| A | B |
|---|
| geology | the study of Earth's structure, materials, and processes |
| uniformitarianism | the belief that all geologic processes are natural, have always been the same, and have always happened at the same gradual rate. It is summed up by the statement, "The present is the key to the past." This view was once held as a fundamental principle in geology. Most secular geologists today do not strongly hold to thisnview, though thae are still committed to naturalism. |
| deep-time view | the idea that the earth is ancient - billions of years old. The term represents the secular approach to the history of geology, the earth, and the universe according to the principle of uniformitarianism. |
| crust | the solid, relatively low-density outermost layer of rocky planets and natural satellites. It lies under loose surface materials and the oceans. |
| Moho | (Mohorovicic discontinuity) the boundary between the earth's crust and mantle. |
| mantle | Hot, plastic rock that fills the interior of many rocky planets and some natural satellites. Located between the crust and the core. In the earth, the mantle makes up 84% of the planet's volume. |
| lithosphere | the upper mantle and the crust that move together with tectonic plates. |
| core | In Earth, the dense, extremely hot central region of the earth's interior consisting of two parts: a liquid outer core and a solid inner core. The core makes up about 15% of the earth's volume. In general, a core is the center of any celestial object. In a star, for example, the core is where nuclear fusion powers the star. |
| natural resource | any raw material from the natural environment that we can use. |
| renewable resource | a natural resource that has an unlimited supply or that can be easily replenished. |
| nonrenewable resource | a natural resource that people caanot replenish. People can conserve nonrenewable resources by recycling or finding alternative materials to meet a need. |
| resource management | efforts to wisely use natural resources. |
