Question | Answer |
ONE YEAR | 1 revolution of the earth around the Sun is 365 days |
ONE DAY | 1 rotation of the Earth ON ITS AXIS(23 hours 56 minutes rounded to 24 hours) |
Equinox | During the spring and fall around March 21 and September 21(Sun is directly at the equator)there is an equal amount of daylight and darkness |
Solstice | During June 21 and December 21, are the longest days of the year |
Objects in the sky at night | Earth is rotating on its axis and revolving around the Sun |
Solar Eclipse | the moon is between the Sun and Earth |
Lunar Eclipse | the Earth is between the Sun and moon |
Eclipses | Shadows from the Earth and moon |
Inner Planets | Solid planets such as Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars that are more dense than the outer planets |
Outer Planets | The gas planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune |
Moon to revolve around the Earth | approximately 28 days and during this time the moon will go through all the phrases |
Big Bang Theory | how the universe was created states that the universe began as a point of energy and matter that exploded which allowed everything in the universe to form |
Seasons | Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall occur because of the tilt of the Earth's axis |
Day and Night | Earth rotates on its axis and 1 rotation is about 24 hours |
Objects float in space | Earth's gravity affects objects less and less the farther the object is from Earth. Gravity holds all objects in the Solar System in place |
Moon | Appears to change shape because it revolves around Earth. The Moon's actual shadow causes phrases of the Moon. The moon can be waxing(gain light) or waning(loose light)during the month |
Affect appearance of a shadow | the position of the light source and the position of the object itself |
Asteroid Belt | located between Mars and Jupiter. It separates the inner planets and the outer planets |
Three types of galaxies | irregular(no definite shape), elliptical(oval shaped), and spiral(Frisbee shaped) |
Milky Way | spiral shaped and our Solar System is located near the outside edge of the Milky Way, far from the center. |
Comet | chunk of rock and ice that orbits the sun like a planet. Comets come from Kuiper Belt and or Oort Cloud |
meteor | friction of the Earth's Atmosphere making the meteoroid burn up. Sometimes meteoroids strike the Earth's surface. Then they are known as a meteorite. |
Spring Tides | When the Earth, Moon, and the Sun are in a straight line in orbit, high tides can occur |
Neap Tides | When the Sun, Moon, and Earth form a 90 degree angle, the tides will be lower than normal |
Apollo Space Program | the one that reached the moon |
planet's or star's gravity | The closer an object moves a planet or star, the greater the effect that planet's or star's gravity will have on that object |
magnitude of a star | Star's brightness |
Apparent Magnitude | how the star appears on Earth |
Absolute Magnitude | how bright the star actually is |
Sun | medium sized star |
Light Year | distance light can travel in one year |
Novas and Supernovas | exploding stars in space |
Quasars | star-like objects, they are brighter than stars and considered to be the most luminous(giving off its own light) objects in the Universe |
Pulsars | stars that pulsate, when this happens the star appears to be dimming and becoming brighter as it pulsates |
Electromagnet Spectrum | the arrangement of electromagnetic waves |
Reflecting Telescopes | uses lenses and mirrors to view distant objects |
Refracting Telescopes | uses lenses to view distant objects |
Radio telescopes, X-ray telescopes, Infrared telescopes, and Gamma ray Telescopes | use invisible waves from the electromagnetic spectrum to make images on computer screens of distant object |
Satellite | any natural or manmade object that revolves or orbits around another object |
Asteroids | large meteoroid in space and most of them are located in the Asteroid Belt |
Vacuum | The Moon has no atmosphere and weathering and erosion cannot take place on the Moon |
Rings | All the outer planets have rings. Saturn has the most rings and Jupiter has the most moons |
Earth | The only planet in the Solar System that can support life. It has sufficient water and oxygen and a climate that can support life |
Constellations | patterns of stars in the sky, can provide a map to locate objects in space |
Astronomical Unit | Used to refer distances in space, one AU is about 93,000,000 miles, or the distance between Sun and the Earth |
orbit around the sun | the closer the planet is to the Sun, the shorter the year it will have because its orbit around the Sun is shorter |
