Flashcards: Earth Science
About these flashcards
Created by:
bertmckinn on April 29, 2009
Subjects:
5th Grade Science TAKS vocabulary
Groups:
Essential Vocabulary, McKinney's Science Place
Log in to favorite or report as inappropriate.All 58 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 fossil fuels | fuels formed over millions of years from the remains of ancient plants and animals. |
| renewable resources | natural resources that can be produced again. |
| nonrenewable resources | resources that will be used up and can never be replaced. |
| inexhaustible resources | resources that humans can use and never use up |
| weathering | the breaking down of rocks on Earth's surface. |
| erosion | the movement of weathered particles by wind, water, or ice |
| deposition | the dropping off of eroded particles in a new place. |
| runoff | Water from rain or melted snow that flows into a river, lake or ocean. |
| glacier | a huge piece of ice that slowly moves across Earth's surface. |
| sediment | small pieces of material that have broken off of rocks and have been deposited by water, wind or ice. |
| sedimentary rock | rocks formed from sediments cemented and compacted together. |
| igneous rock | Rock formed from cooled magma. |
| metamorphic rock | Rock formed when another rock undergoes heat and pressure |
| magma | melted rock located below the earth's surface. |
| lava | melted rock that has flowed out onto Earth's surface. |
| fault | A crack in the Earth's crust. |
| fossil | The remains or traces of past life found in sedimentary rock. |
| atmosphere | The pocket of air that surrounds the earth and enables life to exist. |
| solar energy | the sun's energy. |
| axis | The imaginary line that connects the North and South Poles. |
| orbit | the path one object takes around another object in space. |
| lunar phases | The different shapes of the moon during the lunar cycle. |
| seasons | Times of year caused by the revolution of the Earth around the sun and the Earth's tilt on its axis. |
| gravity | A force that pulls two objects closer together. |
| inertia | The tendency of an object to stay at rest or to remain in motion unless an outside force causes a change |
| rotation | the spinning of a planet or moon on its axis. |
| revolution | The process of an object going around another object. |
| solar eclipse | When the moon comes between the earth and the sun so that all or part of the sun's light is blocked out. |
| lunar eclipse | When the earth comes between the sun and the moon so that all or part of the moon's light is blocked out. |
| tides | The rise and fall of the surface level of the ocean caused by the moon's pull of gravity on the earth. |
| weather | Conditions in the atmosphere, including humidity, cloud cover, temperature, wind and precipitation. |
| sunspot | a cool spot on the sun. |
| photosphere | The visible surface of the sun. |
| corona | the outer edge of the Sun's atmosphere. |
| solar wind | A fast-moving stream of particles thrown into space by solar flares |
| landform | A natural structure found on Earth's surface. |
| canyon | a deep narrow valley with steep sides often with a stream or river flowing through it |
| delta | the fan shaped sediment deposit formed at the mouth of a river |
| natural resources | Materials in the environment that are useful to people. |
| cementation | process that turns sediments into hard rock when a binding material, often calcite, filters into the sediment |
| compaction | process by which sediments are reduced in size or volume by pressure of rock or soil lying above them |
| coal | fossil fuel formed when land plant material is buried, compressed and heated |
| oil | a black liquid fossil fuel found deep in the Earth formed from marine plants and animals millions of years ago |
| natural gas | an odorless, colorless, clean-burning fuel formed from marine plants and animals millions of years ago |
| wind energy | electricity generated using the power of moving air |
| hydroelectric energy | electricity generated using the power of moving water |
| geothermal energy | energy obtained from thermal (heat) energy deep inside earth |
| biofuel | a type of fuel whose energy is derived from living organisms such as plants |
| waxing | phases of the moon that appear to be growing or getting larger |
| waning | phases of the moon that appear to be shrinking or getting smaller |
| climate | the general pattern of weather in a particular part of the world over a long period of time |
| hydrologic cycle | cycle in which water moves through the environment |
| evaporation | change of a liquid (water) to a gas (water vapor) |
| condensation | change of a gas (water vapor) to a liquid (water) |
| precipitation | water falling to Earth in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail |
| percolation | the slow passage of a liquid through a filtering medium such as rain water through the soil |
| transpiration | the release of water vapor into the air through plants |
| accumulation | the process in which water pools in large bodies such as rivers, oceans, and lakes |