is a process by which rocks disintegrate physically and chemically.
1. Physical Weathering- rocks are broken into smaller fragments without any chemical
change in their composition.
a. Block disintegration
b. Exfoliation
c. Frost action
2. Chemical Weathering Gives way to formation of new compounds or formation of
new substances involves chemical change.
a. Oxidation
b. Carbonation
c. Hydration
d. Solution
3. Biotic Weathering
a. Plants
b. Burrowing of Animals
c. Human Activity
 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE REVIEWER

LESSON 7 ENDOGENIC PROCESSES

Endogenic Processes - are geological processes that occur beneath the surface of the Earth.

A. Folding & Faulting

1. Folding- processes by which folds are formed are due to compression forces known as
folding.
2. Faulting. fracturing and displacement of more brittle rock strata along a fault plane caused
by tension or compression

B. Heat in the Earth’s Interior

1. Primordial Heat - Heat generated during earth’s formation
a. Accretion Energy - Heat released from collision of planetary objects during the early
formation of the planets.
b. Adiabatic Compression - Heat generated as materials are compressed
c. Core Formation Energy - Heat from the earth’s core

2. Radioactive Heat - Heat generated by long-term radioactive decay.

▪ Compression-- rocks pushing or squeezing against one another.

▪ Tectonic Plate- basically huge pieces of rock that ‘float’ on the mantle
▪ Volcano- vent on planet’s surface which allows magma to run off.

LESSON 8 DEFORMATION OF THE CRUST

▪ Deformation - is the process by which the crust is deformed along tectonic plate
margins.
▪ Elastic Deformation - like a rubber band, the rock will return to nearly its original
size when the force is removed.

▪ Types of Folds
Anticline - is a convex up fold in rock that resembles an “arch like”
Syncline - a type of fold where the rock layers are warped downward.
Monocline - the simplest type of fold which involves a slight bend in otherwise
parallel layers of rock.

▪ Type of Fault
1. Dip-slip-fault - are faults in which the movement is primarily parallel to the inclination
Two (2) major types of dip slip fault:
Normal fault = occurs when tensional forces act in opposite directions.
 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE REVIEWER

Reverse fault = Compression because one block pushed up and over the other block.

2. Graben Fault - produced when tensional stresses result in the subsidence of a block of
rock. On a large scale these features are known as rift valleys.

3. Horst Fault - the development of two reverse fault causing a block of rock to be pushed
up.

▪ Plate Tectonics - (from the Late Latin: tectonicus, from the Ancient Greek:
lit. 'pertaining to building') is a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of
the plates.

LESSON 9 HISTORY OF THE EARTH

▪ Geological Time Scale- a system of chronological measurement based on the study of the
planet's rock layers.
▪ Condensing water vapor, augmented by ice delivered from comets, produced the oceans.
▪ Roughly 750 million years ago, the earliest-known supercontinent Rodinia, began to break
apart.
▪ The last glacial period of the current ice age ended about 10,000 years ago.
▪ William Smith- geologist that realized the horizontal sequence of sedimentary rock
▪ Geologic history of Earth, evolution of the continents, oceans, atmosphere, and biosphere.

 TIME SCALE
▪ Biostratigraphic - separate larger or smaller units of time that are defined as eons, eras,
periods, epochs, and ages.
▪ Radiometric Time Scale- has been developed from the study of the magnetization of basaltic
lavas of the ocean floor

Lesson 10: Relative and Absolute Dating

▪ Archaeologists utilize a number of scientific approaches to determine the age and provenance
of fossils, skeletons, and other objects. Bioarcheologists can use dating methods to figure out
things like the environment, food, health, and human, plant, and animal migratory patterns.

▪ Dating Method- different method or technique to know the estimated or specific age of
different object.

1. Relative Dating Methods - estimate whether an object is younger or older than other things found
at the site. Relative dating does not offer specific dates, it simply allows to determine if one artifact,
fossil, or stratigraphic layer is older than another.
 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE REVIEWER

• Stratigraphy: it allows archaeologists to create a relative chronological sequence from layers of

rock
•Fluorine dating: how long a specimen has been underground by analyzing how much of the
chemical fluorine has been absorbed by bones from the surrounding soils.

2. Absolute Dating Methods - provide more specific origin dates and time ranges, such as an age
range in years. How specific these dates can be will depend on what method is used.

• Thermoluminescence: Useful for determining the age of pottery or ceramics

• Fission-track dating: A technique that determines age of various minerals and glasses
• Potassium-argon (K-Ar) and Argon-argon (Ar-Ar): measure the ratio of argon gas in igneous
volcanic rock to estimate how much time has elapsed since the rock cooled and solidified.

LESSON 11: GEOLOGIC PROCESSES AND HAZARDS

Geologic Hazards are naturally occurring (or man-made) geologic conditions

capable of causing damage or loss of property and/or life.

1. Earthquake 6. Landslide
2. Volcanic Eruption 7. Floods
3. Snow Avalanches
4. Erosion
5. Sand Blasting

LESSON 12: HYDRO METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA AND HAZARDS

Hydrometeorological hazards include a wide range of phenomena and can be generally thought to
include storms, floods, droughts, and temperature extremes and their associate phenomena.

▪ Intertropical Convergence Zone -the area that encircles the Earth near the equator where
trade winds meet.
▪ PAGASA or Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services and
Administration- the government agency that provides information on meteorological,
astronomical and climatologically activities in the Philippine territory.

Common Hydro meteorological Phenomenon:

1. Tropical Cyclones
 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE REVIEWER

• Typhoons- storm system characterized by rapid spiraling storms, low-pressure center, and
intensely strong winds.
•Cyclones can increase the Strength of winds, which may cause:

o Tropical depression
o Storm

o Typhoon

o Super typhoon

2. Monsoons - These are seasonal winds. The Philippines expect two monsoons every year.
• Amihan - It begins in early September - May or June. Winds blow in the east.

• Habagat - It begins in June and Ends in August or September. Winds blow in the west.

3. Tornado - Locally known as ipo-ipo. It is a rapidly swirling condensation funnel whose narrow end
comes in contact with the ground.

LESSON 13: MARINE AND COASTAL PROCESSES

Coastal areas are transition places between land and sea. These areas are
considered low-lying.

▪ Tides and tidal currents- produced by the gravitational pull of the Moon and
Sun acting on a rotating Earth. This pull produces a very slight bulge in the
ocean, which we know as tide.

Common Coastal Hazards:

1. Coastal Erosion - is the wearing a way of land and the removal of beach or dune
sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, drainage or high winds.

2. Storm Surges - rise in sea level that occurs during tropical cyclones, intense
storms also known as typhoons or hurricanes.

3. Saltwater Intrusion - is the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers,

which can lead to contamination of drinking water sources and other consequences.
 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE REVIEWER

PRACTICAL WAYS OF COPING WITH COASTAL HAZARDS

1. Development of infrastructures must be constructed in safe distances from the coasts.
2. Ban of mining activities near coasts prevents erosion caused by mining.
3. Artificial seaweeds can be placed in the water near the coasts to reduce the speed of
current that promote erosion.
4. Plant cover and vegetation around coasts aid in protecting coasts from erosion.