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139 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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the study of physical things beyond the Earth's atmosphere
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astronomy
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the study of the Earth and the universe surronding it
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Earth Science
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the study of humans'relationship to their surrondings
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enviromental science
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the study of the solid Earth
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geology
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the study of the atmosphere
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meteorology
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the study of Earth's ocean
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oceanography
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the systematic study of creation using method based on observation and experimentation
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science
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the application of science
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technology
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the sample in an experiment in which the variables are kept at a base level
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control
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facts that are observed or measured
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data
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a prediction of what you think will happen
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hypothesis
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an educated guess based on observation
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inference
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something noticed through through the senses
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observation
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generalizations based on observations that describe the way an object behaves under specific conditions
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scientific law
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the series of steps that scientists follow when they investigate problems or try to answer questions
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scientific method
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explanations of the scientific laws
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theories
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changeable factors that could affect an experiment's outcome
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variables
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the average distance between the Earth and the sun
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astronomical unit
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a temperature scale in which 0 degrees represents the freezing point of water and 100 degrees is the boiling point of water
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Celsius scale
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the mass per unit of volume of a substance
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density
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the standard unit for mass in the metric system
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gram
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the distance that light travels in one year
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light-year
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the standard unit for the volume liquid in the metric system
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liter
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the standard unit for length in the metric system
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meter
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a universal system of measurements based on the number 10 and used by scientist around the world
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metric system
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a line on a map that joins points of equal elevation
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contour line
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an imaginary line around the Earth that divides the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere
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equator
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a repesentation, usually on a flat surface, of a portion of land, water, or sky
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map
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imaginary lines on the Earth's surface that pass through the North Pole and the South Pole
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MERIDIANS
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imaginary lines that run parallel to the equator
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parallels
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an imaginary line that divides the Earth into the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere
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prime meridian
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a system of lines drawn on a flat surface to represent curves
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projection
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the relative abundance of the different types of atoms in a substance
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chemical composition
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a solid whose particles are arranged in a regular, repeating, three-dimensional pattern
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cyrstalline solid
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a substance that is not made up of living things or the remains of living things
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inorganic substance
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a naturally occuring, inorganic solid that has a definate chemical composition and a characteristic crystalline structure
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mineral
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the study of minerals
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mineralogy
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minerals that do not contain a combination of silicon and oxygen
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nonsilcate minerals
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minerals that contain a combination of silicon and oxygen
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silicate minerals
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a mineral's tendency to spilt along sets of parallel, flat surfaces
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cleavage
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a mineral's tendency to break along irregular surfaces
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fracture
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a mineral's resistance to being scratched
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hardness
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the way that a mineral's surface reflects light
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luster
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the color of the powder left by a mineral when it is rubbed against a hard, rough surface
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streak
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the ability of a mineral to produce two images
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double refraction
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the ability of a mineral to glow and change color under ultraviolet light
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fluorescence
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a piece of magnetite that naturally acts as a magnet
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lodestone
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the ability of some fluorescent minerals to continue to glow after the ultraviolet light is no longer focused on them
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phosphorescence
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the ability of some elements to give off nuclear radiation as a result of a change in the atom's nucleus
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radioactivity
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the bending of a light wave due to a change in the wave's speed as it passes from one medium to another
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refraction
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a substance's ability to be drawn or pulled into wire
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ductility
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a substance's ability to be shaped or formed by hammering or pressure
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malleability
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metals that are not combined with other elements
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native metals
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a naturally occurring rock from which a useful metal or mineral is recovered
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ore
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igneous rocks formed when lava cools on the Earth's surface
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extrusive rocks
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light-colored, lightweight igneous rocks that are rich in silicon, aluminum, sodium, and potassium
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felsic rock
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rocks formed from cooled and hardened magma or lava
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igneous rock
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igneous rocks formed magma cools beneath the Earth's surface
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intrusive rocks
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magma that has reached the Earth's surface
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lava
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dark-colored, heavy igneous rocks that are rich in iron, magnesium, and calcium
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mafic rock
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melted rock beneath the earth's surface
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magma
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a hard substance composed of one or more minerals
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rock
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a type of rock, like conglomerate, composed of sharp-cornered fragments
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sedimentary rocks formed from sediments that have been compacted and cemented together
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particles of minerals, rock fragments, shells, leaves, bones, and other remains of once-living things
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sediements
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clastic rock composed of clay-sized particles in flat layers
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shale
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metamorphism that occurs when the heat of magma invades existing rocks
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contact metamorphism
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a rock structure with visible layers or bands aligned in planes
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foliated structure
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rocks formed when the structure and constitution of existing rocks change due to heat, pressure, and/or chemical reactions
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metamorphic rocks
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the process of change in the structure and constitution of a rock
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metamorphism
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a rock structure without visible layers or bands
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nonfoliated structure
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metamorphism that occurs when large pieces of the earth's crust rub against each other, causing heat and pressure to change existing rocks.
