Terms : Hide Images
| 6629311292 | geological time | time that spans millions of years | 0 | |
| 6629322829 | relative dating | dating an unknown sample to a certain time period when compared to samples of known ages | 1 | |
| 6629338909 | lithosphere | outer crust of plate tectonics | 2 | |
| 6629344517 | subduction zone | an area where two crustal plates collide and one plate is forced under the other into the mantle (typically an ocean plate going under a continental plate) | 3 | |
| 6629349862 | convection | process of heat transfer that causes hot, less dense matter to rise and cool matter to sink | 4 | |
| 6629357124 | convergent boundaries | when two plants clash and form subduction zones (trench) or mountains | 5 | |
| 6629359934 | divergent boundaries | two plates pull apart forming ridges | 6 | |
| 6629361393 | transform fault boundaires | plates slide past each other parallel to one another | 7 | |
| 6629369236 | fault | a crack between two tectonic plates | 8 | |
| 6629374598 | earthquake | sudden slip of a fault between two plates | 9 | |
| 6629378757 | hypocenter | location beneath the Earth's surface where a fault rupture begins | 10 | |
| 6629381416 | epicenter | location directly above hypocenter on Earth's surface | 11 | |
| 6629383298 | seismograph | an instrument that records seismic waves during an earthquake | 12 | |
| 6629389819 | (primary) p-waves | primary waves of an earthquake that move longitudinally | 13 | |
| 6629395907 | (secondary) s- waves | secondary waves of an earthquake that move both up and down in an s shape | 14 | |
| 6629410473 | volcano | form when vents rise to surface from magma chamber forming a hill or mountain of hot magma | 15 | |
| 6629489496 | trophosphere | where weather takes place | 16 | |
| 6629493180 | stratosphere | where protective ozone is located | 17 | |
| 6629506288 | Coriolis effect | perceived deflection of moving objects viewed from a turning frame of reference (think the ball can't move straight); ex. trade winds and why planes can't move in a straight line | 18 | |
| 6629516132 | jet stream | a long, narrow current of fast moving air found in the upper atmospheric levels | 19 | |
| 6629522930 | El niño | warm water nears the South American coast with no cold upswells and the water gets even warmer; causes warmer conditions and droughts in the western pacific | 20 | |
| 6629535888 | La niña | warm water is pushed further west than usual causing colder damper conditions | 21 | |
| 6692432748 | hydrology | the study of the occurence, distribution, and movement of water on, in, and above the Earth | 22 | |
| 6692437765 | reservoir | a place where water is stored for some period of time in the atmosphere, ocean, or underground | 23 | |
| 6692448044 | ground water | water found below the Earth's surface | 24 | |
| 6692450630 | residence time | amount of time that water spends in the groundwater portion of water cycle | 25 | |
| 6692455449 | zone of aeration | layer closest to soil's surface where spaces between soil particles are filled with both air and water | 26 | |
| 6692460070 | zone of saturation | layer under the surface layer where all the open spaces have become filled with water | 27 | |
| 6692463740 | water table | found at the upper edge of the zone of saturation and the bottom edge of the zone of aeration; rises and falls as groundwater increases and decreases | 28 | |
| 6692474648 | soil porosity | amount of open space in the soil | 29 | |
| 6692479876 | soil permeability | the rate at which water moves through the soil | 30 | |
| 6692483910 | watershed | the geographical region from which a stream gets water | 31 | |
| 6692485821 | aquifer | large underground water reservoirs (ex. Ogallala) | 32 | |
| 6692494235 | confined aquifer | aquifer that has an impermeable substance on both sides so recharge time is slower | 33 | |
| 6692500034 | unconfined aquifer | aquifer that has one side that is permeable and one side that is impermeable | 34 | |
| 6692580193 | lithology | the visual study of rock's physical characteristics using a handheld magnifying class or microscope (characteristics: grain size and shape, grain orientation, mineral content, sedimentary structures, color, weathering) | 35 | |
| 6692591080 | igneous rock | rock formed by the cooling and hardening of molten rock (magma) deep in the earth or blasted out during an eruption (ex. quartz, feldspar, mica, granite which contain silicon, calcium, etc.) (two types= felsic and mafic) | 36 | |
| 6692606562 | sedimentary rock | rock formed from rocks and soils from other locations compressed with the remains of dead organisms (ex. limestone) | 37 | |
| 6692620433 | lithification | process of sand, silt, and organic organisms being compressed and cemented | 38 | |
