Earth Science SOL Review

You should know this vocabulary for each unit!

Introduction to Earth Science Unit

• The outermost surface of the Earth; the 2 types are continental and oceanic

• Crust

• Found between the crust and core of the Earth; convection currents occur here

• Mantle

• Center of the Earth made of iron and nickel; outer part is a liquid while the inner part is a solid

• Core

• Upper part of mantle and the crust; broken into slabs called tectonic plates

• Lithosphere

• Plastic layer of the mantle that the lithosphere rides on; moves at the rate your fingernails grow

• Asthenosphere

• The shape of the land • Topography

• A line on a topographic map that represents a constant elevation; when they are close together it represents a steep slope

• Contour Line

• The difference in elevation from one contour line to another; a large interval would be used for mountainous areas

• Contour Interval

• The amount of space on object takes up; units of cm3 or mL; can be determined using water displacement

• Volume

• The amount of matter in an object; does NOT depend on gravity; measured using grams

• Mass

• A measure of the gravitational force exerted by an object; depends on gravity

• Weight

• How compact an object is; calculated as mass divided by volume; units of g/mL or g/cm3

• Density

• Lines that run east-west and measure north and south of the equator; called parallels

• Latitude

• Lines that run north-south and measure east and west of the prime meridian

• Longitude

• The factors that do not change during an experiment; in the Myth Busters episode this would have included things like the speed of the car

• Constants

• This is the trial that all the others trials are compared to (or the baseline); in the Myth Busters episode this was the car’s fuel economy without drafting behind a semi

• Control

• This is the variable that is controlled or manipulated in an experiment; in the Myth Busters episode this was the distance the car was behind the semi

• Independent variable

• This is the variable that changes as the independent variable changes; in the Myth Busters episode it was the fuel economy (or mpg) of the car while drafting behind the semi

• Dependent variable

Earth’s Resources Unit

• A subatomic particle with a positive charge; located in the nucleus of an atom

• Proton

• A subatomic particle with no charge; located in the nucleus of an atom

• Neutron

• A subatomic particle with a negative charge; located in the electron cloud of an atom

• Electron

• An atom that gains or loses one or more electrons and has a charge

• Ion

• An atom with a different number of neutrons than atoms of the same element; example is carbon-14 (has 2 more neutrons than carbon-12)

• Isotope

• An object that is inorganic and naturally occurring; also contains crystals and has a consistent internal composition

• Mineral

• One of the most common silicate minerals that comes in many different colors; used to make glass

• Quartz

• The mineral that effervesces, or bubbles, in acid; the mineral that makes up limestone

• Calcite

• The name given to minerals that have basal cleavage (meaning they split into sheets); includes biotite and muscovite

• Mica

• The property in which a mineral bubbles in acid; responsible for the formation of caves and sinkholes

• Effervescence

• The way a mineral reflects light; examples include metallic and glassy

• Luster

• When a mineral breaks into flat planes; biotite and muscovite exhibit this property

• Cleavage

• When a mineral breaks unevenly; quartz exhibits this property

• Fracture

• When a mineral glows under ultraviolet (UV) light; fluorite exhibits this property

• Fluorescence

• Mineral property involving a scratch test; scale of 1-10 with talc being a 1 and diamond being a 10

• Hardness

• The powdered form of a mineral; pyrite, or fool’s gold, exhibits this property

• Streak

• The process by which rocks change from one type of rock to another

• Rock Cycle

• Rock formed by the cooling and crystallizing of magma/lava; examples include granite, basalt, pumice, and obsidian

• Igneous Rock

• Rock formed by the compaction and cementation of sediments; examples include sandstone, shale, conglomerate, and limestone

• Sedimentary Rock

• Particles formed by the weathering of rocks• Sediments

• Type of rock that forms when rock is changed by heat and pressure; examples include marble, quartzite, and gneiss

• Metamorphic Rock

• Forms when rock melts; molten rock • Magma

• Type of igneous rock that forms when magma cools slowly beneath Earth’s surface; rocks have large crystals or coarse texture; example is granite

• Intrusive Igneous Rock

• Type of igneous rock that forms when lava cools quickly at Earth’s surface; rock has small/no crystals or fine texture; examples include pumice and obsidian

• Extrusive Igneous Rock

• Metamorphic rock property in which the minerals separate into bands or layers; examples include slate and gneiss

• Foliation

• Metamorphic rock property in which minerals do NOT separate into bands or layers; examples include marble and quartzite

