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Stack #4703878
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Angle of incidence | The angle at which incoming solar radiation strikes Earth's surface. A perpendicular 90-degree angle delivers the most concentrated heat. |
| Convection current | The circular movement of fluid caused by differences in temperature and density. In the mantle, hot magma rises, cools, sinks, and drives tectonic plate movement. |
| Convergent boundary | A tectonic boundary where two plates collide. This action forms mountains, deep ocean trenches, volcanoes, and subduction zones. |
| Coriolis Effect | The apparent deflection of moving objects (like wind and ocean currents) caused by Earth's rotation. Currents turn right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern Hemisphere. |
| Deposition | The geological process where sediments, soil, and rocks are added to a landform. This happens when wind, ice, or water currents lose enough energy to drop the material they carry. |
| Divergent boundary | A tectonic boundary where two plates pull away from each other. This creates rifts on land and mid-ocean ridges underwater where new crust forms. |
| Divide | : A high geographical ridge or elevated line of land that separates neighboring drainage basins and directs rainfall into different rivers or oceans. |
| Earthquake | Shaking of Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere. This usually occurs along faults when built-up tectonic stress snaps. |
| El Nino | A climate pattern marked by the warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters. It weakens trade winds and disrupts global weather, causing wetter conditions in the southern US. |
| Equinoxes and Solstices | Seasonal markers dictated by Earth's axial tilt relative to the sun: |
| Erosion | The physical process by which water, wind, ice, or gravity moves weathered rock, soil, or sediment from one location to another. |
| Exosphere | The outermost atmospheric layer transitioning into space. It features extremely low density, collisionless particles, and is mostly hydrogen and helium. |
| Hadley Cells | Large-scale atmospheric convection loops near the equator. Warm air rises at the equator, drops moisture, travels poles, and sinks as dry air around 30° latitude. |
| Hot spot | A volcanic region fed by an underlying plume of hot mantle material that rises independently of tectonic plate boundaries, such as the Hawaiian Islands. |
| Humus | The dark, organic component of soil. It is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter by microorganisms and is vital for soil fertility. |
| Insolation | Short for in-coming sol-ar rad-iation. This is the total amount of solar energy that reaches a specific area of Earth's surface over a given time. |
| La Nina | The opposite of El Niño, marked by cooler-than-average eastern Pacific sea surface temperatures. It strengthens trade winds, leading to drier conditions in the southern US and wetter conditions in the Pacific Northwest. |
| Lithosphere | The rigid, solid outermost shell of Earth. It consists of the entire crust and the very top portion of the upper mantle, broken into tectonic plates. |
| Mesosphere | The third atmospheric layer up (50–85 km). It is the coldest layer, where temperatures drop with altitude, and it is where most meteors burn up. |
| Parent material | The starting geological material (bedrock, volcanic ash, or sediment) from which a soil horizon develops through weathering over time. |
| Permeability | A measure of how easily water and fluids can flow through soil pores. Coarse soils like sand have high permeability. |
| Porosity | The percentage of total soil volume that consists of empty spaces or pores. It dictates how much water or air a soil can hold. |
| Rain Shadow Effect | A dry area on the leeward side of a mountain range. Moist air rises and drops rain on the windward side, leaving only dry air to pass over the peak. |
| Soil chemistry tests | Laboratory or field assessments that measure soil properties like pH, nutrient levels (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), and cation exchange capacity to determine soil health. |
| Soil components | The three mineral particle sizes that dictate soil texture: |
| Soil horizons | Distinct layers of soil oriented parallel to the land surface, categorized by unique physical, chemical, and biological characteristics (O, A, E, B, C, and R horizons). |
| Stratosphere | The second atmospheric layer (12–50 km). It contains the protective ozone layer and warms up with altitude because ozone absorbs solar UV rays. |
| Thermosphere | The fourth atmospheric layer (85–600 km). It features extreme high kinetic temperatures but feels freezing due to ultra-low density, and it contains the aurora borealis. |
| Transform boundary | A tectonic boundary where two plates slide horizontally past one another. They cause frequent earthquakes but do not create or destroy crust. |
| Tributary | A smaller freshwater river or stream that flows into a larger main river or lake rather than directly into the ocean. |
| Troposphere | The lowest atmospheric layer (0–12 km). It holds 75% of atmospheric mass, drops temperature with altitude, and is where all weather and life happen. |
| Watershed | An area of land that channels all rainfall, snowmelt, and streams to a single shared outflow point, like a river mouth or bay. |
| Weathering | The chemical or physical breakdown of rocks and minerals at or near Earth's surface into smaller fragments through contact with the atmosphere, water, and biological organisms. |
| March/September Equinoxe | The sun is directly over the equator. Day and night are roughly equal everywhere on Earth. |
| June Solstice | The sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer. The Northern Hemisphere experiences its longest day and start of summer. |
| December Solstice | The sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. The Northern Hemisphere experiences its shortest day and start of winter. |
| sand | Largest particles (0.05–2.0 mm), gritty texture, high permeability, low nutrient retention. |
| silt | Medium particles (0.002–0.05 mm), smooth or floury texture, moderate water retention. |
| clay | Smallest particles (<0.002 mm), sticky texture, low permeability, high nutrient retention. |
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