| Term | Definition |
|---|
| thermal energy | sum of all kinetic energy |
| kinetic energy | energy that comes from motion |
| thermal expansion | a property of most materials: they expand when heated |
| heat | a flow of thermal energy from one object due to a temperature difference |
| specific heat | property of a substance that tells us how much heat is needed to raise the temperature of one gram by 1 degrees C. |
| temperature | average kinetic energy |
| latent heat | the heat energy needed to change the state of substance but not it's temperature |
| thermal buffering | process occurs only when ice and water are present |
| specific heat of water | 1.00 calories/gram degress C |
| specific heat of air | 0.240 calories/gram degrees C |
| conduction | transfer of heat by the direct contact of particles of matter |
| convection | transfer of heat by the actual motion of a fluid in the form of currents |
| thermal equilibrum | heat will flow from a hot object to a cold object until they are equal in temperature |
| radiation | direct transfer of energy by eletromagnetic particles of matter |
| land breeze | opposite of sea breeze |
| sea breeze | hot air above the land expands and rises, the air above gets pushed aside toward the sea, air over the sea cools and sinks, the cycle repeats |
| atmosphere | layers of gases surrounding the planet |
| oxygen | O2 |
| nitrogen | most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere |
| carbon dioxide | CO2 |
| greenhouse gases | large molecules that trap Earth's heat and increases the temperature of the planet |
| mesosphere | extremely cold layer in which meteors burn up as they fall toward Earth |
| troposphere | contains 90% of atmosphere's mass |
| thermosphere | outer most region of Earths atmosphere |
| stratosphere | layer with thin layer of ozone near the top |
| atmospheric pressure | measurement of force of air moleculs in the atmosphere at a given altitude |
| ozone | three atom form of oxygen |
| aneroid barometer | air tight cylinder, walls that squeece in or bulge out depending on atmospheric pressure |
| gyres | Surface ocean currents that move in large circular patterns |
| thermohaline currents | currents that occur deep within the oceans,they move slower than surface currents and are driven by temperature and density differences |
| diverging | these plates move apart and new crust forms (mid ocean ridges occur) |
| convergent | occur where 2 plates meet, subduction occurs or mountains form |
| transform | plates slide past each other (crust is not consumed or created) |
| focus | where earthquake begins underground |
| epicenter | where seismic waves reach earth's surface |
| p-waves | waves that push and pull |
| s-waves | waves that move sideways and up an down |
| shield volcano | low viscosity lava, generally sloped and flattened |
| stratovolcano | high viscosity lava, cone shaped, steep sided and made of layers of lava and ash |
| cinder cone volcano | steep stacks of loose pyroclasts |
| igneous | rock made of magma or lave, formed when magma cools slowly underground or above |
| sedimentary | rock made of sediments compressed together by cementing or pressure |
| metamorphic | rocks that have changed into a different type of rock because of heat or pressure |
| asthenosphere | a thin layer of mantle composed of magma |
| cross-cutting relationships | a vein of rock is younger than the rock that surrounds the vein |
| fanual succession | fossils can be used to identify the relative age of a rock formation |
| inclusions | old rock pieces surrounded by younger rock |
| lithosphere | includes the crust and upper mantle- 100-150km |
| lateral continuity | the layers of sediment extend in all directions when they form and before they become rock layers |
| mid-ocean ridge | mountain ranges in the middle of the ocean caused by a convergent or divergent boundary |
| surface waves | more than 10% slower than s-waves, more damaging, lot of energy, causes the ground to roll |
| seismologists | scientists who record and interpret seismic waves, they use seismographs |
| original horizontality | sediment particles fall to the bottom of a basin, such as a riverbed, in response to gravitiy, and result in horizantal layers |
| paleantology | the study and identification of fossils |
| relative dating | to put events in the order in which they happened |
| sea-floor spreading | describes the sea floor on either side of a mid-ocean ridge as moving away from the ridge and creating a rise or valley |
| seismic wave | the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy results in this; they radiate from the focus |
| superposition | the bottom layer of a rock formation is older than the layer on top because the bottom layer formed first (remember: stack of newspapers) |
| body waves | originate from focus of earthquake |
| salinity | the saltiness of seawater; describes how much salt is dissolved in one kilogram of seawater (on average 35 grams of salt) |
| calcium carbonate | natural buffer found in ocean, comes from shells |
| magma | molten rock beneath Earth's crust |
| lava | magma once it is released from below Earth's surface, usually out of a volcano |
| magma chambers | pockets in the crust where magma pools |
| pipes | cracks in the crust through which magma is released |
| vents | places on the surface where magma is released |
| flank eruption | when magma is released from a vent on the side of a volcano |
| crater | Depression at the top of the volcano that is created after magma is released |
| fold volcanoes | created when two tectonic plates converge and collide or subduct |
| fault-block mountains | created when a plate cracks and creates a fault. The new plate tilts and forms mountains |
| erosion | describes the physical and chemical events that cause rock and land to wear down |
| glaciers | a huge mass of ice that can be kilometers thick and thousands of kilometers wide |
| soil profile | a cross section of soil that shows the different layers of soil in the ground |
| ice age | a long period of time when Earth's climate is very cold |
| geologic hazard maps | show faults where earthquakes occur, where volcanoes are located, along with other natural hazards like landslides, avalanches, floods, etc. |
| mineral | solid natural occurring object with a defined chemical composition |
| cleavage plane | a region where a rock cleanly splits |
| Mohs hardness scale | created to determine the hardness of minerals |
| rock cycle | the formation and recycling of rocks by geological process |
Combine with other sets
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