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Independent Variable
the variable that can be changeable in an experiment
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Dependent variable
Depends on the independent variable
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TOpographic Map
Map that uses contour lines, symbols, and color to show changes in the elevation of Earth's surface and features such as mountains, bridges, and rivers.
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Contour Line
Line on a topographic map that connects points of equal elevation
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Mineral
Inorganic solid with specific chemical compound and definite crystal structures
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Crystal
solid with patterns
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Luster
How a mineral reflects light
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Hardness
A minerals resistance to scratch
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Cleavage
How a mineral breaks if it breaks evenly along planes if atomic bonds are weak
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Fracture
when a mineral breaks into pieces that are jagged and uneven
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Streak
Color of the mineral
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Lava
Magma that reaches earths surface
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Igneous Rock
Intrusive or extrusive rock formed from the cooling and crystallization of magma or lava
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Intrusive Rock
Coarse-grained rock that is formed when molten rock cools slowly and solidifies inside Earth's crust
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Extrusive Rock
Fine-grained igneous rock that formed when molten rock cools so quickly and solidifies on Earths surface
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Texture
Size, shape, and distribution of crystals
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Porphyritic texture
Large, well-defined crystals cooled slowly, then cooled quickly (like a chocolate chip cookie)
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Vesicular Texture
When lava is so thick that gas bubbles can't escape. Spongy appearance
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Pegmatite
Veins of large grained minerals
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Kimberlite
Rare, ultra basic rock (Diamonds found in kimberlites)
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Sediment
small pieces of rock
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Lithification
chemical process turning sediments into sedimentary rocks
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Cementation
Glues sediment together
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Compaction
weight pushes sediment together
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Bedding
Horizontal layering of sedimentary rocks
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Weathering
Breaks down and changes rocks (chemically or Physically)
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Deposition
Eroded materials are dropped in another location
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Fossil
Preserved remains of past living organisms
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Porosity
% of open space between grains in a mineral
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Evaporite
When chemical sedimentary rock form from dissolved minerals in water that reached saturation; crystal grains precippitate out of solution
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Foliated
Layered bands of minerals
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Non-foliated
Blocks crystal shapes
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Metamorphism
Produced when high pressure and high temps affect earths crust
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Rock Cycle
Continuos changing and remaking of rocks
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RUnoff
Water flowing downslope along earth's surface
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Watershed
Land where water drains into stream system
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Divide
High land area that separates watersheds (often mountains)
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Discharge
Measure of volume of stream water that flows
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Flood
When water spills over stream bands
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Floodplain
Broad, flat area that extends out from a streams band during flooding
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Stream Bank
Holds moving water within stream channel
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Base Level
Elevation in where water enters another body of water
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Meander
Curve or bend in a river
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Oxbow Lake
Cutoff section of a river that develops over time from deposition of sediments
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Rejuvenation
stream resumes downcutting toward base level
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Eutrophication
Adding nutrients to watershed
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Infiltration
Precipitation that falls on land and trickles to the ground
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Zone of Saturation
Region below Earth's surface in which groundwater completely fills pores
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water Table
Upper boundary of the zone of saturation that rises during wet seasons and drops during dry periods
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Zone of Aeration
Region above the water table where materials are moist, but pores contain mostly air
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Permeability
Ability of a material to let water pass through, is high in material with large, well connected pores and low in material with few pores or small pores
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Aquifer
Permeable underground layer through which groundwater flows relatively easily
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Aquiclude
Impermeable layer that is a barrier to groundwater; such as silt, clay, and shale
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Spring
Natural discharge of groundwater at Earth's surface where an aquifer and an aquiclude come in contact
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Geyser
Explosive hot spring that erupts regularly
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Cave
A natural underground opening connected to Earth's surface, usually formed when groundwater dissolves limestone
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Sinkhole
Depression in Earth's Surface formed when a cave collapses or bedrock is dissolved by acidic rain or moist soil
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Karst Topography
Irregular topography with sinkholes, sinks, and sinking streams caused by groundwater dissolution of limestone
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Stalactite
Cone-shaped or cylindrical dripstone deposit of calcium carbonate that hangs like an icicle from a cave ceiling
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Stalagmite
Mound-shaped dripstone deposit of calcium carbonate that forms on a cave floor beneath a stalactite
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Well
Deep hole drilled or dug into the ground to reach a reservoir of groundwater
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Drawdown
Difference between the water level in a pumped well and the original water table
