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Mid-term vocablary
All vocablary that i need to learn for Mid-term
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| science | the investigation and exploration of natural events and of the new information that results from those investigations |
| observation | the act of using one or more of your senses to gather information and take note of what occurs. |
| inference | a logical explanation of an observation that is drawn from prior knowledge or experience. |
| hypothesis | a possible explanation for an observation that can be tested by scientific investigations. |
| prediction | a statement of what will happen next in a sequence of events. |
| technology | the practical use of scientific knowledge, especially for industrial or commercial use. |
| scientific theory | an explanation of observations or events that is based on knowledge gained from many observations and investigations. |
| scientific law | a rule that describes a pattern in nature. |
| critical thinking | comparing what you already know with information you are given in order to decide whether you agree with it. |
| description | a spoken or written summary of observations. |
| explanation | an interpretation of observations. |
| International System of Units (SI) | the internationally accepted system of measurement. |
| significant digits | the number of digits in a measurement that are known with a certain degree of reliability. |
| variable | any factor that can have more than one value. |
| independent variable | the factor that is changed by the investigator to observe how it affects a dependent variable. |
| dependent variable | the factor a scientist observes or measures during an experiment. |
| biosphere | the parts of Earth and the surrounding atmosphere where there is life. |
| atmosphere | a thin layer of gases surrounding Earth. |
| hydrosphere | the system containing all Earth’s water. |
| cryosphere | the frozen portion of water on Earth’s surface |
| groundwater | water that is stored in cracks and pores beneath Earth’s surface. |
| geosphere | the solid part of Earth. |
| mineral | a naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition. |
| rock | a naturally occurring solid composed of minerals, rock fragments, and sometimes other materials such as organic matter. |
| water cycle | the series of natural processes by which water continually moves throughout the hydrosphere. |
| evaporation | the process of a liquid changing to a gas at the surface of the liquid. |
| transpiration | the process by which plants release water vapor through their leaves. |
| condensation | the process by which a gas changes to a liquid |
| precipitation | water, in liquid form, that falls from the atmosphere. |
| weather | the atmospheric conditions, along with short-term changes, of a certain place at a certain time. |
| climate | the long-term average weather conditions that occur in a particular region. |
| rock cycle | the series of processes that change one type of rock into another type of rock. |
| uplift | the process that moves large bodies of Earth materials to higher elevations |
| weathering | the mechanical and chemical processes that change Earth’s surface over time. |
| mechanical weathering | physical processes that naturally break rocks into smaller pieces. |
| chemical weathering | the process that changes the composition of rocks and minerals due to exposure to the environment. |
| oxidation | the process that combines the element oxygen with other elements or molecules. |
| soil | mixture of weathered rock, rock fragments, decayed organic matter, water, and air. |
| organic matter | remains of something that was once alive. |
| pore | small holes and spaces in soil. |
| decomposition | the breaking down of dead organisms and organic waste. |
| parent material | the starting material of soil consisting of rock or sediment that is subject to weathering. |
| topography | the shape and steepness of the landscape. |
| biota | all of the organisms that live in a region. |
| horizon | layers of soil formed from the movement of the products of weathering. |
| erosion | moving of weathered material, or sediment, from one location to another. |
| deposition | the laying down or settling of eroded material. |
| meander | a broad, C-shaped curve in a stream. |
| longshore current | a current that flows parallel to the shoreline |
| delta | a large deposit of sediment that forms where a stream enters a large body of water. |
| abrasion | the grinding away of rock or other surfaces as particles carried by wind, water, or ice scrape against them. |
| dune | a pile of windblown sand. |
| loess | a crumbly, windblown deposit of silt and clay. |
| mass wasting | the downhill movement of a large mass of rocks or soil due to gravity. |
| landslide | rapid, downhill movement of soil, loose rocks, and boulders. |
| talus | a pile of angular rocks and sediment from a rockfall. |
| glacier | large mass of ice, formed by snow accumulation on land, that moves slowly across Earth’s surface. |
| till | a mixture of various sizes of sediment that has been deposited by a glacier. |
| moraine | a mound or ridge of unsorted sediment deposited by a glacier. |
| outwash | layered sediment deposited by streams of water that flow from a melting glacier. |
| water vapor | water in its gaseous form. |
| troposphere | the atmospheric layer closest to Earth’s surface |
| stratosphere | the atmospheric layer directly above the troposphere. |
| ozone layer | the area of the stratosphere with a high concentration of ozone. |
| ionosphere | a region within the mesosphere and thermosphere containing ions. |
| radiation | the transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves. |
| conduction | the transfer of thermal energy due to collisions between particles. |
| convection | the circulation of particles within a material caused by differences in thermal energy and density; the transfer of thermal energy by the movement of particles from one part of a material to another. |
| stability | whether circulating air motions will be strong or weak. |
| temperature inversion | a temperature increase as altitude increases in the troposphere. |
| wind | the movement of air from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. |
| trade winds | steady winds that flow from east to west between 30°N latitude and 30°S latitude. |
| westerlies | steady winds that flow from west to east between latitudes 30°N and 60°N, and 30°S and 60°S. |
| polar easterlies | cold winds that blow from the east to the west near the North Pole and South Pole. |
| jet stream | a narrow band of high winds located near the top of the troposphere. |
| sea breeze | a wind that blows from the sea to the land due to local temperature and pressure differences |
| land breeze | a wind that blows from the land to the sea due to local temperature and pressure differences. |
| air pollution | the contamination of air by harmful substances including gases and smoke. |
| acid precipitation | precipitation that has a lower pH than that of normal rainwater. |
| photochemical smog | air pollution that forms from the interaction between chemicals in the air and sunlight. |
| particulate matter | the mix of both solid and liquid particles in the air. |
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