CH 3 key terms Flashcards

1
Q

geosphere

A

any of the almost spherical concentric regions of matter that make up the earth and its atmosphere, as the lithosphere and hydrosphere.

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2
Q

hydrosphere

A

all the waters on the earth’s surface, such as lakes and seas, and sometimes including water over the earth’s surface, such as clouds.

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3
Q

crust

A

the tough outer part of a loaf of bread.

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4
Q

mantle

A

the region of the earth’s interior between the crust and the core, believed to consist of hot, dense silicate rocks (mainly peridotite)

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5
Q

core

A

the dense central region of a planet, especially the nickel–iron inner part of the earth.

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6
Q

lithosphere

A

the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

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7
Q

asthenosphere

A

the upper layer of the earth’s mantle, below the lithosphere, in which there is relatively low resistance to plastic flow and convection is thought to occur.

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8
Q

tectonic plate

A

describing the large-scale motion of the plates making up Earth’s lithosphere

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9
Q

chemical

A

a compound or substance that has been purified or prepared, especially artificially

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10
Q

weathering

A

the process of wearing or being worn by long exposure to the atmosphere

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11
Q

erosion

A

the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents.

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12
Q

atmosphere

A

the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.

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13
Q

troposphere

A

the lowest region of the atmosphere, extending from the earth’s surface to a height of about 3.7–6.2 miles (6–10 km), which is the lower boundary of the stratosphere.

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14
Q

stratosphere

A

the layer of the earth’s atmosphere above the troposphere, extending to about 32 miles (50 km) above the earth’s surface (the lower boundary of the mesosphere).

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15
Q

ozone

A

colorless unstable toxic gas with a pungent odor and powerful oxidizing properties, formed from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet light

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16
Q

radiation

A

the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium.

17
Q

conduction

A

the process by which heat or electricity is directly transmitted through a substance when there is a difference of temperature or of electrical potential between adjoining regions, without movement of the material.

18
Q

convection

A

the movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat.

19
Q

green house effect

A

the trapping of the sun’s warmth in a planet’s lower atmosphere, due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet’s surface.

20
Q

water cycle

A

he cycle of processes by which water circulates between the earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.

21
Q

evaporation

A

the process of turning from liquid into vapor

22
Q

condensation

A

gas phase into the liquid phase

23
Q

precipitation

A

rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground.

24
Q

salinity

A

the quality or degree of being saline.

25
Q

freshwater

A

of or found in fresh water; not of the sea

26
Q

biosphere

A

the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth (or analogous parts of other planets) occupied by living organisms.