Physical Geology Exam 1 (ch. 1-4) -
Mosely Blinn College Q&A 100% Solved
Historical Geology - ✔✔studies the origin of the Earth and it's development
through time
-4.5 billon years old
-fossils
-life on Earth
Physical Geology - ✔✔examines materials the Earth is composed of and it's
processes
-rocks, minerals, soils, and processes
ex: volcanic eruption, earthquakes, rock formation, stream flow, flooding, and
weathering
Catastrophism - ✔✔-George Cuvier (French)
-features on Earth's surface were created by great catastrophe
ex: mountain ranges, canyons, volcanoes
Uniformitarianism - ✔✔-James Hutton's idea
-the natural laws of today are the same of the past
-Charles Lyell wrote this theory better and was more well known for it
1|Page
©JOSHCLAY 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
, Modern Geology - ✔✔-unifomitarianism is the fundamental pillar of geology
-catostrophic events do happen, but are rare
Scientific Method - ✔✔means of understanding natural processes
1. observation
2. hypotheses
3. test it
4. theory
Hydrosphere - ✔✔dynamic mass of water that is continually on the move
evaporating from the oceans to the atmosphere, precipitating to the land, and
running back to the ocean again
Atmosphere - ✔✔life-giving gaseous envelope
Biosphere - ✔✔includes all life on Earth
Geosphere - ✔✔lying beneath the atmosphere and the oceans is the solid Earth
Earth's Layers - ✔✔-crust
-upper mantle
-lower mantle
-outer core
-inner core
2|Page
©JOSHCLAY 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
Mosely Blinn College Q&A 100% Solved
Historical Geology - ✔✔studies the origin of the Earth and it's development
through time
-4.5 billon years old
-fossils
-life on Earth
Physical Geology - ✔✔examines materials the Earth is composed of and it's
processes
-rocks, minerals, soils, and processes
ex: volcanic eruption, earthquakes, rock formation, stream flow, flooding, and
weathering
Catastrophism - ✔✔-George Cuvier (French)
-features on Earth's surface were created by great catastrophe
ex: mountain ranges, canyons, volcanoes
Uniformitarianism - ✔✔-James Hutton's idea
-the natural laws of today are the same of the past
-Charles Lyell wrote this theory better and was more well known for it
1|Page
©JOSHCLAY 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
, Modern Geology - ✔✔-unifomitarianism is the fundamental pillar of geology
-catostrophic events do happen, but are rare
Scientific Method - ✔✔means of understanding natural processes
1. observation
2. hypotheses
3. test it
4. theory
Hydrosphere - ✔✔dynamic mass of water that is continually on the move
evaporating from the oceans to the atmosphere, precipitating to the land, and
running back to the ocean again
Atmosphere - ✔✔life-giving gaseous envelope
Biosphere - ✔✔includes all life on Earth
Geosphere - ✔✔lying beneath the atmosphere and the oceans is the solid Earth
Earth's Layers - ✔✔-crust
-upper mantle
-lower mantle
-outer core
-inner core
2|Page
©JOSHCLAY 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025.
