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Earth And Environmental Science > Earth Basics > Flashcards

Earth Basics Flashcards

1
Q

What is the Earth’s Structure?

A

The layers of Earth including the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core

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2
Q

What is the Crust?

A

The outermost layer of Earth made of solid rock.

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3
Q

What is the Mantle?

A

The thick layer of semi-solid rock beneath the crust.

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4
Q

What is the Core?

A

The innermost layer of Earth consisting of the outer liquid core and the solid inner core.

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5
Q

What is Plate Tectonics?

A

The theory that Earth’s lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that move and interact.

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6
Q

What are Tectonic Plates?

A

Large sections of Earth’s crust that move due to convection currents in the mantle.

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7
Q

What is a Convergent Boundary?

A

A boundary where two tectonic plates collide often forming mountains or causing earthquakes.

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8
Q

What is a Divergent Boundary?

A

A boundary where two tectonic plates move apart leading to the formation of new crust.

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9
Q

What is a Transform Boundary?

A

A boundary where two tectonic plates slide past each other causing earthquakes.

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10
Q

What is a Fault?

A

A crack or fracture in Earth’s crust where movement has occurred.

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11
Q

What is a Volcano?

A

A vent in Earth’s crust through which molten rock ash

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12
Q

What is an Earthquake?

A

A sudden shaking of the ground caused by the release of energy along a fault.

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13
Q

What is the Richter Scale?

A

A scale used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes.

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14
Q

What is the Focus of an Earthquake?

A

The point within Earth where the earthquake originates.

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15
Q

What is the Epicenter?

A

The point on Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.

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16
Q

What is a Tsunami?

A

A series of large ocean waves caused by underwater earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

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17
Q

What is the Rock Cycle?

A

The continuous process by which rocks are formed altered

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18
Q

What is Igneous Rock?

A

Rock formed from the cooling and solidification of molten magma or lava.

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19
Q

What is Sedimentary Rock?

A

Rock formed from the compression of sediments over time.

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20
Q

What is Metamorphic Rock?

A

Rock formed when existing rocks are subjected to heat and pressure.

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21
Q

What is the Water Cycle?

A

The continuous movement of water on above

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22
Q

What is Evaporation?

A

The process by which liquid water turns into vapor and rises into the atmosphere.

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23
Q

What is Condensation?

A

The process by which water vapor cools and turns back into liquid water.

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24
Q

What is Precipitation?

A

Water released from clouds in the form of rain snow

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25
Q

What is Infiltration?

A

The process by which water enters the soil from the surface.

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26
Q

What is Groundwater?

A

Water that exists beneath Earth’s surface in the soil and rock layers.

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27
Q

What is a River Basin?

A

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

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28
Q

What is a Watershed?

A

The land area that collects water for a river or stream.

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29
Q

What is Runoff?

A

Water that flows over the ground surface into bodies of water such as rivers and lakes.

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30
Q

What is a Glacier?

A

A large slow-moving mass of ice and snow that moves under its own weight.

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31
Q

What is a Fossil?

A

The preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms.

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32
Q

What is Fossilization?

A

The process by which organic material is preserved as fossils over time.

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33
Q

What is an Aquifer?

A

A layer of rock or sediment that holds groundwater.

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34
Q

What is the Atmosphere?

A

The layer of gases surrounding Earth.

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35
Q

What is the Troposphere?

A

The lowest layer of the atmosphere where weather occurs.

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36
Q

What is the Stratosphere?

A

The second layer of the atmosphere containing the ozone layer.

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37
Q

What is the Ozone Layer?

A

A layer in the stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.

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38
Q

What is the Mesosphere?

A

The layer of the atmosphere where meteors burn up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.

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39
Q

What is the Thermosphere?

A

The layer of the atmosphere that contains the ionosphere and where the Northern and Southern Lights occur.

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40
Q

What is the Exosphere?

A

The outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere where atoms and molecules escape into space.

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41
Q

What is the Magnetosphere?

A

The area around Earth influenced by Earth’s magnetic field.

42
Q

What is the Coriolis Effect? –

A

The deflection of moving objects like winds

43
Q

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

A

The trapping of heat in Earth’s atmosphere by gases like CO2 methane

44
Q

What is Global Warming?

A

The increase in Earth’s average temperature due to the buildup of greenhouse gases.

45
Q

What is a Meteor?

A

A small object from space that burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.

46
Q

What is a Meteorite?

A

A meteor that survives its passage through Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the surface.

47
Q

What is a Comet?

A

A small body of ice and dust that orbits the Sun and produces a glowing tail when heated.

48
Q

What is an Asteroid?

A

A small rocky object that orbits the Sun

49
Q

What is a Solar Eclipse?

A

When the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun blocking sunlight.

50
Q

What is a Lunar Eclipse?

A

When the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon casting a shadow on the Moon.

51
Q

What is the Moon’s Influence on Earth?

A

The Moon’s gravity causes tides and affects Earth’s rotation.

52
Q

What is the Tidal Effect?

A

The gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on Earth’s oceans causing high and low tides.

53
Q

What is the Earth’s Rotation?

A

The spinning of Earth on its axis which causes day and night.

54
Q

What is the Earth’s Revolution?

A

The orbit of Earth around the Sun which takes one year.

55
Q

What is a Leap Year?

A

A year with 366 days occurring every four years to account for the extra 0.25 days in Earth’s revolution.

56
Q

What is a Solstice?

A

he two points in Earth’s orbit where the Sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky.

57
Q

What is an Equinox?

A

The two points in Earth’s orbit when day and night are of equal length.

58
Q

What is the Hydrosphere?

A

All the water on Earth including oceans

59
Q

What is the Lithosphere?

A

Earth’s outer shell including the crust and uppermost mantle.

60
Q

What is the Biosphere?

A

The region of Earth where life exists including land

61
Q

What is the Carbon Cycle?

A

The movement of carbon between the atmosphere land

62
Q

What is the Nitrogen Cycle?

A

The process by which nitrogen is converted into different chemical forms and circulates in the environment.

63
Q

What is the Phosphorus Cycle?

A

The movement of phosphorus through Earth’s ecosystems primarily in rocks and soil.

64
Q

What is the Water Cycle?

A

The continuous movement of water on above

65
Q

What is Continental Drift?

A

The theory that continents have moved over geologic time to their current positions.

66
Q

What is Pangaea?

A

The supercontinent that existed about 300 million years ago before it split into the continents we have today.

67
Q

What is Seafloor Spreading?

A

The process by which new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges as tectonic plates pull apart.

68
Q

What is the Ring of Fire?

A

A zone of high seismic and volcanic activity around the Pacific Ocean.

69
Q

What is a Hotspot?

A

A region in Earth’s mantle where a column of hot material rises creating volcanic activity.

70
Q

What is a Mid-Ocean Ridge?

A

A long mountain range under the ocean formed by tectonic plate movement.

71
Q

What is a Basin?

A

A low area of land often with water

72
Q

What is a Mountain Range?

A

A series of connected mountains formed by tectonic processes.

73
Q

What is Erosion?

A

The wearing away of Earth’s surface by wind water

74
Q

What is Deposition?

A

The process by which sediment is laid down in new locations.

75
Q

What is Weathering?

A

The breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces due to physical chemical

76
Q

What is Mechanical Weathering?

A

The physical breakdown of rocks into smaller fragments.

77
Q

What is Chemical Weathering?

A

The breakdown of rocks through chemical reactions often involving water.

78
Q

What is Biological Weathering?

A

The breakdown of rocks due to the activities of organisms like plant roots.

79
Q

What is an Ice Age?

A

A period of time in Earth’s history when large parts of the planet were covered by ice sheets.

80
Q

What is a Meteorological Phenomenon?

A

A natural occurrence related to weather such as a tornado or hurricane.

81
Q

What is a Tornado?

A

A rapidly rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground.

82
Q

What is a Hurricane?

A

A large powerful tropical storm with strong winds and heavy rain.

83
Q

What is a Thunderstorm?

A

A storm characterized by lightning thunder

84
Q

What is the Water Table?

A

The level below which the ground is saturated with water.

85
Q

What is Groundwater Recharge?

A

The process by which groundwater is replenished typically through infiltration.

86
Q

What is a Sinkhole?

A

A depression or hole in the ground caused by the collapse of a surface layer.

87
Q

What is Geothermal Energy?

A

Energy derived from the heat inside the Earth.

88
Q

What is a Fossil Fuel?

A

Energy resources that originated form biological matter like coal or oil

89
Q

What is the Earth’s Magnetic Field?

A

The field generated by the movement of molten iron in Earth’s outer core.

90
Q

What is the Earth’s Axis?

A

An imaginary line around which Earth rotates.

91
Q

What is the Earth’s Orbit?

A

The path Earth takes around the Sun completing one cycle every year.

92
Q

What is an Earthquake Fault Zone?

A

A region with a high risk of earthquakes due to fault line activity.

93
Q

What is a Richter Scale?

A

A scale used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes out of 10.

94
Q

What is Geology?

A

The study of Earth’s structure composition

95
Q

What is Seismology?

A

The study of earthquakes and seismic waves.

96
Q

What is Earth’s Atmosphere?

A

The gases that surround Earth including nitrogen

97
Q

What is a Solar Wind?

A

A stream of charged particles released from the Sun’s atmosphere.

98
Q

What is a Magnetosphere?

A

The area around Earth influenced by its magnetic field.

99
Q

What is a Geothermal Spring?

A

A spring that produces hot water heated by geothermal energy from Earth’s interior.

100
Q

What is Continental Shelf?

A

The shallow seabed around a continent which extends to a depth of around 200 meters.

Earth And Environmental Science (2 decks)

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