GEOSPHERE UNIT TEST STUDY GUIDE
Section 1.1: The Earth System:
§ 4 parts of the Earth system
§ Characteristics of the Earth system as a whole
§ Characteristics of each part of the Earth system
§ Interactions of the 4 parts of the Earth system
Chapter 2: Minerals:
§ 4 characteristics of minerals
§ Rock forming mineral groups
§ Composition of Earth’s crust (minerals and elements)
§ Properties used to identify minerals
§ Different types of mining
§ 5 ways minerals are formed
§ Uses of minerals
§ Chapter 2 vocabulary
§
Chapter 3: Rocks:
§ 3 types of rocks
§ Processes of the rock cycle
§ Rock composition of Earth’s crust and surface
§ Properties of each rock type
§ How each rock type forms
§ Examples of each rock type
§ Chapter 3 vocabulary
Chapter 4: Weathering and Soil:
§ 2 types of weathering
§ Examples of each type of weathering
§ Composition of soil
§ Properties of soil
§ Characteristics and organisms of soil horizons
§ Effect of climate and region on soil
§ 3 human activities that affect soil
§ Uses of soil
§ Methods of conserving soil
§ Chapter 4 vocabulary
Chapter 5 Erosion and Deposition:
§ Examples of erosion and deposition
§ Examples of mass wasting
§ Divides and drainage basins
§ Features created by moving water
§ Formation of caves
§ Longshore current and longshore drift
§ Formation of sandbars and barrier islands
§ Formation of loess and desert pavement
§ 2 types of glaciers and their characteristics
§ Features created by glaciers
§ Chapter 5 vocabulary
Chapter 6: Plate Tectonics:
§ Earth’s layers, including lithosphere & asthenosphere
§ Characteristics and composition of Earth’s layers
§ Continental drift
§ Seafloor-spreading
§ Plate movement processes
§ Hot spots
§ Magnetic reversals
§ 3 types of plate boundaries
§ Features created by plate boundaries
§ 3 types of convergent plate boundaries
§ Chapter 6 vocabulary
Chapter 7: Earthquakes:
§ 3 types of faults
§ Causes of earthquakes
§ Strength of earthquakes
§ Seismic wave types and characteristics
§ Locating an earthquake
§ Instruments used to study earthquakes
§ Effects of earthquakes
§ Reducing earthquake damage
§ Chapter 7 vocabulary
Chapter 8: Volcanoes:
§ Folded and fault-block mountains
§ 3 types of volcanoes
§ Short and long-term effects of volcanic eruptions
§ Location of volcanoes
§ Warning signs and monitoring of volcanoes
§ The effects of volcanoes on water
§ Chapter 8 vocabulary