• Nonfoliated

• The process in which sediment, such as sand, is laid down in a river, lake, or ocean

• Deposition

• When the pore space between sediments becomes less and less

• Compaction

• The process in which sediments are glued together to form a sedimentary rock

• Cementation

• An organic sedimentary rock formed from ancient swamps and forests

• Coal

• Type of sedimentary rock that contains the mineral calcite; can form from the shells of marine organisms

• Limestone

• A very common intrusive igneous rock; commonly used for counter tops

• Granite

• Type of sedimentary rock that is made up of fragments of other rocks; includes sandstone, conglomerate, and shale

• Clastic sedimentary rock

• The type of energy that uses a dam• Hydroelectric power

• The type of energy that uses heat within the Earth; oftentimes located near plate boundaries

• Geothermal power

• The type of energy that uses energy from the Sun

• Solar power

• The type of energy that is renewed within a human lifetime; includes solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric power

• Renewable energy

• The type of energy that takes a very long time to form; often uses fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas; includes nuclear power and coal burning power plants

• Nonrenewable energy

• A form of energy that uses radioactive isotopes such as uranium; uses the process of nuclear fission, or the splitting of a nucleus

• Nuclear Power

• A renewable energy source that uses wind turbines

• Wind Power

History of the Earth Unit

• Law that says that older sedimentary rocks are on the bottom

• Law of superposition

• Law that says that a fault or igneous intrusion is younger than any layer it cuts through

• Law of cross-cutting relationships

• The age of an object, such as a rock layer, relative to the ages of layers around it

• Relative age

• The numeric age of an object, such as a rock; determined using radiometric dating

• Absolute age

• The remains, impression, or other evidence of an organism preserved in rock; nearly always preserved in sedimentary rock

• Fossil

• The fossil of an organism that can be used to date rock layers; these organisms were found all over Earth at one time but then went extinct; an example is trilobites

• Index fossil

• A way to determine the absolute age of rocks by comparing the amount of parent isotopes to the amount of daughter isotopes

• Radiometric dating

• A type of radiometric dating that uses Carbon-14; used to date organic things, such as wooly mammoths and bones

• Carbon dating

• The amount of time it takes for half of the parent isotope to decay into the daughter isotope

• Half life

• The process in which minerals in groundwater replace the organic material of an object; example is petrified wood

• Petrification

• The longest unit of geologic time; divided into eras

• Eon

• The unit of geologic time that is divided into periods; examples include Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic

• Era

• Unit of geologic time that is shorter than an era but longer than an epoch; examples include the Jurassic and the Quaternary

• Period

Plate Tectonics Unit

• The theory that states that the supercontinent, Pangaea, split apart and the continents drifted to their current locations

• Continental drift

• The process by which tectonic plates are pushed apart at a mid-ocean ridge

• Sea floor spreading

• The theory that states that large pieces of lithosphere move around on the surface of the Earth at different speeds and directions

• Plate tectonics

• Where one plate goes under another• Subduction zone

• A deep hole in the ocean crust that forms at a subduction zone

• Trench

• A chain of volcanic islands that form above a subduction zone; examples include the Aleutian and Marianas Islands

• Island arc volcanoes

• Waves generated by earthquakes• Seismic waves

• The fastest moving seismic waves; also called primary waves

• P waves

• The second seismic wave to arrive at a seismograph station; called secondary waves

• S waves

• Seismic waves that travel on the surface of the Earth

• Surface waves

• The point along a fault where the initial slip takes place during an earthquake

• Focus

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

• Epicenter

• Plate boundary where two plates are colliding; this type of boundary was responsible for forming the Appalachian Mountains in VA

• Convergent boundary

• Plate boundary where two plates are pulling away from each other; example is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

• Divergent boundary

• Plate boundary where two plates are sliding past each other; example is the San Andreas Fault in California

• Transform boundary

• A fracture in Earth’s crust where rocks slide past each other

• Fault

• A bend in Earth’s crust; examples include anticlines (A-shaped) and synclines (U-shaped)

• Fold

• The sudden return of land to its undeformed (or original) shape; happens during an earthquake

• Elastic rebound

• The difference in arrival time between P waves and S waves; used to determine how far away an earthquake occurred

• Lag time

• Mountains formed when two continents collide; examples include Himalayas and Appalachians

• Folded mountains

• a spot located over a mantle plume that remains volcanically active; does not have to be near a plate boundary; example is Hawaii

