EARTH & LIFE SCIENCE Tsunamis are large ocean waves generated by

underwater earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides,

I. Universe & Earth or meteorite impacts. These waves can travel at
The terrestrial planets, also known as rocky planets, are extremely high speeds across the open ocean and can
the inner planets of our solar system. These planets are reach towering heights as they approach shallow coastal
primarily composed of rock and metal and have solid areas, potentially causing widespread and devastating
surfaces. The terrestrial planets in our solar system inundation when they make landfall.
are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars. These planets are Climate and weather-related hazards are considered
closer to the Sun compared to the gas giant planets natural hazards. These hazards are primarily driven by
(Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) and are natural processes and phenomena, such as hurricanes,
characterized by their solid, rocky composition. tornadoes, floods, droughts, and extreme temperatures.
The correct sequence of divisions in the geologic time Hazard maps provide valuable information to help
scale, arranged from the shortest to the longest duration, communities and authorities make informed decisions
is as follows: Epoch, Period, Era and Eon. about land use planning, disaster preparedness, and
Eon: The division in the geologic time scale that emergency response. Areas "prone to hazards" are
represents approximately 88% of Earth's history is the those where hazards are more likely to occur.
Precambrian eon. The Precambrian eon is the longest Deforestation or the removal of trees and vegetation
eon, covering the vast majority of Earth's history. The from an area, is an example of an anthropogenic
division in the geologic time scale often referred to as (human-caused) factor that can lead to landslides. When
the "Age of the Reptiles" is the Mesozoic Era. The trees are cut down and vegetation is removed, the root
division in the geologic time scale during which the systems that hold the soil in place are lost.
continents converged to form the supercontinent
Pangaea is the Late Paleozoic. Building roads and highways is the human activity
most likely to speed up landslides in hilly areas. This
The Earth's molten core, particularly the outer liquid is because road construction often involves cutting into
core, plays a crucial role in the generation of this heat, hillsides, altering the natural terrain, and potentially
which then drives geological processes like plate destabilizing the soil.
tectonics and volcanic activity. The majority of the
Earth's internal heat is generated by the decay of The construction of railways and buildings can be a
radioactive isotopes such as uranium, thorium, and possible cause of landslides when slope excavation
potassium within the Earth's mantle and crust. This is involved. When earth is excavated or cut into during
process, known as radiogenic heat production, is the construction, it can disturb the natural balance of the
primary source of the planet's internal heat. slope and weaken its stability, making it more
susceptible to landslides.
Most of these life-forms are found as fossils, which are
the remains or traces of an organism from the geologic The use of explosives underground is commonly
past that has been preserved in sediment or rock. associated with mining. In mining operations,
explosives are often used to break and extract valuable
Scientists typically organize fossils they collect based on
minerals, ores, or other geological materials from
their chronological age. This involves arranging fossils in
underground deposits.
a sequence that reflects the order in which they lived or
the time period during which they existed. Pampanga is known for its flat and low-lying terrain,
which makes it vulnerable to flooding, especially during
The four major subsystems: land, water, living things,
the rainy season or in the event of typhoons and heavy
or air. These four subsystems are called "spheres."
rainfall.
Specifically, they are the "lithosphere" (land),
"hydrosphere" (water), "biosphere" (living things), Coastal erosion is primarily driven by wave action
and "atmosphere" (air). and tidal currents. The energy from waves and the
movement of water associated with tidal currents can
The biosphere contains all the planet's living things.
lead to the erosion of coastal landforms.
This sphere includes all of the microorganisms, plants,
and animals of Earth. Coastal erosion is primarily driven by wave and tidal
forces that physically wear down coastlines. Submersion
The hydrosphere includes water that is on the surface
occurs when sea levels rise, which can lead to the
of the planet, underground, and in the air.
inundation of low-lying coastal areas. Saltwater
Faults due to horizontal shearing forces are typically intrusion is a process that occurs when seawater
associated with transform boundaries. At transform infiltrates coastal aquifers, leading to the
plate boundaries, two tectonic plates slide past each contamination of freshwater sources.
other horizontally in opposite directions.

A landslide is indeed a mass movement of rock

fragments, soil, and debris that moves downhill under II. Rocks & Minerals
the influence of gravity. During the 1800's, miners needed to be able to tell real
The process during earthquake shaking where sand and gold from another mineral, pyrite. To tell them apart, the
silt grains in wet soil are rearranged, and the miners would bite the mineral they found. If they saw a
groundwater in the spaces between the grains is bite mark in the mineral, they knew it was real gold. The
squeezed is known as liquefaction. properties tested in this scenario is hardness.

Mineral identification often relies on physical

properties that can be easily observed and tested. The
Mohs hardness scale helps in determining a mineral's relative ages and relationships between different rock
resistance to scratching, and cleavage describes how a layers.
mineral break along specific planes. These properties
are fundamental in narrowing down the possibilities Relative dating is the process of determining if one rock
when identifying minerals, and they can be universally or geologic event is older or younger than another,
applied to a wide range of minerals. without knowing their specific ages.

The most relevant and useful feature for an app Radiometric dating is a technique used to determine
designed to help users identify rock-forming minerals the absolute ages of rocks and geological events by
based on their physical and chemical properties would measuring the decay of radioactive isotopes within the
be a virtual mineral "scratch test." This feature would rocks.
allow users to perform a scratch test on a virtual
representation of a mineral using common objects of
known hardness.

When rocks are subjected to compressional stress,

they typically respond by folding and being pushed
together. Compression is the most common stress at
convergent plate boundaries. Rocks that are pulled apart
are under tension.

Igneous rocks are classified based on their texture,

mineral composition, and the presence of features like
vesicles or crystals. These characteristics are key to
identifying and classifying igneous rocks.

Sandstone is most likely to undergo regional

metamorphism. Regional metamorphism is associated
with the deep burial and high pressure and temperature
conditions over a large region of the Earth's crust.

When a continental plate collides with an oceanic plate,

the denser oceanic plate tends to be subducted beneath
the less dense continental plate, leading to the
continental crust rising above the oceanic crust.

In the principle of cross-cutting relationships in relative

dating, if one geological feature (igneous rock A) cross-
cuts another feature (sedimentary rock B), the feature
that is being cross-cut (sedimentary rock B) is older, and
the feature that cross-cuts it (igneous rock A) is younger.

The youngest beds will be located at the top of the

sequence.

The most effective method for determining the absolute

age of an igneous rock is radiometric dating, which
involves comparing the amount of decayed and
undecayed radioactive isotopes in the rock. The primary
purpose of correlating rock layers is to establish the