GCE AS and A GEOLOGY 12

UNIT GL1: FOUNDATION GEOLOGY

The Foundation Geology unit is organised into three basic scientific topics:

Matter: the global structure of the Earth and the composition of its crust.

Energy: the Earth's energy sources and the resultant internal and external geological
processes.

Time and Change: the geological record of change and the relative and absolute dating of
geological events.

This unit aims to develop:

the basic geological knowledge, understanding and skills to underpin the other units of
the course.

the geological skills of observation and interpretation of simplified geological maps,
sections logs, photographs and specimens.

Basic concepts only are addressed in the Foundation Geology unit: later units
develop these concepts.

NB: Asterisked techniques and skills in this unit will also be assessed in Unit GL2:
Investigative Geology.

I MATTER


Key Idea 1: The Earth has a concentrically zoned structure and composition


Knowledge and Understanding


Techniques and skills


Possible learning experiences
(a) The Earth has a layered
structure: crust, mantle, outer and
inner core. Each layer has a
distinctive composition and/or
physical state. Relevant
information is derived from
meteorite (stony, iron)
compositions, seismology and
geomagnetism.


Analysis of seismological evidence
for the internal structure of Earth: P
and S body waves, surface waves,
travel time curves, shadow zones,
velocity-depth models of Earth
structure, density distribution with
depth. Simple analysis of
geomagnetic evidence for core
composition and processes.

Interpretation of earthquake
seismograms. Investigation of
densities of representative
samples of Earth layers: granite,
gabbro (crust), peridotite (upper
mantle), iron (core). Experiments
illustrating geomagnetic field using
a bar magnet and simple
measurement of field elements
using, e.g., compass or dip circle.


(b) The crust is a thin layer of
distinctive composition overlying
the mantle; continental and
oceanic crust can be recognised
and distinguished by their differing
thicknesses, composition and
structure.

Interpretation of geophysical data
on crustal structure (seismic,
gravity, magnetic) from continental
and oceanic areas.



GCE AS and A GEOLOGY 13



Key Idea 2: The Earth's crust is composed of rocks which have distinctive mineralogies and
textures


Knowledge and Understanding


Techniques and skills


Possible learning experiences

(a) (i) The Earth's crust is
composed of just eight main
elements. Silicates represent
the commonest rock-forming
minerals.

(ii) Minerals are naturally
occurring inorganic chemical
compounds or elements.
Minerals have distinct chemical
compositions, atomic structures
and physical properties by
which they may be identified.

Recognition of the relative
abundance of O, Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Na,
K and Mg in the crust and the role of
the silicates as rock-forming
minerals.

*Investigation of diagnostic
properties of minerals: form, habit,
twinning, cleavage, fracture,
hardness, density, streak, lustre,
colour, degree of transparency,
reaction with cold dilute (0.5M)
hydrochloric acid.

Recognition, using appropriate tests,
of the following rock-forming
minerals (as specified on the mineral
data sheet) from their diagnostic
properties: quartz, calcite, feldspars,
augite, hornblende, olivine, micas,
haematite, galena, pyrite,
chalcopyrite, fluorite, barite, halite,
gypsum, garnet,
chiastolite/andalusite.

Development and use of a
mineral classification table to
identify a range of minerals.

(b) (i) Rocks are composed of
aggregates of minerals.

(ii) Igneous, sedimentary and
metamorphic rocks display
differences of composition and
texture that reflect their mode of
origin.

*Observation and investigation of
hand specimens of a variety of rocks
in order to:

(i) identify and interpret component
minerals,

(ii) interpret textures (grain size;
crystalline/clastic; foliation; mineral
alignment/bedding/ crystalline
banding) and, hence,

(iii) deduce the mode of origin of the
rock as igneous, metamorphic or
sedimentary.

*Observation and interpretation of
photomicrographs of rocks as an aid
to interpreting minerals and rock
textures.

