Earth Basics Flashcards
What is the Earth’s Structure?
The layers of Earth including the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core
What is the Crust?
The outermost layer of Earth made of solid rock.
What is the Mantle?
The thick layer of semi-solid rock beneath the crust.
What is the Core?
The innermost layer of Earth consisting of the outer liquid core and the solid inner core.
What is Plate Tectonics?
The theory that Earth’s lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that move and interact.
What are Tectonic Plates?
Large sections of Earth’s crust that move due to convection currents in the mantle.
What is a Convergent Boundary?
A boundary where two tectonic plates collide often forming mountains or causing earthquakes.
What is a Divergent Boundary?
A boundary where two tectonic plates move apart leading to the formation of new crust.
What is a Transform Boundary?
A boundary where two tectonic plates slide past each other causing earthquakes.
What is a Fault?
A crack or fracture in Earth’s crust where movement has occurred.
What is a Volcano?
A vent in Earth’s crust through which molten rock ash
What is an Earthquake?
A sudden shaking of the ground caused by the release of energy along a fault.
What is the Richter Scale?
A scale used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes.
What is the Focus of an Earthquake?
The point within Earth where the earthquake originates.
What is the Epicenter?
The point on Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
What is a Tsunami?
A series of large ocean waves caused by underwater earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.
What is the Rock Cycle?
The continuous process by which rocks are formed altered
What is Igneous Rock?
Rock formed from the cooling and solidification of molten magma or lava.
What is Sedimentary Rock?
Rock formed from the compression of sediments over time.
What is Metamorphic Rock?
Rock formed when existing rocks are subjected to heat and pressure.
What is the Water Cycle?
The continuous movement of water on above
What is Evaporation?
The process by which liquid water turns into vapor and rises into the atmosphere.
What is Condensation?
The process by which water vapor cools and turns back into liquid water.
What is Precipitation?
Water released from clouds in the form of rain snow
What is Infiltration?
The process by which water enters the soil from the surface.
What is Groundwater?
Water that exists beneath Earth’s surface in the soil and rock layers.
What is a River Basin?
The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
What is a Watershed?
The land area that collects water for a river or stream.
What is Runoff?
Water that flows over the ground surface into bodies of water such as rivers and lakes.
What is a Glacier?
A large slow-moving mass of ice and snow that moves under its own weight.
What is a Fossil?
The preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms.
What is Fossilization?
The process by which organic material is preserved as fossils over time.
What is an Aquifer?
A layer of rock or sediment that holds groundwater.
What is the Atmosphere?
The layer of gases surrounding Earth.
What is the Troposphere?
The lowest layer of the atmosphere where weather occurs.
What is the Stratosphere?
The second layer of the atmosphere containing the ozone layer.
What is the Ozone Layer?
A layer in the stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.
What is the Mesosphere?
The layer of the atmosphere where meteors burn up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.
What is the Thermosphere?
The layer of the atmosphere that contains the ionosphere and where the Northern and Southern Lights occur.
What is the Exosphere?
The outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere where atoms and molecules escape into space.
What is the Magnetosphere?
The area around Earth influenced by Earth’s magnetic field.
What is the Coriolis Effect? –
The deflection of moving objects like winds
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
The trapping of heat in Earth’s atmosphere by gases like CO2 methane
What is Global Warming?
The increase in Earth’s average temperature due to the buildup of greenhouse gases.
What is a Meteor?
A small object from space that burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.
What is a Meteorite?
A meteor that survives its passage through Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the surface.
What is a Comet?
A small body of ice and dust that orbits the Sun and produces a glowing tail when heated.
What is an Asteroid?
A small rocky object that orbits the Sun
What is a Solar Eclipse?
When the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun blocking sunlight.
What is a Lunar Eclipse?
When the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon casting a shadow on the Moon.
What is the Moon’s Influence on Earth?
The Moon’s gravity causes tides and affects Earth’s rotation.
What is the Tidal Effect?
The gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on Earth’s oceans causing high and low tides.
What is the Earth’s Rotation?
The spinning of Earth on its axis which causes day and night.
What is the Earth’s Revolution?
The orbit of Earth around the Sun which takes one year.
What is a Leap Year?
A year with 366 days occurring every four years to account for the extra 0.25 days in Earth’s revolution.
What is a Solstice?
he two points in Earth’s orbit where the Sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky.
What is an Equinox?
The two points in Earth’s orbit when day and night are of equal length.
What is the Hydrosphere?
All the water on Earth including oceans
What is the Lithosphere?
Earth’s outer shell including the crust and uppermost mantle.
What is the Biosphere?
The region of Earth where life exists including land
What is the Carbon Cycle?
The movement of carbon between the atmosphere land
What is the Nitrogen Cycle?
The process by which nitrogen is converted into different chemical forms and circulates in the environment.
What is the Phosphorus Cycle?
The movement of phosphorus through Earth’s ecosystems primarily in rocks and soil.
What is the Water Cycle?
The continuous movement of water on above
What is Continental Drift?
The theory that continents have moved over geologic time to their current positions.
What is Pangaea?
The supercontinent that existed about 300 million years ago before it split into the continents we have today.
What is Seafloor Spreading?
The process by which new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges as tectonic plates pull apart.
What is the Ring of Fire?
A zone of high seismic and volcanic activity around the Pacific Ocean.
What is a Hotspot?
A region in Earth’s mantle where a column of hot material rises creating volcanic activity.
What is a Mid-Ocean Ridge?
A long mountain range under the ocean formed by tectonic plate movement.
What is a Basin?
A low area of land often with water
What is a Mountain Range?
A series of connected mountains formed by tectonic processes.
What is Erosion?
The wearing away of Earth’s surface by wind water
What is Deposition?
The process by which sediment is laid down in new locations.
What is Weathering?
The breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces due to physical chemical
What is Mechanical Weathering?
The physical breakdown of rocks into smaller fragments.
What is Chemical Weathering?
The breakdown of rocks through chemical reactions often involving water.
What is Biological Weathering?
The breakdown of rocks due to the activities of organisms like plant roots.
What is an Ice Age?
A period of time in Earth’s history when large parts of the planet were covered by ice sheets.
What is a Meteorological Phenomenon?
A natural occurrence related to weather such as a tornado or hurricane.
What is a Tornado?
A rapidly rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground.
What is a Hurricane?
A large powerful tropical storm with strong winds and heavy rain.
What is a Thunderstorm?
A storm characterized by lightning thunder
What is the Water Table?
The level below which the ground is saturated with water.
What is Groundwater Recharge?
The process by which groundwater is replenished typically through infiltration.
What is a Sinkhole?
A depression or hole in the ground caused by the collapse of a surface layer.
What is Geothermal Energy?
Energy derived from the heat inside the Earth.
What is a Fossil Fuel?
Energy resources that originated form biological matter like coal or oil
What is the Earth’s Magnetic Field?
The field generated by the movement of molten iron in Earth’s outer core.
What is the Earth’s Axis?
An imaginary line around which Earth rotates.
What is the Earth’s Orbit?
The path Earth takes around the Sun completing one cycle every year.
What is an Earthquake Fault Zone?
A region with a high risk of earthquakes due to fault line activity.
What is a Richter Scale?
A scale used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes out of 10.
What is Geology?
The study of Earth’s structure composition
What is Seismology?
The study of earthquakes and seismic waves.
What is Earth’s Atmosphere?
The gases that surround Earth including nitrogen
What is a Solar Wind?
A stream of charged particles released from the Sun’s atmosphere.
What is a Magnetosphere?
The area around Earth influenced by its magnetic field.
What is a Geothermal Spring?
A spring that produces hot water heated by geothermal energy from Earth’s interior.
What is Continental Shelf?
The shallow seabed around a continent which extends to a depth of around 200 meters.
