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Earth Systems
Earth Systems Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| atmosphere | the air that surrounds Earth |
| biosphere | all the living things on Earth |
| chemical reaction | a process in which substances change into different substances |
| condensation | when a gas turns into a liquid |
| criteria | the things that engineers think about and test in order to know how well something solves a problem |
| design | to try to make something new that solves a problem |
| engineer | a person who uses science knowledge to design something in order to solve a problem |
| evaporation | when a liquid turns into a gas |
| explanation | a description of how something works or why something happens |
| geosphere | the solid part of Earth |
| hydrosphere | all of the liquid water and ice on Earth |
| iterate | to try something again using what you learned the last time you tried it |
| matter | the stuff that things are made of |
| molecule | a group of atoms joined together in a particular way |
| property | what you can observe or measure about something that helps you figure out what it is |
| resource | a supply of something that is useful |
| substance | matter that is made of only one kind of atom or molecule |
| synthesize | to put together multiple pieces of information in order to understand something |
| system | a group of parts that work together |
| wastewater | water that has been used and now contains harmful substances |
| water vapor | water in the form of invisible gas |
| boreal forest | a cold-weather forest that grows in high latitudes across North America, Europe, and Asia; characterized by coniferous trees, long winters, and acidic soil |
| circulation | the continuous movement of air, water, or heat around the planet |
| currents | a continuous flow of water in a certain direction; play a big role in regulating Earth's climate by distributing heat from warm areas to colder areas |
| cycle | a continuous cycle that moves the same material through different parts of a system |
| crust | the solid rock outer layer of the Earth |
| core | the hot, dense, very center of our planet; made mostly of iron and nickel (divided into a solid inner core and a liquid outer core) |
| deciduous forest | a forest characterized by trees that lose their leaves at the end of each growing season: found in three main regions: eastern North America, western Eurasia, and northeastern Asia |
| feature | a distinct part of the Earth's surface, like a mountain, valley, river, ocean trench, or desert, which is formed by the interactions between the different Earth systems |
| fresh water | water that contains very little or no salt; primarily found in sources like rivers, lakes, glaciers, and underground aquifers |
| gas | a state of matter that has no definite shape or volume; such as Earth's atmosphere |
| glacial | relating to a large, slow-moving mass of ice called a glacier, which forms from compacted snow in cold areas and can carve out landscapes as it moves across the land, shaping the Earth's surface |
| glacial movement | when a large mass of ice, called a glacier, slowly moves across the Earth's surface due to its own weight and the pull of gravity; shaping the land as it goes by grinding and scraping rocks and soil along the way |
| global | considering the entire planet Earth as a whole |
| grassland | a large, open area of land where grasses are the main plants growing, usually found in places that don't get enough rain to support trees, making them a transition zone between forests and deserts |
| ground water | water that exists underground in saturated zones beneath the land surface |
| high pressure | a meteorological phenomenon characterized by an area where the atmospheric pressure is higher than that of the surrounding areas |
| hydrosphere | is the total amount of water on Earth, encompassing all liquid, solid (ice), and gaseous (water vapor) water found in oceans, rivers, lakes, groundwater, snow, and the atmosphere |
| liquid | a state of matter that has a definite volume but no fixed shape (The most common liquid on Earth is water, which is vital for all living thing.) |
| low pressure | lower pressure at its center than the areas around it; generally create winds and undesirable weather |
| mantle | a thick layer of hot, rocky material inside the Earth, located between the thin outer crust and the very hot core |
| marine | anything related to the ocean, including the plants and animals that live in it, the saltwater itself, and the different environments found within the ocean |
| moisture: | the amount of water vapor present in the air, which is part of the Earth's system called the atmosphere, and is constantly moving through the water cycle |
| polar ice caps | a large, dome-shaped sheet of ice that covers the North and South Poles of the Earth, formed by the accumulation of snow that doesn't melt in very cold temperatures, and acts as a huge storage area for most of the planet's freshwater |
| properties of soil | the layer of Earth where plants grow: the darker in color a soil is, the more nutrients it contains |
| reservoir | a place where a large amount of water is stored on Earth |
| savannah | a mixed woodland-grassland biome where the trees are spread out so their branches don’t cover the ground completely |
| soil composition | a mixture of tiny pieces of rock, dead plants and animals, air, and water; interacting together as part of Earth's systems to help plants grow and provide a home for many living things |
| solid | a state of matter that has a definite shape and volume, meaning it keeps its shape and doesn't change to fit the container it's in |
| surface feature | the distinct physical characteristics of a planet, like its land shape, rock types, and weather patterns |
| tropical rainforest | a hot, humid biome with a large variety of plants and animals located near the equator |
| tundra | a very cold, flat biome near the Earth's poles with almost no trees, where the ground is mostly frozen (permafrost) most of the year; allowing only small plants like mosses and lichens to grow during the short summers |
| vapor | water in its gas form; due to heat |
| water capacity | the total amount of water a specific area on Earth can hold, like a lake, river, or even the ground |
| water cycle | the constant movement of water on Earth between the air, land, and oceans, powered by energy from the sun and the pull of gravity |
| wetlands | an area of land that is covered with water for at least part of the year; with plants and animals that help clean the water |
| algea | a diverse group of aquatic, photosynthetic organisms ranging from single-celled to large multicellular forms like seaweed |
| desert | arid ecosystems that receive fewer than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation a year |
| steam | the vapor into which water is converted when heated, forming a white mist of minute water droplets in the air. |
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