Ch 3 Key Terms

Question 1

Geosphere

Answer 1

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

Question 2

hydrosphere

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

crust

Answer 3

the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet

Question 4

mantle

Answer 4

a layer inside a planetary body bounded below by a core and above by a crust

Question 5

core

Answer 5

the innermost geologic layer of the planet Earth

Question 6

lithosphere

Answer 6

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

Question 7

asthenosphere

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

tectonic plate

Answer 8

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

Question 9

chemical

Answer 9

relating to chemistry, or the interactions of substances as studied in chemistry.

Question 10

weathering

Answer 10

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

Question 11

erosion

Answer 11

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

Question 12

atmosphere

Answer 12

the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.

Question 13

troposphere

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

ozone

Answer 14

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

Question 15

radiation

Answer 15

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

Question 16

conduction

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

convection

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

greenhouse effect

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

water cycle

Answer 19

the 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.

Question 20

evaporation

Answer 20

the process of turning from liquid into vapor.

Question 21

condensation

Answer 21

water which collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it.

Question 22

precipitation

Answer 22

the action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution.

Question 23

salinity

Answer 23

the quality or degree of being saline.

Question 24

fresh water

Answer 24

water with no salt

Question 25

biosphere

Answer 25

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