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Science
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| One year | A full revolution completed by Earth around the Sun, 365 days |
| One day | A full rotation by Earth on its axis, 24 hours |
| Equinoxes and Solstices | Equinox-Equal amount of day and night during spring or fall Solstice-Longest and shortest durations of daylight |
| Movement of Objects | Objects in the sky seem to have moved at night due to Earth's rotation on its axis and revolution around the Sun. |
| Solar and Lunar Eclipses | Solar Eclipse-When the Moon is positioned in between the Sun and Earth. Lunar Eclipse-When Earth is positioned between the Moon and the Sun. Eclipses happen because of shadows from the Moon and Earth/ |
| Inner Planets | Mars has a rust colored surface, polar ice caps, and channels which used to carry water. The inner planets(Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars)are also more dense than the outer planets, which are comprised of gases. The inner planets are rocky. |
| Orbit of the Moon | It takes approximately 28 days for the Moon to completely revolve around Earth. During this time, it goes through all of its phases. |
| Big Bang | The Big Bang Theory is the theory which states that the Universe was one extremely dense singularity filled with matter that exploded, creating our Universe. It is still expanding. |
| Seasons | The seasons(fall, winter, spring and summer)occur due to the fact that Earth is tilted at a 23.5 degree angle on its axis. All seasons would be the same if Earth was at a 90 degree angle. |
| Day and Night | We have day and night on Earth because of the rotation of Earth. A rotation equals 24 hours. |
| Objects in Space | Objects seem to float in space because Earth's gravity affects objects less if the object is further away. Also, gravity keeps objects in the Solar System in place. |
| Moon Phases | The Moon appears to change shape due to its revolution around Earth. The shadow of the Moon creates phases. Waxing implies the shadow is shrinking, and vice-versa for waning. Gibbous is the light being curved outward, and vice-versa for a crescent. |
| Moon Shadow | 2 things that affect the appearance of the shadow are the position of the light source and the position of the object itself. |
| Asteroid Belt | The Asteroid Belt is the mass orbit path for many asteroids that resides in between Mars and Jupiter. It acts as a border between the inner and outer planets. |
| Galaxies | There are 3 types of galaxies: irregular, elliptical, and spiral. Our Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, and the Solar System is located on the Orion arm of the Milky Way. |
| Comet | A comet is a chunk of rock and ice which orbits the Sun like a planet. Its tail is made when the Sun melts some of the ice and is released into space. Comets come from the Kuiper Belt and/or the Oort Cloud, which is located beyond our Solar System. |
| Meteoroids | Meteoroids are bits of dust and debris from comets and asteroids. When they burn up in the atmosphere, the tail is called a meteor. When they hit land, it's called a meteorite. |
| Tides | When the Sun, the Moon, and Earth are aligned in a straight line, high tides can occur. These high tides are spring tides. When the 3 are at a 90 degree angle, low tides occur. These are called neap tides. |
| Apollo Space | The Apollo Space program was the 1st to reach the Moon. |
| Gravity and Distance | The closer an object is to a planet or star, the greater effect that body's gravity will have on that object. |
| Stars | Stars that are colored white and blue are warmer than those colored red and orange. Apparent Magnitude is how bright the star looks from Earth, while the Absolute Magnitude is how bright it actually is. |
| Light Year | A light year is the distance that light travels in a year. |
| Novas and Supernovas | These are exploding stars in space. |
| Quasars | Star-like objects that give off the most light in the Universe. |
| Pulsars | Stars that become dimmer or brighter. |
| Electromagnetic Spectrum | Arrangement of electromagnetic waves, radio, gamma-ray and infrared telescopes use invisible waves to generate CGI images of objects. |
| Telescopes | Reflecting-uses lenses and mirrors to view objects Refracting-uses lenses to view objects |
| Satellite | Natural/man-made object revolving around another object |
| Asteroid | Large meteoroid in space |
| Moon Atmosphere | No atmosphere, so no weathering or erosion |
| Outer Planets | They all have rings. Saturn most rings, Jupiter most moons. |
| Earth | Earth is the only planet that can support life due to a stable atmosphere and water and oxygen. |
| Constellations | Patterns of stars in the sky. |
| Astronomical Unit | Used to refer to distances in space. |
| Sun | Close to Sun=short orbit, short years |
| Gravity | The larger an object, the more gravitational pull it will have. |
| Life | There is no other known life in the Universe but on Earth. |
| Black Hole | A collapsed star with gravity so powerful that even light can't escape it. |
| Space Probe, Shuttle, and Station | Probe-Exploration and gathering of new places via electromagnetic waves Shuttle-Rocket-airplane mix(take off like rocket, flies and lands like plane) Station-A place to stay while orbiting Earth |
| Geocentric and Heliocentric Theories | Geocentric- Earth at center of S.S Heliocentric-Sun at center of S.S |
| Clusters | Stars can be grouped together to form globular or open clusters. |
| Photosphere | Part of the Sun that we see from Earth. |
| 8 minutes for sunlight to reach Earth | |
| Energy from stars | Stars make energy by creating helium atoms from hydrogen atoms. |
| Luminous | Creates its own light, vice-versa for illuminous |
| Valley | Underneath a valley is metamorphic rock. |
| Mica | This mineral breaks with cleavage, on smooth flat surfaces. |
| Hawaii | The Hawaiian Island Chain is an example of a hot spot, which is an area where magma rises up through the crust. |
| Coal | Coal is a sedimentary rock which is formed from the remains of dead plants. The 3 types are Anthracite, Lignite and Bituminous. |
| Renewable Resources | Biomass, Gasohol, Solar, Hydroelectric, Chemical, Geothermal, Wind, Electric and Nuclear |
| Erosion | The movement of sediment |
| Regional climate | This influences weathering and erosion the most. Water is the agent most likely to cause weathering and erosion. |
| Faulting | Breaking and cracking of Earth's crust. Occurs above and below Earth's surface. |
| Mountains | High elevations, steep slopes |
| Plains and plateaus | Plains-low elevations, gentle slopes Plateaus-moderate elevations, gentle-steep slopes |
| Halite | Rock salt, makeup is NaCl |
| Limestone | A rock that is a prominent example of a rock affected by chemical weathering. |
| Glaciers | Huge bodies of ice that are divided into 2 categories; Alpine(found in mountains) and Continental(ice covering large spans of land). |
| Mohs' Hardness Scale | A scale used to determine a mineral's hardness. Ranges from 1 to 10, diamond being the strongest. |
| Compaction | Compaction is when pieces of sediment are forced together to form 1 sedimentary rock. |
| Igneous | Igneous rock is formed when lava/magma cools at or below Earth's surface. Intrusive igneous is inside of Earth, extrusive igneous is on Earth's surface. Granite and basalt are the most common examples of the 2 types. |
| Rock Cycle | The process of rocks changing from 1 form to another. The 3 forms are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. |
| Volcano Types | Shield, Cinder Cone and Composite. |
| Seismology | The study of earthquakes, which are analyzed by a seismograph, which picks up waves. The Richter Scale measures the magnitude of an earthquake. P-waves and S-waves are inside of Earth, damage caused by surface waves. |
| Minerals | Inorganic, natural, chemically bonded with a crystallic structure, classified by its density, streak, luster, cleavage, fracture, color and hardness. |
| Earth | Solid inner core, liquid outer core, semi-solid mantle, and a solid crust. |
| Crust | Broken up into lithosphere, mesosphere, and asthenosphere, most common element is silicon, most common metal is aluminum, most common compound is silicon dioxide. |
| Ore | Rock containing metal that can be extracted. |
| Foliation | Foliated-rocks with straight lineup of grains. Nonfoliated-rocks without straight lineup of grains. |
| Cementation | Gluing together of sediment. |
| Deposition | Depositing of sediment. |
| Continental Drift | Scientific process explaining the formation of our 7 continents from Pangaea. |
| Fossil fuels | Nonrenewable resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas that has formed from the remains of organisms. |
| Topographic Map | Map that shows differences in elevation. |
| Horizons | 3 horizons in a soil profile-A, B and C. |
| Stalactites and Stalagmites | Stalactites-hang from ceiling. Stalagmites-hang from floor. |
| Paleontology | Study of life in the past. |
| Uniformitarianism | Theory which states that the Earth changes due to slow, added-up processes from the past happening in the present. |
