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Earth science mid term study guide

Terms in this set (60)

Biological Oceanography
Study's the plants and animals that live in the ocean
Geological Oceanography
Studies the ocean floor
Chemical Oceanography
Study's natural chemicals and chemicals from pollution in the ocean
cartographer
People who make maps of the surface features of the earth
Hypothesis
A possible explanation or answer to a question also referred to as an educated guess
Volume
The amount of space that something occupies
Mass
The amount of matter something is made of
Kelvin
The standard si unit for temperature
Geographic pole
The place at the end of the earths axis
True North
The geographic North Pole
Latitude
The distance north or south measured in degrees from the equator
Longitude
The distance east or west measured in degrees from the prime meridian
Equator
A circle halfway between the poles that divides the earth into the northern and Southern Hemisphere
Distortions
Change that occurs in the shapes and sizes in landmasses or oceans that make them appear larger than they really are when a curved surface is translated into a flat map
compass rose
Shows you how the map is positioned in relation to true north
Elevation
The height of an object above sea level
Contour lines
Lines that connect points of equal elevation
contour interval
The difference in elevation between one contour line and the next
Elements
A pure substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical means
Compound
A substance made of 2 or more that have been chemically joined or bonded together
silicate minerals
Mineral composed primarily of silicon and oxygen and make up more than 90% of the earths crust
native elements
Minerals that are only composed of one element
Carbonates
Mineral that contain combination of carbon and oxygen in their chemical structures
Oxides
Compounds that form when an element such as aluminum or iron combines chemically with oxygen
Luster
The way in which the surface reflects light
Cleavage
The tendency of some minerals to break along flat surfaces
Moho's hardness scale
A scale used to determine the hardness of a mineral
Ore
a mineral deposit large enough and pure enough to be mined for profit
Rock
A solid mixture of crystals of one or more minerals
Mafic Composition
Denser heavier igneous rock that is darker color and composed of iron magnesium or calcium
Extrusive igneous rock
Rock that form on the earths surface
Lava plateau
Lava flow that covers a large area forming a plain
Sediment
Rich fragments created through the process of erosion
Clastic sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock made of fragments of other rocks and minerals
Strata
Layers in sedimentary rock
regional metamorphism
Occurs when enormous pressure builds up in a rock that is deeply buried under other rock formations or when large pieces of the earths crust collide with each other th pressure these conditions cause rock to become deformed and chemically changed
renewable resource
A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed
nonrenewable resource
a resource that cannot be replaced
recycling
The process by which used or discarded materials are treated for reuse
Fossil fuel
Nonrenewable energy resource that formed in the earths crust over millions of years
Natural gas
A term describing gaseous fossil fuels
Coal
A solid fossil fuel formed underground from buried, decomposed plant material.
bituminous coal
Stage 3 coal with 30% carbon
Anthracite
Stage 4 coal with 90% carbon the hardest type of coal
Strip mining
Process in which rock abs soil are stripped for the earths surface to expose the underlying materials to be mined
Acid precipitation
Rain or snow that has high acid content due to air pollutants
Nuclear energy
Alternative source of energy that comes from the nuclei of atoms
fission
Process in which the nuclei of radioactive atoms are split and energy is released
Fusion
The joining of nuclei of small atoms to form a larger one
Gasohol
A fuel produced when plant based alcohol is mixed with gasoline
Geothermal energy
Energy from within the earth
Geysers
Natural vents that release steam and hot water
Catastrophism
Principle that states that all geological changes occur suddenly
Fault
A break in the earths crust along which blocks of the crust slide relative to one another
Intrusion
Molten rich from the earths interior that squeezes into existing rock and cools
Erosion
The wearing away of sediment layer creating a missing layer in the geologic column
Isotopes
Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different number of neutrons
Half life
The time it takes for one half of radioactive sample to decay
Permineralization
Process in which minerals fill the pore spaces of an organism's tissues
Pertrification
Occurs when the organisms tissues are completely replaced by minerals
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