Aquino, Anne Princess C.

NATSCI-SEC 1
Assignment No.1
1. Describe the following terms:
1.1 Orogeny
- An orogeny is an event which causes the lithosphere (crust and uppermost mantle) at the
converging plate margins to become structural distorted and compositionally distinct. When a
continental plate crumbles and moves up to create one or more mountain ranges, an orogen or
orogenic belt develops; it involves a sequence of geological processes collectively called
orography.
1.2 Uplifting
1.3 Subduction zone
- The subduction zones are tectonic surface boundaries, with 2 plates converging and one layer
beneath the other. Geohazards such as earthquakes and volcanoes result from this process. Such
threats impact millions of people worldwide, in particular on the Pacific, which includes mainly
subduction zones. At the interface between the two plates, called megathrust, there are the
biggest earthquakes on earth. The magnitude 8.8 in Chile in February 2010 and the magnitude
9.1 of the offshore Sumatra site were recently announced as a result of a catastrophic tsunami.
Sumatra in December 2004
1.4 Thrusting
- A thrust fault is a break in the surface of the Earth that raises old rocks over younger rocks.
1.5 Fault
- A fracture is a divide between two blocks between rock or a fractures line. Blocks enable
blocks to pass in contrast. This movement can happen instantly, like an earthquake-or gradually,
as a cramp. Bugs can range from a couple of thousand to thousands of kilometers in length. Most
defects cause repeated geological displacements. The rock on one side of the fault unexpectedly
slips in relation to the other during an earthquake. The surface of the fault may be either
horizontal, vertical or rather random.
1.6 Magma
- Magma is a intensely acidic, semi liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. The high
temperatures and friction in the crust of Earth holds magma hot. There are three main types of
magma: basaltic, andesistent and rhyolitic, which have a particular composition of minerals. A
large proportion of silicon dioxide is present in every type of magma. Base magma is strong, but
potassium and sodium are low in iron, magnesium and calcium. The volcanic form is influenced
by the viscosity of the magma that erupts from the volcano. Volcanoes with steep slopes are
usually very viscous magma, whereas flater magmatic volcanoes flow quickly.
1.7 Lava
- Lava is the term on the surface of the Earth for magma (molten rock). Lava hardens into rock
after being released and cooled out of the magma chamber. Active flows, cooled rocks and
pieces that were thrown into the air during eruptions are described in the word lava.
The mouth of the volcano can flow out of lava at various speeds. This typically travels at 2/3 to
1/3 of an hour. Lava can flow a little quicker in a tube or pipe.
1.8 Mountains
- A mountain is a large landform that rises up in a small area over the surrounding area, usually
in the form of a peak. Tectonic forces or volcanism shape mountains. These forces will lift the
earth's surface locally. The activity of the rivers, environment and glaciers is causing slow
mountains to erode. Many mountains are isolated hills, but most of them are located in large
mountains.
1.9 Mountain Ranges
- Mountains or hill areas are a sequence, in a line and linked by high ground, of mountains or
hills. A mountain or mountain belt network is a collection of mountain formations with similarity
in shape, structure and orientation, typically orogenic. Mountain ranges consist of a number of
geological processes, but the vast majority in the world is the product of plate tectonics.
Mountain ranges can be found on many solar system planetary mass bodies and are possibly a
characteristic of most planets on Earth.
1.10 Mountain Belts
- Mountains or plateau areas are a sequence, in a line and linked by high ground, of mountains or
hills. A mountain or mountain belt network is a collection of mountain formations with similarity
in shape, structure and orientation, typically orogenic.Mountain ranges consist of a number of
geological processes, but the vast majority in the world is the product of plate tectonics.
Mountain ranges can be found on many solar system planetary mass bodies and are possibly a
characteristic of most planets on Earth.

