| A | B |
|---|
| continent | landmasses above water on Earth |
| solar system | consists of the sun and the 9 known planets, as well as other celestial bodies that orbit the sun. |
| core | center of the earth and is made up of iron and nickel |
| mantle | 2nd layer in the earth, has most of the earth’s mass |
| magma | molten rock |
| crust | thin layer of rock at the earth’s surface. |
| atmosphere | a layer of gases surrounding the earth |
| lithosphere | sold rock portion of the earth’s surface |
| hydrosphere | the water elements of the earth which include oceans, seas, rivers, lakes and water in the atmosphere. |
| biosphere | atmosphere, lithosphere and the hydrosphere together, part of the earth where plants and animals live. |
| continental drift | the earth was once a supercontinent that divided slowly and drifted apart over millions of years. |
| hydrologic cycle | continuous circulation of water between the atmosphere, the oceans and the earth. |
| drainage basin | an area drained by a major river and its tributaries |
| ground water | the water held in the pores of rock |
| water table | the level at which the rock is saturated |
| landforms | naturally formed features on the surface of the earth. |
| continental shelf | the earth’s surface from the edge of a continent to the deep part of the ocean |
| relief | the differenced in elevation of a landform from its lowest point to its highest point |
| topography | combination of the surface shape and composition of the landforms and their distribution in a region. |
| tectonic plates | enormous moving pieces of the earth’s lithosphere |
| fault | a fracture in the earth’s crust caused by a rock that is not flexible that cracks under the pressures exerted by the plate movement |
| earthquake | violent movement of the earth |
| seismograph | a special device used to detect earthquakes |
| epicenter | the point directly above the location where the earthquake begins on the earth’s surface. |
| Richter scale | uses information collected by seismographs to determine the relative strength of an earthquake. |
| tsunami | a giant wave in the ocean can be caused by an earthquake |
| volcano | materials that pour out of a crack in the earth’s surface. |
| lava | magma that has reached the earth’s surface |
| ring of fire | the zone around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The location of the vast majority of volcanoes |
| weathering | physical and chemical process that change the characteristics of rock on or near the earth’s surface. |
| sediment | smaller and smaller pieces of rock |
| mechanical weathering | processes that break rock into smaller pieces. Does not change the composition of the rock, only the size. |
| chemical weathering | rock is changed into a new substance as a result of interaction between elements in the air or water and the minerals in the rock. |
| delta | the sediment that is deposited in a fan-like landform when a river enters the ocean. |
| loess | windblown silt and clay sediment that produce very fertile soil. |
| glacier | large, long-lasting mass of ice that moves because of gravity |
| glaciation | changing of landforms by slowly moving glaciers |
| moraine | rocks left behind by a glacier may form a ridge or hill |
| humus | organic material |
