Rocks + Places
Wear away or change the appearance or texture of (something) by long exposure to the air.
Weathering
The variable that changes as a result of changing the independent variable. (The effect)
Dependent Variable
Gases in the atmosphere that trap energy.
Greenhouse Gases
A thin layer of gases surrounding Earth
Atmosphere
A resource that cannot be reused or replaced easily (ex. gems, iron, copper, fossil fuels)
Nonrenewable
Rocks formed when other rocks are put under extreme heat and pressure
Metamorphic Rocks
The variable that is purposely changed (Cause)
Independent Variable
A series of predictable and orderly changes within an ecosystem over time.
Succession
All the water on Earth
Hydrosphere
Release of harmful materials into the environment
Pollution
The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained
Sustainability
Proof
Evidence
Warming that results when solar radiation is trapped by the atmosphere
Greenhouse Effect
The cycle of processes by which water circulates between the earth's oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.
Water Cycle
A stable community that no longer goes through major ecological changes
Climax Community
The series of processes that change one type of rock into another type of rock
Rock Cycle
An organism that eats other organisms
Consumer
A study that compares the costs and benefits to society of providing a public good
Cost-Benefit Analysis
The second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere.
Stratosphere
The build up of a substance (usually a toxin) as it passes through a food chain
Bioaccumulation
A community of organisms and their abiotic environment
Ecosystem
Means "First"
Primary
There are only certain amounts of resources (food, water, space).
Limited Resources
The movement of carbon from the nonliving environment into living things and back
Carbon Cycle
Accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain
Biomagnification