Earth Science State Test Review

Front 1

Refraction

Back 1

The bending of waves as they move from one type of material to another.

Front 2

Reflection

Back 2

When waves hit a surface and bounce back.

Front 3

Seismic Waves

Back 3

Waves that move through the earth and are caused by earthquakes.

Front 4

Inner Core

Back 4

The center of the earth; made of solid iron and nickel.

Front 5

Outer Core

Back 5

The layer around the inner core; made of molten iron.

Front 6

Mantle

Back 6

The layer of Earth that is semi-molten and contains convection currents that plates "float" on.

Front 7

Crust

Back 7

The rigid, outermost layer of Earth.

Front 8

Radioactive Decay

Back 8

One of the reasons that the center of Earth is hot. This has caused Earth to heat up faster that it is able to cool down and causes convection currents, which move the plates.

Front 9

Gravitational Energy

Back 9

One of the reasons that the center of Earth is hot. This has caused Earth to heat up faster that it is able to cool down and causes convection currents, which move the plates.

Front 10

Convection Currents

Back 10

The circulation of magma in the upper mantle that pushes and pulls the plates, causing continental drift.

Front 11

Plate Tectonics

Back 11

The theory that Earth's crust is divided into sections that are slowly pushed and pulled around Earth due to convection currents.

Front 12

Heat

Back 12

The cause of convection currents; caused by gravitational energy and radioactive decay within Earth.

Front 13

Seismogram

Back 13

A machine that measures the presence and intensity of seismic waves on Earth.

Front 14

Planetary Differentiation

Back 14

A process in which more dense materials of a planet sink to the center, while less dense materials stay on the surface. This occurred approximately 4.6 billion years ago when Earth was forming.

Front 15

Continental Drift

Back 15

The idea that continents sit on plates and move slowly around the earth.

Front 16

Sea-floor Spreading

Back 16

Occurs at divergent plate boundaries under the ocean; allows magma to well up from the mantle and creates mid-ocean ridges.

Front 17

Divergent Boundary

Back 17

A plate boundary where tectonic plates are moving away from one another. Causes sea-floor spreading and rift valleys.

Front 18

Convergent Boundary

Back 18

A plate boundary where tectonic plates move toward each other. Can cause mountain formation, volcanoes, and/or subduction zones (trenches).

Front 19

Transform Boundary

Back 19

A plate boundary where two tectonic plates slide past one another. Typically causes earthquakes.

Front 20

Paleomagnetism

Back 20

The study of Earth's past magnetic fields and the fact that they have reversed several times throughout Earth's history. Evidence of this can be found on the sea floor near mid-ocean ridges.

Front 21

Ring of Fire

Back 21

The region around the Pacific ocean that experiences a large number of volcanoes and earthquakes due to plate movement.

Front 22

Erosion

Back 22

The removal of sediment by rain, water run-off, etc. This is a destructive process that destroys landforms.

Front 23

Deposition

Back 23

When sediments are deposited in a new location after being washed away from their original location. This is a constructive process that builds landforms up.

Front 24

Topographic Map

Back 24

A map showing elevation changes for a certain piece of land. These are used to see how steep or gentle the terrain of an area is - lines that are close together represent steep hills and lines that are far apart show gentle slopes.

Front 25

Weathering

Back 25

Breaking down of landforms by rainfall, acid rain, wind, frost wedging, etc.