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6th grade science
earth science
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| minerals | naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and a crystal structure |
| luster | the way light is reflected off the surface of a mineral |
| streak | the color of the mineral in powder form |
| geology | The study of the surface of Earth |
| silicate mineral | a mineral made of the elements silicon and oxygen |
| nonsilicate mineral | a mineral that does not contain the elements silicon or oxygen |
| Cleavage | property of a mineral that breaks in smooth straight lines |
| Fracture | Property of a mineral that breaks along uneven surfaces |
| Hardness | The resistance of a mineral to being scratched |
| Igneous Rock | rock that forms from the cooling of magma or lava |
| Extrusive | igneous rock that forms quickly on Earth's surface |
| Intrusive | igneous rock that forms slowly under Earth's crust |
| Magma | molten rock found under the crust |
| Lava | molten rock found above Earth's surface |
| Sedimentary Rock | rock that forms from the layering and compacting of sediment |
| Weathering | the breaking apart of rock |
| Erosion | the movement of rock by wind, water, ice, or gravity |
| deposition | when sediment falls out of motion |
| compaction | sediments are piled together into layers |
| cementation | layers of sediment are glued and cemented together |
| Metamorphic Rock | Rock that forms from changes caused by heat and pressure |
| foliated | Metamorphic rock that has visible lines or bands |
| non foliated | Metamorphic rock that does not have visible lines or bands |
| organic sedimentary | sedimentary rock made from once living material, such as coal. |
| clastic sedimentary | sedimentary rock formed from the compaction of sediment of all sizes |
| chemical sedimentary | sedimentary rock that forms from the evaporation of salt water |
| Fossil | evidence of past life |
| Extinct | the death of every member of a species |
| Index Fossil | fossil of an organism that only lived a short time. used to find relative age |
| Cast | An exact copy of the original organism |
| Mold | a hollow imprint in rock |
| relative dating | the age of rock compared to other rocks |
| absolute dating | the exact age of rock |
| paleontology | the study of fossils |
| Geologic Time Scale | the record of all life, and geological events in Earth's history |
| Uniformitarianism | "the present is the key to the past" what happens now, happened a long time ago in the same way |
| Catastrophism | Earth changed because of sudden chaotic events |
| unconformity | a missing or incomplete rock layer |
| Law of Superposition | younger rocks are at the top, older rocks at the bottom |
| Geologic Column | complete set of rock layers that geologists use to study the past |
| Original Horizontality | sedimentary rock forms in horizontal layers |
| Petrification | minerals replace all or part of an organism |
| Radioactive Isotopes | unstable atoms scientists study to find absolute age |
| Natural Resources | Any material from Earth used by humans |
| Renewable Resource | a natural resource that can be replaced as quickly as it is used |
| Non-Renewable Resource | a resource that forms at a much slower rate than it is used. |
| Fossil Fuels | nonrenewable energy made from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. |
| Biomass energy | organic material that is used as a source of energy |
| Hydroelectric Energy | electrical energy produced by falling water |
| Solar Energy | energy received by the Earth from the sun |
| Geothermal Energy | energy produced from the heat within the earth |
| Nuclear Energy | energy released by a fission or fusion reaction of atoms |
| Wind Energy | the use of a windmill to drive an electric generator |
| Conservation | to save or use less resources |
| crust | thin and solid outermost layer of the earth |
| mantle | layer of molten rock between the crust and the core |
| core | center part of the earth below the mantle |
| asthenosphere | the soft layer of the mantle on which tectonic plates move |
| lithosphere | the solid outer layer of the earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle |
| oceanic crust | the thin dense basalt crust found under the oceans |
| continental crust | the thick less dense granite crust that makes up the continents |
| continental drift | hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass , broke up, and since drifted apart |
| plate tectonics | theory that explains how large pieces of Earth's outermost layer, called tectonic plates, move and change shape |
| sea floor spreading | the process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises toward the surface and solidifies |
| mid-ocean ridge | the long under sea mountain chain that forms along the floor of the major oceans at divergent boundaries |
| subduction | the process by which more dense crust is pulled underneath the less dense crust and into the mantle |
| convergent boundary | the boundary formed by the collision of two lithospheric plates |
| divergent boundary | the boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other |
| transform boundary | the boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other |
| ocean trench | a steep long depression in the deep sea floor that runs parallel to a chain of volcanic islands |
| convection current | the movement of matter due to difference in temperature and density |
| folded mountains | mountain building by the bending of rock layers due to stress |
| weathering | The breaking down of rock |
| mechanical weathering | The breaking of rock by physical means |
| Chemical Weathering | The breaking of rock by chemical means |
| Abrasion | Rocks hitting and breaking other rocks |
| Ice Wedging | cycle of freezing and thawing water that breaks rock |
| Acid Precipitation | rain and snow that contains higher than normal levels of acid |
| Soil | mixture of weathered rocks, water, air, and organic material |
