The Beginning Flashcards
It includes all of space, and all
the matter and energy that space contains.
Universe
the
leading explanation about how the
universe began
Big Bang Theory
The universe began about
13.8 billion years ago
a large group of stars, gas, and
dust bound together by gravity
Galaxy
the galaxy in
which Earth resides.
Milky Way
our Milky
Way’s closest neighbor
The Andromeda Galaxy
is the distance light travels in
one Earth year
light year
As the mass of this protostar increases,
its
internal pressure and temperature rise through gravitational
compression
is a giant cloud of dust
and gas in space
Nebula
the second stage of a
newborn star in a nebula
Protostar
made up of the sun and everything that orbits around it,
including planets, moons, asteroids, comets and meteoroids
Solar System
the star around which
Earth and the other
components of the solar system
revolve
Sun
the third planet from the Sun, and the only place we know of so far that’s
inhabited by living things
Earth
closer
approximation of the Earth ’s
true shape
geoid
The intersection of the axis of rotation
with the Earth ’s surface marks the
North and South Poles
The direction of rotation of the Earth
counter clockwise
the line around which the
Earth rotates, extending through
the poles
Axis
The Earth’s axis of rotation
is tilted by ______degrees. This tilt causes _______
23.4 degrees, different seasons of the year
the movement of the Earth around the Sun
Revolution
Three major compositional layers of the Earth:
Core, Mantle, Crust
Spherical central mass of the Earth that composed largely of iron and consisting of an outer liquid
zone and an interior solid zone.
Core
- Outermost solid shell or layer of the Earth,
-composed largely of silicate minerals
Crust
Rock layer or shell of the Earth beneath the crust and
surrounding the core.
- composed of ultramafic igneous rock of silicate mineral
composition.
Mantle
consists of solid
iron and nickel
Inner core
consists of molten
iron and nickel.
Outer core
a natural feature, such as a hill or valley, on the surface of Earth
Landform
4 Major Landform Types
Mountains
Hills
Plains
Plateau
are large, flat pieces of land with no drastic
changes in elevation.
Plains
are large landforms that rise high above
surrounding terrain and usually form sharp peaks.
Mountains
are elevated sections of land with notable
summits that are lower and less steep than mountains.
Hills
is an elevated piece of land that, unlike a
mountain, is flat.
Plateau
is water from a sea or ocean.
Seawater
Water that is not salty, for instance water
found in lakes, streams, and rivers, but not the ocean.
Fresh water
is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock.
Groundwater
is a huge mass of ice that moves slowly
over land.
Glacier
Theory stating
that continents move slowly across Earth’s surface.
Continental Drift
He proposed the theory of Continental Drift
Alfred Wegener
the hypothetical supercontinent,
composed of all the present continents, that existed
between 300 and 200 million years ago.
Pangaea
was the vast
global ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea, during the Late Paleozoic and the early Mesozoic era
Panthalassic Ocean
“Panthalassa” greek meaning
all sea