# A mineral data sheet is available
for use in the examination.
Experimental production of a
range of rock textures by: slow
and fast cooling from melts (e.g.,
using salol); sedimentation in
vessels to produce layering;
compaction (e.g., of sponge or
latex foam marked with grain or
crystal outlines).




Use of a rock classification table
to identify common types.

Investigation of minerals and
rock textures using thin sections
and polished surfaces.


GCE AS and A GEOLOGY 14
II ENERGY


Key Idea 1: The formation and alteration of rocks involve both internal and external energy sources


Knowledge and Understanding


Techniques and skills


Possible learning experiences

(a) Internal energy: (i) Volcanoes,
hot springs and surface heat flow
provide evidence for internal heat;
the main source is radioactive
decay. Heat is transferred by
conduction and convection; removal
of heat from the mantle by
convection keeps temperatures
(except locally) below melting point.

(ii) Tectonic forces generate surface
relief, resulting in downslope
movement of rock material under
the influence of gravity.

Interpretation of evidence for
temperature variation with depth
and simple analysis of the
geothermal gradient (geotherm).

Experiments in heat transfer by
convection and conduction.









Investigation of the possible factors
influencing downslope material
movement.
(b) External energy: solar heating of
the Earth's surface drives the water
cycle and influences weathering
and erosional processes.

Investigation of various types of
weathering and erosion in the field
and laboratory, giving simple
consideration to the energy systems
involved.


Key Idea 2: Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks are linked through the "rock cycle"

Knowledge and Understanding Techniques and skills Possible learning experiences
(a) Igneous rocks are the products
of cooling of magma in bodies of
various sizes and shapes.
Volcanism is the surface expression
of igneous activity.




*The recognition of plutons, dykes,
sills and lava flows by interpretation
of maps, sections and photographs.
Observation and investigation of
igneous rocks to deduce the cooling
history of a magma.
(i) grain size: coarse, medium, fine
(ii) grain shape: euhedral,
subhedral, anhedral
(iii) texture: equigranular,
porphyritic, vesicular, glassy
(iv) structure: pillow structure,
aa/pahoehoe surfaces, columnar
joints.
Identification in hand specimen of
the following igneous rocks from
their composition, texture and other
diagnostic features:
Silicic: granite
Mafic:, gabbro, dolerite, basalt
Ultramafic: peridotite

Field investigations of igneous,
sedimentary or metamorphic rocks.
Video/DVDs of volcanic activity.



Use of rock classification tables to
identify a range of rock types.




GCE AS and A GEOLOGY 15


(b) (i) Physical and chemical
weathering of rocks at the Earth's
surface produces a range of new
minerals and solutions together with
residual, resistant minerals, that
provide the raw materials for new
rocks.






*Interpretation of maps,
photographs and graphic logs
showing the following sedimentary
features: bedding, cross-bedding,
graded bedding, lamination,
desiccation features, ripple marks,
sole structures (load/flame, flute
cast).

*Identification in hand specimen of
the following sedimentary rocks
from their composition, texture and
other diagnostic features:
sandstones (orthoquartzite, arkose,
greywacke), shale, limestones
(shelly, oolitic, chalk), conglomerate,
breccia.

(i) Investigations of different
effects of weathering on
local building stones.
(ii) Surface materials are
transported by a range of erosional
agents and deposited as sediments.
Different sedimentary environments
may be identified by diagnostic
sedimentary structures, rock
textures, mineralogy and fossil
content. A basic study of fluvial,
marine, and aeolian sediments
demonstrates these differences.

*Investigation of contrasts between
fluvial, marine and aeolian
sediments.
(ii) Video/DVDs of erosional
and sedimentary processes
e.g. Snowdon from the Sea
OU video

(iii) Sedimentary rocks may also
result from the accumulation of
organic material (limestone, coal) or
by precipitation of solid material out
of solution (evaporites).

