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Sci Exam Vocab
Earth Science Spring Exam Vocab 2024-2025
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Porosity | How much water a substance can hold |
| Permeability | The measure of how easily water flows through a material |
| Aquifer | A body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater |
| Watershed | The area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place |
| Temperature | The measure of the average amount of motion of molecules |
| Epicenter | The location directly above where the earthquake starts on the surface of the earth |
| Focus | The location below the earth's surface where the earthquake starts |
| Fault | a fracture in the lithosphere caused by movement |
| P-Waves | _________ travel faster than other seismic waves and hence are the first signal from an earthquake to arrive at any affected location or at a seismograph. __________ may be transmitted through gases, liquids, or solids. |
| S-Waves | __________ also called secondary waves and shear waves, are the second waves to hit the seismographs. ___________ can only travel through solids, and scientists have successfully mapped the earth’s interior by studying the routes of these waves. |
| Convergent Fault Boundary | When two plates come together, it is known as a __________ boundary. The impact of the colliding plates can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into a mountain ranges or one of the plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench. |
| Divergent Fault Boundary | A _________ boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these boundaries, earthquakes are common and magma rises from the Earth’s mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new crust. Ex: Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
| Transform Fault Boundary | Two plates sliding past each other forms a __________ plate boundary |
| Non-Point Source Pollution | Pollution release from diffuse sources. For example: Leaking underground storage tanks and oil leaking from cars on the road. |
| Point Source Pollution | Pollution released from a single source. For example: Chernobyl or one factory releasing waste water into a water source. |
| Lithosphere | The crust and upper mantle that make up tectonic plates |
| Atmosphere | Thin layer of air (gases) that forms a protective covering around Earth |
| Troposphere | The lowest layer of the atmosphere of Earth. It contains 80% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere and 99% of the total mass of water vapor and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur. |
| Stratosphere | The second layer of Earth's atmosphere. It absorbs dangerous radiation as it contains the ozone layer. Jet streams also occur here. |
| Mesosphere | The third and coldest layer of Earth's atmosphere. This layer protects us from meteors or "falling stars" |
| Thermosphere | The layer of the atmosphere right before Outer Space. This layer is often regarded as the hottest layer. Satellites, the space shuttle, and the Northern Lights (Auroras) occur here. |
| Exosphere | The outermost layer of the atmosphere where the air is so thin it is almost non-existent. This layer blends into "true" outer space. |
| Ozone Layer | A special layer within the stratosphere that absorbs and protects us from radiation. This protective barrier has been depleted by CFCs- but will be repaired naturally with the bans of CFCs in the late 80s. |
| Greenhouse Effect | Gases in the atmosphere help keep the Earth suitable for life. The main 4 gasses are Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen, and Argon. If there were too little or too many Greenhouse gasses, the Earth would be too hot or too cold to sustain life. |
| Elastic Rebound Hypothesis | Most earthquakes are the result of a rapid release of energy that is stored in rock that has been subject to great forces. |
| Cirrus | Thin and wispy clouds made of ice crystals that typically predict precipitation is on the way |
| Cumulus | Fluffy cotton-ball clouds that typically appear during fair weather. Can also bring rain and thunderstorms. |
| Stratus | Sheet-like clouds at low altitudes that you would expect to see on a gloomy or overcast day. |
| Cumulonimbus | Super tall clouds that are associated with cold fronts. They produce the biggest raindrops and are the only clouds to drop hail. They are typically accompanied by thunder and lightning, and they can even spawn tornadoes. |
| Warm Front | When a warm front overtakes a cold front, pushing the cold air mass down into the ground while the warm air front rises above it. |
| Cold Front | When a cold front overtakes a warm front and wedges in-between a cold front and a warm front, causing the warm air mass to rise above the cold air mass. |
| Low Pressure System | _________ areas are places where the atmosphere is relatively thin. Winds blow inward toward these areas. This causes air to rise, producing clouds and condensation. Low-pressure areas tend to be well-organized storms. |
| High Pressure System | A region where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the Earth is greater than its surrounding environment. Areas with above-average pressure(anticyclones) 0ccur when air is sinking. As a result, there are usually very few clouds in the air. |
| Evaporation | When water from freshwater sources is heated, some of the water is released as water vapor which then rises up into the air to start condensation. |
| Condensation | The process of water vapor changing into liquid water, forming clouds and precipitation |
| Precipitation | When liquid or frozen water droplets fall after clouds get too heavy |
| Percolation | The downward movement of water from the land surface through soil or porous rock |
| Transpiration | The process by which water moves through a plant and evaporates from its leaves into the atmosphere |
| Surface Water | Water above the surface of the land, including lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, floodwater, and runoff |
| Groundwater | Fresh water (from rain or melting ice and snow) that soaks into the soil and is stored in the tiny spaces (pores) between rocks and particles of soil. ___________ accounts for nearly 95 percent of the nation's fresh water resources |
| Seismic Waves | Energy that is released during an earthquake create waves that move in all directions |
| Infiltration | The process of water being absorbed into the ground after precipitation |
| Runoff | Water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the ground |
Created by:
Ms.Raup
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