| A | B |
|---|
| gravity | force that pulls everything to the center- Newton |
| Inertia | a force that keeps objects in motion - Newtons first law |
| Contour maps | maps showing the earth's relief - elevation, slope etc. |
| continental drift | Theory proposed by Alfred Wegener c. 1912 that the continents were once together and have drifted apart |
| Plate Techtonics | The mechanism that proves that the continents drift due to sea floor spreading and convection currents in the mantle. |
| Mid-Ocean Ridge | Area on the ocean floor where magma comes out of the ocean floor causing sea floor spreading |
| Contour lines | lines of elevation on a contour map, every 5th is an index CL |
| depression | bowl or down slope terrain |
| hatcher lines | small inward pointing lines on the contour map that indicate a depression or declining elevation |
| slope | elevation divided by the distance between two points |
| Atmosphere | Air surrounding a planet. Different layers produced by different temperatures. |
| Air pressure | weight of air (earth's is 14.7 lbs/sq. in.) |
| Troposphere | layer of atmosphere closest to earth- where weather occurs |
| Stratosphere | 2nd layer of earth's atmosphere`12-50 km, contains ozone layer |
| Mesosphere | 50-400 km layer of the atmosphere- burns up most small meteors before they can reach earth |
| Thermosphere | 400 km layer of atmosphere. Outer space. Hottest layer of air. |
| Volcano | Mountain which may erupt from pressurized magma |
| Earthquake | Earth shakes due to cracks in the earth's crust |
| Magnitude | strength of an earth quake |
| core | inner area of earth 1300 km thick Iron and Nickel |
| Mantle | Thickest part of earth, 2900 km resides under the crust |
| Crust | top rock outermost layer of earth 5-70km thick |
| Conduction | heat transfered by touch |
| Convection | heat transfered by flow - rise fall |
| Radiation | heat transfered through the air |
| Shield volcano | Flatter domed shaped volcano like the Hawaiin Islands |
| Strato or composite Volcano | Classic type- Ex. Mt St. Helens |
| Lithosphere | the part of the earth that conatins the Crust and upper mantle. Thought of as the continental plates. |
| Rocks | naturally occuring substance that contains several minerals or sediments. 3 types: Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic |
| Minerals | Naturally occuring inorganic solid that has only one definite composition and shape |
| Rock cycle | A process or cycle whereby rocks can be changed into another type through heat and pressure and weathering. The cycle continues as rocks reform into other types. |
| planets | 8 celestial objects orbiting the sun |
| plutoids | dwarf planets - ceres, pluto and eris are ex. |
| Tilt | earth is tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis. It is the reason why earth has seasons |
| Moon phases | changes the moon appears to go through because of the amount of reflected light we see as it orbits the earth every 29.5 days |
| lunar eclipse | Earth is between the sun and moon, thus eclipsing the moon from our view. Only happens during full moon. |
| Solar eclipse | Moon is bewtween sun and earth. Happens only during new moon phase. |
| Fossils | plant or animal remains buried in sedimentary rock. Gives us clues about life in the past. |
| Seismic waves | P, S and L (surface) waves created by the energy of an earthquakes. |
| Pangaea | 250 million years ago the Earth was one large Land Mass |
| Nebular theory | Theory which states that the solar system was formed 4.6 billion years ago. |
| Big Bang | Theory that explains the formation of the Universe 13.7 Billion years ago. |
| Fusion | Proces which takes place in the core of the sun which fuses Hydrogen to form Helium which produces heat and light from the sun. 15 m degrees C is required to start Fusion. |
| Aesthenosphere | Soft plasticy layer below Lithosphere. |
| Igneous | Type of rock formed from lava. Ex. granite, basalt |
| Metamorphic | Type of rock formed from heat and pressure changes. Ex shale, marble |
| Sedimentary | Rocks formed from sediments. Ex. slate, conglomerate |
| Fault | Crack in the earth - types include strike slip like the San Andreas and dip slip. |
| Trench | Deepest part of the ocean floor. Created by the convergence of 2 plates. Otherwise known as a subduction zone. |
| Lahar | River of mud and debris caused by a volcanic eruption |
| Pyroclastic flow | Hot ash coming from the exploding volcano. Travels at 200 miles an hr with temperatures up to 800 F |
| Convection currents | Cause of plate movement-warm rises, cold falls - cycles. |
| Convergent boundary | When 2 plates converge -come together |
| Divergnt Boundary | When 2 plates separate or move apart at Mid ocean ridge |
| Transform Boundary | 2 plates move past each other, going in opposite directions |
| Weathering | Chemical or physical erosion |
| Erosion | Agents that wear down rock, like wind, water, ice, plant roots and glaciers |
| Spring tide | Higher than normal high tides caused by the alignment of the earth moon and sun. new or full moon position |
| Neap tides | Occur when the moon is in the first or last quarter phases. |
| Geo-centric | Earth centered Solar System |
| Helio-centric | Sun Centered Solar System |
| Star life Cycle | This depends on the size of the nebula at birth-Massive stars will explode or supernova and become black holes. |
| isostacy | balance of downward forces of the crust and upward forces of the mantle |
| Transform fault | example is the San Andraes |
| Stress | pushes and pulls on the earth's crust |
| Compression | Type of stress that pushes th earth together |
| Tension | Type of stress that pulls the earth apart |
| shearing | Type of stress that causes lateral movement like San Andreas fault |
| Fracture | stress that causes rock to crack |
| Fault | a break or crack along which the earth moves. |
| Rift valley | a block of land between 2 normal faults slides downward. |
| intrusive | type of igneous rock formed inside the earth-granite |
| extrusive | Type of igneous rock formed on the surface of the earth |
| Tilt | Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis, it's the reason for earth's seasons |
| Density | the amount of atoms in a given volume of material. Mass div. by vol. |
| Sun | The source of all earth's energy. It burns H in fusion reactions to make that energy. |
| Earth layers | 2 cores, Mantle and Crust. |
| Supernova | Exploding massive star |
| Nebula | Giant mass of gass and dust. It's where stars are born and die |
| Galaxy | Cluster of billions of stars |
| Weather | The daily atmospheric conditions |
| Climate | The expected atmosphereic conditions in a specific geographic area. |
| Greenhouse gases | Gases that trap the suns heat. ie, CO2, CH4, and water vapor are ex. Some are essential |
| Global warming | The earth's average temp. is rising due to excessive GH gases. |
| epicenter | point on the surface of the earth directly above the focus of an earthquake or point of origin |
| Focus | Point of origin of earthquake |
| Magnitude | pwoer or energy exherted by an eartquake |
| Richter Scale | Scale that measure the magnitude of an earthquake. Actually measure the size of the seismic waves |
