Middle School Science Praxis

Front 1

Minerals are

Back 1

nonliving natural substances of a definite chemical composition.

Front 2

Crystallization is?

Back 2

Two part process (evaporation & metamorphosis) in which existing atoms combine to form minerals.

Front 3

What is magma and lava?

Back 3

Magma- melted rock beneath the earth's surface

Lava- melted rock that has escaped onto the earth's surface.

Front 4

______________ cools more slowly than _________ because _________ is cooled by the atmosphere or water, and _____________ remains within the earth's heat.

Back 4

Magma, Lava, Lava, Magma

Front 5

Metamorphosis is

Back 5

process in which existing minerals are changed into new minerals due to the influence of extreme pressure or heat.

Front 6

Silicates

Back 6

largest group of minerals (silicon and oxygen)

Front 7

Carbonate, nitrates and borates are made of?

Back 7

hard-shelled marine organisms like plankton

Front 8

Halides

Back 8

Formed as a result of the evaporation of marine water such as Great Salt Lake or Dead Sea

Front 9

Classification of rocks is based on

Back 9

composition (minerals found in rock) and texture (size, shape, position of grains)

Front 10

Igneous rock forms

Back 10

when magma cools and solidifies. There are two types: Plutonic, Extrusive

Front 11

Sedimentary rocks form

Back 11

from pieces of existing rocks (Clastic or chemical) and dead organisms (biological)

Front 12

Metamorphic rocks form

Back 12

are rocks that have "morphed" into another kind of rock. There are foliated (high pressure) and non-foliated

Front 13

Seismic waves are

Back 13

natural and man-made oscillations or vibrations that travel through the Earth.

Front 14

What are the three compositional zones of the Earth?

Back 14

Core, Mantle and Crust

Front 15

Isostasy is?

Back 15

a measure determined by the buoyant force of the mantle opposing the weight of the crustal type.

Front 16

Lithosphere includes

Back 16

the crust and upper part of the mantle (continental drift and plate tectonics)

Front 17

In the asthenosphere _______________ cause slab pull.

Back 17

convection currents

Front 18

Earth's magnetic field is caused by?

Back 18

charged molten material flows and creates and electrical current in the outer core

Front 19

The inner core is a solid, dense, and very hot mixture of

Back 19

iron and nickel

Front 20

Continental drift was described by____________, which was supported by similar plant and animal species linking_________________.

Back 20

Wegener, Two continents

Front 21

A fault is ______________________. There are three type of faults which are:

Back 21

a break in the earth's crust where tectonic forces cause blocks of crust to slide relative to one another

-normal fault, reverse fault and strike-slip fault

Front 22

Longitudinal waves that travel through solids are

Back 22

Primary waves or P-waves

Front 23

Shield volcanoes are formed by

Back 23

slow, steady release of basaltic lava that flows out in all directions.

Front 24

Cinder cone volcanoes form by

Back 24

explosive eruptions

Front 25

Erosion is

Back 25

transport of sediment from the weathering site to the deposition location. Gravity is one of these causes.

Front 26

Types of mass movement (5)

Back 26

Landslide, Rockfall, Solifluction, Mudslide, Creep

Front 27

Deposition of materials by flowing water is called?

Back 27

alluvium

Front 28

Uniformitarianism is?

Back 28

concept that the geologic processes occurring today are the same ones that affected and shaped the earth in the past.

Front 29

Principle of horizontal originality states

Back 29

that layers were formed in horizontal layers as ascribed by gravity

Front 30

Law of superposition states

Back 30

that the oldest layers are on the bottom and the youngest are on top of a stratum.

Front 31

Relative dating is?

Back 31

determining approximate age of a rock layer and all fossils within that layer

Front 32

Absolute dating is?

Back 32

process that identifies actual age of layer by measuring ratio of radioactive isotopes to their decay products.

Front 33

Half-life is?

Back 33

the time it takes for one-half of the atoms of a radioactive material to disintegrate.

Front 34

Amber fossils are?

Back 34

small organisms that get covered in sap (sealed) and become fossils.

Front 35

Freezing or thermal protection is?

Back 35

organisms that die in coldest areas may be preserved for long periods of time

Front 36

Mummification or desiccation is

Back 36

the absence of climate change which allow mummies to stay preserved for long periods of time.

Front 37

Tar seeps are

Back 37

surface deposits of petroleum that trap unsuspecting animals

Front 38

What are the five oceans?

Back 38

Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic, Indian, Southern

Front 39

What is a sea?

Back 39

Large, lake-like water reservoir usually containing salt water, which may or may not be connected to an ocean.

Front 40

Whitecaps are?

Back 40

Open-ocean surface waves that are the result of a storm or high winds

Front 41

Swells are?

Back 41

Rolling waves with a longer wavelength

Front 42

Largest tides occur during _________________. Lowest tides occur during __________________.

Back 42

Spring Tide, Neap Tide (1st and third quarter phases of the moon)

Front 43

Coriolis Effect is?

Back 43

why things curve on the Earth when they should go straight.

Front 44

What are the two elements that humans breathe most?

Back 44

Oxygen and nitrogen

Front 45

Ozone layer has what function?

Back 45

absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation and prevents too much UV light on human skin and limits global warming.

Front 46

Summer Solstice is?

Back 46

Northern Hemisphere experiences the longest amount of daytime for the rest of the year and shortest amount of daytime for the Southern Hemisphere

Front 47

Trade winds are?

Back 47

are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator.

Front 48

In each hemisphere there are three cells which are?

Back 48

Ferrel, Polar and Hadley

Front 49

Dew point is?

Back 49

the temperature where saturation occurs

Front 50

Saturation point is?

Back 50

where relative humidity is 100%

Front 51

Clouds are?

Back 51

accumulation of water droplets or ice crystals that form by the condensation of water vapor in the atmosphere.

Front 52

There are three types of clouds which are?

Back 52

Stratus- low clouds

-Nimbostratus- low dark altitude (heavy precipitation)

-Altostratus- produce little to no precipitation

Cumulus- puffy white clouds

Cirrus- high altitude feathery clouds made of ice crystals

Front 53

Occluded front is?

Back 53

Merging of a cold and warm front

Front 54

Edwin Hubble discovered what?

Back 54

Andromeda Galaxy, Big Bang Theory

Front 55

What is a nebula?

Back 55

expansive, low-density cloud of gas and dust

Front 56

Kepler's 1st law is

Back 56

that the planets orbit the sun in an elliptical way

Front 57

perihelion is

Back 57

the location where the sun and planets are closest. Aphelion is the greatest distance between the sun and planets

Front 58

Kepler's 2nd law states

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that the speed of a planet's revolution is faster at perihelion and slower at aphelion.

Front 59

Kepler's 3rd law states

Back 59

a (cubed)= p (squared)

Find the distance between the sun and a planet\

Front 60

Inner planets are?

Back 60

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

Front 61

Outer (gas) planets are?

Back 61

Jupiter (largest planet), Saturn (2nd largest), Uranus (tilted axis 98 deg), Neptune (blue planet)

Front 62

Asteroid belt is?

Back 62

the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter.

Front 63

The Earth's seasons are caused by?

Back 63

Earth's tilt and the revolution of Earth