| 6692636004 | metamorphic rocks | rock formed when rocks originally of one type are changed into a different type by heat and/or pressure (ex. slate, marble) | 39 | |
| 6692646803 | rock cycle |  | 40 | |
| 6692653369 | physical weathering | when rock gets broken (cracked, crumbled, or smashed) into smaller pieces without a change in its chemical composition | 41 | |
| 6692658611 | joints | rocks with cracks and fractures due to stress (plate tectonics, cooling and shrinking, flattening and tightening) | 42 | |
| 6692671216 | chemical weathering | when rock and its component minerals are broken down or altered by chemical change (oxidation, hydrolysis, acid action) | 43 | |
| 6692677388 | biological weathering | blend of physical and chemical weathering (ex. tree roots lead to rock fissures) | 44 | |
| 6692683671 | horizon A | the surface horizon, a zone of leaching and oxidation where penetrating rainwater dissolves minerals and carries the ions to deeper horizons, holds the greatest amount of organic material | 45 | |
| 6692692511 | horizon B | the middle horizon of soil, a zone of accumulation, made up of weathering rocks, water infiltrates | 46 | |
| 6692700332 | horizon C | includes the bottom horizon which is a zone of weathered original rock | 47 | |
| 6692705177 | topsoil | nutrient-rich soil layer that contains organic material and minerals | 48 | |
| 6692716816 | topography | the mapping of the land contours and physical features of an area | 49 | |
| 6692720046 | contour planting | across a hillside instead of up and down slows runoff | 50 | |
| 6692723825 | no-till farming | reduces soil erosion by planting seed without opening seam in earth and no tilling | 51 | |
| 6697519637 | ecosystem | a complex community of plants, animals, and microorganisms linked by energy and nutrient flows that interact together and with their environment | 52 | |
| 6697528731 | biosphere | located above the deeper layers of the Earth and includes the hydrosphere, crust, and atmosphere | 53 | |
| 6697552328 | gene pool | a population's genetic makeup | 54 | |
| 6697561471 | genetic drift | when a large percentage of a population dies from disease, starvation, or predation | 55 | |
| 6697572670 | bottleneck effect | frequency of certain traits is narrowed due to the genetic drift and therefore causes this | 56 | |
| 6697577493 | allopatric speciation | when two groups of same species can no longer reproduce due to reproductive isolation | 57 | |
| 6697582232 | sympatric speciation | evolution of two different species to one species | 58 | |
| 6697592640 | interspecific competition | when two or more different species need the same habitat or resources to survive | 59 | |
| 6697596573 | infraspecific competition | when members of the same species need the same resources (ex. finding a mate) | 60 | |
| 6697608067 | fundamental niche | when a species has no competitive limitations | 61 | |
| 6697611061 | mutualism | both species benefit (ex. lichen gives structure and stores water while algae creates organic material) | 62 | |
| 6697617610 | commensalism | one species is somewhat unaffected and one species benefits (ex. buffalo and egrets bc egret eats bugs off of buffalo) | 63 | |
| 6697622909 | parasitism | one species benefits and one is harmed (ex. fleas on dogs) | 64 | |
| 6697626672 | endemic species | naturally occurring in only one area or region are unique to that specific region | 65 | |
| 6697634905 | keystone species | species around which an entire ecosystem is dependent (ex. wolves) | 66 | |
| 6697640644 | primary succession | untouched area like volcanic flow goes through succession | 67 | |
| 6697645180 | secondary succession | takes place when an existing community is disrupted by some event (ex. wildfire) and rebuilds itself |  | 68 |
| 6697653965 | pioneer species | the first colonizers to a site after succession | 69 | |
| 6697659777 | hotspot | an ecological region that has lost more than 70% of its original habitat also a place of high biodiversity | 70 | |
| 6699378614 | organic matter | made up of carbon-containing material from living or nonliving material and includes the organic parts of soil | 71 | |
| 6699385667 | geological carbon cycle |  | 72 | |
| 6699396677 | biological carbon cycle | occurs when plants absorb carbon dioxide and sunlight to make glucose and other sugars to build cellular structures | 73 | |
| 6699415308 | calcium | calcium carbonate in particular helps neutralize acidic areas causing "hard" water due to the heavy concentration of nutrients | 74 | |
| 6699426711 | nitrogen cycle |  | 75 | |
| 6699440129 | ecological pyramid |  | 76 | |
| 6699445919 | phosphorous | commonly used in fertilizers and can lead to eutrophication | 77 | |
| 6699456700 | hydrologic cycle |  | 78 |