Gravitational Pull | The larger an object in space the more gravitational pull it will have. The Moon has a gravitational pull about 1/6 that of the Earth. If you weighed 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh about 18 pounds on the moon. |
Life in the Universe | There is no other life in the Universe besides the life on Earth. |
Black Hole | a collapsed star whose gravity has grown so great that even light cannot escape its atmosphere |
Space Probe | launched into space to travel to distant areas in space while sending back information by electromagnetic waves |
Space Shuttle | takes of like a rocket but flies and lands like an airplane |
Space Station | allow astronauts to stay and orbit Earth for a couple of months |
Geocentric Theory | Earth was at the center of the Solar System |
Heliocentric Theory | the Sun was the center of the Solar System |
Our Solar System | located towards the outskirts of our Galaxy, "The Milky Way," Our Solar System, The Milky Way, and all of the other matter make up the Universe. |
Globular Cluster and Open Cluster | Stars can be grouped together in formations |
Photosphere | our Sun is the part we can see from Earth. |
light from the Sun | It takes about 8 minutes for the light from the Sun to reach the Earth(186,000 miles per second) |
Objects we see at Night | show us the past because we are viewing the light that left the objects or reflected off the objects. It may take a million years for this light to reach Earth. |
Nuclear Fusion | Stars make their energy. This process creates much more energy |
What do scientists say | the Universe is still expanding today |
Luminous | gives off its own light |
Illuminated | it reflects the light from other objects |
valley | more deeply eroded than two other valleys in the near vicinity |
metamorphic rock | heat and pressure inside the Earth |
mineral mica | breaks with cleavage because the atoms have a regular arrangement which allows this to happen |
Hot Spot | The Hawaiian Chain was created by magma rising through the crust of the Earth in the same area for a very long time |
Coal | formed from dead plants that lived millions of years ago. Types: Anthracite, Bituminous, and Lignite |
Nonrenewable Resources | once it is used, it can no longer be created |
Renewable Resources | resources that can be used over and over again and will not run out |
Erosion | can cause mountains to be worn away over millions of years |
Regional Climate | The greatest influence that would cause the most weathering and erosion on the Earth's surface |
Faulting | breaking and cracking of the Earth's crust on the Earth's surface as well as below the surface |
Mountains | high elevations and steep slopes |
Plains | low elevations and gentle slopes |
Plateaus | medium elevations with steep to gentle slopes |
Halite | breaks with cleavage and at 90 degree right angles to each other. when it breaks, the shape looks like cubes |
Limestone | made from the element Calcium that forms into the mineral Calcite which forms into Limestone |
Chemical Weathering | a rock that can be worn down by chemicals in the environment |
Mechanical Weathering | a rock that would be caused by physical processes like moving water, wind, and glaciers |
Glacier | ice U-Shaped valleys that can be created in mountain areas when these glaciers move along. Can be found on mountains or ice covering large areas of land. |
Fjords and Sea Inlets | carved by glaciers |
Crevasses | cracks in a glacier |
Till and Moraine | debris that are pick up and carried by the glacier |
Moh's Mineral scale | hardness of minerals from 1-10 |
Crystal Structure | difference of the minerals hardness |
Compaction | sediment being pushed together |
Igneous Rock | magma is cooled down |
Rock Cycle | process of rock changing from one form to another |
Three types of volcanoes | Shield, Cinder Cone, and Composite |
Shield | gently sloping side-layers of lava build up creating it |
Cinder Cone | steep sided-made of tephra, loosely packed material like ash and dust |
Composite | looks like a regular mountain with layers of tephra and lava building it up |
Three types of earthquakes | Primary Waves, Secondary Waves, and Surface Waves |
Richter scale | measures the strength of an earthquake |
Seismograph | the instrument that picks up seismic(earthquake)waves |
Seismologist | a scientist that studies earthquakes |
Minerals and Rocks characteristics | hardness, color, streak, fracture, cleavage, and luster |
Specific Gravity | characteristic of a mineral-it is the ration of the weight of the mineral compared with an equal volume of water |
Asthenosphere | plastic like |
Lithosphere | more solid and rock like |
Silicon | the most abundant element in the Earth's crust |
Silicon Dioxide | known as sand, the most abundant compound in the Earth's crust |
Aluminum | the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust |
Ore | a rock that contains a metal that can be extracted and use to help humanity |
Foliated Rocks | rocks that form in layers |
Nonfoliated Rocks | rocks that don't form in layers |
Continental Drift | scientific process used by scientists to explain how one large landmass millions of years ago became the 7 continents we have today |
Cementation | when particles of gets glued or cemented together. this can happen in sedimentary rocks |
Deposition | depositing sediments in an area and layers can build up over time |
Fossil Fuels | coal, oil known as petroleum, and natural gas are nonrenewable |
Topographic Map | a map that shows changes in elevation |
Three Horizons in the soil profile | Horizons A, B, and C |
Stalactites | cone feature hanging from the top of a cave |
Stalagmites | cone feature building up from the bottom of a cave |
Paleontology | study of the past like fossils and dinosaurs |
Paleontologist | a scientist that studies the past |
Uniformitarianism | belief that the Geologic processes of the past are happening just like they are today forming the features of the Earth's surface |
Catastrophism | the idea that geologic change occurs suddenly. |
Superposition | states that younger rock layers lie above older rock layers |
unconformity | rock layers have been folded, tilted, or changed drastically |
Rock Layers(called Strata) | can be stretched(tension), folded, uplifted, subducted (pushed down or under other rock layers), or compressed (pushed together) |
Direct evidence of the movements of the Earth's tectonic plates | Earthquakes and Volcanoes |
Indirect evidence of the movements of the Earth's plates | fossil of an ocean fish found on top of a high mountain that is no longer covered by ocean water |
Two types of Earth's crust | Oceanic and Continental |
Sea Floor Spreading | Younger rock is found at the middle of the oceans near the Mid-Ocean Ridges, while older rock is found towards the continents |
Seismology | study of earthquakes |
Convergent Plate Boundary | where tectonic plates are moving together |
Divergent Plate Boundaries | where tectonic plates are moving apart |
Transform Plate Boundaries | where tectonic plates are sliding side by side |
Plate Tectonics | the theory that the crustal plates of the Earth have been moved and are still moving today |
Eons | longest time category |
Eras | second largest time category |
Periods | third largest time category |
Epochs | fourth largest time category |
Anticline | formation in which rock layers have been folded upward and make an A-shaped structure |
Syncline | the opposite in which rock layers have been folded downward into a U-shaped formation |
Convection | air is heated by sunlight |
Clouds | dense, cold air pushes warm air upward |
The Gulf Stream | warm ocean current that can affect the climate of the northern part of the United States |
Hail | produced when wind lifts water droplets high into a thunderstorm cloud. the droplets freeze. |
Hailstone | stronger storm |
Water Vapor | in desert air(humidity) |
Bodies of Water, Oceans, Rivers, Lakes | change temperature slowly because liquids heat and cool more slowly than other types of matter |
Weather Forecasts | accurate weather the Earth has |
Fronts | show boundaries of air masses |
Land | solid, absorbs radiation from the Sun faster than water, it heats more quickly than water |
Global Winds | high pressure polar air low pressure equatorial air |
Snowfall | temperatures are 32 degrees or below and clouds precipitate |
Interior | continents have more extreme differences between winter and summer because these areas are away from the effects of the ocean |
Solar Radiation | produce heat on Earth because the radiation warms the air |
Radiation | from the Sun can effect both weather and climate |
Earth's rotate on axis | Makes global winds curve |
Tides | have to do with Sun and Moon's gravitational pull on the Earth causing the rise and fall of the ocean |
Effect Earth's climate change | Meteorite collisions, deforestation, and changing ocean currents |
Sea and Land Breeze | the land heats and cools more quickly than the water |
Air is warmed by sunlight | the air expands and rises resulting in convection |
Hygrometer or Psychrometer | measures the amount of humidity in the air |
Rain Gauge | measures how much rain has fallen |
Anemometer | measures the speed of wind |
Thermometer | measures temperature |
Ocean Bottom | Continental Shelf, Continental Slope, Abyssal Plain |
Humidity | water vapor in the air and can cause a person to feel damp on a hot summer day |
The Dew Point Temperature | the actual temperature of the air it has to be in order to condensation |
Sea Breeze | occurs during the night |
Land Breeze | occurs during the day |
Groundwater | if used more quickly than replaced then wells can go dry |
sky over deserts is not cloudy | not enough moisture or humidity in the air for clouds to form |
Aquifer | a very large area underground that can supply water to thousands of people |
Volcanoes | are part of the water cycle because they do release water vapor into the atmosphere |
Wind and Temperature variations | cause ocean currents |
Earth's water and land | water 70% and land 30% |
Mineral can get into streams and rivers | rainwater can dissolve the minerals out of the rocks and soils during the runoff when it is raining |
Seafloor Spreading | new ocean floor because magma comes to the surface and makes new seafloor |
Volcanoes and Ridges | form as the ocean floor spreads apart |
Subduction | one plate move under another |
Ring Of Fire | located around the Pacific Ocean is the most active place on Earth for volcanoes and earthquakes |
Temperatures and Climate | can be slightly warmer |
Hurricane | waken as they move over cooler water because they lose their fuel source |
Evaporation | changing from liquid to gas |
Condensation | changing from gas to a liquid |
Precipitation | rain, snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain |
Warm Winters and Cool Summer | oceans warm the city during the winter and cools the city during the summer because water warms and cools more slowly than air and land |
Five Types of clouds | Cirrus, Cumulus, Stratus, Cumulonimbus, Nimbostratus |
Cirrus | high clouds made of ice crystals |
Cumulus | middle height clouds made of water vapor, these are fair weather clouds, seen in the summer |
Stratus | low level clouds that look like a dull gray blanket |
Cumulonimbus | clouds are thunderstorm clouds that can produce hail, lightning, and tornadoes |
Nimbostratus | rain clouds that produce drizzle or steady rain but really no severe weather |
Nimbo | a Latin word for rain |
Troposphere | lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere in which 99% of all weather occurs |
Stratosphere | above the troposphere and contains the ozone layer that protects us from the Sun's harmful ultraviolent rays |
Hydrosphere | all of the water on the Earth's surface |
Greenhouse Effect | when carbon dioxide and water vapor trap the Sun's heat in the Earth's atmosphere |
Global Warming | humans are producing too much carbon dioxide |
Coriolis Effect | causes air to move to the left in the Southern Hemisphere and to the right in the Northern Hemisphere |
Geologist | studies the inside of Earth's surface features as well as inside of the Earth |
Meteorologist | studies the Earth's weather and atmosphere |
Salinity | measure of how much salt is dissolved in ocean water |
Longshore Current | the movement of the ocean that is parallel to the beach or coastline |
Earth's Atmosphere | 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, and 1% Argon |
El Nino | the warming of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America |
La Nina | the cooling of the Pacific Ocean water off the coast of South America, it can also affect the Earth's weather patterns |
Geo | Earth |
Bio | life |
Hydro | water |
Pyro | fire |
Micro | small |
Mega | large |
Magneto | magnetic |
Astro | space |
Electro | electricity |
Lith | rock |
Therm | temperature, heat |
Cryo | cold |
Nimbo | rain |
Photo | light |
Meta | change |
Solar | sun |
Lunar | moon |
Baro | weight |
Super, Ultra, Hyper | more than |
Sub | under |
Intrusive | inside |
Extrusive | outside |
Bi, Di | two |
Poly, Multi | many |
Tri | three |
Un, In, Non, Mis | not |
Mono, Uni | one |
Quad | four |
Penta | five |
Octo | eight |
Omni | all |
Re | again |
Iso | equal |
Homo | same |
Hetero | different |
Paleo, Archeo | ancient |
Seismo | earthquake |
Volcan, Vulcan | volcano |
Meso | middle |
Neo | new |
Chromo | time |
Strato | layers |
Sphere | ball shaped |
Pro | forward, positive |
Infra | being or belonging to |
Pre | before |
Trans | across, beyond, travel |
Audio | to hear |
Hypo | less than |
Tele | distance, travel |
organic | contains carbon and is found in living things |
inorganic | does not contain carbon and is nonliving, like certain rocks and all minerals |