9Th Grade Physical Science

Front 1

95% of all rocks in Earth's crust are _________.

Back 1

Igneous rocks

Front 2

Obsidian is a type of _______ rock.

Back 2

Igneous

Front 3

A measure of density is _________.

Back 3

Specific gravity

Front 4

The hardest minerals under Moh's scale are

Back 4

Diamonds

Front 5

___________ are characterized by an orderly arrangement of atoms, and a specific shape.

Back 5

minerals.

Front 6

Earth's four main layers

Back 6

inner core, outer core, mantle, crust

Front 7

What is the difference between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere?

Back 7

The lithosphere is brittle and subject to fractures; the asthenosphere is plastic, and carries thermal convection currents.

Front 8

What is meant by the lower mantle is "plastic"?

Back 8

It responds to changes in the lithosphere in a semiliquid fashion

Front 9

What is the continental shelf?

Back 9

the gently sloping platform between the shoreline and the steep slope that leads to the deep ocean floor.

Front 10

What is Pangaea?

Back 10

What Alfred Wegener called the supercontinent in which all continents were united.

Front 11

What were the midocean ridges?

Back 11

Underwater volcanoes and mountain ridges

Front 12

Describe subduction in plate interraction

Back 12

one plate bends and is carried under the other

Front 13

What are divergent boundaries?

Back 13

Areas on Earth where plates are moving apart.

Front 14

What are convergent boundaries?

Back 14

Areas on Earth where the plates are coming together in some way.

Front 15

Describe the theory of plate tectonics

Back 15

The theory that the Earth's lithosphere is divided into plates that move as independent units.

Front 16

The zone of volcanoes and seismic activity located around the Pacific Basin

Back 16

The Ring of Fire

Front 17

giant sea waves caused by seismic forces

Back 17

Tsunamis

Front 18

a series of islands

Back 18

archipelago

Front 19

Logarithmic scale used to measure earthquakes

Back 19

Richter scale

Front 20

Place where the slippage of earth's plates actually occurs

Back 20

the epicenter

Front 21

What is seismic retrofitting?

Back 21

Strengthening or rebuilding buildings, bridges and roads

Front 22

the return of water to the sea by rivers

Back 22

runoff

Front 23

water in solid form, usually at poles

Back 23

icecaps

Front 24

the process of liquid water turning to vapor

Back 24

evaporation

Front 25

water evaporating, precipitating, and returning to the sea

Back 25

hydrological cycle

Front 26

Water that percolates into the earth

Back 26

groundwater

Front 27

the condensation of vapor as snow or rain

Back 27

precipitation

Front 28

the ability of soil to allow water to pass

Back 28

permeability

Front 29

Spaces between soil and rock particles

Back 29

pores

Front 30

dry regions where pores are mainly filled with air

Back 30

zones of aeration

Front 31

upper boundary of the saturated zone

Back 31

Water table

Front 32

a water-bearing underground layer through which water can flow

Back 32

Aquifer

Front 33

Place where water enters the aquifer through precipitation

Back 33

Recharge Area

Front 34

What is a perched water table?

Back 34

a place where water is held above the normal water table in a layer of low-permeable material, such as clay, serving as a sort of container

Front 35

Where withdrawal of groundwater has been extreme, the land surface is actually lowered

Back 35

subsidence

Front 36

What causes the Leaning Tower of Pisa to lean?

Back 36

Differences in groundwater on either side of the building

Front 37

What is Karst topography?

Back 37

An area of caverns, caves and sinkholes caused by groundwater dissolving carbonates in the land

Front 38

Four substances naturally present in soil that can affect water quality

Back 38

Calcium, sulphur, arsenic, lead

Front 39

What is the difference between hard water and soft water?

Back 39

the amount of mineral impurities

Front 40

Name some ways human activity contaminates ground and surface water

Back 40

Agricultural runoff, leaks of toxic chemicals and trash landfills

Front 41

the six basic types of land and water formations

Back 41

Islands and lakes,
peninsulas and bays,
isthmuses and straits

Front 42

a body of land surrounded on two sides by water

Back 42

isthmus

Front 43

body of water surrounded on two sides by land

Back 43

Strait

Front 44

the two factors that determine how fast a river moves

Back 44

how high the river is and how wide the river channel is

Front 45

a region where the water flow goes in one direction or the other towards one watershed or the other

Back 45

A Divide

Front 46

Describe the life of a river

Back 46

Starts high in mountains, small streams from ice and snow flow very rapidly, eroding streambed to bedrock. Coming to the plains, they move side-to-side in a meander till they finally reach the ocean or bay spreading out into a large floodplain called a delta.

Front 47

Which are stagnant, lakes or ponds?

Back 47

ponds

Front 48

Which are dynamic, lake or ponds?