2. How would you know that a mountain is young or old? And give examples
- An erosion level over the whole mountain range is the biggest difference between young and
old mountains. The Rockies and Himalayans are young because they are still rugged with very
few signs of erosion, for example. They are still small. Owing to tectonic movements, these
mountains are still elevated. The mountains of the Appalachians and the mountains of Ozar are
flatter and eroded higher, which means they are older. The mountains continue to break and
disappear as soon as they surface above earth due to heat, snow and other weather conditions
The Appalachian Mountains ' approximate age is hundreds of millions of years. The Himalaya
Mountains are believed to be about 30 million years old, and tectonic activity continues to move
them upward.
3. Discuss the folding and faulting in the earth movement.
- Stresses are produced in rocks when the internal strength of the rock is overcome, which lead to
a breakage. A fault can be defined as the displacement by the fault plane of once attached rock
blocks. Diastrophic processes— pliability and failure occur when the earth's surface buckles,
bends, or even splits deep within the lithosphere strain. Folding mountains occur where crust is
forced up when plates collide, causing crust in folds to rise up. Folding is the pressure of
converging plates that causes the crown to crumble and fold, contributing to the forming of
mountains and hills and the failure of these places is where cracks in the rock of the Earth are
formed due to the complex movement of tectonical plates. Economic value applies to folds and
defects.
4. Why are folded structures important in the mountain formation?
Fold mountains are mountains that mainly occur because of the pliability of layers in the upper
part of the crust of the Earth. The word for most mountain belts such as the Himalayas was used
before either the platform tectonic theory established or its internal architecture was well known.
The definition is still very popular in literature on physical geography but is usually not used
elsewhere, with the exception of the following. Orogensic movements are called the forces
responsible for the creation of fallow mountain.
2 5. Describe and discuss the importance of the following terms:
5.1 Anticline
- An anticline is an arch-like fold with its central oldest beds, while an articulate is the opposite
of an anticline. The hinges or crest are situated where there is the highest curvature, and the
limbs are the sides of the fold that dip away from the hinge. A series of rock layers that grow
increasingly older towards the center of the fold will identify and distinguish antiforms.
Therefore, the term antiform should be used when age connections between different rock strata
are uncertain.
5.2 Syncline
- A syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the structure core, while the anticline is the
opposite of a syncline. Syneclins are usually a downwards fold (synclinoria), known as synclins
(a drow) but syncs are found upwards when the strata were inverted and folded (an antiformal
syncline). The synclinorium synchronization is broad with superimposed minor folds.
5.3 symmetrical fold
- The axial plane is a symmetrical fold vertical. The axial plane is inclined to an asymmetrical
fold. The axial plane is overlapped or overlapped in a way that overturns the layers in one limb.
A reclining fold has an axial axis, basically horizontal. The fallow is called isoclinal if the two
limbs of a plug are basically parallel and thus approximately parallel to the axial plane.
5.4 asymmetrical fold
- A fold with unusually long limbs and axial level inclined in the same direction, which bends in
the same direction as the gently dipping limb. Asymmetry rating is seen as a ratio of short to
long limb length. The lower the ratio, the higher the asymmetries amount. Folds whose axial
plane is turned to their enveloping surfaces in the direction of a clock is called Z folds or
asymmetric dextraction or negative, whereas those in which the axial plane is rotated from
normal to enveloping surfaces in the antichrome direction are known as Sfolds or asymmetric
sinister or positivity. Z and S folds usually occur on an antiform's left and right limbs.
5.6 overturned fold
- The axial plane is overlapped or overlapped in a way that overturns the layers in one limb. A
reclining fold has an axial axis, basically horizontal. The fallow is called isoclinal if the two
limbs of a plug are basically parallel and thus approximately parallel to the axial plane.
5.7 recumbent fold
- A reclining plug is one in which the horizontal axial plane has a horizontal limit and a
corresponding limit of plunge of 10 °; the neutral structure that is neither syn formal nor
antiformal is a sideways-closing structure. This plunge is the most common plug. Folds with
axial planes that dip at below 45 °, but have no dip, were regarded as reclusive. This use occurs
mainly because there are many folds that on a national level basically have axial horizontal
planes, but have broad axial-planar dips locally. More ill usage exists when a sensu stricto
(originally recumbent fold) is re-plied and the whole building is often referred to as a reclining
fold.
Assignment No.2
1. Describe the tectonic plates and the plate boundaries.
- According to the Britannica Encyclopedia. The theory of plate tectonics is that the outer
shell of the Earth is divided into multiple plates, which float above the heart over the rocky
inner layer. Compared to the earth's surface, the plates are stiff and rigid. This solid surface
layer is called the 100 km thick lithosphere, and the crust and outer portion of its coat are
found in the lithosphere. Below the lithosphere is the maltable or partly maltable
asthenosphere, which enables the lithosphere to circulate. How it is going is an concept that
develops.
2. Differentiate the convergent, divergent and transform boundaries. Give examples for each
type.
- When two tectonic plates shift away from each other, a divergent boundary emerges.
Earthquakes are common around these boundaries, and magma (molten rock) rises to the surface
and solidifies from the earth' s mantle to create a fresh oceanic crust.
It's also known as a convergent boundary when two plates fall together. The effect of the
fluttered plates will cause the edges of one or both plates to bend into a mountain range or a deep
sea floor trench will bend down. A chain of volcanoes also forms along these boundaries a
congruent plate boundary and a strong earthquake.
A transforming plate boundary is created by two panels sliding past each other. Natural or
human-made objects that cross a transformed border, broken into parts and carried in opposite
directions, are balanced. Rocks that border the plate are pulverized as they melted and a linear
faulty valley or underwater canyon is formed. Such faults cause earthquakes. Crash is smashed
and fractured at transition edges, but is not created or killed in comparison to convergent and
divisive boundaries.
3. Name the seven major and minor global plate tectonics
Seven large plates cover much of the Earth and another 8 or so small plates. The African,
Antarctic, Eurasian, South American, India-Iranian and Pacific flats are seven main plates.
They include African and Pacific. The Persian, African, Nazca, and Scotia dishes are some
of the minor dishes.
Assignment No. 4
1. What is weathering?
- Weathering is a concept that defines the general cycle by which the rocks break down
on the surface of the earth into things like water-dissolved sediments, clays, soils and
substances. The weathering process normally starts as tectonic forces lift the earth's
crust. The loosened rock fragments and modifications materials would then be carried
off into the erosion process after the physical degradation and chemical deterioration of
exposed rocks by weathering.
2. Describe the two major kinds of rock weathering.
- Mechanical weathering, The deterioration of rock in smaller and lesser parts is a mechanical
weathering. Frost action is an important form of weathering mechanically. As the water falls
into cracks and rock pores then freezes, the volume increases by nearly 10%. This induces
external pressure at -7.6 Fahrenheit of about 30.000 pounds per centimeter. A freeze causes
rocks to be separated into corner pieces. The extreme temperature range of Idaho is a big
weathering factor in the high countries.

