Chapter 1

Question 1

Earth System

Answer 1

all of Earth’s varied materials and processes that affect them

Question 2

Element

Answer 2

substance that cannot be broken down chemically into other substances

Question 3

Atom

Answer 3

The smallest piece of an element that still has all the properties of that element

Question 4

compounds

Answer 4

Atoms combine with one another chemically

Question 5

molecule

Answer 5

the smallest possible piece of a compound

Question 6

mass

Answer 6

amount of matter in an object

Question 7

volume

Answer 7

the amount of space an object occupies

Question 8

density

Answer 8

the mass packed into a given volume of matter

Question 9

5 reservoirs of the Earth System

Answer 9

Atmosphere, Cryosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere, Geosphere

Question 10

Atmosphere

Answer 10

Earth’s gaseous envelope

Question 11

Cryosphere

Answer 11

Continental and mountain glaciers, polar sea ice

Question 12

Hydrosphere

Answer 12

Oceans, rivers, lakes, underground water

Question 13

Biosphere

Answer 13

All living things

Question 14

Geosphere

Answer 14

the solid earth
divided into concentric layers
outer layer: crust (thin and mostly rock)
below crust is the mantle
center: core (dense and composed of iron and nickle)

Question 15

Magma

Answer 15

melted crust and mantle that produced liquid material- known as lava when erupts on surface

Question 16

bedrock

Answer 16

a solid aggregate of minerals and rocks attached to the crust

Question 17

sediment

Answer 17

unattached mineral grains such as boulders, sand, and clay

Question 18

soil

Answer 18

sediment and rock modified by interactions with the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and organisms so that it can support plant life

Question 19

flux

Answer 19

the movements from one reservoir to another

Question 20

geologic cycle

Answer 20

in some cases, a material moves among several reservoirs but eventually returns to the first

Question 21

heat energy

Answer 21

measure of degree to which atoms or molecules move about (vibrate) in matter- including in solids

Question 22

melting

Answer 22

cryosphere to hydrosphere

Question 23

evaporation

Answer 23

hydrosphere to atmosphere

Question 24

condensation

Answer 24

atmosphere to hydrosphere

Question 25

freezing

Answer 25

hydrosphere to cryosphere

Question 26

Gravity

Answer 26

force of attraction that every object exerts on other objects and how close the objects are to one another

Question 27

metric system

Answer 27

measure length and distance in meters

Question 28

ka

Answer 28

a thousand years ago

Question 29

ma

Answer 29

a million years ago

Question 30

ga

Answer 30

a billion years ago

Question 31

Velocity

Answer 31

rate of change of the position of an object

distance / time

Question 32

Temperature

Answer 32

how hot an object is relative to a standard

Question 33

Weigt

Answer 33

force with which one onject is attracted to another

Question 34

geographic poles

Answer 34

two points where the axis intersects the surface of the planet are the not and south

Question 35

plane of the ecliptic

Answer 35

plain in which earth orbits the sun

Question 36

scientific notation

Answer 36

based on the power of 10

Question 37

geologic time

Answer 37

Earth is about 4.57 billion years old

Question 38

principle of uniformitarianism

Answer 38

Hutton proposed theory that the most ancient geologic features formed by the same processes as modern ones

Question 39

pressure

Answer 39

The pull of Earth’s gravity

Question 40

hydrostatic pressure

Answer 40

weight of water

Question 41

lithostatic pressure

Answer 41

pressure caused by the weight of overlaying rock

Question 42

geobaric gradient

Answer 42

rate at which lithostatic pressure increases

Question 43

kilobars

Answer 43

what we measure lithostatic pressure in