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Earth's structures
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Mineral | A natural usually inorganic solid that has a characteristic chemical composition and an orderly internal structure. |
| Element | A substance that cannot be separated or broken down by |
| Atom | The smallest unit of an element that maintains properties of that element. |
| Compound | A substance made up of atoms or ions of two or more different elements joined by chemical bonds. |
| Matter | Anything that has mass and takes up space. |
| Crystal | Natural solid substance that has a definite geometric shape. |
| Streak | The color of a mineral in powdered form. |
| Luster | The way in which a mineral reflects light. |
| Cleavage | In geology, the tendency of a mineral to split along specific planes of weakness to form smooth, flat surfaces. |
| Weathering | The natural process by which atmospheric and envirornmental agents, such as wind, rain, and temperature changes, disintegrate and decompose rocks. |
| Erosion | The process by which wind, water, ice, or gravity transports soil and sentiment from one location to another. |
| Deposition | The change of state from a gas to a solid.(physical science) |
| Igneous rock | Rock that forms when magma cools and solidifies. |
| Sedimentary rock | A rock that forms from compressed or cemented layers of sediment |
| Mtamorphic rock | A rock that forms from other rocks as a result of intense heat, pressure, or chemical processes. |
| Rock cycle | The series of processes in which rock forms, changes from one type to another, is destroyed, and forms again by geologic processes. |
| Uplift | The rising of regions of the Earth's crust to higher elevations. |
| Subsidence | The sinking of regions of the Earth's crust to lower elevations. |
| Rift zone | an area of deep cracks that forms between two tectonic plates that are pulling away from each other. |
| Crust | The thin and solid outermost layer of Earth |
| Mantle | the layer of rock between Earth's crust and core. |
| Convection | The movement of matter due to differences on density; |
| Core | The central part of the Earth below the mantle |
| Lithosphere | The solid outer layer of Earth that consists of crust and the rigd upper part of the mantle. |
| Asthenosphere | The soft part on the mantle on which the tectonic plates move. |
| Mesosphere | The strong lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core. |
| Pangaea | The supercontinent that formed 300 million years ago and that began to break up 200 million years ago. |
| Sea-floor Spreading | The process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms when magma rises to Earth's surface in mid-ocean ridges and solidifies as older existing sea floor moves away from the ridge. |
| Plate tectonics | The theory that explains how larger pieces of the lithosphere called plates move and change shape. |
| Convergent boundary | The boundary between tectonic plates that are colliding. |
| Divergent boundary | The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. |
| Transform boundary | That boundary between plates are sliding past each other horizontally. |
| Deformation | The bending, tilting, and changing of the Earth's crust; the change in the shape of rock in response to stress. |
| Folding | The bending of rock layers due to stress. |
| Fault | The break in a body of rock along which another block moves relative to another. |
| Shear stress | Stress that occurs when forces act in parallel but opposite forces directions, pushing parts of a solid in opposite directions. |
| tension | Stress that occurs when forces act to stretch and object. |
| compression | Stress that occurs when forces act to squeeze an object. |
| earth quake | A movement or trembling of the ground that is caused by a sudden release of energy along a fault move. |
| focus | The location within Earth along a fault at which the first motion of an earthquake occurs. |
| epicenter | the point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's starting point, or focus |
| Tectonic plate boundary | The edge between two or more plates classified as divergent, convergent, or transform by the movement taking place between the plates. |
| elastic rebound | The sudden return of elastically deformed rock to its undeformed shape. |
| Volcano | The vent or fissure in Earth's surface through which magma and gases are expelled. |
| Magma | The molten or partially molten rock material containing trapped gases produced under the Earth's surface. |
| Lava | Magma that flows onto Earth's surface. |
| Vent | An opening at the surface of the Earth through which volcanic material passes |
| Hot spot | A volcanically active area of Earth's surface, commonly far from a tectonic plate boundary. |