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90 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
How is Earth a system? |
The Earth system is all of the matter, energy, and processed within Earth’s boundary. |
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Crust |
The crust is the thin, rigid outermost layer of the earth |
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Mantle |
The mantle is the hot layer of rock between Earth’s crust and core. The mantle is denser that the Earth’s Crust |
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Core |
The core is Earth’s center. The core is about twice as dense as the mantle. |
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Hydrosphere |
The portion of Earth that is water |
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Cryosphere |
Those portions of Earth's surface where water occurs in a solid form |
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Atmosphere |
A mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, moon or other celestial body |
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Biosphere |
The part of Earth where life exists includes all of the living organisms on Earth |
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Matter |
Anything that has mass and takes up space |
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Energy |
Capacity to do work |
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How is matter moved through the spheres? |
When the states of matter change (example: 3 states of water) |
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How is energy exchanged between the spheres? |
Passed from the sun down to other organisms and so on (example: sun to plants to animals that eat plants to animals that eat animals OR sun to plants and then plants give off gases that go into the atmosphere) |
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What is the source of Earth's energy? |
The sun |
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What can disturb Earth's energy budget? |
An increase in greenhouse gases AND a decrease in polar ice caps |
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What is weathering? |
The breakdown of rock material by physical and chemical processes |
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What are examples of physical weathering? |
Temperature change, pressure change, animal action, wind, water and gravity, plant growth |
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What are examples of chemical weathering? |
Reactions with oxygen, reactions with acid precipitation, reactions with acids in ground water, reactions with acids in living things |
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Erosion |
The process by which sediment and other materials are moved from one place to another |
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Deposition |
The process by which eroded material is dropped |
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Factors that control streams ability to erode material |
Gradient, load, discharge |
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What are landforms created by streams and rivers? |
canyons and valleys by erosion, floodplains by deposition, deltas and alluvial fans by deposition |
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What are landforms are made by groundwater erosion? |
Caves, stalactites, stalagmites, sinkholes |
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What are forces that create a shoreline? |
Waves and currents |
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What coastal landforms are made by erosion? |
Sea cliff, sea caves, sea arches, sea stacks |
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What coastal landforms are made by deposition? |
Beaches, sandbars, barrier islands |
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What are examples of land forms made by the wind? |
Abraded rock, desert pavement, dunes, loess |
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Glacier |
A big piece of ice that moves in the ocean |
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Glacial Drift |
All the material carried and deposited by a glacier |
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Alpine glaciers |
A glacier that forms in a mountainous area |
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What are examples of Alpine Glaciers? |
Arete, Cirque, Horn, and U-Shaped Valley |
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Continental Glaciers |
Thick sheets of ice that may spread over large areas |
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What are examples of continental glaciers? |
Erratics, kettle lakes |
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Slow mass movement via gravity |
Creep |
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Rapid mass movement |
Rockfall, landslide, mudflow |
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Soil |
A loose mixture of small rock fragments, organic matter, water and air that support the growth of vegetation |
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How is soil formed? |
Weathering of parent rock and decomposition and mixing of living thing, or humus |
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What are factors that determine how long it takes to form soil? |
Rock type, climate, topography, plants and animals |
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Soil Profile |
A vertical section of soil that shows all the different layers |
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Soil Horizon |
Each layer in the soil profile that has different physical properties |
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Soil Properties |
Texture, color, chemistry, pore space, fertility |
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What are earth's chemical compositional layers? |
crust, mantle, core |
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What is the cause of movement of the mantle? |
Convection |
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What are Earth's physical layers? |
Lithosphere, Asthenosphere, Mesosphere, Outer Core, Inner Core |
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Lithosphere |
The solid, outer layer of Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle |
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Asthenosphere |
The soft later of the mantle which the tectonic plates move |
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Mesosphere |
The strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the other core |
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Continental Drift Theory |
Continents used to be all connected, it was known as Pangea and then the continents separated because of plate tectonics. First known by Alfred Wegner.
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What is evidence of Pangea? |
Fossils, mountain ranges, same rock types, evidence of similar glacier activity and similar ancient climates |
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Plate Tectonics |
Describes large-scale movements of Earth's lithosphere |
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Tectonic Plates |
Plates that moe around on top of the asthenosphere |
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Evidence for Tectonic Plate Theory |
Mid-ocean ridges and sea floor spreading and ocean trenches |
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What is a result of mid-ocean ranges? |
Sea floor spreading and new crust |
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Plate boundaries |
Where tectonic plates meet |
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What are the three types of plate boundaries? |
Convergent (come together), Divergent (come apart), Transform (slide by each other) |
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What are types of plate movements? |
Mantle convection, ridge push, slab pull |
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What is stress? |
The amount of force per unit area that is placed on an object |
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Deformation |
The process by which they change shape when under stress |
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Folds |
When rock layers bend udders stress |
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How to folds form? |
Deformation |
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What are types of folds? |
Syncline (when the folds are the top) and Anticlines (when the folds are at the bottom) |
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Faults |
A crack that forms when large blocks of rock break and move past each other |
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Hanging wall |
The block above the fault plane |
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Footwall |
The block below the fault plane |
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Strike-Slip Faults |
the fault blocks move past each other horizontally, it is caused by shear stress (parallel but opposite directions) |
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Normal faults |
caused by tension, rock is pulled apart |
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Reverse faults |
caused by compression, when two rocks go against each other and one moves up and one moves down |
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Three types of mountains |
Folded, Volcanic and Fault-Block |
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Volcano |
Any place where gas, ash, or melted rock come out of the ground |
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Magma |
Melted rock below the crust |
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Lava |
Magma that has reached the Earth's Surface |
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Vent |
The opening of a volcano |
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Types of volcanos |
Shield volcanos, Cinder Cones, and Composite Volcanos |
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Fissure |
The giant crack lava flows out from |
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Lava Plateaus |
Flattened are of cooled lava |
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Crater |
An opening or depression at the top of a volcano |
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Calderas |
Entire area of volcano sinks down |
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Where of volcanoes form? |
At divergent boundaries. at convergent boundaries, at hot spots |
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Earthquake |
Ground movement |
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Focus |
The place within Earth along a fault at which the first piton of an earthquake occurs |
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Epicenter |
Directly above the focus on Earth's surface is the epicenter |
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Seismic Waves |
Waves created by an Earthquake and they start at the focus |
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What causes an earthquake? |
Elastic deformation and elastic rebound |
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Elastic Deformation |
Rock is put under a lot of pressure
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Elastic Rebound |
The return of rock to its original shape after elastic deformation |
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Where do earthquakes happen? |
At divergent boundaries, at convergent boundaries and at transform boundaries |
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What are the effects of earthquakes? |
Danger to people and structure, tsunamis |
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Classes of Rock |
Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic |
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Igneous rock |
rock that forms when magma cools and solidifies |
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Sedimentary rock |
rock that forms from compressed or cemented laters of sediment |
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Metamorphic rock |
rock that forms from other rocks as a result of intense heat, pressure or chemical reaction |