| Catastrophism | Theory which states that the Earth changes due to sudden events. |
| Superposition | Theory which states that younger rock layers lie above older rock layers, unless the layers are distorted. |
| Strata | Rock layers which can be stretched, folded, uplifted, subducted, compressed, etc. |
| Unconformity | A distortion in the arrangement of rock layers, based on the law of superposition. |
| Plate Tectonics | The theory which states that the plates are moving. Evidence provided by earthquakes, volcanoes, and fossils. |
| Crust | 2 types-Oceanic and continental |
| Sea-floor spreading | When new oceanic lithosphere is formed due to volcanic activity at mid-ocean ridges. Younger rock near ridge, older rock away from ridge. |
| Plate boundaries | Convergent= -> <- Divergent= <- -> Transform= | | Convergent=mountains Divergent=Mid-ocean ridge Transform=Earthquake |
| Stress | Compression, tension, and shearing. |
| Geologic Time | Eon, era, period, epoch |
| Rock layer formations | Anticline-rock layers compress upwards, A shape Syncline-rock layers compress downwards, U shape made |
| Convection | Heat up, cool down(the process in which gases and liquids are heated up). |
| Clouds | Form when water vapor rises up into the clouds, solidifies into droplets(condenses), and clump together to form a cloud. 3 types; cirrus, cumulus and stratus. |
| The Gulf Stream | Warm ocean current that affects the climate of Eastern America, Germany, and the UK. |
| Hail | Forms when wind lifts droplets into cumulonimbus clouds, then they freeze and grow in size until gravity pulls them back down to Earth. |
| Desert air | Less vapor, less humidity. |
| Liquid vs Solids (heat up, cool down) | Land cools down and warms up faster than bodies of water. This is because liquids take longer to be affected by heat, and that land soaks up heat faster. |
| Meteorologists | People who analyze and study weather and climate. More accurate due to advances in satellites and space images. |
| Fronts | The boundaries between air masses. 4 types; cold, warm, stationary, and occluded. |
| Global winds | Winds made by high pressure polar air and low pressure equatorial air. |
| Heat in continents | More extreme heat due to little effect from the oceans. |
| Solar radiation | Earth gets heated up by the Sun's energy waves. |
| Radiation, weather and climate | The Sun's radiation is the biggest influence regarding weather and climate. |
| Coriolis Effect | States that global winds and currents are curved due to the rotation of Earth on its axis. |
| Tides and weather | Tides do not effect climate or weather in any way. They have to do with the Moon and Sun's gravity. |
| Climate changes | Climates can be changed by meteorite impacts, deforestation, and ocean currents. |
| Sea and land breezes | Land and sea breezes are caused by differences in rates of heating up and cooling down between land and water. Sea-day, land- night. |
| Anemometer | Measures wind speeds. |
| Shelf, slope, rise, plain | Continental shelf- end of a continental plate. Continental slope- end of a continental shelf. Continental rise- between shelf and slope. Abyssal Plain- Basin at the ocean floor. |
| Humidity | The level of water vapor in the air. The higher the dew point, the higher the humidity. |
| Wells | Holes dug in the ground below an aquifer to supply water. |
| Aquifer | Large area underground that contains lots and lots of water. |
| Causes of currents | Winds, temperature, density, salinity. |
| Percentages for water | 70% water, 30% land 97% salt, 3% fresh |
| Hurricanes | Require warm water in order to sustain themselves. |
| Subduction | When one plate moves underneath another. |
| Ring of Fire | Most active place in the world for earthquakes and volcanoes. |
| Water Cycle | The movement of water through the 3 forms of matter; solid, liquid, and gas. |
| Atmosphere | Made up of troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere(ionosphere), and exosphere. 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% Argon and Carbon Dioxide. |
| Greenhouse Effect | When the Sun's heat is trapped in the atmosphere by Carbon Dioxide and water vapor. |
| Geology | Study of Earth. |
| Longshore Current | Movement of the ocean that runs parallel to the beach or shoreline. |
| El Nino and La Nina | El Nino-Warming of the Pacific Ocean along the western coast of South America. La Nina-Cooling of the Pacific Ocean along the west coast of South America. |
Created by:
golango
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