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unit 6 vocab
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Mineral | A naturally, usually inorganic solid that has a characteristic chemical and an orderly internal. |
| Element | A substance that cannot be separated or broken down into simpler substances by chemical means; all atoms of an element have the same atomic number. |
| Atom | The smallest unit of an element that maintains the properties of that element |
| Compound | A substance made up of atoms or ions of two or more different elements join by chemical bonds. |
| Matter | Anything that that has mass and takes up space. |
| Crystal | Natural solid substance that has definite geometric shape. |
| Streak | The color of a mineral in powered form |
| Luster | The way in which a mineral reflects light. |
| Cleavage | In geology, the tendency of a mineral to split along specific planes of a mineral to split along specific planes of weakness to form smooth, flat surfaces. |
| Weathering | The natural process by which atmospheric and environmental 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 sediment from one location to another. |
| Deposition | The process in which material is laid down. The change of a state from gas directly to a solid |
| Igneous rock | Rock that forms when magma cools and solidifies |
| Sedimentary rock | A rock that forms from compressed or cemented layers of sediment. |
| metamorphic 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 the Earth above the mantle. |
| mantle | The layer of rock between the Earth crust and core. |
| convection | The movement of mater due to differences in density; the transfer of energy due to the movement of matter. |
| core | The central part of Earth below the mantle. |
| lithosphere | The solid, outer layer Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle |
| asthenosphere | The soft layer of the mantle which tectonic plates move. |
| mesosphere | The strong part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core. |
| pangea | 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 surface at mid ocean ridges and solidifies as older existing sea floor moves away from the ridge. |
| plate tectonics | The theory that explain how large pieces of the lithosphere, called plates, move and change shape. |
| tectonics plates | A block of lithosphere that consist crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle |
| convergent boundary | That boundary between tectonic plates that are colliding. |
| divergent boundary | The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. |
| transform boundary | The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally. |
| deformation | The bending, tilting, and breaking of Earth's crust; the change in the shape of rock in response to stress. |
| folding | The bending of rock layers due to stress. |
| fault | A break in a body of rock along which one block moves relative to another. |
| shear stress | Stress that occurs when forces act in parallel but opposite directions, pushing parts of a solid in opposite directions. |
| tension | Stress that occurs when forces act to stretch an object. |
| compression | Stress that occurs when forces act to squeeze an object. |
| earthquake | A movement or trembling of the ground that is caused by a sudden release of energy when rocks 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 surface directly above an earthquake's staring 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 it's undeformed shape. |
| volcano | A 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; the rock that forms when lava cools and solidifies. |
| 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. |