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ESPS Vocab
Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Absolute Age | The age of a rock given as the number of years since the rock formed. |
Asteroid | A small rocky body orbiting the sun |
Asthenosphere | The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats. |
Carbon Dating | Determination of the age or date of organic matter from the relative proportions of the carbon isotopes carbon-12 and carbon-14 that it contains. |
Comet | A ball of frozen dust and rock that orbits the sun and has a tail that glows |
Core | Center of the Earth. |
Crater | A large, bowl shaped indent in the ground or surface of a planet or moon. |
Crust | The thin and solid outermost layer of the Earth above the mantle. |
Ejecta | Material that is forced out. |
Geologic Time Scale | A record of the geologic events and life forms in Earth's history. |
Half Life | Time it takes for half of an isotope to decay |
Isotope | Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons |
Law of Superposition | In a sequence of layered rocks, the older rocks will be under the younger (newer) rocks. |
Lithosphere | Outer part of Earth, crust and upper mantle. |
Mantle | The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core. |
Mesosphere | The strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core. |
Meteorites | A meteoroid that passes through the atmosphere and hits Earth's surfac |
Meteoroids | Chunks of rock or dust from space |
Radiometric Dating | A method of dating geological or archeological specimens by determining the relative proportions of particular radioactive isotopes present in a sample. |
Relative Age | The age of a rock compared to the ages of rock layers |
Strata | Layers of rock |
Uniform-ism | Charles Lyeu's principle that states the mechanisms of change are constant |
Volcanic Arc | A chain of active volcanoes formed adjacent to a convergent plate boundary. |
Volcano | A weak spot in the crust where magma has come to the surface. |
Oceanic Crust | Earth's crust under the ocean. |