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

Question 2

Hydrosphere

Answer 2

all the waters on the earth’s surface.

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

central or innermost portion of the Earth.

Question 6

Lithosphere

Answer 6

the rigid outer part of the earth.

Question 7

Asthenosphere

Answer 7

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

a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of seven large plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of Earth’s lithosphere

Question 9

Chemical Weathering

Answer 9

the erosion or disintegration of rocks, building materials, caused by chemical reactions.

Question 10

Erosion

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Atmosphere

Answer 11

the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.

Question 12

Troposphere

Answer 12

the lowest region of the atmosphere.

Question 13

Stratosphere

Answer 13

the layer of the earth’s atmosphere above the troposphere.

Question 14

Ozone

Answer 14

a colorless unstable toxic gas with a pungent odor and powerful oxidizing properties.

Question 15

Radiation

Answer 15

the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles, especially high-energy particles which cause ionization.

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.

Question 18

Greenhouse Effect

Answer 18

the trapping of the sun’s warmth in a planet’s lower atmosphere.

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

the conversion of a vapor or gas to a liquid.

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

of or found in fresh water; not of the sea.

Question 25

Biosphere

Answer 25

the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth occupied by living organisms.