Back 48

lakes

Front 49

Two ways that ice flows

Back 49

Plastic deformation and basal sliding

Front 50

When an ice mass reaches critical thickness, pressure from the upper layers causes the bottom to deform plastically and flow down hill

Back 50

Describe Plastic deformation

Front 51

Describe basal sliding

Back 51

Pressure causes glacial melt at the bottom causing ice to flow

Front 52

Accumulation

Back 52

Glacial growth in winter

Front 53

Ablation

Back 53

Ice lost to melting in summer

Front 54

What are moraine features

Back 54

Changes in topographycaused by glacial action

Front 55

Striations

Back 55

Long, parallel scratches in bedrock caused by glacial movement

Front 56

Name two types of glaciers

Back 56

Alpine and Continental

Front 57

Glaciers mostly confined to individual mountain valleys

Back 57

alpine glaciers

Front 58

Steep-sided, bowl-shaped depression caused by alpine glacier

Back 58

Cirque

Front 59

Cirque filled with water

Back 59

Tarn

Front 60

Sharp jagged ridge formed by two glaciers cutting out cirques on either side

Back 60

Arete

Front 61

Sharp peak formed by 3 glaciers on the same mountain slope

Back 61

horn

Front 62

Part of a valley suspended above the rest of the valley caused by uneven glacial retreat

Back 62

hanging valley

Front 63

Small freshwater lakes formed by continental glaciers

Back 63

kettles

Front 64

Small asymetrical hills formed by continental glaciers with a smooth side and a rough rocky side

Back 64

roches moutonnes

Front 65

glacier formed on level ground

Back 65

continental glacier

Front 66

How does glacial action create lakes?

Back 66

Glaciers scrape out depressions in the earth, then melt, filling the depressions with fresh water

Front 67

What are the differences between oceans and seas?

Back 67

Seas are parts of larger oceans, usually, but not always surrounded by land. Generally calmer waters and shallower than ocean.

Front 68

a region close to the ocean surface, where sunlight easily penetrates, the pressure is low and temperature is relatively high

Back 68

lightzone

Front 69

Deepest parts of the ocean

Back 69

Trenches

Front 70

Round and gentle wave

Back 70

swell

Front 71

Three ways ocean waters move

Back 71

Wind, earth's rotation and upwelling

Front 72

Force that controls tidal action

Back 72

Gravitational pull

Front 73

Which is higher a lunar tide or a solar tide?

Back 73

Lunar tide. Because the sun is so much farther away.

Front 74

The lowest high tides during a given month are called _________--

Back 74

neap tides

Front 75

Highest tides of the month are called _________.

Back 75

Spring tides

Front 76

What is perigree?

Back 76

When the sun and moon are closest to earth

Front 77

The highest tides of the whole cycle

Back 77

astronomical high tides

Front 78

regions close to the ocean affected by tides

Back 78

tidal flats

Front 79

What is ebb tide?

Back 79

Tide moving out

Front 80

What is flood tide?

Back 80

Tide moving inland

Front 81

what is a desert?

Back 81

any place on earth with rainfall or precipitation less than 25 centimeters per year.

Front 82

Why are hot deserts so hot and dry?

Back 82

Location in the tropics, in high atmospheric pressure areas that dry out air as it sinks,

Front 83

Describe the process of desertification

Back 83

Climatic changes combined with poor agricultural or grazing practices.

Front 84

What is an oasis?

Back 84

a place where groundwater table comes close enough to the surface for the roots of palms and other plants to reach it.

Front 85

a small temporary lake in the desert

Back 85

playa lake

Front 86

Broad sloping expanse of bedrock like an apron around a steep slope

Back 86

pediment

Front 87

mountain with steep sides, flattened top, usually seen in deserts

Back 87

mesa

Front 88

smaller version of a mesa

Back 88

butte

Front 89

Name the five layers of atmosphere

Back 89

troposhere
stratoshpere
mesosphere

Front 90

Describe a convection current

Back 90

Warm air rises, is cooled by temperatures in the atmoshpere above it and sinks back down

Front 91

Air moving in horizontal directions

Back 91

Wind

Front 92

A difference in air pressure between two locations

Back 92

a pressure gradient

Front 93

What is the coriolis effect?

Back 93

All free-moving objects deviate direction due to the Earth's rotation

Front 94

Which direction do winds travel due to coriolis effect?

Back 94

Right in Northern Hemisphere and Left in Southern hemisphere

Front 95

Windless region along equator

Back 95

doldrums

Front 96

Wind just above the equator long known for helping sailors get where they are going

Back 96

Trade Winds

Front 97

Changeable winds in temperate zones

Back 97

Westerlies

Front 98

Polor winds associated with fierce storms

Back 98

Easterlies