• Hot spot

• Super hot rock material shot out of a volcano• Pyroclastic material

• Physiographic region of VA made up of mostly sediment; contains swamps and estuaries; flat topography

• Coastal Plain (or Tidewater)

• Physiographic region of VA located between the Valley and Ridge and Piedmont; contains rugged igneous and metamorphic rocks that are over 1 billion years old

• Blue Ridge Mountains

• Physiographic region of VA characterized by caves and sinkholes in the limestone (karst topography)

• Valley and Ridge

• Physiographic region of VA that contains our state’s most abundant natural resource, coal

• Appalachian Plateau

Weathering and Erosion Unit

• Dark, organic matter found on top of the soil• Humus

• Large chunks of weathered bedrock; found on the Earth and on the surface of the moon

• Regolith

• Rock found underneath the soil layers• Bedrock

• The rock from which the soil forms; it is oftentimes the bedrock underneath the soil

• Parent rock

• The ability of water to flow through a material• Permeability

• The percentage of pore space in a rock or sediment

• Porosity

• The top of the zone of saturation; or the upper surface of an aquifer; will rise and fall with rain and drought

• Water table

• A body of rock or sediment that can hold or allow the flow of groundwater

• Aquifer

• A dip in the water table that forms due to the pumping of a well

• Cone of depression

• Groundwater zone where the pore space is completely filled with water

• Zone of saturation

• Groundwater zone where the pore space is mostly filled with air; located above the water table

• Zone of aeration

• Fan-shaped deposit of sediment that forms where a river enters a larger body of water; example is where the Mississippi River enters the Gulf of Mexico

• Delta

• A fan-shaped deposit of sediment that forms at the base of a mountain

• Alluvial fan

• The term for land that has a lot of caves, caverns, and sinkholes; limestone is the rock found in these areas; the Valley and Ridge region of Virginia

• Karst topography

• Rain, sleet, snow, hail, etc. • Precipitation

• When water vapor turns into water; occurs when temperature drops below the dew point

• Condensation

• When water turns into water vapor• Evaporation

• The natural flow of water onto Earth’s surface where the water table touches the surface

• Spring

• An area of land where all of the water drains to the same place; separated by divides, such as mountain ridges

• Watershed

• A large sheet of ice found in very tall mountains; found in the Rockies, Andes, Himalayas, and the Alps; carves out a U-shaped valley

• Alpine glacier

Oceanography Unit

• A mountain under the ocean formed over a hot spot

• Seamount

• The flattest regions on Earth; located on the ocean floor

• Abyssal plains

• The part of the continent that is underwater; located between the shoreline and the deep ocean basin; includes the continental shelf and the continental slope

• Continental margin

• The wedge-shaped deposit of sediments at the bottom of the continental slope

• Continental rise

• A flow of sediment that moves from the continental shelf down the continental slope to the deep ocean; can carve out submarine canyons; responsible for forming the continental rise

• Turbidity current

• Locating how deep or far away something is using sound waves; used to make topographic maps of the ocean floor

• Sonar

• A mountain range located on the ocean floor; extends for 40,000 miles; site of sea floor spreading; form at divergent boundaries; youngest ocean crust found here

• Mid-ocean ridge

• A large wave created by underwater earthquakes or landslides; also called a tidal wave, but NOT caused by the moon’s gravitational pull

• Tsunami

• Movement of nutrient rich water from the bottom of the ocean to the surface; very important for ocean plants and animals on the continental shelf

• Upwelling

• A measure of how salty the water is• Salinity

• The rise and fall of water level caused by the gravitational pull of the moon (and to a lesser extent the gravitational pull of the Sun)

• Tides

Weather Unit

• The study of Earth’s atmosphere, including the weather

• Meteorology

• The amount of energy absorbed or released when water changes phases

• Latent heat

• The movement of matter caused by differences in density; caused by temperature differences; occurs in mantle, ocean, and atmosphere

• Convection

• The transfer of energy or heat when objects or molecules come into direct contact

• Conduction

• The transfer of energy through electromagnetic waves; does not require any matter; the main form of energy transfer in the upper atmosphere where air molecules are very spread out

• Radiation

• The curving of wind due to Earth’s rotation; it’s what causes storms to rotate CCW in the northern hemisphere and CW in the southern hemisphere

• Coriolis effect

• Global wind belt located between the equator and 30o North and South; winds blow east to west

• Trade winds

• Global wind belt located between 30o and 60o latitude; located in the northern and southern hemisphere; winds blow west to east

