GEOLOGY

Question

Describe the characteristics a substance must possess in order to qualify as a mineral.

question 11

List the eight most abundant elements in the continental crust.

question 12

How is a scientific hypothesis different from a scientific theory? How does a scientific theory differ from a regular theory (i.e., a non-scientific theory in the way the term is used by lay people)?

question 13

Explain, with examples, how a change in each sphere will affect each of the other three spheres.

Sample paper

GEOLOGY

Question 10

A mineral is any class of substance occurring in nature and usually comprises of inorganic substances of the definite chemical composition. Some of the characteristics of minerals include:

1. Solid – a mineral should retain its shape and density when not confined.
2. Inorganic – all minerals should not contain materials that come from animals and plants.
3. Naturally occurring – in most cases, minerals should occur and be delivered in their natural form that is not human influenced.

Question 11

1. Oxygen
2. Silicon
3. Iron
4. Aluminum
5. Sodium
6. Magnesium
7. Calcium
8. Potassium

Question 12

Science is an important part of human life and in recent years, people have come to like and love science after a series of discoveries. Scientific knowledge is a body of techniques that helps in investigation phenomena thus acquiring new knowledge and insight about the same. Moreover, scientific knowledge and discoveries help to correct and integrating past knowledge (Miall, 2013). However, the body uses specific terms that are different from each other. Such terms include scientific hypothesis, scientific theories, and regular theory.

Scientific hypothesis differs from scientific theories in that scientific hypothesis is an educated guess that in based on previous and past knowledge and observations that may change with time. In most cases, a scientific hypothesis is regarded as the building block for any observations and discoveries. On the other hand, scientific theories are well-defined explanations and descriptions of some aspect of the natural and real world and phenomena that result from repeated experiments.

In addition, there is a difference between scientific theory and a regular theory. A scientific theory consists of a set of rules that explains observed phenomena based on empirical facts and studies while a regular theory is an evolved version of a hypothesis linking facts but it is based on speculations and cannot take to be the truth as it implies doubts.

Question 13

The earth is made up of four spheres which are connected to each other to make it look like a single structure. The four spheres in the earth’s structure include Geosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. Changes in one sphere affect all other spheres and in most cases, these changes are brought by human activities that cause imbalance in the atmosphere.

The lithosphere acts as the home for all cold, hard solid and the semi-solid earth below the earth’s crust, and geosphere describes all the rocks, minerals and the ground that are found in the earth. Moreover, the hydrosphere is made up of all mass water bodies while the biosphere comprises of all living organisms on the planet (Millot, 2013).

When a plant (biosphere) absorbs more can IV oxide for photosynthesis purpose, there in an increase in heat in other spheres which in turn causes imbalance resulting in adverse effects such as global warming. When the heat increases, there is an increase in the proportion of the incident radiations reflected by the earth’s surface causing the ice (hydrosphere) to melt and increase in the space occupied by deserts (geosphere) which in turn increases the amount of dust particles (lithosphere) in the earth’s atmosphere. Moreover, when the rain falls (hydrosphere), it causes soil erosion (geosphere) which sweeps away plants and small living organizes in the soil (biosphere) and leaves big trenches that are dug by the running water (lithosphere).From the above examples, it is clear that change is one sphere leads to changes in all other spheres which may cause negative effects on the earth atmosphere.

References

Miall, A. (2013). The geology of fluvial deposits: sedimentary facies, basin analysis                      , and petroleum geology. Springer.

Millot, G. (2013). Geology of Clays: Weathering· Sedimentology· Geochemistry.               Springer Science & Business Media.

Parallax angle and Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams