Earths Major Systems Flashcards
The layer of gases that surround earth
Atmosphere
Earths water, whether found on continents or in oceans, including freshwater in glaciers, lakes, rivers and underground
Hydrosphere
The part of Earth in which living things exist and interact
Biosphere
The layers of rock, dirt, and soil on Earth, including the mantle, core and crust
Geosphere
Earths solid, rocky surface
Crust
The layer of Earth beneath the crust
Mantle
The central part of Earth
Core
The slow movement of the continents over many years
Continental drift
Scientific theory that Earths crust is made of moving plates
Tectonic plates
A pattern or crack in the rocket where movement can take place
Fault
The atmosphere contains _______________which plants need it to make food
Carbon dioxide
The ___________ protects living things in biosphere
Ozone layer
The ____________influences the weather patterns
Geosphere
A_______ sceintist who examines rocks to find out about Earths history and structure
Geologist
__________ thought Earths continents were a jigsaw puzzle
Alfred Wegener
________ theory that describes the lithosphere as being made of huge plates of solid rock
Plate tectonics
___________ Is the squeezing or a pushing together of the crust
Compression
When a plate is compressed the crust is forced upward, producing _________
Folded mountains
Rocks break down and become ________
Sediment
Soil forms in layers called __________
Horizons
__________is a thin layer of topsoil with little humus
Forest soil
_________is sandy and does not have much humus
Dessert soil
_________is rich in humus which provides nutrients for crops and holds water so minerals are not washed deep into the ground
Grassland and prairie soil
