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Earth System
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Earth | A recycling planet powered by the flow of solar energy. |
Geosphere | The part of the earth that includes surface rocks and soil, as well as earth's interior. |
Hydrosphere | The part of the earth that includes all bodies of surface water and groundwater. |
Biosphere | The part of the earth that includes all living things. |
Atmosphere | The part of the earth that includes several gases, water vapor, and particles of dust and pollen. |
Convergent boundary | A boundary that occurs where two plates are pushing towards each other. |
Divergent boundary | A boundary that occurs where two plates are moving away from each other, |
Transform boundary | A boundary that occurs where two plates slide past each other. |
Alfred Wegener | German scientist who came up with the theory of plate tectonics. |
Pangaea | Landmass that broke apart to become different continents. |
Plate tectonics theory | Theory that the lithosphere is broken into several plates. These plates are slowly, but constantly moving. |
Boundary | The border between two plates. |
System | A group of parts that work together as a whole. |
Crust | Thin layer of solid rock that makes up the outermost layer of the earth. |
Crust, Mantle, Core | The main three layers of the earth. |
Outer Core | The only layer of the earth that is liquid. |
Lithosphere | The layer of the earth that is broken into tectonic plates. |
Astenosphere | The semi-liquid layer of the earth that tectonic plates float on. |
Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Mountain Building | Things that form because of plate movements. |
Parts of the carbon cycle. | Photosynthesis and cellular respiration; decomposition; emission of CO2. |
Parts of the nitrogen cycle. | Nitrogen fixation; decomposition; assimilation; nitrification. |
Igneous rocks | Rocks made through volcanic activity. |
Metamorphic rocks | Rocks made through changes by heat and pressure. |
Sedimentary rocks | Rocks made by deposition, compaction, and cementation. |
The Rock Cycle | A series of processes on and beneath the Earth’s surface that slowly change rocks from one kind to another |