Ch. 3 Key Terms Flashcards
Geosphere
The solid part of earth that consists of all rock, as well as the soils and loose rocks on earth surface.
Hydrosphere
Makes up all of the water on or near Earth’s surface.
Crust
Earth’s thin is composed almost entirely of light elements
Mantle
The layer beneath the crust, makes up 68 percent of the mass of Earth
Core
Earth’s innermost layer
Lithosphere
Earth’s outer layer
Asthenosphere
The layer beneath the lithosphere
Tectonic Plates
Lithosphere is divided into pieces that glide across the underlying asthenosphere in much the same way a chunk of ice drifts across a pond.
Chemical Weathering
Wears down rocks, making them smoother
Erosion
Transports the materials elsewhere
Atmosphere
Earth’s is surrounded by a mixture of gases
Troposphere
Atmosphere layer nearest Earth’s surface that it extends to about 18 km above earth’s surface
Stratosphere
Separated from the troposphere by the tropopause
Radiation
The transfer of energy as electromagnetic waves
Conduction
The transfer of energy in the form of heat from a warmer object to a colder object.
Convection
The transfer of energy that takes place when variations in temperature move the matter making up air.
Greenhouse Effect
The process in which greenhouse gases absorb and reradiate infrared radiation near the earth.
Water Cycle
The continuous movement of water into air, onto land, and then back to water sources
Evaporation
The process by which liquid water is heated by the sun and then rises into the atmosphere as water vapor
Condensation
Water vapor forms water droplets on dust particles
Precipitation
The larger droplets fall from clouds as rain in a process
Salinity
Ocean water is the concentration of all the dissolved salts it contains
Fresh Water
More than 3 percent of all the water on earth
Biosphere
The narrow layer around earth’s surface in which life can exist
Ozone
It’s a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms
