Geology for Dummies - Alecia M Spooner

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Auteur(s) : Alecia M Spooner

Editeur : Wiley

Langue : Anglais

Parution : 01/04/2020

Format : Moyen, de 350g à 1kg

Nombre de pages : 400

Expédition : 760

Dimensions : 23.3 x 18.9 x 2.5

ISBN : 9781119652878

Résumé :

Get a rock-solid grasp on geology

Geology For Dummies is ideal reading for anyonewith an interest in the fundamental concepts of geology, whether they're lifelong learners with a fascination for the subject or college students interested in pursuing geology or earth sciences.

Presented in a straightforward, trusted format-and tracking to a typical introductory geology course at the college level-this book features a thorough introduction to the study of earth, its materials, and its processes.

• Rock records and geologic time??
• Large-scale motion of tectonic plates??
• Matter, minerals, and rocks??
• The geological processes on earth's surface??

Rock that geology class with Geology For Dummies!

...

Biographie:

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Part 1: Studying The Earth 5

Chapter 1: Rocks for Jocks (and Everybody Else) 7

Finding Your Inner Scientist 8

Making observations every day 8

Jumping to conclusions 8

Focusing on Rock Formation and Transformation 8

Understanding how rocks form 9

Tumbling through the rock cycle 9

Mapping Continental Movements 10

Unifying geology with plate tectonics theory 10

Debating a mechanism for plate movements 11

Moving Rocks around on Earth's Surface 11

Interpreting a Long History of Life on Earth 12

Using relative versus absolute dating 12

Witnessing evolution in the fossil record 13

Chapter 2: Observing Earth through a Scientific Lens 15

Realizing That Science Is Not Just for Scientists 15

Using a Methodical Approach: The Scientific Method 16

Sensing something new 17

I have a hypothesis! 18

Testing your hypothesis: Experiments 18

Crunching the numbers 19

Interpreting results 21

Sharing the findings 21

Building New Knowledge: A Scientific Theory 21

It's never just a theory 22

Scientific theory versus scientific law 22

The road to paradigms 23

Speaking in Tongues: Why Geologists Seem to Speak a Separate Language 23

Lamination vs foliation: Similar outcomes from different processes 24

Gabbro vs basalt: Different outcomes from similar processes 24

Chapter 3: From Here to Eternity: The Past, Present, and Future of Geologic Thought 27

Catastrophe Strikes Again and Again 28

Early Thoughts on the Origin of Rocks 28

Developing Modern Geologic Understanding 29

Reading the rock layers: Steno's stratigraphy 29

These things take time! Hutton's hypothesis 30

What has been will be: Lyell's principles 31

Uniformi-what? Understanding the Earth through Uniformitarianism 32

Pulling It All Together: The Theory of Plate Tectonics 32

Forging Ahead into New Frontiers 33

Asking how, where, and why: Mountain building and plate boundaries 33

Mysteries of the past: Snowball earth, first life, and mass extinctions 34

Predicting the future: Earthquakes and climate change 35

Out of this world: Planetary geology and the search for life 37

Chapter 4: Home Sweet Home: Planet Earth 39

Earth's Spheres 39

Examining Earth's Geosphere 41

Defining Earth's layers 41

Examining each layer 43

Part 2: Elements, Minerals, And Rocks 49

Chapter 5: It's Elemental, My Dear: A Very Basic Chemistry of Elements and Compounds 51

The Smallest Matter: Atoms and Atomic Structure 52

Getting to know the periodic table 53

Interpreting isotopes 56

Charging particles: Ions 56

Chemically Bonding 57

Donating electrons (ionic bonds) 57

Sharing electrons (covalent bonds) 57

Migrating electrons (metallic bonds) 58

Formulating Compounds 60

Chapter 6: Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks 61

Meeting Mineral Requirements 62

Making Crystals 62

Identifying Minerals Using Physical Characteristics 63

Observing transparency, color, luster, and streak 63

Measuring mineral strength 64

If it tastes like salt, it must be halite: Noting unique mineral properties 68

Measuring properties in the lab 69

Realizing Most Rocks Are Built from Silicate Minerals 70

Finding silicates in many shapes 71

Grouping si...

Sommaire:

Alecia M. Spooner has been teaching at the college level for more than 15 years. She currently teaches at Seattle Central College, where she is Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Alecia teaches earth science courses that are accessible and engaging, while stressing scientific literacy and critical thinking....