igneous rocks
how they form: crystallization of a cooling magma or lava
classification by texture (coarse, fine, porphyritic) and color (composition: mafic, intermediate, felsic)

volcanoes
lava viscosity & temperature/composition; viscosity vs. volcano slope
dissolved gases (CO2 & water vapor) & explosive eruptions
shield volcanoes, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes (composite cones)
pyroclastic material (bombs, ash, lapili)
aa & pahoehoe lava

sedimentary rocks
transport, deposition, compaction, weathering, transport, deposition, compaction, cementation = sed Rx
mechanical and chemical weathering: what they do, how they work, examples
weathering products (gravel, sand, silt & clay = mud, dissolved ions (silica, calcium, iron, etc.)
clastic (conglomerate, sandstone, shale), biogenic (limestone, coal), chemical (halite, gypsum)

metamorphic rocks
how they form: slow, solid-state recrystallization due to high pressure and/or temperature
what is foliation and how does it form?
non-foliated (quartzite, marble), foliated (slate, schist, gneiss)

structural geology (we didn't cover these topics on their own but discussed them with other topics)
stresses: tensile (stretching), compressive (squeezing), and shear (side-by-side)
deformation (response of rock to stress): elastic, brittle (fracture), and ductile (flow)
faults: brittle fractures along which movement has occurred

continental drift and plate tectonics
Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift (1908-1927)
.......Wegener's evidence: jigsaw puzzle fit, far-flung fossils, truncated geologic features, paleoclimate indicators)
paleomagnetic evidence for continental motions (1950s-1960s - present)
.......magnetism recorded in rocks can tell us the latitude (from magnetic inclination) and any rotation
.......that may have occurred since the rocks were formed
marine magnetic anomalies and seafloor spreading (1960s - present)
.......magnetization of the ocean crust in strips parallel to midocean ridges were evidence for seafloor spreading
divergent plate boundaries: e.g., midocean ridges - crust/lithosphere spreads apart, new crust forms...
convergent plate boundaries: ocean-ocean and ocean-continent subduction zones; continental collisions
.......subduction zones: deep ocean trench, Benioff Zone earthquakes, volcanic arc
transform plate boundaries: e.g., San Andreas Fault
Note: earthquakes occur at all plate boundaries!

Earth's interior
P&S waves and how they travel in the Earth
discovery of the Moho (crust-mantle boundary), characteristics of continental and oceanic crust
Gutenberg: mantle-core boundary, P&S wave shaddow zones, the inner core
low velocity zone, asthenosphere, lithosphere, tectonic plates

earthquakes
stress (elastic) builds up until stress exceeds strength of the fault rock, the cust suddenly shifts along the fault
epicenter & focus; seismic waves (P, S, Surface)
earthquake location via triangulation
determination of type of fault and sense of motion
Richter scale, Mercalli scale, numbers of large & small earthquakes
earthquake damage & geologic substrate
earthquake risk assessment, earthquake prediction

weathering
mechanical: frost wedging, stream abrasion, sand blasting, unloading-exfoliation, salt crystal growth, root wedging
chemical: acidification of water, carbonic acid, hydrolysis of silicate minerals, dissolution of limestone
weathering products:

soil
what it's made of: mineral weathering products + a little organic matter (plus air & water in spaces between particles)
the three soil forming processes
.......weathering of becrock, incorporation of organic matter, downward transport of fines & solubles
soil profile: O, A, B, and C horizons and their characteristics
agriculture and soil erosion

mass wasting
angle of repose: steepest slope that loose materials can lie on without sliding down (gravitational and frictional forces are in balance)
effect of moisture content in sediments and soils on the angle of repose (dry, moist, saturated)