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Unit 1.2 Water & Energy

Terms in this set (29)

Hydrosphere
Consists of all the water on or surrounding the surface of Earth, including the water of the oceans and the water in the atmosphere.
Atmosphere
Consists of all the gases that surround the Earth, from the surface of the planet and up until space.
Geosphere (aka Lithosphere)
The mostly solid, rocky part of the Earth. It extends from the center at the Earth's core up through the mantle and to the surface of the crust, including rocks and sediments on the Earth's surface as well as the rock floors beneath the oceans.
Biosphere
Consists of all the living things on Earth - plants, animals, humans and even microscopic organisms - and all the places they are found on Earth
Anthrosphere
Describes the part of earth made or changed by humans for use in human activities and human habitats such as buildings, roads, farms, mining, etc.
Earth's core
Middle of the earth that is mostly iron and nickel, extremely hot with tons of thermal energy that radiates out towards the Earth's surface.
Earth's mantle
The layer of the Earth between the crust and the core. Convection currents drive the movement of the molten rock - hot areas rising, cool areas sinking to transfer energy from the core below.
Earth's Crust
Earth's outermost layer of rock made up of both dry land and ocean floor; minerals come from this layer and humans get them by mining or eating plants that take in these minerals from soil.
System
A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent parts that function together as a whole to accomplish a goal. The circulatory system is an examples where the heart pumps blood through veins and arteries to spread nutrients throughout the body and remove wastes and return back to the heart. The blood continues to travel within this closed network.
Matter
Anything takes up space and has mass. Everything around you falls in this description.
Kinetic Theory of Matter
A theory explaining that all matter is composed of particles (atoms and molecules) moving constantly in random directions
Hydrologic Cycle (aka Water Cycle)
Natural cycle, driven by the sun, that collects, purifies, and distributes the earth's fixed supply of water from the environment to living organisms and then back to the environment. Water follows these paths through its various physical states--vapor, liquid, solid.
Precipitation
Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface.
Evaporation
The process by which molecules at the surface of a liquid absorb enough energy to change to the gaseous state.
Run-off
Water that is not absorbed immediately by Earth's surface but flows downhill over the land and buildings and into rivers, lakes, oceans, and sewers.
Infiltration
Process by which precipitation that has fallen on land surfaces seeps into the ground, through soil and rocks, and adds to the groundwater stored beneath the Earth's surface.
Transpiration
Process by which water stored within plants absorbs enough energy to evaporate from the leaves and enter the atmosphere as a gas
Condensation
Process by which molecules of water vapor (gas) in the air cool to become liquid water to form clouds.
Energy
The ability to cause change
Convection
The transfer of thermal energy by the circulation or movement of a liquid or gas; hotter matter rises while cooler matter sinks
Radiation
The transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves moving through space
Conduction
The direct transfer of thermal energy from one substance to another substance that it is touching; results from the collision of particles
Phase Change
The reversible physical change that occurs when a substance changes from one state of matter to another
Sublimation
The change in state from a solid directly to a gas without passing through the liquid state
Deposition
The change of state from a gas directly to a solid without passing through the liquid state
Melting
The change of state in which a solid becomes a liquid by adding energy
Freezing
The change of state in which a liquid becomes a solid as thermal energy is removed
Endothermic
Describes a process in which thermal energy is absorbed from the environment and enters the matter
Exothermic
Describes a process in which thermal energy is released into the environment as it exits matter
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