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unit 6
science
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 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 into simpler substances by chemical means. |
| 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 joined by chemical bonds. |
| matter | Anything that has mass or 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 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. |
| 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 outermost layer of the earth above the mantle. |
| mantle | The layer of rock between the earth's crust and core. |
| convection | The movement of matter due to differences in density. |
| core | The central part of earth below the mantle. |
| lithosphere | The solid, outer layer of Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle. |
| asthenosphere | The soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move. |
| mesosphere | The strong, lower 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. |
| seafloor spreading | the process by which new oceanic lithosphere (sea floor) forms when magma rises to earth's surface at mid-ocean ridges and solidifies, as older, existing sea floor moves away from the ridge |
| plate tectonics | the theory that explains how large pieces of the lithosphere, called plates, move and change shape. |
| tectonic plates | a block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle. |
| 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 | the boundary between tectonic plate that are sliding past each other horizontally. |
| deformation | the bending, tilting, and breaking of Earth's crust |
| 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. |
| earthquakes | 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'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 the elastically deformed rock to its undeformed shape. |
| volcano | a vent or fissure in earth's surface 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. |