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Unit2MidtestEarthSci
Unit 2 Mid-test Earth Science Vocab
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| aa lava | Hawaiian term: type of lava flow that has a jagged or rocky surface. |
| Alfred Wenger | Person who discovered continental drift. |
| andesite | an extrusive, usually dark-gray,fine-grained igneous rock composed of oligoclase or feldspar. |
| andesitic | containing andesite, an extrusive, usually dark-gray, fine-grained igneous rock composed of oligoclase of feldspar. |
| asthenosphere | the zone of solid but weak mantle rock below the lithosphere |
| basalt | gray to black, dense igneous rock composed of plagioclase, augite and magnetite. |
| caldera | formed by collapse during an eruption, a large basin-shape volcanic depression many times greater in diameter than the vent or vents. |
| Continental Drift | the theory that states the continents were once connected in one large landmass and have since moved apart. |
| Continental Margin | ocean floor between the shoreline and the abyssal ocean floor; includes continental shelf, slope, and rise. |
| Continental-continental Convergence | a boundary where two continental plates move toward one another. |
| Convection | the process in which heat energy is transferred through the movement of matter. |
| Convergence | the act of tectonic plates moving toward each other. |
| Convergent Boundary | boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving toward each other, causing one to descend beneath the other; subduction zone |
| Core | the innermost compositional layer of earth, primary |
| Crust | the outermost, solid layer of any planet or moon |
| Deformation | The folding,faulting,shearing,or other change in geometry of the rock as a result of earth stresses |
| Density | a measure of how closely packed the particles in a substance are; the mass of an object divided by its volume |
| Divergence | the act of tectonic plates moving away from one another |
| divergent boundary | boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other, and are delineated by mid-ocean ridges and spreading centers, where seafloor spreading occurs. |
| Earthquake | sudden earth movement caused by abrupt |
| ecosystem | a community or group of organisms living and interacting with each other and their environment |
| Elastic rebound | the sudden release of stored strain in rocks; this release causes movement along a fault. |
| Epicenter | the location on the surface of the earth directly above the focus of an earthquake |
| fault | a break in the lithosphere along which bodies of rock can move |
| fissure | fracture or crack in rock along where there is distinct separation |
| fissure eruption | an eruption occurring along a narrow fissure instead of a center vent |
| focus | the zone within the earth where rock displacement produces an earthquake |
| fold | a bend in a rock layer |
| guyot | a seamount, which is an isolated volcanic peak on the ocean floor, that has a flattened top |
| hot spot | a hot place in the mantle where the magma rises, often melting the crust above to form a volcano |
| igneous | A type of rock formed from melted rock that has cooled. Much of the Earth's crust under the ocean is basalt, an igneous rock |
| igneous rock | rock formed by the cooling and solidification of hot liquid magma or lava |
| intrusive | coarse-grained igneous rock that cools slowly underground; also called plutonic rock |
| isotope | atoms of the same element that differ in the number of neutrons in the nucleus |
| Iahar | a mudflow made up of ash and other volcanic debris on the slope of the volcano |
| lava | molten rock or magma that emerges onto the earth's surface |
| lithosphere | the rocky outer layer of solid earth, averaging about 100 km in depth; the lithosphere includes the continents, islands, and the entire ocean floor |
| magma | the molten or partly molten mixture of minerals, gases, and melted rock found below the earths surface |
| magma chamber | reservoir of magma in the shallow part of the lithosphere, ascended from a deeper source, from which volcanic materials are derived |
| mantle | the part of earth's interior beneath the crust and above the core, divided into the upper mantle and lower mantle |
| mantle plume | rising mass of mantle abnormally hot or wet (or both); may lead to igneous activity |
| mass | the amount of matter in an object |
| metamorphic rock | rock the has undergone change, caused by intense liquid, and gas from an earlier form, without melting |
| meteorite | a meteor that hits the surface of the earth, having made it through the atmosphere without vaporizing completely |
| midocean ridge | long elevated region of the ocean floor with a central valley running along its top |
| pahoehoe | Hawaiian term; type of basaltic lava flow with a smooth, billowy. or ropy surface |
| palemagnetism | natural remnant magnetization of earth materials;also the study of the magnetism aquirred by rocks to determine the direction and intensity of of earth's magnetic field in the geologic past |
| Pangaea | the name of the huge landmass that was the only continent on earth millions of years ago |
| plate boundary | zone of seismic and tectonic activity along the edge of a tectonic plate |
| plate tectonics | the theory that earth's surface consists of separate plates that move and interact, producing geologic features and events( for example, earthquake,volcanoes,mountains, and earth's crust itself) |
| pluton | large body of intrusive rock that has solidified underground |
| pyroclastic | formed by or involving the fragmentation as a result of volcanic or igneous action |
| radiometric dating | also isotope dating; method to calculate the age of geologic material by measuring its content of a short-lived radioactive element or its content of a long-lived radioactive element and that elements decay product |
| refraction | the bending of light as it moves from one medium to another. |
| rhyolite | a very acid volcano rock; lava form of granite |
| rhyolitic | containing rhyolite, a very acid volcanic rock, lava form of granite |
| rift | place on the earth's crust where divergence occurs; a crack,fissure, or other opening in rock; a continental trough bounded by normal faults |
| rift valley | a valley with steep sides, formed by a rift in the earth's crust where plates have moved apart, on the continent or on the seafloor |
| sandstone | a sedimentary rock formed by the compaction of sand and held together by natural cement |
| seafloor spreading | the movement of two oceanic plates away from each other as new ocean floor forms between them |
| seismic wave | a tsunami; a sea wave cause by disturbance,or movement, of the seafloor |
| seismograph | also seismometer; an instrument that detects and records earth vibrations, specifically earthquake waves |
| seismometer | also seismograph;instrument that detect and records earths vibrations specifically earthquake waves |
| shadow zone | an area of earth's interior where there is little penetration of seismic waves |
| sonar | acronym for sound navigation and ranging, an oceanographic method of studying the ocean floor |
| subduction | the process in which oceanic lithosphere sinks into the mantle at a convergent boundary |
| tectonic plates | sections of lithosphere that move slowly over the surface of the earth |
| tectonics | the large-scale processes involving movement of the plates of the earths lithosphere |
| tephra | collective term for all pyroclastic material regardless of size,shape,or origin, ejected during an explosive volcanic eruption |
| transform boundary | a boundary between two tectonic plates where they are moving past one another without crating or destroying the lithosphere |
| trench | narrow elongated depression on the deep-sea floor |
| tsunami | a seismic sea wave, caused by disturbance of the seafloor such as an earthquake |
| viscosity | a measure of a fluids resistance to flow |
| volcanic neck | an isolated, steep remnant of lava that once occupied the vent of a volcano |
| volcano | vent in earth's surface through which magma, gases, and ash erupt |
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