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Fletch7EarthChange
Fletcher 7th grade Changes of Earth
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Divide | The boundary that separates one watershed from another |
| Fresh water | Any water not found in oceans or seas |
| groundwater | the water stored in the ground |
| reservoir | a large natural or human-made lake used to supply water |
| river system | a river and all its tributaries |
| runoff | the water that flows over the ground surface |
| Water table | the top of the saturated zone |
| artesian well | a well in which water reaches the surface due to natural pressure of an aquifer |
| Impermeable | not allowing fluid to pass through |
| well | a shaft dug into the ground to bring water from an aquifer to the surface |
| geyser | a hot spring in which water intermittenly boils, sending a tall column of water and steam into the air |
| spring | natural flow of water from the ground or from rocks |
| unsaturated zone | the area of permeable ground above the water table that is filled with a combination of water and air |
| saturated zone | the area of permeable ground filled with groundwater |
| aquifer | a layer of permeable rock underground that can contain or transmit groundwater |
| permeable | allowing liquids or gases to pass through |
| abrasion | the process of rocks and particles scraping against one another wearing away their surfaces |
| bedrock | a layer of solid rock found beneath soil |
| chemical weathering | the breakdown of rocks that also changes their mineral composition |
| erosion | the process by which fragments of rock are loosened and carried away |
| fertility | the ability of soil to support agricultural plant growth |
| creep | the extremely slow downhill movement of soil and rocks |
| deposition | the geologic process by which sediment is added to a location |
| landslide | the rapid downhill movement of a mass of rock, soil and debris |
| mass movement | the movement of soil and rock debris down a slope |
| mudflow | the rapid downhill flow of a mixture of rock, soil, and water |
| slump | the downward slide of a mass of rock or soil in one piece |
| stalactite | an icicle-shaped formation that hangs from the ceiling of a cave |
| glacier | a large, slowly moving body of ice and snow |
| runoff | the water that flows over the ground surface |
| stalagmite | a mound of mineral deposits shaped like a cone on a cave floor |
| surface water | any water found on Earth's surface |
| Karst topography | an area of land characterized by barren, rocky ground; caves; sinkholes; underground rivers; and the absence of surface streams and lakes |
| deflation | the process by which wind moves loose sediment |
| groundwater | the water that is stored in the ground |
| plucking | the process by which a glacier picks up larger rocks and deposits them in a new area |
| ice age | a period when continental glaciers covered much of Earth's surface |
| speciation | the evolutionary process through which new species emerge |
| Solar energy | energy given off by the Sun |
| La Nina | an irregular climate event in the eastern Pacific Ocean during which surface waters become colder than usual |
| tectonic plate | a puzzle piece-like section of the Earth's surface that slowly moves due to convection in the mantle |
| global warming | a gradual increase in the temperature of Earth's atmosphere |
| tsunami | a large ocean wave usually caused by an undersea earthquake |
| density | the amount of mass in a given volume |
| atmosphere | the blanket of gasses that surrounds the surface of a planet |
| ozone | a form of oxygen that absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun |
| altitude | a measure of how high above sea level an area is |
| pressure | the force pushing on an area or a surface |
| air pressure | the force of a column of air pushing on a given area |
| mass | the amount of matter in an object |
| Crust | the outermost solid layer of the Earth's surface |
| Mantle | the outermost layers of the Earth's surface consisting of the crust/Lithosphere, the thick syrupy Asthenosphere, and the solid lower mantle |
| Core | Center of the Earth consisting of the molten liquid outer core, and the solid inner core |
| Infrared light | a form of invisible electromagnetic energy that has a longer wavelength than visible light |
| radiation | the transfer of energy through space |
| conduction | the direct transfer of thermal energy from one substance to another through touching |
| thermal energy | the energy an object has because of the movement of its particles |
| Electromagnetic waves | a wave that can transfer electric and magnetic energy through space |
| wavelength | the distance from the crest of one wave to the crest of the next wave |
| convection | the transfer of thermal energy through a liquid or gas rising |
| temperature | a measure of how hot or cold something is |
| ultraviolet radiation | a form of invisible electromagnetic energy that has a shorter wavelength than visible light |
| greenhouse effect | the process by which Earth's surface radiates heat into the atmosphere, which radiates some of the heat back to Earth |