(iii) Precipitation
experiments.
(c) Metamorphism involves
mineralogical and/or textural change
of pre-existing rocks in response to
changes in temperature and/or
pressure. Contact (thermal) and
regional metamorphism produce
distinctive mineralogical and textural
changes: non-foliated in contact
metamorphism: foliation (slaty
cleavage, schistosity and gneissose
banding) in regional metamorphism.
*Interpretation of the following
metamorphic features using
simplified geological maps and
photographs: contact aureoles,
metamorphic foliations.

*Identification in hand specimen of
the following metamorphic rocks
from their composition, texture and
other diagnostic features: marble,
metaquartzite, spotted rock,
hornfels, slate, schist, gneiss.

# A mineral data sheet is available
for use in the examination.
Modelling of the effect of
compression and shear
stress on layers of plastic
'rock'.









Laboratory simulations of
igneous, sedimentary and
metamorphic processes.

GCE AS and A GEOLOGY 16


Key Idea 3: The Earth's internal heat is the underlying cause of the lithospheric plate motions that
control global geological processes


Knowledge and Understanding

Techniques and skills


Possible learning experiences

(a) (i) The uppermost part of the
mantle and the overlying crust form
a rigid outer shell to the Earth
known as the lithosphere, underlain
by a weaker upper mantle zone
known as the asthenosphere. The
asthenosphere is a seismological
low velocity zone.


(ii) The lithosphere consists of
several plates in relative motion.
Three types of plate boundary
exist; divergent (constructive),
convergent (destructive) and
conservative. There is a
relationship between seismicity,
volcanicity and plate boundaries.



(ii) Interpretation of global maps
of volcanoes and seismicity.
(ii) Simple experiments to
simulate plate movements,
including modelling of transform
faults.


(iii) Forces driving plates are of
thermal origin, involving convective
motions affecting the lithosphere,
asthenosphere and deeper mantle.



(b) Some rocks contain a record of
the direction of the Earth's
magnetic field at the time of their
formation, known as remanent
magnetism. This is linked to
ferromagnetism in some iron
minerals and their Curie
temperatures.
Palaeomagnetism can be used to
determine changes of latitude as
different continents moved through
geological time, indicating
continental drift. Ocean floor
magnetic anomalies indicate sea
floor spreading.

Investigation of magnetic
properties of rocks and
minerals.
Simple modelling of the Earth's
magnetic field using magnets and
compasses: demonstrations to
show the variation of magnetic
inclination with latitude.


GCE AS and A GEOLOGY 17


(c) The various elements of the rock
cycle may be linked directly to plate
tectonic processes:
(i) Igneous - basaltic magmatism at
oceanic spreading centres due to
partial melting of upper mantle;
basaltic and andesitic magmatism at
island arcs due to partial melting of
subducted oceanic crust and
overlying mantle rocks.
(ii) Sedimentary - erosional
processes and depositional
environments influenced by tectonic
movements.
(iii) Regional metamorphism in
subduction zones and orogenic
belts at plate boundaries.


GCE AS and A GEOLOGY 18
III TIME AND CHANGE


Key Idea 1: Study of present day processes and organisms enables us to understand changes in
the geological past


Knowledge and Understanding


Techniques and skills


Possible learning experiences

(a) Much of the rock record can be
interpreted in terms of geological
processes that are operating today
applying the Principle of
Uniformitarianism: the present is
the key to the past.

Comparison of the products
of modern and ancient
volcanic and sedimentary
processes.

(b) Fossils are evidence of former
life preserved in rocks. They
provide information on the nature of
ancient organisms.

*Appreciation of the basic
distinctions between the following
fossil groups based on their hard
parts:
brachiopods: shell shape and
symmetry, pedicle and brachial
valves, pedicle opening, foramen,
hinge line, muscle scars;
bivalves: shape and symmetry of
valves, number and size of
muscle scars, hinge line, teeth
and sockets, gape, pallial line and
sinus, umbones;
ammonites: suture line, coiled
and chambered shell;
corals: colonial, solitary, septa;
trilobites: cephalon, glabella,
genal spines, eyes, thorax,
number of thoracic segments,
pygidium.
graptolites: stipes, thecae.
plants: leaf, stem, root..


