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FSSA: Earth-Space
FSSA Review - Vocabulary from Earth-Space Science (MYP Y1)
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| comet | an object made of rock, ice, dust, and gas that revolves around the sun, typically moves in an elliptical orbit around the sun |
| asteroid | a small rocky or metallic object that orbits the sun, most are located in a band that orbits between Mars and Jupiter |
| meteor | a space rock that enters earth's atmosphere causing a streak of light to appear in the sky |
| star | a large object in space that is made of gas and produces its own light |
| moon | a natural object that orbits a planet |
| delta | a mass of material deposited in a triangular or fan shape at the mouth of a river or stream |
| river | a large natural stream of water that flows across land surfaces within a channel |
| estuary | an area where fresh water mixes with salt water from the ocean |
| aquifer | a body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows the flow of groundwater |
| spring | a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges from an aquifer and flows across the ground surface as surface water. |
| sediment | solid, fragmented particulate matter (silt, sand, and gravel), which are transported and deposited by physical processes |
| erosion | the process by which rock, soil and other weathered earth materials are moved from one place to another |
| glacier | a large mass of ice that exists year-round and moves over land |
| iceberg | ice that broke off from glaciers and is floating in open water with currents; located in the Arctic and Antarctica |
| climate change | a change in the typical weather for a region — such as high and low temperatures and amount of rainfall — over a long period of time |
| The Theory of Plate Tectonics | the scientific theory that explains how large pieces of the lithosphere, called plates, move and change shape |
| plate boundary | area where Earth's tectonic plates meet; 3 types: divergent, convergent, and transform |
| convection current | any movement of matter that results from differences in density |
| crust | the thin and solid outermost layer of Earth above the mantle |
| mantle | the layer of rock between Earth's crust and core |
| subduction | the process by which one lithospheric plate moves beneath another plate as a result of tectonic forces |
| geology | the scientific study of the origin, history and structure of Earth and the processes that shape it |
| earthquake | the movement or trembling of the ground that is caused by a sudden release of energy when rocks along a fault move |
| fault | a break in a body of rock along which one block moves relative to another |
| magma | the molten or partially molten rock material containing trapped gases produced under the Earth's surface |
| seafloor spreading | the process by which new oceanic lithosphere (sea floor) forms when magma rises to Earth's surface at mid-ocean ridges and solidifies, as older, existing sea floor moves away from the ridge |
| season | a division of the year that is characterized by recurring weather conditions, and determined by both Earth's tilt relative to the sun and Earth's position in its orbit around the sun |
| specific heat | the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a material by 1 Kelvin or 1 degree Celsius; water is known to have a high specific heat capacity and loses or gains heat much slower than land. |
| glacial drift | the rock material carried and deposited by glaciers |
| core | the central part of Earth below the mantle |
| The Law of Superposition | states that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the oldest layer is at the bottom and the youngest layer is at the top; a fundamental principle in geology (i.e. relative dating) |
| cleavage | a property used to describe how a mineral breaks apart along smooth surfaces |
| condensation | process where water is changed from a gas (water vapor) to a liquid; a stage of the water cycle |
| environment | an area that includes all living organisms and the surrounding physical features such as air, water, soil, weather and landforms |
| hardness | a property of a mineral that describes how easily it can be scratched |
| hemisphere | half of earth (i.e. Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western) |
| humidity | a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air |
| igneous rock | a type of rock that forms from cooled magma or lava |
| luster | a property of a mineral that describes how it appears when it reflects light |
| metamorphic rock | a type of rock that is formed over time from existing rock due to extreme pressure and/or heat |
| mineral | a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a distinct chemical composition and crystalline structure |
| Polar Zone | a climate zone characterized by very little precipitation and extremely cold temperatures |
| precipitation | a form of water (ex. hail, rain, sleet, snow) that condenses in the atmosphere and falls to Earth's surface |
| revolution | the motion of one object around another orbit (i.e. orbit) |
| rotation | the turning of an object on its axis |
| sedimentary rock | a type of rock formed from layers of sediment |
| soil | the loose top layer of Earth's surface made of weathered rock and organic matter |
| solar system | a system of planets and other bodies that orbits a star |
| streak | the color of the powder of a mineral when it is rubbed on a streak plate |
| Temperate Zone | a climate zone located between the tropics and the polar circles generally characterized by moderate temperatures rather than extremely hot or cold temperatures |
| Tropical Zone | a climate zone near the equator characterized by warm temperatures |
| water cycle | the continuous movement of water through the environment by evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff |
| water vapor | the gas state of water |
| weather | the condition of the atmosphere at a given time and place |
| weathering | the process by which rocks and other surfaces are broken; 2 types: chemical and physical |
| astronomical unit | a unit used to measure distances in the solar system equal to the average distance between the Sun and Earth, approximately 150 million kilometers, and abbreviated AU |
| dwarf planet | a celestial body similar to a planet but orbiting in a zone that has many other objects in it (e.g. Cerus, Pluto) |
| Kuiper Belt | a region beyond Neptune's orbit, filled with icy bodies including dwarf planets, like Pluto, and comets. |
| fold | a bend in a layer or several layers of rock |
| infiltration | the initial downward entry of water into the soil surface,; part of the water cycle |
| light-year | the distance of a ray of light travels in a vacuum in one year |
| nebula | a large cloudlike mass of gas and dust in space that may lead to the formation of a star |
| percolation | the downward movement of water through rock or soil due to gravity; part of the water cycle |
| pH | a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution based on a scale from zero to fourteen. (7=neutral, 8-14=basic, 0-6=acidic) |
| pressure | the force exerted per unit area |
| temperature | a measure of how hot or cold a substance is; a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles of a substance |
| Asteroid Belt | a region in our solar system, located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where numerous small, rocky bodies (asteroids) orbit the sun |
| radiation | the process by which the Sun heats the Earth through indirect contact (electromagnetic waves travel through space) |
| conduction | the process by which heat (thermal energy) is exchanged between two substances in direct contact, such as the land and the air |
| convection | the process of heat transfer due to differences in density (warm air rises, cool air sinks); drives global weather due to the uneven heating of Earth's surface by the Sun |
| deposition | sediment settles in a new location and can build new landforms (dunes, deltas) |
| lithosphere | the Earth's rigid, outer layer, composed of the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle |
| mantle | located between the crust and the outer core, made of hot, slow-flowing, solid rock |
| core | densest layer - 1/3 of Earth’s mass; extremely hot, made of nickel and iron; outer core is liquid, inner core is solid |
| Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram | a graph that plots the luminosity (brightness) of stars versus their surface temperature (or color). |
| sunspot | dark spots on the sun caused by cool areas of gas |
| solar flare | giant burst of energy on the surface on the sun, sends radiation towards the solar system |
| solar prominence | huge loops of gas thousands of kilometers tall that extend from the sun's corona |
| Hydrosphere | all Earth's water in various states and locations |
| Cryosphere | all ice on Earth |
| Biosphere | all the living things on Earth |
| Geosphere | all rock, soil, and sediments that make up Earth's land |
| Atmosphere | all the gases surrounding Earth |
| absolute dating | method to determine the actual age of rocks by measuring the radioactive decay |
Created by:
Ms. Wilhjelm
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