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Artesian Well
Fountain of water that spurts above the land surface when a well taps a deep, confined aquifer containing water under pressure
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Continental Drift
Idea that all continents were once joined, proposed by Wegner
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Sea-floor Spreading
New crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges and destroyed at deep-sea trenches
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Tectonic Plate
Huge piece of Earth's crust that covers Earth's surface and fits together
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Divergent Boundary
Place where two of Earth's tectonic plates are moving apart; is associated with volcanism, earthquakes, high heat flow, and is found primarily on the sea-floor
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Convergent Boundary
Place where two tectonic plates are moving toward each other; is associated with trenches, islands, arcs, and folded mountains
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Subduction
Process by which one tectonic plate slips beneath another tectonic plate
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Convection
The transfer of thermal energy by the movement of heated material from one place to another
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Volcanism
Anything having to do with volcanoes
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Hot spot
Unusually hot area in Earth's surface
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Flood Basalt
When lava flows out of Earth's surface
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Fissure
Cracks in Earth's crust
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Conduit
Lava travels through it in a volcano
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Vent
Opening in Earth's crust through which lava erupts and flows out onto the surface
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Crater
Large depression at the top of a volcano
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Caldera
Forms after the magma chamber collapses in a volcano
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Viscosity
Resistance to flow
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Tephra
Erupted material from a volcano
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Pyroclastic Flow
Swift moving, potentially deadly clouds of gas, ash, and other volcanic material produced by a violent eruption
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Stress
Total force acting on a rock
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Strain
Materials response to stress (STRESS CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT STRAIN, BUT STRAIN CAN'T HAPPEN WITHOUT STRESS)
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Fault
Fracture along earth's crust
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Seismic Wave
Vibrations of ground produced during an earthquake
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Focus
Point where waves originate
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Epicenter
Directly above the focus
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Seismometer
Measures undetected waves not felt on the surface
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Seismograph
Record produced by a seismometer
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Moment Magnitude Scale
Measures energy released
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Modified Mercalli Scale
Measures intensity
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Tsunami
Large ocean waves
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Seismic Gap
Section along faults that have been active but have not recently been active
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Electromagnetic Spectrum
All types of electromagnetic radiate arranged according to wavelength and frequency
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Telescope
Used to study radiation
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Planetesimals
Small objects that can form planets
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Terrestrial Planets
One of the rocky-surfaced relatively small, dense inner planets closest to the sun- Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
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Gas Giant Planets
Large, Gaseous Planet that is very cold at its surface; has rings, systems, many moons, and lacks solid surfaces- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
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Dwarf Planet
An object that, due to its own gravity, is spherical in shape, orbits the sun, is not a satellite, and has not cleared the area of its orbit of smaller debris
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List Planets in Order
- Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
- My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Noodles
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Life cycle of a star: Normal Mass
Nebula, Protostar, Main Sequence, Red Giant, Planetary Nebula, White Dwarf, Black Dwarf
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Life cycle of a star: Large Mass
Nebula, Protostar, Main Sequence, Red Supergiant, Supernova, Neutron Star (or Black Hole)
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Solar Wind
Particles that flow from the corona
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Sunspot
Dark spot on the surface of the photosphere
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Solar Flare
Violent eruption on suns surface
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Prominence
Arc of gas ejected from the chromosphere
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Fusion
Combining of lightweight nuclei into heavier nuclei
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Fission
Process in which heavy atomic nuclei split into smaller, lighter atomic nuclei
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Constellation
Group of stars in the sky that resemble an animal, mythological character, or everyday object
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Binary Star
Two stars that are gravitationally bound to each other by a common center of mass
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Parallax
Shift in position by the observer
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Apparent Magnitude
How bright a star appears (Doesn't take into account distance)
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Absolute Magnitude
Brightness if placed 10 parsecs away
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Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram
Graph that relates stellar characteristics- class, mass, temp, magnitude, diameter, and luminosity
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Star Clusters
Groups of stars that are gravitationally bound to each other
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Red Shift
When the star moves away from the observer, the wavelengths become longer
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Blue Shift
When a star is moving towards the observer, the spectral lines are shifted toward shorter wavelengths
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Big Band Theory
Theory that proposes that the universe began as a single point and has been expanding ever since
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Cosmic Background Radiation
- Scientists discovered persistent background noise in their radio antenna. Noise was caused by weak radiation (AKA Cosmic Background Radiation)
- Appeared to be coming from all directions and have an emitting object having a temp very similar to the temp predicted to have caused the big bang.
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