Principle of Uniformitarianism

- The current geological processes are the same processes at work in the past. (James
Hutton)

Stratigraphy
- Branch of Geology that deals with description, correlation and interpretation of stratified
sediments and stratified rocks on and within the Earth.
- Study of rock layers

Stratified Rocks
- Layers of rock which are products of sedimentary processes that form layers.
- Rocks form layers due to sediments deposited on rocks or some forces that act on which
causes deformation.
- Rock layers

Stratification
- The layering that happens in sedimentary and Igneous rocks formed at the surface of
the Earth that comes from lava flows or other volcanic activity.
- Process of layering rocks

Stratigraphic Laws
- Used by geologist in conducting relationship or rocks or rock layers

1. Principle of Original Horizontality

- Sediments are deposited in flat layers.
- If not disturbed, they maintain original horizontality.

2. Principle of Superposition
- Bottom rock layer is the oldest, deepest, and heaviest.
- Top rock layer is the youngest, lightest, and highest.

3. Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationship

- Magma intrusion
- Fault is younger than the other layers.

4. Principle of Faunal Succession

- Rock layers contain fossils that can be used to identify and correlate rocks.

5. Principle of Lateral Continuity

- Layers of sediment initially extend laterally in all directions until they thinned out
or encountered a barrier that prevented further deposition. .
 6. Unconformity
- A layer of rock that has been deformed or eroded before another layer is
deposited, resulting in rock layer mismatching.
● Disconformity — exists where the layers above and below an erosional
boundary have the same orientation.
● Nonconformity — develops where sediments are deposited on top of an eroded
surface of igneous or metamorphic rocks.
● Angular unconformity — rock layer is deposited on tilted and eroded layers.

Correlation of rocks
- The process of showing that rocks or geologic events occurring at different locations are
the same age.

Types of Correlation
1. Physical Correlation
- Color, texture, and types of minerals contained within a stratum.

2. Fossil Correlation
- Fossils with unique characteristics, such as life span and features.
- Estimate the age of rocks or rock layers that contain the fossil.

Methods of Correlating Rocks

● Rock types and its characteristics
● Index fossil
● Bedrock

Relative Age
- The chronological order of events or objects in relation to one another without
determining their specific age in years.
- Comparing rock layers based on observable characteristics and the stratigraphic laws
visible.

Absolute Age
- The specific age of an event, object, or fossil in years or other standard units of time.
- Uses techniques like radiometric dating, which measures the decay of radioactive
isotopes in rocks or fossils to determine their age in years.

Half-Life
- Taken for the radioactivity of specified isotope to turn to half of its original value.
Radioactive Decay
- Spontaneous atomic level transformation of radioactive isotopes to another
element/isotope and release of energy.

Mode of Radioactive Decay

1. Alpha Decay
- Loss of alpha particles (2 protons + 2 neutrons = Helium particle).

2. Beta Decay
- Loss of beta particle (charged particle emitted turning neutron to a proton).

3. Beta Capture
- Gain of beta particle (charged particle emitted turning proton to a neutron)
 Geologic Time Scale
Precambrian Time
- "Age of Early Life"
- accounts for 85% of Earth’s History.

A. Hadean Eon (6-4 BYA)

- 6 BYA: Formation of the solar system.
- 4.5 BYA: Formation of the Earth through condensed rocks.
- 4.1 BYA: The Earth’s crust forms due to its surface cooling.

B. Archean Eon
- The Earth’s geological processes begin.
● Hydrothermal Ocean Vents
- Rich in nutrients.
- Possibly containing complex molecules that form structures like cells.
● Ocean covered in ice
- Extra protection from UV radiation.
● Meteorites or Comets
- Contains the building blocks of life.

C. Proterozoic Eon
- The presence of building blocks of life.
● Prokaryotes (3 - 3.5 BYA)
- Oldest fossil of bacteria.
 - Lacks nucleus
- Doesn’t need oxygen.
● Cyanobacteria (3 BYA)
- Blue-green algae
- Creates its own energy.
- Gives off oxygen (forming the atmosphere).
- Formation of stromatolites (sediments of cyanobacteria).

D. Phanerozoic Eon
- Visibility of life on Earth.
● Eukaryotes
- Contains a nucleus.
- Evolved from prokaryotes.
- 630 MYA: Multicellular organisms evolve with soft bodies (eg. jellyfish, coral
stalks, algae)

Eras within the Phanerozoic Eon:

1. Paleozoic Era
- “Ancient Life”
- Life migrates from sea to land.
Periods in the Paleozoic era:
a. Cambrian Period (570 - 500 MYA)
- mostly aquatic invertebrates with exoskeletons
● Cambrian Explosion
- Most major animal phyla are found in the fossil record
● Burgess Shale
- Major fossil site.

b. Ordovician Period (500 - 435 MYA)

- Presence of vertebrate with exoskeletons
● 1st Vertebrate
- Jawless fish (filter feeders)

c. Silurian Period (435 - 395 MYA)

- Ozone layer formed.
● 1st Jawed Fish
- Species later evolved into sharks.
● 1st Plant
- Moss and Ferns

d. Devonian Period (395 - 345 MYA)

- “Age of the Fish”
● 1st Bony Fish
 - Scales and swim bladder for the ability to float.
● 1st Insect
- Arthropods
● 1st Vertebrate on Land
- Amphibians

e. Carboniferous Period (345 - 280 MYA)

- North America is at the equator.
- Reptiles first appeared
● Warm Climate
- Amphibians & insects dominate and become large
- Dragon flies with a wing span of 1 meter.
- Cockroaches that are 10cm long.

f. Permian Period (280 - 225 MYA)

- Reptiles dominate
- Mass Extinction of more than 90% of marine vertebrates and 70% of land
species.
- Formation of Pangaea
Paleozoic era ends

2. Mesozoic Era (248 - 65 MYA)

- “Age of the Reptiles”
- Pangaea separates.

Periods in the Mesozoic Era:

a. Triassic Period (225 - 180 MYA)
- Pangaea forms.
- 1st Dinosaurs (in small sizes)
- Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants) dominate
- 1st Turtles and Lizards

b. Jurassic Period (180 -135 MYA)

- Pangaea starts to separate.
- Dinosaurs dominate and diversify.
● Reptiles in the sea
- Swims fast
- Many were very large
- Ate other fish and marine animals.
● 1st Mammal
- Small rodents
● 1st Bird
- Archaeopteryx
 c. Cretaceous Period (135 -65 MYA)
- Modern positions of the continents.
- Dinosaurs still exists
- 1st Primates
- Angiosperms (flowering plants) dominate and evolve.
● Mass Extinction of 50% of all animal and plant groups.
- Alvarez’s Meteor Impact Theory – A ~10km wide meteorite struck Earth
near what is now Mexico. Iridium is the evidence for this theory.
- All dinosaurs, many terrestrial plants, and marine animals died.
- Mammals, birds, angiosperms, etc. survived.
Mesozoic era ends

3. Cenozoic Era (65 MYA - Present)

- “Age of the Mammals”

Periods within the Cenozoic Era:

a. Tertiary Period (65 - 1.8 MYA)
- Began with a warm and humid climate.
- Mammals dominate
- Angiosperms dominate
- Grasses develop
- ~ 6 - 7 MYA: Appearance of Prehistoric Humans
● 1st Marine and Large Terrestrial Animals
- Horses, whales, monkeys, etc.

b. Quaternary Period (1.8 - Present)

● “Great Ice Age”
- Land and ice bridges connected other continents allowing animal
migration.
● Large North American animals go extinct
- elephants (mastodons, mammoths), giant sloths, saber-toothed cats, etc.
● Modern Humans Evolve
- Possible cause of mass extinction for their hunting.

Minerals
- Naturally occurring inorganic with crystalline structure and chemical composition which
may be fixed or vary within a certain limit.
- Building blocks of rocks.

Mineralogy
- A study of minerals.

Mineralogist
- A person who studies minerals.

Characteristics of Minerals
1. Naturally Occuring
2. Inorganic
3. Homogeneous Solids

Properties of Minerals
1. Color
- Most evident characteristic and first property used to identify minerals.
- Least reliable means of identifying minerals.

2. Streak
- Color of mineral in powder form.
- More reliable than color.

3. Hardness
- Mineral’s resistance to scratches or punctures.
- Specified using the Mohs Hardness Scale by Fredrich Mohs.

4. Cleavage/Fracture
- Line of weakness in the mineral’s structure.
- The plane of weak bonding along the structure where it is likely to break
smoothly.

5. Crystalline Structure/Crystal Lattice

- Periodic array of the atoms.
- Unique arrangement of atoms in a crystal.
● Amorphous Crystals — Minerals that do not have a crystalline structure.

6. Diaphaneity/Transparency
- Extent of light that can pass through a mineral.

7. Tenacity
- Mineral’s ability to hold its particles together or level of resistance to stress.
- Reaction to stress
Brittle easily broken or powdered

Malleable capable of being hammered into different sh

Sectile capable of being cut into shavings with a kni

 Ductile capable of being drawn into a wire-like shap

Flexible capable of being bent into a different shape

Elastic a bendable mineral that returns to its origina

shape after release

8. Luster
- How light reflects in a mineral.
Metallic Opaque and behaves like a metal when light is
reflected.

Submetallic Opaque, dull, and dark-colored.

Nonmetallic Mineral does not reflect light like a metal.

Waxy Slightly translucent and opaque; looks like a

paraffin.

Vitreous Looks like broken glass.

Rocks
- A naturally occurring solid substance composed of one or more minerals, mineraloids, or
organic materials.

Petrology
- Branch of geology that focuses on the study of rocks and the conditions under which
they form.
- It involves the examination of the origin, composition, structure, and classification of
rocks.

Petrologist
- A person who investigates the processes that lead to the formation of rocks, as well as
the physical and chemical characteristics of different rock types.
- A person who studies the process of rocks.

Types of Rocks
1. Igneous Rock
- Formed from the cooling and solidification of molten lava or magma.
● Intrusive (Plutonic) — form below the Earth's surface as magma cools and
solidifies slowly.
● Extrusive (Vulcanic) — form on the Earth's surface as lava erupts and quickly
cools and solidifies.
 2. Sedimentary Rock
- Formed from the accumulation and cementation of sediments.
● Clastic rocks — composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing rocks that
have been weathered, transported, and then deposited.
● Chemical rocks — form from the precipitation of minerals directly from water,
often due to the evaporation of a solution
● Organic rocks — derived from the accumulation of organic materials, such as
plant debris or the remains of marine organisms.

3. Metamorphic Rock
- Formed from the alteration of existing rocks due to changes in temperature,
pressure, or the presence of chemically active fluids.

putanginang rock cycle na ‘yan

Natural resources
- Natural substances required by humans for different needs.
● Metals and minerals
● Crops
● Water
● Coal, oil and gas
 ● Rainforests
● Forests

Energy Resources
- Natural resources can be used to produce energy.

Non-renewable energy sources

- cannot be easily replaced, because they have taken millions of years to form.
● Oil and Gas
- Crude oil is turned into jet engine oil, petrol and diesel which are used as a fuel in
planes and cars.
- When oil and gas are burned they release carbon dioxide gas into the
atmosphere. CO2 is a greenhouse gas and contributes to global warming.
● Coal
- When coal is burnt it releases carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide
into the atmosphere contributing to global warming and acid rain.
● Nuclear
- Nuclear fuels do not produce harmful greenhouse gasses.
- Nuclear power produces radioactive waste which is dangerous and has to be
sealed in containers and buried for thousands of years.

Renewable energy resources

- can be easily replaced and will not run out.
● Wind
- Wind farms are made up of lots of wind turbines this allows lots of electricity to be
generated
- When the wind blows, the blades move and this spins a turbine which is
connected to a generator which generates electricity.
- No wind = no electricity
● Solar
- Solar energy can be used to generate heat or electricity
- Solar panels filled with water are used to produce heat
- Photovoltaic cells are used to turn sunlight into electricity
● Geothermal
- Heat energy from the Earth
- Water can be pumped down into hot rock where it is heated.
- Geothermal energy can be used to produce heat or electricity