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Earths Systems
Unit 10
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Earths System | All of the non-living things, living things, and processes that make up the planet Earth, including the solid Earth, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere. |
| Geosphere | The mostly solid, rocky part of the Earth; extends from the surface of the core to the surface of the crust. |
| Hydrosphere | The portion of Earth that is water. |
| Cryosphere | One of the Earth's spheres where water is solid form, including snow cover, floating ice, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground permafrost. |
| Atmosphere | A mixture of gas the surrounds a planet, moon, or other celestial body. |
| Biosphere | The part of Earth where life exists; including all of the living organisms on Earth, |
| Energy Budget | The net flow of energy into and out of a system. |
| Air pressure | The measure of the force with which air molecules push on a surface. |
| Thermosphere | The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases. |
| Mesosphere | 1. The strong ,lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core. 2. The layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere and which temperature decreases as altitude increases. |
| Stratosphere | The layer of the atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere and in which temperature increases as altitude increases; contains the ozone layer. |
| ozone layer | The layer of the atmosphere at an altitude of 15 to 40km in which ozone absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation. |
| Greenhouse effect | The warming of the surface of the lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases absorb and reradiate energy. |
| troposphere | The lowest layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases; the part of the atmosphere where weather conditions exist. |
| temperature | A measure of how hot or cold something is; specifically, a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object, |
| thermal engery | The total kinetic energy of a substance's atoms. |
| thermal expansion | An increase of a size in the size of a substance in response to an increase in the temperature of the substance |
| Convection | The movement of matter due to differences in density; the transfer of energy due to the movement of matter. |
| Conduction | The transfer of energy as heat through a material. |
| Radiation | The transfer of energy as electromagnetic waves. |
| Wind | The movement of air caused by differences in air pressure. |
| Coralis effect | The curving of a path of a moving object from a otherwise straight path due to Earths rotation. |
| Jet stream | A narrow band of strong winds that blow the upper troposphere. |
| Local wind | The movement of air over short distances; occurs in specific |
| Global wind | The movement of air over Earth's surface in patterns that are world wide. |
| Ocean currents | A movement of ocean water that follows a regular pattern. |
| Deep current | A streamlike movement of ocean water far bellow the surface. |
| Convection current | Any movement of matter that results from differences in density; may be vertical, circular, or cycical. |
| Surface current | A horizonal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and occurs at or near the ocean surface. |
| Upwelling | The movement of deep, cold and nutrient-rich water to the surface. |
| Heat | The energy transferred between objects that are at different temperatures. |