Climate and Weather
This term describes the long-term average weather conditions that occur in a particular region.
What is climate?
This principle states that in an undisturbed stack of rock, the oldest layer is at the bottom.
What is the Principle of Superposition?
This is the fastest type of seismic wave that arrives first at a seismograph station.
What is a P-wave (Primary wave)?
These are the remains or evidence of ancient living things preserved in the rock record.
What are fossils?
This is the name for molten rock while it is still located beneath the Earth's surface.
What is magma?
This factor has the greatest influence on the amount of solar energy a region receives, determining its general temperature.
What is latitude?
This "Present is the Key" rule states that geologic processes happening today happened the same way in the past.
What is Uniformitarianism?
This is the point on Earth’s surface directly above where an earthquake starts underground.
What is the epicenter?
These specific fossils represent species that existed on Earth for a short time and were abundant and widespread.
What are index fossils?
This broad volcano with gentle slopes is formed by eruptions of quiet, runny basaltic lava.
What is a shield volcano?
This property of water explains why it takes more energy to change its temperature compared to land.
What is specific heat?
This is the largest unit of geologic time on the time scale.
What is an eon?
This is the minimum number of seismograph stations needed to locate an earthquake's epicenter.
What is three?
This type of fossil is a solid 3D copy of an organism, formed when a mold is filled with sediment or minerals.
What is a cast?
This term describes a liquid's resistance to flow; high levels of silica make magma have more of this.
What is viscosity?
This is a dry area found on the downwind slope of a mountain range.
What is a rain shadow?
This is a gap in the rock record caused by erosion, where a "piece" of time is missing.
What is an unconformity?
This scale uses Roman Numerals to describe an earthquake based on its actual effects and damage to structures.
What is the Modified Mercalli Scale?
Footprints, nests, and burrows are examples of this category of fossil, which shows an organism's activity.
What are trace fossils?
This is a fast-moving avalanche of hot gas, ash, and rock that can reach speeds of 100 km/h.
What is a pyroclastic flow?
During this combined ocean and atmospheric cycle, trade winds weaken or reverse, causing warm water to surge toward South America.
What is El Niño?
If a rock sample has undergone two half-lives, this is the percentage of the original parent isotope that remains.
What is 25%?
This type of seismic wave cannot travel through the liquid outer core of the Earth.
What is an S-wave (Secondary wave)?
This process occurs when minerals fill in the tiny spaces of an organism's hard parts, like bone or wood.
What is petrification?
These are stationary areas of volcanic activity that are not located near a plate boundary.
What are hot spots?