• What are the three most important metamorphic agents?  Explain each. 
• Heat, increases with depth, most important.
• Pressure, increases with depth, may cause rocks to behave plastically
• Chemically active fluids, water is the most common, will cause a crystal to change shape or to change into a new mineral entirely


• How does a foliated metamorphic rock differ from a nonfoliated metamorphic rock? 
• In a foliated metamorphic rock the minerals are aligned, which gives the rock a layered or banded appearance.  A non-foliated rock is composed of only one mineral with equidimensional crystals, thus there is no banding or layering.


• What is the difference between contact and regional metamorphism?
• Contact metamorphism occurs when a pre-existing rock is intruded by a hot igneous body and is altered or baked by the heat.  It is generally small scale metamorphism, and heat is the most important factor.  Regional metamorphism is associated with larger scale mountian building type events, and is associated with high temperatures and pressures.

• How is a sedimentary rock formed? 
• A pre-existing rock is weathered and eroded, that eroded material is then deposited, becomes lithified and turns into a sedimentary rock.


• What are sediments?  
• Eroded pieces of other rocks.

• What is deposition?  
• When sediments are deposited they are laid down somewhere.  For example if a mountain is being eroded, the eroded pieces of the mountain will likely be moved down slope via mass wasting or water erosion (such as by a river).  Those eroded pieces will be dropped somewhere when there is no longer any energy to carry them, such as at the base of the mountain or where a river enters a larger body of water.


• What do the size and shape of the particles in a sedimentary rock tell you about its environment of formation? (i.e. coarse vs fine, angular vs rounded) 
• Course, angular grains are close to the source of the sediment.  The smaller and more well rounded the grains are the further they are from the source.  Also coarser material was deposited in a higher energy environment than finer material.


• Could you identify the type of rock currently forming in a given environment? (Like we did in the in-class slide activity.)  
• Example environments: river, beach, floodplain, shallow ocean, coral reef, deep ocean, swamp, talus slope, lake/pond
• See class notes and lab materials.

• What are the three general types of rocks found on Earth?
• Sedimentary, Metamorphic, Igneous


• How is each formed?
• Sedimentary Rocks - Pre-existing rocks are broken down through weathering, these pieces are eroded and subsequently deposited elsewhere.  The deposited sediments become lithified into a sedimentary rock.  This occurs in numerous different environmental settings.  For example: in an ocean, in a stream bed, at the base of a mountain, etc.
• Metamorphic Rocks - Pre-existing rocks are subjected to heat, pressure and/or chemically active fluids and change into a metamorphic rock.  This transformation can be accompanied by a change in mineral composition, texture, size and and shape.
• Igneous Rocks - Molten rock cools and crystallizes.  The resultant rock is dependent on how fast the molten material cools, its mineral compositon and how much dissolved gas is present.


• Could you label the following on a diagram like Figure 3.2 on page 53 in your textbook?

• What is orogenesis? The processes that produce mountain systems. What is an orogeny?  A period of mountain building.

• The idea that the crust is floating in gravitational balance on top of the mantle is known as ISOSTACY.

• As a result of isostatic adjustments, erosion of a mountain range will cause REBOUND.

• As a result of isostatic adjustments, deposition in an ocean basisn will cause SUBSIDE.

• A rock will fold and/or fracture if it is subjected to stresses that are GREATER its strength.

• A rock is subjected to stresses.  If it elastically deforms, it will RETURN TO ITS ORIGINAL SIZE AND SHAPE AFTER THE STRESS IS REMOVED.

• If the elastic limit of a material is passed what will happen? IT WILL EITHER PLASTICALLY DEFORM OR FRACTURE.

• How does plastic deformation differ from elastic deformation? 
• Elastic deformation is reversable, plastic deformation is not.  If a rock is plastically deformed it is permanently changed, and may flow or fold.

• Faults
• Dip-Slip
• What type of movement occurs on dip-slip fault? 
• Primarily vertical. 

• What is the hanging wall?  
• The rock that is above the fault (where the miner would hang his lantern).

• What is the footwall? 
• The rock that is below the fault (the rock the miner would have his feet on).

• There a two types of dip-slip faults, normal and reverse.  How do they differ? 
• Normal faulting results in the hanging wall moving down relative the footwall.  Reverse fulating results in the hanging wall moving up relative to the footwall.

• True or False?  A normal fault is the result of compressional stresses. 
• False, normal faults typically occur where there are tensional stresses pulling the crust apart.  Reverse faults are the result of compressional stresses.

• Strike Slip
• What type of movement occurs on a strike slip fault? 
• Horizontal displacement.

• At what type of plate boundary would you likely find a strike slip fault? 
• Transform.

• Types of Mountains:
• Explain how mountains are formed at or by: See Chapter 10 in your textbook for details of formation.  

• Island Arcs 
• EX: Mariana Arc, Aleutian Arc

• Andean-Type Collisions 
• EX: Peruvian Andes

• Terranes
• EX: North American Cordillera

• Continental Collisions 
• EX: Himalayas, Appalachians

• Fault-Block Mountains
• EX: Sierra Nevada, Grand Tetons

• Give an example of where each of the above has or is occurring on Earth. (Given above.)

• How were the Appalachian Mountains formed? See pages 299-300.

• Can you interpret the Geology of New York summary sheet I gave you?  (Hint: I will provide the summary sheet on the exam, you will need to be able to answer questions using it.  Extra copies are available here.)

