ALL LESSONS Flashcards
nearest stellar neighbor of our sun 4.3 light years away
proxima centauri
other notable moons
jupiter’s ganymede - largest moon
saturn’s titan - thick atmosphere
neptune’s triton - geysers of nitrogen
the sun is located
3 million miles from earth and is at least 4.5B years old, has at least 10k surface temp and center temp of 27m (f)
dwarf planets - pehmc
pluto eris haumea makemake ceres
small, airless rocky worlds revolving around the sun too small to be called a plant
- composed primarily of nickel and iron
e.g: cvpj or ceres, vesta, pallas, juno
asteroids
composed of ice, dust, rocky materials
- originated from kuiper belt and oort cloud
- known for spectacular tails
comets
region beyond neptune filled w icy bodies and dwarf planets like pluto
kuiper belt
exchange of energy and moisture between spheres
- long term atmospheric conditions in a region
climate system
when they enter the earth’s atmosphere and burn up
meteors
small, rocky or metallic bodies travelling through space
meteoroids
distance, spherical shell of icy objects believe to surround the solar system, extending far beyond the kuiper belt
oort cloud
states that the solar system formed out of a rotating cloud of dust and gas contracting under its own gravity
nebular hypothesis proposed by immanuel kant
microscopic particles that drift through the solar system
interplanetary dust
when they reach the ground
meteorite
most widely accepted theory of the moon
giant impact hypothesis
causes of earth’s atmosphere
comets, vcolcanic eruptions
heat sources of earth
- impacts of meteorites and large planetisimals
- radioactive decay (manure, etc)
- gravitational contraction
composed o N and O now being mixed with CO2 which protects the earth from incoming asteroids
- gaseous sphere envoloping the earth
- MTEST (meso, thermo, exo, strato, tropo)
atmosphere
scientific theory explaining earth’s lithosphere interactions and movements
- the rigit outerlayer of earth, broken to small and large pieces called tectonic plates
plate tectonic system
process responsible for earth’s magnetic field
geodynamo system
earth’s solid surface often called earth’s crust
geosphere
refers to all of the water on earth (71% water, 29% terra or land mass)
hydrosphere
all life on earth
biosphere
portion of solid water on earth
cryosphere
man-made, human population
anthrosphere
aggregate/mixture of composition varies
- composed of 1 or more mineral
rocks
inorganic chemicals or compounds found in the earth’s crust- 73k are found in earth’s crust
minerals
basalt, granite, obsidian, pumice, gabbro, scoria are examples of
igneous rock
formed by cooling and crystallization of magma
igneous rock
formed by accumulation of weathered material
sedimentary
marble, quartzite, gneiss and slate are examples of
metamorphic rock
formed by pre-existing rocks that have been transformed
metamorphic rock
conglomerate, sandstone, shale, limestone, gypsum and halite are examples of
sedimentary rock
formed by weathered materials carried by wind, water or ice
sedimentary rock
formed from pre-existing rocks
metamorphic rock
machinery removed top of mountains to expose coal
mountain top removal
found in rocks, soil ,sediments
- naturally-occurring inorganic substances with a definite chemical composition and crystalline structure
mineral
earth movers strips away overburden, giant shovels remove mineral deposits
area strip mining
machines dig holes, remove ores, sand, gravel, stone, etc.
open-pit mining
used on hilly/mountainous terrain
countour strip mining
substance that provides a form of energy
fuels
process of burning fuel
combustion
3 major fuels
coal, oil, natural gas
fossil fuels are made up of
hydrocarbons ( c + o)
thick, liquid fossil fuel formed from animal remains, algae, protists
oil
when oil is first pumped from ground, it’s called crude oil
- factory refining oil
refining oil
mixture of methane and other gases
natural gas
land suitable for crop-growing
arable land/farm land
