Question | Answer |
Atmosphere | The mixture of gasses surrounding Earth and other planets |
Property | Special quality or feature of a substance or an organism that may be used for identification |
System | 1) A group of related objects and 2) A group of organisms working together |
Geosphere | The solid portion of earth including landforms, rocks, minerals, and soil, as well as the interior |
Hydrosphere | All water on Earth |
Biosphere | The part of the world in which life can exist |
Sediment Load | The amount of sediments a stream can carry |
Climate | The long-term weather conditions for a region, generally determined by several years on record |
Ozone Layer | Layer of atmosphere composed mainly of ozone (O3) 19-48 km above Earth that shields Earth from most of the sun’s ultraviolet rays |
Relative Position | The position of an object in relation to objects around it |
Model | A pattern, plan, representation, or description designed to show the structure or workings of an object, system, or concept |
Constructive Processes | Processes that build up landforms on Earth’s surface such as crust formation, volcanoes, and sediment deposition |
Destructive Processes | Processes that breaks down landforms on Earth’s surface such as weathering and erosion |
Evaporation | Process of liquid changing into a gas/vapor |
Condensation | Process of gas changing into a liquid, e.g. Water vapor turning into water droplets |
Precipitation | Any form of water that falls from the clouds; e.g. rain, snow, hail, sleet |
Runoff | Water on land that drains into a body of water |
Infiltration | The seepage of water into soil and rock |
Transpiration | The passing of water through a plant from the roots through the vascular system to the atmosphere |
Polar | 1. Relating to the North or South poles of Earth 2. Relating to the poles of magnets or batteries 3. Cold |
Tropical | warm |
Continental | dry |
Marine | wet |
Weathering | Process by which materials change when exposed to conditions at or near Earth’s surface |
Erosion | Group of natural processes, including weathering, dissolution, abrasion, corrosion, and transportation, by which material is worn away from Earth’s surface |
Deposition | When sediments are carried by wind or water and are deposited in a new location |
Wind Patterns | Air movement caused by temperature change and influenced by physical features such as mountain ranges, semi-permanent pressure systems, and the shape and rotation of Earth |
Sedimentation | Letting solids settle out byway of gravity |
Compaction | Sediments pressed together by gravity and their own weight |
Igneous Rock | Forms as molten rock cools and becomes solid |
Metamorphic Rock | Forms as preexisting rock is restructured by heat and pressure |
Sedimentary Rock | Forms from fragments and mineral grains of varying sizes from preexisting rocks, remains or products of organisms, the products or chemical action, or a mixture of these |
Elevation | An object’s height above a fixed reference point, often the mean sea level |
Soil | Top layer of Earth’s surface consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with other organic matter |
Solar Energy | Radiant energy from the sun |
Crust | The upper part of the lithosphere, divided into oceanic and continental crust |
Mantle | Layer of hot rock between Earth’s crust and core |
Lithosphere | The solid, outer layer of the Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle |
Catastrophe | A terrible disaster or accident, especially one that leads to great loss of life |
Comet | A small body composed of ice and rock that travels in an elliptical orbit around the sun |
Asteroid | Small rocky bodies, about 1,000 km or less in diameter, in space often found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter |
Convection Currents | A cyclical pattern of movement in a fluid, driven by density variations and resulting from differences in temperature from 1 part to another |
Continental Drift | The gradual movement of continents by tectonic plates under Earth’s surface which causes land masses to move toward or away from one another |
Tectonic Plates | Extremely large pieces of lithosphere (Earth’s crust) |
Diverge | When plate boundaries move away from each other |
Converge | When plate boundaries move towards each other |
Subduction Zone | The part of a convergent boundary where one plate slides under another plate; leads to volcanoes and mountains |
Plate Boundaries | The edges where 2 or more tectonic plates meet; convergent, divergent, or transform |
Rift Valley | A valley that develops when 2 tectonic plates move apart and the land in the middle drops down |
Deep Ocean Trench | A canyon in the ocean floor resulting from tectonic plate movement |
Geothermal | The internal heat of Earth |
Ring of Fire | An area associated with plate boundaries around the Pacific Ocean that has a large amount of volcanic and earthquake activity |
Stars | A celestial body made of hot gases in which nuclear fission occurs and from which energy is radiated |
Planet | Any large natural, spherical object that revolves around a star |
Moon | A natural satellite revolving around a planet |
Solar System | A star with a group of celestial bodies orbiting it |
Apparent Brightness | Measure of a star’s light observed or received at a certain position (apparent magnitude) |
Rotation | The turning of an object on its central axis |
Revolution | The movement of an object around another, central object; e.g. Earth revolves around the sun |
Tilt | 1. A straight line about which a body or a geometric figure may rotate 2. a straight line with respect to which a body or figure is symmetrical |
Orbit | Curved path followed by a planet, moon, or satellite as it revolves around an object |
Gravity | The force of attraction between all masses in the universe |
Tides | Periodic rise and fall of water level due to gravitational attraction of the sun and the moon acting on Earth |
Moon Phases | The change in the sunlit area of the moon when viewed from Earth |
Illuminated | When an object can be seen because it reflects light |
1 Rotation of Earth | 1 day (24 hours) |
1 Revolution of Earth | 1 year (365.25 days) |
1 Revolution of the Moon | 1 month (27.3 days) |
Order of Moon Phases | New Moon, Waxing Crescent, 1st Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, 3rd Quarter, Waning Crescent |
Solar Eclipse | When the moon is directly between Earth and the Sun, casting its shadow on Earth |
Lunar Eclipse | When the Earth is directly between moon and the Sun, Earth’s shadow falls on the moon |
Hemispheres | Half of Earth; Northern is above the equator and Southern is below the equator |
Seasons | Periodic changes in climate due to Earth’s position (tilt) relative to the sun |