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44 Cards in this Set
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The concept that the Earth's crust consists of separate plates in constant motion; a central idea of modern earth sciences (geology) since the 1960s.
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Plate Tectonics
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The portions of the Earth's surface or crust that move as a result of movements in the hot, semi-liquid magma beneath them.
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Tectonic Plates
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The use of four strategies to decide whether a story or concept should or should not be trusted. The four strategies are intuition, authority, logic, and evidence
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Claim Testing
I need help finding a wow factor.. thanks |
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An extremely long period of time on the geologic time scale.
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Eon
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The second eon in Earth's history, a time from 3.8 to 2.5 million years ago, during which the first living organisms appeared.
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Archaen Eon
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The average distance between the Earth and the Sun, equal to about 92,955,807.3 miles or 149,497,870.7 kilometers.
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Astronomical Unit
1 Astronomical Unit =149 597 871 kilometers |
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The billions of years of the Earth’s geologic history.
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Deep Time
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The scientific study of the Earth including its composition and history
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Geology
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the science dealing with the areal differentiation of the earth's surface
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Geography
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Degrees of magnification, or perspective, used to measure time, space, and size.
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Scale
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An object, smaller than a planet, that was shaped by accretion during the formation of the Solar System.
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Planetesimals
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small bodies orbiting the Sun
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Comets Asteroids
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The idea, a foundational concept of plate tectonics, that the Earth's continents move in relation to each other and had once formed a supercontinent called Pangaea.
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Continental Drift
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The semi-molten layer of the Earth between the core and the crust. Convection currents in the mantle drive plate tectonics.
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Mantle
It is the biggest and takes up 84 percent of the Earth |
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The outer layer of the Earth, consisting of moving plates. The Earth's crust was formed through the process of differentiation
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Crust
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The dense center of the Earth formed by differentiation. Large quantities of iron and nickel generate the Earth's magnetic field
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Core
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A huge cloud of simple matter held together by gravity. The first complex entity in the Universe, has structure, stability, and sustained energy flow due to nuclear fusion at its center.
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Star
Turbulence in the sky that makes the stars appear that they are blinking |
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A large, chemically complex object orbiting a star.
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Planet
Planets are divided into two types: Large gas giants and Rocky terrestrial planets |
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The process by which planets form as material orbiting some stars gathers together through collisions and gravitational or electrostatic attraction, eventually forming larger and larger bodies.
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Accretion
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The mixture of gases surrounding a planet, a critical factor in the development of life on Earth.
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Atmosphere
Atmosphere is made of 4 layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere |
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The third planet from the Sun in our Solar System, home to many complex life forms and modern human society.
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Earth
Of all the planets in our solar system, the Earth has the greatest density |
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A planet outside of our Solar System.
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Exoplanet
Most exoplanets can only be detected indirectly because bright light from the stars that they orbit drowns them out |
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The action or process of becoming not alike
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Differentiation
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the area in space influenced by the gravitational pull of a single star or star systems
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Solar System
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Why was the early Earth so hot?
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1. Radioactivity
2. Accretion 3. Pressure |
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This person produced evidence in 1912 that the continents are in motion, but because he could not explain what forces could move them, geologist rejected his idea
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Alfred Wegner
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Made up of tectonic plates, which are pieces of the planet's crust and uppermost mantle
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The Earth's Surface
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areas where one plate slides beneath another
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subduction zones
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Using sound waves to measure under water differences and seafloor features
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sonar
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plates move at about the speed that your fingernails grow
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plate movement
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_____________ happen when two plates slide against each other
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Earthquakes
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Geological commission the cape of good hope south Africa
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Alexander du Toit
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find out
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Proplyd
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What does the Earth's crust consist of??
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Oxygen (46%) Silicon (27%) Aluminum (8%)
Calcium (5%) Magnesium (3%) Sodium (2%) Potassium (2%) |
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What does the sun consist of??
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Hydrogen (75%) Helium (23%) Oxygen (1%)
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What does the Universe consist of??
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Hydrogen (75%) Helium (23%)
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Name the 3 tectonic plates and what they do.
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Divergent- Spreading
Convergent- Subduction Transform- Lateral Sliding |
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What was the young Earth like??
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Molten lava, No oxygen, Asteroids and meteorite, and lots of radiation
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What are the two types of crust?
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Continental Crust: thick, lightweight crust under landmasses.
Oceanic Crust: thin, heavy crust under the seafloor. |
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This person confirmed Wegner's ideas by using the evidence of seafloor spreading to explain what moved continents
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Harry Hess
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This person compared the position of the Sun's rays in 2 locations to calculate the spherical size of the Earth with reasonable accuracy
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Eratosthenes
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What does the core consist of and why is it important?
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Nickel and iron
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What does the mantle consist of and why is it important?
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Hot sludge rocks
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What does the crust consist of and why is it important?
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Light rocks such as basalts and granite
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