| A | B |
|---|
| Aquifers | layers of rock and soil that hold groundwater |
| Transform | plates slip and grind alongside one another spawning Earthquakes |
| Law of conservation of matter | matter cannot be created nor destroyed |
| photosynthesis | producers make food by using sun energy with water and carbon dioxide |
| erosion | removal and transport of surface material by water and wind |
| primary producers | organisms that make their own food |
| nitrogen | the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere |
| ions | electrically charged atoms |
| cell membranes | phosphorus is a key component of what along with DNA and RNA |
| water cycle | continuous movement of water into the air, onto land, and then back to water sources |
| evaporation | liquid water is heated by the sun and rises into the atmosphere during this stage of the water cycle |
| nitrogen fixing bacteria | organism that nitrogen relies heavily upon |
| condensation | process that occurs when water vapor forms water droplets on dust particles |
| denitrification | bacteria convert nitrates in soil back to nitrogen gas |
| conduction | the flow of heat from a warmer object to a colder object when objects are placed in direct physical contact |
| Greenhouse effect | The warming of the surface and lower atmosphere that occurs when carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases absorb and radiate infrared radiation |
| nitrogen fixation | conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonia |
| convection | the transfer of heat by air currents |
| earthquakes | vibrations that are cuased when slippage occurs along a fault |
| divergent | plate movement where rising magma pushes plates apart |
| biosphere | parth of Earth that encompasses all area where organisms can obtain energy |
| Pangea | all the continents were connected as a super continent |
| tectonic plates | colliding of these cause the formation of the Himalaya mountains |
| crust | thin layer of relatively cool rock that forms Earth's outer skin |
| magma | molten rock that is found in the upper mantle |
| asthenosphere | softer, hot layer of rock that plates sit on top of |
| hydrosphere | all of the water on or near Earth's surface |
