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

“Crust” describes the outermost shell of a terrestrial planet. Earth’s crust is generally divided into older, thicker continental crust and younger, denser oceanic crust. The dynamic geology of Earth’s crust is informed by plate tectonics.

Question 4

mantle

Answer 4

The mantle is the mostly-solid bulk of Earth’s interior. The mantle lies between Earth’s dense, super-heated core and its thin outer layer, the crust.

Question 5

core

Answer 5

The central or innermost portion of the Earth, lying below the mantle and probably consisting of iron and nickel. It is divided into a liquid outer core, which begins at a depth of 2,898 km (1,800 mi), and a solid inner core, which begins at a depth of 4,983 km (3,090 mi).

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

A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere.

Question 9

chemical

weathering

Answer 9

the erosion or disintegration of rocks, building materials, etc., caused by chemical reactions (chiefly with water and substances dissolved in it) rather than by mechanical processes.

Question 10

erosion

Answer 10

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

Question 11

atmosphere

Answer 11

An atmosphere is the layers of gases surrounding a planet or other celestial body. Earth’s atmosphere is composed of about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and one percent other gases.

Question 12

troposphere

Answer 12

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 13

stratosphere

Answer 13

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).

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

Question 16

conduction

Answer 16

Thermal conduction is the transfer of internal energy by microscopic collisions of particles and movement of electrons within a body.

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 greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms the Earth’s surface. When the Sun’s energy reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases.

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

Evaporation, the process by which an element or compound transitions from its liquid state to its gaseous state below the temperature at which it boils

Question 21

condensation

Answer 21

Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization.

Question 22

precipitation

Answer 22

Precipitation is any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls back to the Earth. It comes in many forms, like rain, sleet, and snow.

Question 23

salinity

Answer 23

The term salinity refers to the amount of dissolved salts that are present in water.

Question 24

freshwater

Answer 24

of or found in freshwater; not of the sea.

Question 25

biosphere

Answer 25

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