EARTH SCIENCE REVIEWER
PLATE TECTONICS What is GEOLOGICAL STRESS?
• is a theory that the Earth’s outer crust (lithosphere) is
divided into several plates that are continuously
moving over the plastic-like and less rigid
asthenosphere (upper mantle)
• Plate Boundary - This is the region on the
lithosphere where tectonic plates are moving relative
to each other.
THREE TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
a. Divergent Boundary - Plates that move away
from each other are located here and are called
divergent plates.
b. Convergent Boundary - This is the plate
boundary where plates collapse, and volcanic
arcs are made.
 When tectonic plates converge, one plate
slides beneath the other plate, this action is
known as subduction, in which the area
where subduction is active is called
subduction zone.
 The islands of the Philippines are located on
a converging zone where the Eurasian plate
(west of the Philippines) is subducting
under the Philippines Sea Plate (east of the
Philippines). Because of the subduction
zone, many active faults exist under Luzon
Island that affect Manila.
c. Transform Boundary - This is the plate
boundary where the plates slide past each other,
forming strike-slip faults.
The Continental Drift Theory
 This theory was proposed by Alfred Wegener
who aimed to answer the questions of geologists
regarding the similarities of rock composition
and the jigsaw puzzle appearance of the
continents.
To support his claim, Wegener used the following as
his pieces of evidence:
a. The fit of continental shorelines.
b. Distribution of Glacial Sediments
c. Paleoclimate
d. Fossil distribution
e. Rock distributions
In geology, stress is the force per unit area that is placed
on a rock.
Three Types of Geological Stress
 Compression - stress which causes rock to
squeeze or push against other rock.
 Tension - stress which occurs when rock pulls
apart or gets longer.
 Shear Stress – stress which occurs when two
dominant forces are directed towards each other
but not along the same axis. It results to slippage
and translation of rocks.
o Strike-slip faults are formed via shear
stress.
Factors That Control How a Rock Responds to
Stress:
A. Nature of a Rock – initially all rocks react to
stress by deforming elastically by a slight
amount.
 Elasticity – is the ability of a deformed
material body to return to its original shape
and size when the forces causing the
deformation are removed.
o A slab of marble bends under load
and recovers when the load is
removed. Behavior like this shows
that rock is elastic.
B. Temperature – the higher the temperature, the
greater the tendency of a rock to deform in a
plastic manner.
C. Pressure - High non-directed (hydrostatic)
pressure favors plastic behavior. Thus, because
both temperature and pressure increase during
burial, and because both factors promote
plastic deformation, deeply buried rocks have a
greater tendency to bend and flow under stress
than do shallow rocks.
D. Time - Stress applied slowly, rather than
suddenly, also favors plastic behavior.
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
A geologic structure is any feature produced by
rock deformation. A rock has been deformed has been:
 translated (moved) from its original position
 changed in orientation
  changed in shape
There are three types of geologic structures; folds,
faults, and joints. When deformation is ductile, rocks
bend without breaking, forming folds. When
deformation is brittle, rocks break, forming joints or
faults.
A. Folds
A fold is a bend in rock. Some folded rocks display little
or no fracturing, indicating that the rocks deformed in a
plastic manner.
B. Faults
A fault is a fracture along which rock on one side moved
relative to rock on the other side. Slip is the distance that
rocks on opposite sides of fault have moved.
 A normal fault forms where tectonic
movement stretches Earth’s crust, pulling it
apart.
 Alternatively, compressive forces may
fracture the rock to produce a reverse fault.
C. Joints
A joint is a fracture in which rocks on either side of the
fracture have not moved. Tectonic forces also creates
joints.
THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
This is the stratigraphic history of the Earth.
Stratigraphy is defined as “the ordering and analysis of
the Earth’s layers (known as a bed or strata) based on
chronological dating techniques and relative positions
with each other” (Doney et al., 2019)
TERMS TO REMEMBER
• Eon - this is the largest time division, lasting billions
of years
• Era - this is a subdivision of an eon, scaling hundreds
of millions of years
• Period - this is a subdivision of an era, lasting tens of
The Phanerozoic Eon
millions of years
• Epoch - this is a subdivision of a period, lasting around
several million years.
The Precambrian Supereon
 the early universe was just a hot mess but as it
cools, those that still retain heat began to merge
and form large bodies that are still messy but
somehow found order within the chaos.
A. Paleozoic Era: When Life Booms Over
 this is the period scientists named it the
Precambrian supereon [from pre- + Cambria, a
Latinized word describing Welsh people].
 It is called a supereon because it contains three
different eons that highlight the significant
events in its early life (about ⅞ of the Earth’s
history).
1. Hadean Eon: The Burning Earth
Period: approx. 4.6–4.0 billion years ago
Etymology: Gk. Hades, the god of the
underworld, associated with hell and infernos
 This the earliest iteration of the Earth,
with its earliest materials becoming
almost nonexistent in the present time
(except for meteorites and the few
surviving Hadean zircons in Australia).
2. Archaean Eon: The First Rain
Period: approx. 4.0–2.5 billion years ago
Etymology: Gk. arkhein (“to be the first”)
 After the hot ordeal, the newly formed
crust from the Iron Catastrophe began to
cool down.
 The first rain fell on Earth, filling in the
early oceans with liquid water.
3. Proterozoic Eon: The First Freezer
Period: approx. 2.5 billion – 541 million years
ago
Etymology: Gk. proteros (“former, earlier”) +
zoion (“animal, life”), “former life” Also known
as the cryptozoic eon [Gk. kryptos + zoion,
“hidden animal”]
 it is the period where life began to
dominate the Earth’s surface. Around
this time, major events occurred, such as
the formation of tectonic plates, the
symbiosis of some prokaryotes for better
survival, and the first extinction.
 The First Ice Age (probably) occurred.
 Once the First Extinction passed, what was left
were eukaryotes, some oxygen-dependent
prokaryotes, and even fewer extremophiles.
 They all adjusted to the ever-changing
conditions of the Earth’s surface and competed
for dominance over the utility of the abundant
resources here. Thus, the Phanerozoic eon came
to existence, which is an eighth of the whole
history of the Earth.
 Period: approx. 542–251 million years ago
Etymology: Gk. palaios (“old, ancient”) + zoion,
“old life”
 Also known as the Age of Invertebrates, it is
the period where eukaryotes began to
dominate the scene.
 This era began when Rodonia broke up and
formed a new supercontinent, Pangaea
Periods and Highlights:
a. Cambrian Period [from the Latinized name
of Wales, Cambria]
▪ Marked the boom in evolution in all living
organisms (known as the Cambrian Explosion),
creating biodiversity
b. Ordovician Period [from the Latinized name
of a Welsh tribe, Ordovices]
▪ Evolved organisms began to speciate (i.e.,
develop to do specific tasks), also known as the
“major diversification of animal life.”
c. Silurian Period [from the Latinized name of a
Welsh tribe, Silures]
▪ The Earth healed after the previous Ice Age,
increasing the once low ocean levels, and
allowing some species to thrive in water.
d. Devonian Period [from the place Devonshire]
▪ It is known as the Age of the Fish due to the
enormous diversification and speciation of fish. ▪
The first amphibians evolved.
▪ Plants diversified on land.
e. Carboniferous Period [Lat. carbo (“coal”) +
ferre (“to carry”), “coal-bearing”]
▪ Rocks dated in this period are varied.
▪ Tropical swamps were developed.
▪ The first reptiles appeared.
f. Permian Period [from the Russian region of
Perm]
▪ The major marker of the Permian period is the
Ural Mountains (where Perm itself is located).
▪ A third extinction came, which is known as
The Great Dying.
B. Mesozoic Era: The Land Before Time
Period: approx. 251 to 66 million years ago
Etymology: Gk. mesos (“middle”) + zoion, “middle life”
 Also known as the Age of Reptiles or Age of
the Dinosaurs [Gk. deinos (“terrible”) +
sauros (“lizard”), “terrifying lizard”], it is
the period where the Earth began to recover
from its third extinction.
 With a varying climate, mighty beasts
roamed the lands and vied for dominance.
 Because of the boom of conifers, this is also
called the Age of Conifers.
Periods and Highlights:
a. Triassic Period [Gk. trias, “triad, three”]
▪ Marked the boom in reptilian evolution after
The Great Dying, where almost 95% of all
known species during the Permian Period
became extinct.
▪ The first mammals appeared.
b. Jurassic Period [Fr. Jurassique, “from Mt.
Jura”]
▪ The first true crocodiles evolved in this period,
pushing large amphibians to near extinction.
▪ The first birds appeared, with the
Archaeopteryx and the Aurornis as the well-
known species.
c. Cretaceous Period [Lat. cretaceus (from
creta, “chalk”), “chalk-like”]
▪ This is the longest period in the Mesozoic era.
▪ The fifth extinction of most non-avian
dinosaurs may have been caused by an asteroid
impact, where ¾ of the total species on Earth
were wiped out.
▪ Scientists associate traces of iridium in the
strata where fossils were discovered with
the asteroid impact or impacts thought to have
set off the extinctions.
C. Cenozoic Era: From “Cool Off” to “Toxic”
Period: approx. 66 million years ago up to present
Etymology: Gk. kainos (“new, novel”) + zoion,
“new life” Also known as the Age of Mammals [Lat.
mamma, “breast, bosom”]
 it is the period where mammals began to
dominate the Earth.
 It has the most complete geologic record of
any era because it is so recent.
Periods and Epochs:
a. Paleogene [Gk. palaios + genes, “ancient birth”]
a.1 Paleocene
a.2 Eocene
a.3 Oligocene
b. Neogene [Gk. neos + genes, “new birth”]
b.1 Miocene
b.2 Pliocene
c. Quaternary Period [Lat. quaternarius, “of four
each”]
c.1 Pleistocene
 c.2 Holocene
c.3 Anthropocene
DATING TECHNIQUES
I. Relative Dating – provides the relative order of
past events by determining the approximate age
of geological features.
 It uses the index fossil.
o Index fossils are fossils that are
widespread but only existed for a
short period of time.
o Index fossils help scientists to find
the relative age of a rock layer and
match it up with other rock layers.
II. Absolute Dating – provides the exact order of
past events by determining the absolute age of
geological features.
Relative Dating
Laws of Stratigraphy
a. Uniformitarianism - this principle states that all
geological processes known today also occurred
in the past, operating slowly throughout the
ages.
b. Original Horizontality - it states that materials
forming any stratum were continuous on the
Earth’s surface unless some other bodies stood
in the way.
 This is based on the observation that
sediment usually accumulates in
horizontal layers.
c. Superposition - in an undisturbed strata
sequence, the oldest layer is at the bottom while
the youngest sits at the top.
d. Cross-cutting Relationships - this states that
any rock material, fault, or structure that cuts
through established rock strata is the youngest.
Example: magma intrusion in a sedimentary
rock
e. Inclusions and Components - this principle
states that any inclusions in a stratum are older
compared to the whole stratum that holds them.
f. Faunal Succession - the kind of fossil found in
that stratum determines its relative age.
UNCONFORMITIES
a. Angular unconformity - It is an originally
deposited horizontal layer that has been folded
(or tilted), weathered, and eroded.
 an erosional surface or nondeposition where
the underlying older rocks had undergone
deformation before the resumption of
deposition.
b. Nonconformity - It is formed when igneous or
metamorphic rocks come in contact with
sedimentary beds, indicating a period of uplift
and erosion of previous metamorphic or igneous
rocks before younger sedimentary beds were
formed.
c. Disconformity - It is formed when sediment
layers are uplifted without folding but are
exposed to weathering and erosion, creating an
irregular surface.
Absolute Dating
Isotopes - are atoms of the same element (same
number of protons) but different number of
neutrons.
 When an element undergoes radioactive
decay, the initial element called the parent
isotope, releases energy to stabilize itself -
sometimes forming into another element.
 This new form called a daughter isotope,
can either decay further, or it can be stable
enough to stand on its own.
 Half-life - the time taken for the radioactivity of
a specified isotope to turn half of its original
value.
 Ice cores can also be used in absolute dating
technique that performed carbon-14 radiometric
dating on organic matter preserved in glacial
ice.