Exfoliation is a type of mechanical weathering where curved rock plates are removed from
the bottom of the rock.
- Chemical weathering makes the original material a substance of different structure and
physical properties. The new product is usually considerably softer and more sensitive than
the original material to erosion agents. Through warm temperatures and moisture, the rate of
chemical weathering is greatly accelerated. Some minerals are more susceptible than others
to chemical weathering. Feldspar is much more reactive than quartz, for instance.

Specific weathering happens when different areas of a rock weather vary. The Idavada silica
offers strong examples of varying weathering

3.Identify three end products of weathering.

4. Explain the difference between weathering, erosion, and mass wasting.

- Weathering involves the mechanical or chemical modification of rocks on or around the
surface of the Earth.
− Erosion is the physical loss and conveyance by water, wind, ice or gravity of weathered
material.
Mass loss is mainly gravity shifting or pushing rock or soil down slope.
• Disposal is the method by which items that have been weathered and deteriorated are
removed or put in places other than the source.
5. Describe how ice, water, and air transport regolith across Earth’s surface.
6. Define and give examples of mass wasting by slope failure and/or sediment flow
- Elevation of the material from higher to lower altitudes where transport agents such as
rivers and glaciers may take the material and transfer it to even lower elevations are an
important part of the erosion process. Mass movements Large movements are constant in
both directions, with some moving very slowly, with some happening very quickly and
sometimes resulting in catastrophe. Any perceptible displacement of rock or regolith
downhill is sometimes referred to as a landslide in general. Nonetheless, land slides can be
categorized in a much more comprehensive way that illustrates the movement mechanisms
and the moving speed.
Assignment No.5
1. Describe the freshwater ecosystem and include the salinity.
- More than three quarters of the Earth's surface is composed of freshwater and marine
habitats, offering essential ecosystem services by engaging in various biogeochemical
cycles and nutrient exchange, providing natural protection and habitat, destroying and
disseminating many environmental contaminants. Any wetlands, streams, rivers, ponds,
lakes are part of the freshwater ecosystems. They are low salinity areas and have various
animal and plant life which usually can not be adapted to higher salt water levels.
Diversity in such habitats can differ because some can be separated from other outlets,
such as ponds and lakes.
2. Enumerate and Describe each kind of freshwater habitats
Freshwater ecosystems include rivers, creeks, lakes, ponds and streams. There are also
wetlands like sumps with woody plants and trees; and ponds with plenty of grass and reeds,
and no trees. Just three per cent of the world's water is made up of freshwater.

