Geography Unit 1 Part 2

Front 1

SOLSTICE

Back 1

longest or shortest day when the Sun is farthest from the equator

Front 2

EQUINOX

Back 2

occurs twice a year; the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator making night and day equal length all over the earth

Front 3

WEATHER

Back 3

state of atmosphere

Front 4

CLIMATE

Back 4

the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region

Front 5

CONDENSATION

Back 5

change of the physical state of matter from gaseous phase into liquid phase

Front 6

PRECIPITATION

Back 6

rain, snow, or hail formed by condensation of moisture in the atmosphere which falls to the ground

Front 7

EVAPORATION

Back 7

a process in which something is changed from a liquid to a vapor without its temperature reaching the boiling point

Front 8

HYDROSPHERE

Back 8

the portion of Earth's surface that is water, including the seas and water in the atmosphere

Front 9

ATMOSPHERE

Back 9

the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; the air

Front 10

LITHOSPHERE

Back 10

solid portion of Earth; the solid outer layer of the Earth consisting of the crust and upper mantle

Front 11

BIOSPHERE

Back 11

planet Earth and its life; the whole area of Earth's surface, atmosphere, and sea that is inhabited by living things

Front 12

FAULTS

Back 12

a fracture in rock where there has been movement and displacement; one of the major boundaries between tectonic plates on earth

Front 13

FOLD

Back 13

a bend in a rock layer

Front 14

PANGEA

Back 14

a hypothetical supercontinent that included all the landmasses of the earth

Front 15

PLATE TECTONICS

Back 15

hypothetical movement of earth's crust plates; would explain continental drift, volcanic and seismic activity, and the formation of mountain belts

Front 16

HEMISPHERE

Back 16

one half of the Earth, especially a half north or south of the equator or west or east of the prime meridian

Front 17

METEOROLOGY

Back 17

the study of weather

Front 18

EL NINO

Back 18

change in Pacific currents; a warm ocean current of variable intensity that develops after late December along the coast of Ecuador and Peru and sometimes causes catastrophic weather

Front 19

ROTATION

Back 19

the movement or path of the earth or a heavenly body turning on its axis; the earth rotates toward the east

Front 20

REVOLUTION

Back 20

the motion of the Earth around the Sun; takes one year

Front 21

LA NINA

Back 21

a cooling of the surface water of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, occurring somewhat less frequently than El Nino events but causing similar, generally opposite disruptions to global weather patterns