GEOLOGY LECTURE # 1

Geology:

“It is the study of solid earth & the process by which it is shaped and being changed.”

Terrestrial planet:

A terrestrial planet or rocky planet is a planet that is primarily composed of silicate rocks and or metals. Within the solar system, the terrestrial planets are the inner planets closest to the Sun.

The terrestrial planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

Gas giants:

A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. These are composed of different types of gases.There are four gas giants in our Solar System: Jupiter ,Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Dwarf planets:

Planets usually of small size are called dwarf planets .I-e Pluto, Haumea, Make make and Eris.

Some important data about planets:

Properties	Mercury	Venus	Earth	Mars	Jupiter	Saturn	Uranus	Neptune
Equatorial diameter	0.382	0.949	1	0.532	11.209	9.44	4.007	3.883
mass	0.055	0.815	1	0.107	318	95	15	17
Orbital radius	0.39	0.72	1	1.52	5.20	9.54	19.18	30.06
orbital period (Earth years)	0.24	0.62	1	1.88	11.86	29.46	84.01	164.8
Moons	0	0	1	2	63	62	27	13

Dwarf Planets

Properties	Ceres	Pluto	Haumea	Makemake	Eris
Equatorial diameter	0.076	0.180	0.110 (average)	0.102-0.149	0.188-0.235
mass	0.00016	0.002	0.00070	0.00067	0.0028
Orbital radius	2.76596	39.44	43.335	45.791	67.6681
orbital period (Earth years)	4.599	247.7	285.4	309.88	557
number of moons	0	3	2	0	1

Light year (ly):

It is the unit of length equal to 10^6 meters. As defined by International Astronomical Union (IAU) that light year is the distance travel by light in vaccum in one year.1ly=9.46x10^15 meters.

Orbital period:

The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object. In solar system every planet is revolving around the sun. The orbital period of earth is 1day.

Permeable ground:

Ground which allow the water to pass through it is called permeable ground.

Impermeable ground:

Ground which do not allow the water to pass through it is called impermeable ground.

Minerals:

A mineral is a naturally occurring element or solid chemical substance having a definite composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties.