Question | Answer |
Movement | Theme that examines how people, ideas, and products move from one location to another |
Human Environment Interaction | Theme that examines how people relate to the physical world, using what the environment offers & changing the environment to meet their needs |
Map | Visual representation of the earth’s surface |
Scale | Relationship between distance on a map and actual distance on the earth |
Map Projection | Ways of showing a round shape on a flat surface |
Physical map | Shows the physical or natural world like landforms, bodies of water, etc. |
Latitude | Lines running east and west measuring north and south |
Political map | Shows the political divisions that people have made on earth like states or countries. |
Longitude | Lines running north and south, measuring east and west of the Prime Meridian. |
Equator | Latitude line that divides our world into northern and southern hemispheres. |
Core | Solid metallic center of the earth, made up of iron and nickel. |
Mantle | Floating on the core, a soft layer of molten rock, about 1800 miles in thickness. |
Crust | The thin layer of the earth’s surface, about 19-37 miles in thickness. |
Magma | Molten rock created when the mantle melts the underside of the crust. When it reaches the earth’s surface, it is known as lava. |
Continental Drift Theory | Theory that the earth was once a supercontinent called Pangaea that slowly drifted apart over millions of years |
Plate Tectonic Theory | Theory that the earth’s crust is broken up into enormous moving pieces called tectonic plates that circulate on magma below the crust. The movement of these plates changes the earth’s surface |
Divergent Boundary (Spreading) | Plates spread apart allowing magma to the surface and creating new land |
Convergent Boundary (Colliding) | Plates either collide into each other pushing land upward or one plate dives under the other resulting in volcanic action. |
Transform Boundary (Sliding/Grinding) | Plates slide past one another usually at a fault creating earthquakes |
Ring of Fire | A zone around the rim of the Pacific Ocean where the vast majority of active volcanoes are found. |
Mechanical Weathering | Process of breaking rock into smaller pieces–only changes rock into smaller size |
Chemical Weathering | Occurs when rock is changed into a new substance as a result of interaction between elements in the air or water and minerals in the rock. |
Weather | The condition of the atmosphere at a particular location and time |
Climate | The term for weather conditions at a particular location over a long period of time . |
Greenhouse effect | The layer of gases released by the burning of coal and petroleum that traps the sun’s heat causing higher temperatures |
Rain Shadow | Land on the leeward side that gets little rain due to the orographic effect |
Location | Theme that defines the global position of a specific place on the earth |
Place | Theme that examines the unique physical & human characteristics of a particular space |
Region | Theme that groups different areas together based on common characteristics or functions |
Meteorology | Study of weather |
Cartographers | Mapmakers |
Lithosphere | Earth's crust |
Hydrosphere | Water of the earth |
Atmosphere | A Layer of gases extending 6,000 miles above the earth's surface |
Types of erosion | Wind, water, glacier |
Water cycle | The regular movement of water |
Evaporation | Changing of liquid water into a vapor or gas |
Condensation | Water vapor turning into a liquid |
Groundwater | Freshwater which lies beneath the earth's surface |
Equinox | One of two days when the sun shines directly on the Equator giving equal amounts of light to both hemispheres |
Solstice | One of two days when the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer or Capricorn marking the beginning of summer or winter |
Water Cycle | The continuous movement of water from the ocean to the air to the ground and back to the ocean. |
Global Warming | Gradual warming of the earth and its atmosphere caused in part by pollution and the Greenhouse Effect. |
El Nino | A periodic reversal of the pattern of ocean currents and water temperatures in the mid Pacific ocean |
Permafrost | A permanently frozen layer of soil below the earth's surface found in subarctic & tundra climate zones |
GIS | Geographic Information Systems; computer tools for processing and organizing details, satellite images, and other pieces of information |