Earth Science Comprehensive Vocabulary List

Front 1

Core

Back 1

Earth's center, which is made up of an outer and inner zone

Front 2

Crust

Back 2

The outermost rock layer of Earth, which contains all of Earth's surface features

Front 3

Hydrosphere

Back 3

The liquid part of the Earth

Front 4

Gravitational Energy

Back 4

The amount of potential energy associated with gravity

Front 5

Lava

Back 5

Melted volcanic rock material on Earth's surface

Front 6

Lithosphere

Back 6

The solid part of the Earth

Front 7

Magma

Back 7

Melted volcanic rock material underground

Front 8

Mantle

Back 8

The layer of Earth below the crust

Front 9

Minerals

Back 9

Naturally occurring, solid inorganic (nonliving) substance with characteristic physical and chemical properties

Front 10

Rock

Back 10

A natural, stony material composed of one or more minerals

Front 11

Rock Cycle

Back 11

The never-ending series of natural processes that change one type of roc into another type of rock

Front 12

Seismic Waves

Back 12

are waves of energy that travel through the Earth's layers, and are a result of an earthquake or a volcano

Front 13

Topographic Maps

Back 13

A map that uses contour lines to show the form and shape of the land's physical features

Front 14

Calcite

Back 14

A common mineral composed of calcium, carbon, and oxygen

Front 15

Canyon

Back 15

A v-shaped valley eroded by a river

Front 16

Deposition

Back 16

The accumulation or laying down of matter by a natural process, as the laying down of sediments in a river
Differential Erosion,Occurs where a mountain or plateau is made of both soft, weak rocks and harder, more resistant rocks

Front 17

Erosion

Back 17

The process whereby rock material at Earth's surface is removed and carried away

Front 18

Limestone

Back 18

Rocks containing calcite

Front 19

Plain

Back 19

Nearly level area that has been eroded or where material has been deposited

Front 20

Plateau

Back 20

Large, nearly level area of land that has been uplifted or elevated above surrounding area

Front 21

Rock Column

Back 21

A sequence of rocks of more than one type; drawn by geologists

Front 22

Sandstone

Back 22

Rocks made of sand particles cemented together

Front 23

Valley

Back 23

A low area between hills and mountains, often where a river flows

Front 24

Crosscutting Relationships

Back 24

principle that a fault or intrusion is always younger than the rock layers it cuts through

Front 25

Evolution

Back 25

The scientific explanation of the development of new species

Front 26

Fossil Record

Back 26

refer to the total number of fossils that have been discovered, as well as to the information derived from them

Front 27

Geologic Time Period

Back 27

The period of time covering the formation and development of the Earth from about 4.5 billion years ago.

Front 28

Index Fossils

Back 28

fossil found in the rock layers of only one geologic age and is used to establish the absolute age of the rock layers

Front 29

Radioactive Decay

Back 29

The spontaneous breakdown of a radioactive nucleus into a more stable nucleus

Front 30

Radiometric Dating

Back 30

A method for determining the age of an object based on the concentration of a particular radioactive isotope contained within it

Front 31

Superposition

Back 31

Principle that a sedimentary rock layer is older than the layers above it and younger than the layers below it

Front 32

Uniformitarianism

Back 32

Theory that geologic processes at work in the present were also at work in the past

Front 33

Continental Drift

Back 33

A theory stating that the Earth's continents have been joined together and have moved away from each other at different times in the Earth's history

Front 34

Convection Currents

Back 34

Movement in a fluid caused by uneven heating

Front 35

Convergent Boundary

Back 35

Border formed by the collision of two lithospheric plates

Front 36

Divergent Boundary

Back 36

Boundary formed by two lithospheric plates that are moving apart

Front 37

Hot Spots

Back 37

Area of volcanism within a lithospheric plate

Front 38

Paleomagnetism

Back 38

Earth's record of magnetism in rocks

Front 39

Plate Tectonics

Back 39

Theory that the lithosphere is made up of plates that float on the asthenosphere and that the plates possible are moved by convection currents

Front 40

Sea-floor Spreading

Back 40

Movement of the ocean floor away from either side of a mid-ocean ridge

Front 41

Subduction Zone

Back 41

Region where one lithospheric plate moves under another

Front 42

Transform Boundary

Back 42

Boundary formed where two lithospheric plates slide past each other

Front 43

Trenches

Back 43

Deep valley in the ocean floor

Front 44

Weathering

Back 44

Change in physical form or chemical composition of rock materials exposed at the earth's surface