(c) Preservation can give rise to a
wide range of fossil materials: actual
remains, hard parts, petrification by
mineral replacement (calcification,
silicification, pyritisation),
carbonisation, moulds/casts, trace
fossils (tracks and trails, burrows,
coprolites).


(d) Fossils may occur as life
assemblages (preserved without
transport) or death assemblages
(preserved after transport), or as
derived fossils incorporated in later
sediments.
*Analysis of modern and fossil
assemblages.
Field investigation of fossil
assemblages in a variety of
sedimentary rocks.

GCE AS and A GEOLOGY 19



Key Idea 2: Geological events can be placed in relative and absolute time scales


Knowledge and Understanding

Techniques and skills


Possible learning experiences

(a) Geological events can be placed
in relative time scales using criteria
of relative age: evolutionary change
in fossils, superposition of strata,
unconformities, cross-cutting
relationships, included fragments,
'way-up' criteria.

*Interpretation of age relations of
rocks and rock sequences using
maps and sections.

Investigative fieldwork to
interpret field relations and
relative ages in a small area.

(b) Some rocks and minerals can be
dated radiometrically to give an
absolute age. This involves
radioactive decay and the principles
of radiometric dating; radioactive
series and radioactive half-life;
radiometric dating (as exemplified
by the K/Ar and
14
C methods).
Simple analysis of principles of
radiometric dating using decay
curves and the half-life concept.

Case studies of radiometric
dating of rocks.


(c) Fossils play an important role in
relative dating and stratigraphic
correlation.

The factors contributing to good
zone fossils are: wide and plentiful
distribution, ready preservation,
rapid evolutionary change, a high
degree of facies independence,
easy identification of index fossils.

The utility of graptolites and
cephalopods as zone fossils
assessed in relation to the above
factors.

*Observation and identification of
appropriate morphological
features and their changes
through time:
Graptolites - number and
position of stipes, thecal shape in
the Early Palaeozoic.
Cephalopods - suture lines in
Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic
(goniatite, ceratite and
ammonite).
Use of data on fossil
assemblages to date and/or
correlate successions.
(d) The geological column provides
a means of (i) placing geological
events in their correct time
sequence and (ii) defining the
absolute age of some events.
*Interpretation of the ages of
geological events using the
geological column.

Studying regional geological
features in order to place
local geology within a
broader context.

GCE AS and A GEOLOGY 20


Key Idea 3: The rock record provides evidence for geological change and can be interpreted using
geological maps

Understanding and Knowledge

Techniques and skills Possible learning experiences
*The recognition on geological
maps and descriptions of:

Geological fieldwork or web-
based virtual fieldwork.
(a) (i) Folds and faults as products
of tectonic stresses.


(i) Horizontal beds, dipping beds,
strike and dip.

Folds: limb, hinge, axis, anticline,
syncline, axial plane trace,
symmetrical and asymmetrical
folds.

Faults:
(i) dip-slip: normal, reverse, thrust;
throw - amount, relative movement
of footwall/hanging wall.
(ii) strike-slip: transcurrent.
Fault displacement (= net slip).





(ii) Unconformities as hiatuses in
the geological record. The
formation of unconformities by
Earth movements and sea level
changes. The use of
unconformities in dating Earth
movements.

(ii) Unconformities with or without
angular discordance.
(ii) Laboratory and/or modelling
experiments to produce
different kinds of unconformity.
(iii) Intrusive and extrusive bodies
(dyke, sill, pluton, lava flow);
metamorphic aureoles; mineral
veins; superficial deposits (alluvial,
glacial).


(b) The nature of outcrop patterns
formed by the intersection of
geological structures with a
topographic surface as displayed
on simplified geological maps.

*Use of geological maps, block
diagrams, boreholes, cross-sections
and photographs to interpret the
geology of an area.

*Constructing geological sections
from simplified geological maps.


*Ordering the geological sequence
of events in an area from the study
of a simplified geological map
and/or section.