2. Discuss the importance of freshwater habitats.

- The underlying rocks are contained in areas that are weather-resistant. Such areas are
most frequently connected to mountain and upland regions. There are some best
examples in Scotland of oligotrophic freshwater ecosystems around the UK, but there are
also examples in England. Because of the low nutrient status, oligotrophic systems are
particularly vulnerable to change caused by nutrient enrichment and acidification. As many have
been enriched, those remaining are valued as examples of this habitat type
4. Define eutrophication and discuss how it affects marine or freshwater ecosystem?
- Eutrophication is a nutrient water enrichment causing structural changes in the
environment such as: through algae and aquatic plant production, extinction of fish species,
general water quality deterioration and other effects that minimize and hinder the use of the
water.
Assignment No. 6
1. Describe the ocean basin.
- Ocean bay, one of the vast submarine areas covering almost three-quarters of the
surface of the Earth. They have an average depth of approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) and
hold the vast majority of the water in all the world. Many of the essential features of the
basins are different from the norm, such as mountainous ocean ridges, deep-sea trenches
and linear divide regions. The seisy ridges, the abyssal mountains and seamounts and
guyots are another important feature on the seaside. The reservoirs are often
sedimentary, varying in volume, which is most thin on ocean ridges or thickest on the
mainland.
2. Cite at least five evidences of continental Drift.
- Wegener's search for understanding geological history of Earth was motivated by a map of
the continents. He was trained as a meteorologist and was fascinated by the relation of the
coastlines of Africa and South America. Wegener then collected a large quantity of evidence
to demonstrate that the continents of Earth were once linked to one supercontinent.

Wegener realized that in many continents, extinct plants and animals such as mesosaurs, a
freshwater reptile found in Permian times only South America and Africa, were present. He
also matched rocks like puzzle pieces on either side of the Atlantic. The Appalachian
Mountains (US), for example
3. Demonstrate the sea floor spreading.
- Specific boundaries of plates are the result of sea floor propagation. When tectonic plate
shifts away gradually from one another, heat becomes more porous and less dense by the
convection currents of the mantle. The substrate is less dense and sometimes forms a
mountain or raised seabed.
4. Describe how coastline is formed include the factors that contribute to coastal formation.
-Waves erode coasts as they break up and dump energy on the shore; the bigger the wave,
the greater the energy and the sediment. There was a mistake. Wave deposited sediments are
formed from eroded cliff faces and carried by the waves along the shoreline. This forms a
rugged or rocky line.
5. Describe the salinity and temperature of water in the ocean: surface zone, thermocline and
deep zone.
In meteorological forecasting, thermoclines also play a part. Hurricane predictors will, for
example, take account not only of the temperature of the skin on the ocean (the sea surface)
but also, above the thermocline, of the warm water depth. A main fuel for an emergency is
water vapor evaporated from the ocean. The thermocline depth is the measurements of the
scale of the "water tank" and the probability of hurricane formation can be predicted.
Assignment No. 7
1. Differentiate Climate and weather.
As fact, nature is the combination of activities as our world every day. Also if there is
just one atmosphere on Earth, the entire planet will not have the same temperature. The
weather in various parts of the world is different and varies over minutes, hours, days
and weeks.
In view of the fact that climate refers to a short-term atmospheric transition, weather
explains how long the weather in a specific region is. There may be various climates in
different areas. In order to explain a place's climate, you might ask how windy it is
normally during the different seasons or how much rain or snow typically falls.
2. What are the factors affecting climate?
- A host of interactive variables influences the environment of any specific area. These
include latitude, rise, surrounding water, ocean currents, topography, plants and the
winds. The global climate system and any change within it also impact the local
environment. Consider how each factor shown in the images of the thumbnail will affect
your environment on your web.
3. What happens to the temperature of air when altitude increase, why?
The troposphere is cooler above the surface of the Planet, despite warm air from planet. The
number of air molecules decreases as altitude increases, the average kinetic energy is also
decreased. As a result, the air temperature decreases with an altitude increase.
4. Why are coldest part of the earth found at poles?
The pole is the coldest on earth, owing to the tilting of the axis of Earth. The axis forces the
poles away from the sun, thereby generating very little energy and sunlight.