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regional metamorphism
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the process by which one rock type changes into another
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rock cycle
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the central portion of the earth
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core
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the solid center of the earth
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inner core
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the liquid layer of the earth's core that surrounds the inner core
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outer core
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the fastest seismic waves, which travel through solids, liquids, nad gases
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p waves (primary seismic waves)
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the second fastest seismic waves, which travel only through solids
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s waves
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the layer of the upper mantle composed of low-density rock material that is semi-plastic, like putty
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asthenosphere
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the outermost, rigid layer of the earth composed of the stiff upper layer of the mantle and the crust
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lithosphere
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the portion of the earth's interior that extends from the bottom of the crust to the outer core
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mantle
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the boundary between the mantle and the crust
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Moho (mohorovicic discontinuity)
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the crust on which the continents rest
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continental crust
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the thin, hard layer of the earth
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crust
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the crust beneath the ocean
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oceanic crust
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the mechanical weathering process in which water in the cracks of rocks freezes and expands, widening the crack
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ice wedging
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the breaking down of rocks by physical processes
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mechanical weathering
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the breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces by physical or chemical processes
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weathering
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the result of sulfer dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide reacting in the atmosphere iwth wter and returning to the earth as rain, fog, snow, sleet, or dew
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acid rain
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the process in which carbonic acid reacts chemically with other substances
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carbonation
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the breaking down of rocks by chemical processes
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chemical weathering
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the breaking down of a compound by a chemical reaction with water
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hydrolysis
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a chemical change in which a substance combines with oxygen.
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oxidation
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the surface features of a place or region
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topography
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the slow movement of soil down a steep slope (visible)
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earth flow
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the removal and transport of material by wind, water or ice
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erosion
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the rapid downhill movement of a large amount of rock and soil (dry)
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landslide
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the downhill movement of loose rocks and soil due to gravity (wet or dry)
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mass wasting
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the rapid downhill movement of a large mass of mud
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mudflow
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the loose layer of rock and soil
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regolith
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a large block of soil and rock that slides downhill along a curved slope, forcing the rock mass to tilt backward
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slump
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the extremely slow downhill slide of soil (not visible)
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soil creep
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the wearing down of rock surface by other rocks or sand particles
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abrasion
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soil depression scooped out by the wind
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deflation hollows
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mounds of sand deposited by the wind
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dunes
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mushroom-shaped rocks that form when sand particles eat away at the rocks' bases
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rock pedestals
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the path that a stream follows
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channel
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a fan-shaped deposit of sediments at the mouth of the river
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delta
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the ridges and other elevated regions that separate watersheds
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divides
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a wide, shallow bay where the mouth of a river valley becomes submerged by ocean water
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estuary
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a flat area along a river formed by sediments deposited when the river overflows
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floodplain
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a narrow ditch cut in the earth by runoff
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gully
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water- usually from precipitation - that flows over the land
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runoff
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an area of land that drains into a particular river system
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watershed
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long tear-shaped mounds of till
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drumlins
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large boulders transported by glaciers
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eratics
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sediments deposited by glaciers
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glacial drift
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a large mass of moving ice
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glacier
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a large ridge or ound of till
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moraine
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unsorted rocks and sediments left behind when a glacier melts
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till
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the layer of solid rock beneath the soil
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bedrock
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the nutrient-rich, organic material in soil
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humus
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materials that are alive or were once alive
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organic materials
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the amount of space between soil particles
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pore space
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the topsoil
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A Horizon
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the layer of soil beneath the A Horizon; the subsoil
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B Horizon
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the bottom layer of soil composed of partially weathered pieces of bedrock
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C Horizon
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a layer in a soil profile
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horizon
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the thin surface layer of soil composed of loose organic debris
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O Horizon
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a cross-section of the laeyrs of soil and bedrock in a particular region
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soil profile
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soil that is rich in minerals that have drained from the topsoil
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subsoil (b horizon)
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rich soil formed from mineral fragments, air, water and organic materials
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topsoil (a horizon)
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a break in the earth's crust along which rocks move
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fault
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the order of rock layers
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geologic column
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a large mass of igneous rock pushed into layers of existing rock
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intrusion
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a law that states that each layer of sedimentary rock is older than the layer above it and younger than the laeyr beneath it
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law of superposition
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a break in the geologic record where rock layers are missing
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unconformity
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a theory that states that the earth is only a few thousand years old, but God created it to appear old
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appearance of age theory
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determining the age of things of organic origin by measuring the radioactivity of their carbon-14 content
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carbon-14 dating
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light and dark layers of sediments deposited in a yearly cycle
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varves
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