Minerals, Rocks, Surface
20-31%of exam
Plate Tectonics
20-31%of exam
Boundary TypesEarth InteriorSeismic WavesEpicenter MathTectonic Map
Meteorology & Climate
11-20%of exam
Station ModelFrontsPressureDewpoint ChartHeat TransferAlbedo
Astronomy & Space
20-31%of exam
EccentricitySeasonsH-R DiagramSolar System DataStar LifecycleRedshift
Earth History
11-20%of exam
Relative DatingIndex FossilsHalf-LifeNY Geologic HistoryUnconformity
Quick Facts
- Exam
- ESS Regents
- Body
- NYSED
- Questions
- 45-55
- Clusters
- 9-11
- Time
- 3 hours
- Pass
- 65 scale
- Tables
- 2024 ESSRT
- MC / CR
- ~60% / 40%
Rock Cycle Paths
Melt -> Cool -> Weather -> Bury -> Heat
Melt+cool: igneousWeather+compact: sedimentaryHeat+pressure: metamorphicAny rock can change
Weathering vs Erosion
Weathering
- Breaks rock down
- Stays in place
- Physical/chemical
Erosion
- Moves sediment
- Water/wind/ice
- Transport
Break down vs carry away
Which ESRT Formula?
- Slope of field→Gradient(change/distance)
- Mass and volume→Density(mass/volume)
- Orbit shape→Eccentricity(d/L)
- Speed over time→Rate of change(change/time)
- Measured vs accepted→% deviation(error)
- Temp on map→Gradient(isotherm slope)
ESRT Equations Page
- Gradient
- change / distanceESRT
- Density
- mass / volumeESRT
- Eccentricity
- d / LESRT
- Rate of change
- change / time
- % deviation
- |diff| / accepted x100
- Units check
- match table units
Igneous / Sed / Metamorphic
Igneous
- Cooled melt
- Crystals/glass
- No fossils
Sed / Meta
- Sed: layers, fossils
- Meta: banded
- Heat+pressure change
Origin sets the type
Rock Type ID Flow
- Crystals from melt→Igneous
- Coarse crystals→Intrusive(slow cooling)
- Fine or glassy→Extrusive(fast cooling)
- Layered fragments→Sedimentary
- Fossils present→Sedimentary
- Banded/distorted→Metamorphic(foliated)
Mineral ID Properties
- Cleavage
- Flat repeating planes
- Fracture
- Irregular breakage
- Streak
- Powder color
- Hardness
- Scratch resistance
- Luster
- Metallic / nonmetallic
- Quartz
- Hardness 7
- Talc
- Softest, hardness 1
- Diamond
- Hardest, hardness 10
Igneous Rock Chart
- Granite
- Felsic, coarse, intrusive
- Rhyolite
- Felsic, fine, extrusive
- Gabbro
- Mafic, coarse, intrusive
- Basalt
- Mafic, fine, extrusive
- Felsic
- Light, low density
- Mafic
- Dark, high density
- Coarse
- Slow cooling, intrusive
- Glassy
- Fast cooling, obsidian
Rock Cycle & Sediment
- Igneous
- Cooled magma/lava
- Sedimentary
- Compacted, cemented sediment
- Metamorphic
- Heat + pressure change
- Clastic
- Sediment by size
- Foliated
- Banded, e.g. gneiss
- Larger particle
- Needs faster water
- Sorting
- Water vs glacier
P-wave vs S-wave
P-wave
- Primary, fastest
- Travels solid+liquid
- Compressional
S-wave
- Secondary, slower
- Solid only
- Shear
Bigger gap = farther
Epicenter & Earthquake
- P-wave
- Primary, fastest
- S-wave
- Secondary, slower
- P-S gap
- Bigger = farther
- Travel-time graph
- Read distance from gap
- 3 stations
- Locate epicenter
- Origin time
- Subtract P travel time
Plate Boundaries
- Divergent
- Plates separate, ridge
- Convergent
- Plates collide, mountains
- Transform
- Plates slide past
- Subduction
- Ocean dives under
- Hot spot
- Fixed mantle plume
- Mantle convection
- Drives plate motion
Earth's Interior
- Crust
- Thin outer rock
- Mantle
- Thick, flows slowly
- Outer core
- Liquid iron/nickel
- Inner core
- Solid iron/nickel
- Deeper
- Hotter, denser, higher pressure
- Moho
- Crust-mantle boundary
Front Symbols
Blue cold points, red warm bumps
Cold: blue trianglesWarm: red half-circlesPoints show directionStationary: both
Conduction/Convection/Radiation
Conduction
- Direct contact
- Solids best
- Touch transfer
Convection / Radiation
- Convection: fluid currents
- Radiation: waves
- Sun reaches via radiation
Contact vs current vs waves
Station Model & Weather
- Temperature
- Upper left, F
- Dewpoint
- Lower left, F
- Pressure
- Upper right, coded
- Cold front
- Blue triangles
- Warm front
- Red half-circles
- High pressure
- Clear, sinking air
- Low pressure
- Cloudy, rising air
- Wind
- Blows from barb
High vs Low Pressure
High (H)
- Sinking air
- Clear, dry
- Clockwise out
Low (L)
- Rising air
- Cloudy, stormy
- Counterclockwise in
Sink clear vs rise stormy
Moisture & Energy Charts
- Dewpoint chart
- Dry-bulb minus wet-bulb
- Relative humidity
- Same two readings
- Close temp/dewpoint
- High humidity, near saturation
- Conduction
- Direct contact transfer
- Convection
- Fluid current transfer
- Radiation
- No medium needed
- Albedo
- Reflectivity of surface
Planet Order
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Nachos
Mercury Venus EarthMars JupiterSaturn Uranus NeptuneCloser = faster orbit
Rotation vs Revolution
Rotation
- Spin on axis
- One day
- Day/night
Revolution
- Orbit the Sun
- One year
- Seasons cycle
Spin vs orbit
Which ESRT Page/Chart?
- Earthquake distance→P-S travel-time graph
- Name an igneous rock→Igneous rock chart
- Identify a mineral→Mineral ID chart
- Orbit/planet data→Solar System table
- Humidity/dewpoint→Dewpoint/RH charts
- Date NY rock layer→Geologic History of NY
- Star type→H-R diagram
- Wave wavelength→Electromagnetic spectrum
Solar System Data Table
- Mercury
- Eccentricity 0.206
- Earth
- Eccentricity 0.017
- Pluto
- Eccentricity 0.250
- Most circular
- Venus 0.007
- Higher eccentricity
- More elliptical orbit
- Farther planet
- Longer revolution
Star Spectral Classes
Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me
O hottest blueG is Sun-likeM coolest redH-R: temp vs luminosity
Cycles, Seasons, Stars
- Rotation
- Spin, day/night
- Revolution
- Orbit, one year
- Tilt 23.5
- Causes seasons
- Summer
- Hemisphere tilts toward Sun
- H-R diagram
- Luminosity vs temperature
- Main sequence
- Diagonal star band
- Redshift
- Universe expanding
Geologic History of NY
- Index fossil
- Wide, short-lived
- Eurypterid
- NY State fossil
- Half-life
- Half decays per period
- C-14
- Recent organic dating
- U-238
- Very old rock dating
- Original horizontality
- Layers start flat
- Unconformity
- Buried erosion surface
- Eras
- Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic
Common Traps
Weathering vs erosion
Weathering breaks rock ≠ Erosion moves it
Rotation vs revolution
Rotation makes day ≠ Revolution makes year
Cleavage vs fracture
Cleavage is flat ≠ Fracture is irregular
Eccentricity reading
Lower = circular ≠ Higher = elliptical
Intrusive vs extrusive
Coarse cools slow ≠ Fine cools fast
P-S wave gap
Small gap is near ≠ Large gap is far
High vs low pressure
High is clear ≠ Low is stormy
Last Minute
- 1.ESRT/ESSRT allowed; use it constantly
- 2.Gradient = change / distance
- 3.Density = mass / volume
- 4.Eccentricity = d / L (no units)
- 5.Bigger P-S gap = farther epicenter
- 6.Coarse = slow cooling; fine = fast
- 7.Weathering breaks; erosion carries away
- 8.Rotation = day; revolution = year
- 9.High = clear/sinking; low = stormy/rising
- 10.Index fossil = wide spread, short time
- 11.Pass = scale score 65, not 65%
- 12.45-55 questions, 9-11 clusters, 3 hours
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