• What is the difference between mechanical and chemical weathering?
• Mechanical weathering involves the breakdown of a material into smaller and smaller pieces, each of which still retains the properties of the original substance. Chemical weathering alters the internal structure of the material by adding or removing elements.

• How does mechanical weathering aid chemical weathering? 
• Mechanical weathering breaks rocks and mineral down into smaller pieces, this increases the surface area available for chemical weathering processes.

• List and briefly explain the four types of mechanical weathering: See pages 85-87 for explanations.

1. FROST WEDGING
2. SALT CRYSTAL GROWTH
   
3. UNLOADING
4. BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

• What is the most important agent for chemical weathering? 
• Water.

• What is acid precipitation?  
• Any precipitation (rain, fog, mist, snow) that is more acidic than usual; usually having a pH of less than 5.6.  Because water and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere naturally combine to form carbonic acid, natural rainfall is slightly acidic.

• Why is acid rain bad? 
• Acidic streams and lakes can harm or kill fish and other aquatic life, acidic soil will stunt plant growth, acidic rain damages plants, acidic rain will dissolve rocks (particularly those containing the mineral calcite) and will corrode buildings and monuments, acidic water leaches heavy metals from the soil and transports them to streams, lakes, etc., where they can reach toxic levels in fish (and in humans if they eat a lot of those fish)

• What five factors control soil formation? 

1. PARENT MATERIAL
2. TIME
3. CLIMATE
4. SLOPE
5. ORGANICS

• List three problems associated with soil erosion.

1. DECREASES SOIL FERTILITY
2. SILTATION (HARMS BENTHIC ORGANISMS, DECREASES FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER SUPPLIES, AND DECREASES WATER QUALITY)
3. TRANSPORTS CONTAMINANTS (EX: HERBICIDES AND PESTICIDES)

• List three ways that we use soil. 

1. AGRICULTURE
2. BUILD WITH OR ON
3. RECREATION
4. ALSO SEE CLASS NOTES

• How can soil erosion be prevented?  
• Planting vegetation, building windbreaks, terracing, plowing on contours.

Mass Wasting
Other sources: demonstration information, video footage, mass wasting in-class activity

• What is the driving force for mass wasting events? 
• Gravity

• List the 7 factors that influence whether a mass wasting event will occur or not.  
• Hint: Know how each of these factors contributes to mass wasting, you do not need to memorize this list.
1. SLOPE ANGLE
2. WEATHERING AND CLIMATE
3. WATER CONTENT
4. VEGETATION
5. OVERLOADING
6. GEOLOGY
7. TRIGGERING MECHANISMS

• For each type of mass wasting event listed below, know the basic characteristics. See class notes and textbook.

• fall 

• slump 

• slide 

• creep 

• flow

• What will occur once precipitated water reaches the ground?
• It will either runoff or infiltrate.


• A measure of how far water has traveled over a given period of time is a measure of its VELOCITY.


• Where is the highest velocity in a straight stream? 
• In the center of the stream just below the surface.


• Where is the velocity greatest in a meandering stream? 
• Along the outer edges of the meander bends.


• Where is the erosion greatest in a meandering stream?  Why? 
• On the cutbanks, highest energy.


• Where does deposition occur in a meandering stream?  Why? 
• At the pointbars, lowest energy.


• What three factors influence the velocity of a stream?
• Define and explain each of these factors. See pages 120-121 for details
• gradient
• size, shape and roughness of channel
• discharge

• What is lag time? 
• The difference in time between peak precipitation and peak discharge in a stream.

• What is a stream a hydrograph? 
• A graph representing the discharge of a stream over time.

• What are the differences between the rural and urban stream hydrographs presented in class?  View hydrographs here.
• In an urban setting the stream discharge increases steeply after a precipitation event and thus has a relatively short lag time.  In a rural setting, the response of a stream to a precipitation event is much more gradual and thus the lag time is longer.

• Why are there differences or what are the factors that would cause these differences?
• In an urban area there is much more run off and channelization.  Impermeable surfaces (roofs, roads, parking lots, etc.) prevent infiltration.  Storm sewers channel water into the stream faster.  In a rural setting there is more infiltration because there is more soil/vegetation available to intercept it. 

• How do streams transport material (three ways)?
1. DISSOLVED LOAD
2. SUSPENDED LOAD
3. BED LOAD

• Deposition occurs when the ENERGY OR VELOCITY of a stream decreases.

• In a stream, an increase in velocity will cause an increase in the SIZE material carried. An increase in discharge will cause an increase in the AMOUNT OF material carried. 

• List and describe the four types of flood control we discussed in class. Include the pros and cons of each. See class notes and text pages 133-134 for pros and cons.

1. ARTIFICIAL LEVEES
2. FLOOD CONTROL DAMS
3. CHANNELIZATION
4. NON-STRUCTURAL APPROACHES

• What were the two types of floods we discussed in class?  How do they differ?
• Flash floods and big slow floods. 
• Flash floods usually occur in response to a fast/heavy precipitation event, occur without much warning, and generally are on a smaller scale.  Big slow floods build up over time and may the result from events that happened several weeks before (such as large snowfall event).  Although less of an immediate hazard to people, since there is typically more warning before a big slow flood they typically do the most damage because they are much larger and wide spread than flash floods.