| Topsoil | Found in Horizon A of the soil horizons. Most nutritious soil layer |
| Subsoil | Found in Horizon B of the soil horizons. contains humus. |
| Parent material | Found in horizon C of the soil horizons. Contains weathered rock |
| Humus | the organic material that gives soil its fertility |
| Bedrock | the layer of solid rock at the bottom of the soil horizons |
| Loam | a mixture of sand, silt, and clay. Best soil type for plant growth |
| Sand | The largest soil particle |
| Silt | The mid-sized soil particle |
| Clay | The smallest soil particle |
| glacier | a huge sheet of ice that moves slowly over land. |
| permeability | a rock or soil's ability to allow water and air to move through it |
| salt water | water that contains salt. Found in the Oceans. |
| fresh water | Water that contains no salt. |
| water cycle | the process that moves water from Earth's surface, to the atmosphere and back again |
| groundwater | water that soaks into the soil |
| water vapor | the gaseous form of water |
| evaporation | process of changing a liquid into a gas |
| transpiration | evaporation through a plant |
| condensation | process of changing a gas back into a liquid |
| precipitation | liquid water that falls back down to the surface |
| runoff | Precipitation that falls over land |
| hydrology | the study of water |
| irrigation | using artificial methods of watering crops |
| salinity | amount of salt in water |
| sodium chloride | table salt- most abundant salt in the ocean |
| continental shelf | Part of the ocean floor that begins at the shore, and slopes toward the ocean |
| continental slope | Part of the ocean floor that begins at the edge of the shelf, and extends to the flatter part of the deep ocean floor |
| seamount | underwater mountain |
| volcanic island | a seamount that has grown taller than the water level |
| Mid Ocean Ridge | underwater mountain range that forms on either side of a divergent boundary |
| Abyssal Plain | the huge, dark, flat region of the ocean floor |
| Trench | V-shaped valley at the bottom of the ocean floor |
| Crest | The top of a wave |
| Trough | the bottom of a wave |
| wavelength | the distance between two wave crests |
| upwelling | movement of deep, cold and nutrient rich water to the surface |
| surface current | horizontal movement of ocean water caused by wind |
| deep current | a streamlike movement of ocean water far below the surface |
| Coriolis Effect | the curving path of winds and ocean currents due to the rotation of Earth |
| tides | a rise or fall of ocean water |
| spring tide | tide of increased range that occurs at a new moon and full moon |
| neap tide | a tide of minimal range that occurs at a first and third quarter moon |
| atmosphere | a mixture of gases that surrounds a planet or moon |
| air pressure | the measure of the force with which air molecules push on a surface |
| Troposphere | the lowest layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases; the part of the atmosphere where weather conditions exist |
| Stratosphere | the layer of the atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere and in which temperature increases as altitude increases; contains the ozone layer |
| Mesosphere | the coldest layer of the atmosphere, between the stratosphere and the thermosphere, in which temperature decreases as altitude increases |
| Thermosphere | the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases; includes the ionosphere |
| Convection | the movement of matter due to differences in density that are caused by temperature variations; can result in the transfer of energy as heat |
| Greenhouse Effect | the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases in the air absorb and reradiate infrared radiation |
| Global Warming | a gradual increase in the average global temperature that is due to a higher concentration of gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere |
| Wind | the movement of air caused by differences in air pressure |
| Polar Easterlies | prevailing winds that blow from east to west between 60° and 90° latitude in both hemispheres |
| Prevailing Westerlies | prevailing winds that blow from west to east between 30° and 60° latitude in both hemispheres |
| Trade Winds | prevailing winds that blow from east to west from 30° latitude to the equator in both hemispheres |
| Jet Stream | a narrow band of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere |
| Weather | the short-term state of the atmosphere, including temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, and visibility |
| Relative Humidity | the ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air to the amount of water vapor needed to reach saturation at a given temperature |
| Cloud | a collection of small water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air, which forms when the air is cooled and condensation occurs |
| Cumulus | a low-level, billowy cloud that commonly has a top that resembles cotton balls and a dark bottom |
| Cumulonimbus | Thunderstorm Cloud |
| cirrus | a feathery cloud that is composed of ice crystals and that has the highest altitude of any cloud in the sky |
| stratus | a gray cloud that has a flat, uniform base and that commonly forms at very low altitudes |
| Global wind | Prevailing winds that blow across the entire globe |
| local wind | Wind that blows short distances between different geographical features |
| sea breeze | Local wind that blows from water toward land |
| land breeze | local wind that blows from land to the sea |
| air mass | a large body of air throughout which temperature and moisture content are similar |
| front | the boundary between air masses of different densities and usually different temperatures |
| cyclone | an area in the atmosphere that has lower pressure than the surrounding areas and has winds that spiral toward the center |
| anticyclone | the rotation of air around a high-pressure center in the direction opposite to Earth's rotation |