• Westerlies

• Global wind belt located between 60o latitude and the poles; located in both the northern and southern hemisphere; winds blow east to west (like in the trade winds)

• Polar easterlies

• Layer of the atmosphere closest to the surface where temperature decreases with height

• Troposphere

• The second layer of the atmosphere located above the troposphere where temperature increases with height; contains the ozone layer

• Stratosphere

• The third layer of the atmosphere where temperature decreases with height; the coldest layer of the atmosphere; this is also the name for the lower part of Earth’s mantle

• Mesosphere

• The outermost layer of the atmosphere where temperature increases with height; contains the ionosphere and the exosphere

• Thermosphere

• Part of Earth’s atmosphere where auroras exist; lower part of the thermosphere

• Ionosphere

• A brilliant light display caused by solar wind interacting with air molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere; located above the north and south poles

• Aurora

• A molecule made up of 3 oxygen atoms (O3); found in the stratosphere; absorbs ultraviolet (UV) radiation

• Ozone

• A molecule that was commonly found in hairsprays and refrigerants; destroys ozone and is responsible for the ozone hole; short for chlorofluorocarbons

• CFCs

• Where two air masses collide• Front

• Large body of air with a uniform temperature and humidity; examples are continental polar (cP) and maritime tropical (mT)

• Air mass

• Type of front where cold air advances into warm air; symbol is spikes or triangles on a weather map; cumulonimbus clouds and thunderstorms are created

• Cold front

• Type of front where warm air slowly advances into cold air; symbol is red semi-circles on the weather map; steady rain is common; low level nimbostratus clouds are created

• Warm front

• Type of front created when air masses of similar density collide; the front stalls and steady rain can fall in an area for days; symbol is triangles and semi-circles on opposite sides

• Stationary front

• Type of front in which cold air overtakes warm air; can create very violent weather; symbol is triangles and semi-circles on the same side

• Occluded front

• A towering thunderstorm cloud; associated with cold fronts; can also be created on hot summer days due to convection (hot air rising and condensing)

• Cumulonimbus cloud

• Cotton ball clouds • Cumulus clouds

• Low level sheet like clouds • Stratus clouds

• Highest altitude clouds found at the top of the troposphere; made of ice crystals

• Cirrus clouds

• Temperature at which the rates of condensation and evaporation are equal; dew and clouds form below this temperature

• Dew point

• The process in which a solid turns directly into a gas; an example is snow turning into water vapor

• Sublimation

• The process in which Earth’s atmosphere acts like the glass in a greenhouse and traps heat; keeps the Earth’s surface warm; Earth would be an ice ball without it

• Greenhouse effect

• The gradual increase in Earth’s average temperature due to the addition of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide; caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and gas

• Global warming

• Caused by the uneven heat distribution at Earth’s surface

• Wind

• Wind blowing during the daytime from the ocean towards the land

• Sea breeze

• Wind blowing at nighttime from the land towards the ocean

• Land breeze

• Wind blowing during the daytime from the valley up the mountain; eagles and hawks soar on this

• Valley breeze

• Cold wind blowing down the mountain side; usually stronger at night during the wintertime

• Mountain breeze

• Day to day changes in atmospheric conditions• Weather

• The typical weather patterns for a given location over a period of several years; determined by latitude, elevation, proximity to bodies of water (such as an ocean), and position relative to mountains; examples are polar, temperate, and tropical

• Climate

• A narrow, violent funnel-shaped column of spiral winds

• Tornado

• A tropical cyclone (counterclockwise movement of air) characterized by sustained winds of 75 mph or greater; called cyclones and typhoons in other areas of the world

• Hurricane

Astronomy Unit

• A saying to remember the order of the planets (Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune)

• My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos

• Earth’s twin; has the runaway greenhouse effect

• Venus

• The first four planets of our solar system; made up of mostly solid rock

• Terrestrial planets

• The outer four planets of our solar system that have massive gaseous atmospheres; made up of mostly hydrogen and helium

• Gas giants

• A ring of rocky material located between Mars and Jupiter; separates the inner and outer planets

• Asteroid belt

• A ring of rocky and icy material located outside the orbit of Neptune

• Kuiper Belt

• A rocky, icy body with a very eccentric orbit and a tail; its tail always points away from the Sun because of solar wind

• Comet

• A rocky object that burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere; also called a shooting star

• Meteor

• A meteor that reaches and strikes Earth’s surface; usually very small but can be large; leading theory for why the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago

• Meteorite

• Caused by Earth’s tilt of 23.5o • Seasons

• When the Earth is tilted as far north or south as possible; marks the first day of summer and winter; around June 21st and December 21st

• Solstice

• When the sun is over the celestial equator; marks the first day of spring and fall; around March 21st and September 21st

• Equinox

• Type of tide that occurs twice a month during full and new moons when the Sun, moon, and Earth are aligned; responsible for a very large tidal range

• Spring tide

• Type of tide that occurs twice a month during 1st quarter and 3rd quarter moons; the Sun and moon pull at a right angle relative to Earth, partially cancelling each other’s pulls; responsible for a very small tidal range

• Neap tide

• When the moon casts a shadow on the Earth and our view of the Sun is blocked; can happen when there is a new moon; the corona of the Sun can be seen

• Solar eclipse

• When the Earth casts a shadow on a full moon; the moon appears blood red

• Lunar eclipse

• The center of the Earth or Sun (and other planets and stars) where pressure and temperature are highest; nuclear fusion occurs here in stars

• Core

• When lighter elements combine to form larger elements; hydrogen combines to form helium in the core of stars

• Fusion

• The surface of the Sun; the part of the Sun that we see

• Photosphere

• The outermost layer of the Sun that can be seen during a total solar eclipse

• Corona

• Dark spots on the photosphere of the Sun; relatively cooler than the rest of the photosphere; 11-year cycle where more of these appear due to Sun’s magnetic field being stronger

• Sunspots

• Charged particles (or ions) leaving the surface of the sun; causes the tail of a comet to point away from the sun; also responsible for auroras

• Solar wind

• Theory that says that the Sun, planets, and everything else in our solar system formed from one cloud of gas and dust about 4.6 billion years ago

• Solar nebula theory

• Theory that states that everything in our Universe started out at a single point about 14 billion years ago; event would have been similar to a massive supernova; evidence for this theory is a red shift in stars and galaxies and cosmic background radiation (or leftover debris from the explosion)

• Big Bang Theory

• The apparent shortening or stretching of a wave that occurs as a star travels towards (blue shift) or away from (red shift) Earth

• Doppler effect

• The apparent stretching of the wavelength of light as a star (or galaxy) travels away from Earth; tells us that the Universe is expanding; used as evidence for the Big Bang Theory

• Red shift

• The apparent shift in a star’s position as the Earth revolves around the Sun; the more the star appears to shift, the closer it is to Earth; can be used to determine a star’s distance from Earth

• Parallax

• The actual brightness of a star; also called a star’s luminosity; Sun’s is average

• Absolute magnitude

• How bright a star appears from Earth; depends on the star’s absolute magnitude and its distance from Earth; Sun’s is the brightest because it is so much closer than any other star

• Apparent magnitude

• A cloud of gas and dust; all stars start out as this

• Nebula

• A concentrated disk of matter that forms when gravity pulls a nebula together; can turn into a main sequence star if it gets hot enough for fusion to begin

• Protostar

• Star that forms once nuclear fusion begins in the core; located in a diagonal band on the H-R Diagram; can be red, yellow, orange, white, or blue; red stars are cooler and burn longer than blue stars

• Main sequence star

• Large, cool star that stars the size of our Sun become after the main sequence stage

• Red giant

• A small, yet hot, star; the leftover core of a star; form after the red giant stage; our Sun will eventually become one of these

• White dwarf

• A white dwarf that has cooled down and no longer gives off any light; our Sun, and other small stars, will end its life as one of these

• Black dwarf

• A very large but relatively cool star; larger than a red giant; blue main sequence stars will eventually swell to form this

• Red supergiant

• A large explosion in space; occurs during the collapse of a red supergiant

• Supernova

• A very dense star that forms when gravity collapses on a red supergiant and smashes the matter into neutrons

• Neutron star

• A single point of infinite density; occurs when the largest stars in the Universe collapse; an object so dense that not even light can escape its gravity

• Black hole

• A diagram that plots all stars based on how bright they are (their luminosity or absolute magnitude) and how hot they are (their temperature)

• Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram

• A collection of billions of stars; there are at least a billion of these scattered across the Universe; the 3 types are spiral, elliptical, and irregular

• Galaxy

• We are located in one of the arms of this galaxy; it is a spiral galaxy; a black hole may be located at its center; made up of 100 billion stars

• Milky Way Galaxy

• What you are going to do to the SOL• Dominate!