Unit 2 Chapter 9 - Lithosphere

Question 1

Adsorption

Answer 1

The attachment of a material onto a surface

Question 2

Alluvial

Answer 2

Materials such as soil or weathered rock particles deposited by a river or other flowing area

Question 3

Batholith

Answer 3

A large underground mass of solidified molten magma

Question 4

Core

Answer 4

The solid and molten inner layers of the Earth

Question 5

Crust

Answer 5

The solid surface layer of the Earth, made up of plates of the crust that form the continents or the ocean floor.

Question 6

Decomposers

Answer 6

Micro-organisms, including many bacteria and fungi which break down and digest dead organic matter

Question 7

Detritivores

Answer 7

Organisms that feed on dead organic matter, often in or on the soil, e.f. earthworks, millipedes and woodlice. They break down dead organic matter that can be further digested by decomposers

Question 8

Eutrophication

Answer 8

The natural nutrient enrichment of a water body. It can be accelerated by human actions such as the release of sewage effluent or the use of fertilisers that are leached into water bodies

Question 9

The Gaia Hypothesis

Answer 9

A theory that considers the Earth to be a single self-regulating system (Condensation and cloud cover)

Question 10

Homeostasis

Answer 10

The combined processes that maintain balance in a living organism or the environment

Question 11

Hydrothermal

Answer 11

Processes or deposits associated with hot water

Question 12

Igneous

Answer 12

Rocks or processes involving molten rock

Question 13

In situ

Answer 13

In the place where it is found

Question 14

Infiltration

Answer 14

The process by which surface water enters the ground between the particles of rock

Question 15

Leachate

Answer 15

Liquids and dissolved materials such as fertilisers washed through the ground, usually downwards

Question 16

Mantle

Answer 16

The molten and semi molten layer of the Earth between the core and the crust

Question 17

Metamorphic

Answer 17

Rocks changed by intense heat and pressure without fully melting

Question 18

Ore

Answer 18

A body of rock that contains minerals that can be exploited

Question 19

Overburden

Answer 19

The unwanted material on top of the mineral deposit that is to be exploited

Question 20

Ped

Answer 20

The basic unit of soil structure where particles of sand, silt, clay and humus form aggregates

Question 21

Placer deposit

Answer 21

Deposits of dense minerals carried by water, e.g. tin and gold

Question 22

Regolith

Answer 22

The solid rock particles left after weathering

Question 23

Reserve

Answer 23

The proportion of a resource that can be economically exploited with existing technology

Question 24

Reservoir

Answer 24

The general name for a storage location for any material eg. nitrogen, crude oil, water, iron etc. The term is also used for the stored water retained by a dam.

Question 25

Resource

Answer 25

The name of a material or the total amount of a material that could theoretically be exploited.

Question 26

Sedimentary

Answer 26

Materials or processed that involve material being carried by air or water then deposited

Question 27

Soil Structure

Answer 27

The characteristics of a soild based on the aggregation of soil particles into peds.

Question 28

Soil Texture

Answer 28

The characteristics of a soil based on the proportions of the mineral particles that are sand, silt and clay

Question 29

Solute

Answer 29

A dissolved substance

Question 30

Turbidity

Answer 30

A measure of the cloudiness of water caused by suspended solid particles.