GEOL 2081 Chapter : Self-Assessment Questions
Document Summary
Technological development & economic productivity are dependent on minerals. To maintain current standards of living, a steady supply of minerals is necessary (average of 40,000 lbs per american citizen annually). Petrology: the study of rocks, their composition, and the processes that form them. Experimental petrology: synthesizing, melting, and/or growing rocks and minerals in the laboratory to understand the physical and chemical conditions under which minerals form and are stable. Geochemistry: deals with relative abundance, distribution, and migration of chemical elements (and their isotopes) in earth and planetary materials. Meteoritics: study of the chemistry and mineralogy of meteorite samples. Planetary studies: the study of rocks and other materials from other planets and moons (e. g. lunar rocks and regolith) as well as interplanetary dust particles (from comets, asteroids, and protoplanets) hx. and origin of solar system. Organic tissue replaced by minerals (e. g. petrified wood, silicified dinosaur bones, opalized clam shells, and emerald-filled snails).
