Terms and definitions for Chapter One of Tarbuck Lutgens Tasa Earth Science textbook
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| 1636099274 | Earth Science | The name for all the sciences that collectively seek to understand Earth; It includes Geology, Oceanography, Meteorology, and Astronomy. | 0 | |
| 1636099275 | geology | Science dealing with the earth's history as recorded in rocks and is broken up into two areas: physical and historical | 1 | |
| 1636099276 | physical geology | Examines the materials composing Earth and seeks to understand the many processes that operate beneath and upon its surface. | 2 | |
| 1636099277 | historical geology | A major division of geology that deals with the origin of Earth and its development through time. Usually involves the study of fossils and their sequence in rock beds. | 3 | |
| 1636099278 | oceanography | the study of the composition and movements of seawater, as well as coastal processes, seafloor topography, and marine life | 4 | |
| 1636099279 | meteorology | the study of the atmosphere and the process that produce weather and climate. | 5 | |
| 1636099280 | astronomy | Study of the universe | 6 | |
| 1636099281 | geologic time scale | A record of Earth's history from its origin 4.6 billions years ago to the present | 7 | |
| 1636099282 | nebular theory | Proposes that the bodies of our solar system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud called the solar nebula | 8 | |
| 1636099283 | physical environment | divided into three portions: the water of our planet (hydrosphere), Earth's gaseous envelope (atmosphere), and the solid Earth (geosphere) | 9 | |
| 1636099284 | hydrosphere | A dynamic mass of liquid that is continually on the move, evaporating from the oceans to the atmosphere, precipitating to the land, and running back to the ocean again. | 10 | |
| 1636099285 | atmosphere | An envelope of life-giving gases surrounding the Earth | 11 | |
| 1636099286 | biosphere | Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere. | 12 | |
| 1636099287 | geosphere | The mostly solid, rocky part of the Earth; extends from the center of the core to the surface of the crust. | 13 | |
| 1636099288 | crust | the outermost relatively thin solid layer of our planet has two types: continental and oceanic | 14 | |
| 1636099289 | continental crust | contains many rock types and is about 4 billion years old and averages about 35-70 km tick | 15 | |
| 1636099290 | oceanic crust | the portion of Earth's crust that is usually below the oceans and not associated with continental areas, thinner and higher in density that continental crust and basaltic rather than granitic in composition | 16 | |
| 1636099291 | mantle | the layer of the earth between the crust and the core | 17 | |
| 1636099292 | lithosphere | A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust (sphere of rock) | 18 | |
| 1636099293 | asthenosphere | A subdivision of the mantle situated below the lithosphere. This zone of weak material exists below a depth of about 100 kilometers and in some regions extends as deep as 700 kilometers. The rock within this zone is easily deformed. | 19 | |
| 1636099294 | lower mantle | The part of the mantle that extends from a depth of 660 kilometers (410 miles) to the top of the core, at a depth of 2900 kilometers (1800 miles) | 20 | |
| 1636099295 | core | Iron-nickle alloy with small amounts of oxygen, silicon, and sulfur and is the center of the Earth divided into two regions: the outer and inner | 21 | |
| 1636099296 | outer core | It is the Earth's liquid layer composed of iron and nickel which lies above the Earth's solid inner core and it is within this that generates Earth's magnetic field | 22 | |
| 1636099297 | inner core | A dense sphere of solid iron and nickel at the center of Earth. It is solid due to the immense pressure | 23 | |
| 1636099298 | plate tectonics | The theory that Earth's lithosphere is broken into pieces (plates) that move over the asthenosphere; boundaries between plates are where most earthquakes and volcanoes occur and where lithosphere is created and recycled. | 24 | |
| 1636099299 | lithospheric plates | A number of rigid, but moving pieces of the Earth's surface | 25 | |
| 1636099300 | shields | Expansive, flat regions composed of deformed crystalline rock | 26 | |
| 1636099301 | stable platforms | flat areas made up of highly deformed rocks covered by a relatively thin veneer of sedimentary rocks | 27 | |
| 1636099302 | continental margin | that portion of the seafloor adjacent to the continents that may include the continental shelf, continental slope, and continental rise | 28 | |
| 1636099303 | continental shelf | A gently sloping, shallow area of the ocean floor that extends outward from the coastline. Its edge is the true end of the continent | 29 | |
| 1636099304 | continental slope | Relatively steep drop-off that extends from the outer edge of the continental shelf to the floor of the deep ocean | 30 | |
| 1636099305 | continental rise | The gently sloping surface at the base of the continental slope | 31 | |
| 1636099306 | deep-ocean basins | between the continental margins and oceanic ridges | 32 | |
| 1636099307 | abyssal plains | Flat parts of the ocean floor and flattest parts of Earth | 33 | |
| 1636099308 | deep-ocean trenches | a deep valley along the ocean floor through which oceanic crust slowly sinks towards the mantle | 34 | |
| 1636099309 | seamounts | submerged volcanic structures | 35 | |
| 1636099310 | mid-ocean ridge | An underwater moutain chain where new ocean floor is formed | 36 | |
| 1636099311 | Earth system science | Systematic approach to physical geography that looks at the interaction between the earth's physical systems and processes on a global scale | 37 | |
| 1636099312 | system | A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements or parts that function together as a whole to accomplish a goal | 38 | |
| 1636099313 | closed systems | energy moves freely in and out but no matter enters or leaves the system | 39 | |
| 1636099314 | open systems | both energy and matter flow into and out of the system | 40 | |
| 1636099315 | negative feedback mechanism | work to inhibit change | 41 | |
| 1636099316 | positive feedback mechanisms | work to enhance or drive change | 42 | |
| 1636099317 | interface | A common boundary where different parts of a system interact | 43 | |
| 1636099318 | environment | All external conditions and factors, living and nonliving that affect an organism or other specified system during its lifetime | 44 | |
| 1636099319 | hypothesis | A testable prediction, often implied by a theory | 45 | |
| 1636099320 | theory | A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data | 46 |