| thunderstorm | a usually brief, heavy storm that consists of rain, strong winds, lightning, and thunder |
| lightning | an electric discharge that takes place between two oppositely charged surfaces, such as between a cloud and the ground, between two clouds, or between two parts of the same cloud |
| thunder | the sound caused by the rapid expansion of air along an electrical strike |
| tornado | a destructive, rotating column of air that has very high wind speeds and that may be visible as a funnel-shaped cloud |
| hurricane | a severe storm that develops over tropical oceans and whose strong winds of more than 120 km/h spiral in toward the intensely low-pressure storm center |
| thermometer | an instrument that measures and indicates temperature |
| anemometer | an instrument used to measure wind speed |
| barometer | an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure |
| cold front | the front edge of a moving mass of cold air that pushes beneath a warmer air mass like a wedge |
| warm front | the front edge of an advancing warm air mass that replaces colder air with warmer air |
| stationary front | a front of air masses that moves either very slowly or not at all |
| occluded front | a front that forms when a cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass and lifts the warm air mass off the ground and over another air mass |
| Astronomy | the scientific study of the universe |
| Ptolemy | Greek philosopher who came up with the geocentric theory |
| Copernicus | Polish Astronomer who came up with the heliocentric theory |
| Geocentric | Theory of the solar system that has the Earth in the center |
| Heliocentric | Theory of the solar system that has the Sun in the center |
| Tycho Brahe | Astronomer who studied the solar system for 20 years. Made many important observations. |
| Johannes Kepler | Astronomer who discovered the planetary laws of motion. Planets move in elliptical orbits |
| Galileo | Copernicus's prodigy- made first observations with a telescope to support the heliocentric theory |
| Issac Newton | Discovered the laws of gravity and inertia |
| Edwin Hubble | discovered that there are other galaxies beyond our own. |
| Light year | the distance that light travels in one year; about 9.46 trillion kilometers |
| Galaxy | a collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity |
| Nebula | a large cloud of gas and dust in interstellar space; a region in space where stars are born |
| Cosmology | the study of the origin, properties, processes, and evolution of the universe |
| Big Bang Theory | the theory that all matter and energy in the universe was compressed into an extremely small volume that 13 billion to 15 billion years ago exploded and began expanding in all directions |
| Year | the time required for the Earth to orbit once around the sun |
| Month | a division of the year that is based on the orbit of the moon around the Earth |
| day | the time required for Earth to rotate once on its axis |
| rotation | the spin of a body on its axis |
| revolution | the motion of a body that travels around another body in space; one complete trip along an orbit |
| orbit | the path that a body follows as it travels around another body in space |
| telescope | an instrument that collects electromagnetic radiation from the sky and concentrates it for better observation |
| terrestrial planet | one of the highly dense planets nearest to the sun; Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Earth |
| Gas Gaint | a planet that has a deep, massive atmosphere, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune |
| satellite | a natural or artificial body that revolves around a planet |
| moon phases | in astronomy, the change in the illuminated area of one celestial body as seen from another celestial body; phases of the moon are caused by the changing positions of the Earth, the sun, and the moon |
| solar eclipse | the passing of the moon between Earth and the sun; during a solar eclipse, the shadow of the moon falls on Earth |
| lunar eclipse | the passing of the moon through the Earth's shadow at full moon |
| comet | a small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust that follows an elliptical orbit around the sun and that gives off gas and dust in the form of a tail as it passes close to the sun |
| asteroid | a small, rocky object that orbits the sun; most asteroids are located in a band between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter |
| Asteroid belt | the region of the solar system that is between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and in which most asteroids orbit |
| Meteoroid | a relatively small, rocky body that travels through space |
| Meteorite | a meteoroid that reaches the Earth's surface without burning up completely |
| Meteor | a bright streak of light that results when a meteoroid burns up in Earth's atmosphere |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the agency of the U.S. federal government that was established in 1958 to conduct all nonmilitary space activities |
| space shuttle | a reusable space vehicle that takes off like a rocket and lands like an airplane |
| space station | a long-term orbiting platform from which other vehicles can be launched or scientific research can be carried out |
| Earthquakes | a movement or trembling of the ground that is caused by a sudden release of energy when rocks along a fault move |
| Seismic Waves | a vibration in rock that travels out from the focus of an earthquake in all directions; seismic waves can also be caused by explosions |
| Volcanoes | a vent or fissure in the Earth's surface through which magma and gases are expelled |
| Epicenter | the point on Earth’s surface directly above an earthquake’s starting point, or focus |
| vent | an opening at the surface of the Earth through which volcanic material passes |
| Magnitude | a measure of the strength of an earthquake |
| inorganic | not made of once living materials |
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