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15 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Principle of uniformitarianism
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the geologic processes we see in action today have worked in much the same way throughout geological time.
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bolide
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large meteroid that impacts earth.
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differentiation
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the transformation of rando chunkc of primordial matter into a body whose interior is divided into concentric layers that differ from one another both physically and chemically. Differentiation occured early in Earth's history, when the planet got hot enough to melt.
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When did the big bang take place?
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app. 13 billion years ago
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Under intense pressure and high temperature, hydrogen atoms combine to for Helium. This process is called_________.
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nuclear fusion
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what caused dust and condensing material to accrete into planetesimals?
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gravitational attraction and collisions.
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What are the four inner planets like?
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small, rocky, and relativley lacking in volitile elements.
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Of what are the giant outer planets composed?
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hydrogen and helium
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what is the process by which an originally homogenous Earth developed a dense core and a light crust?
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metamorphism.
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90% of the Earth is made up of which 4 elements?
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iron,oxygen, silicon, magnesium
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the earth's lithosphere is ______km thick?
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100 km
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the athenosphere is. . .
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hot and weak
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what are the "plates" of plate tectonics made up of?
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lithosphere
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weather
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describes the temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, and winds obsered at a point on Earth's surface.
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climate
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description of weather cycles obtained by averaging temperature and other variables over many years of observation.
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