Mineral & Rocks
This mineral has a Mohs hardness around 7 and commonly scratches glass.
Quartz
The thin, solid outermost layer of Earth is called the ___.
Crust
Boundaries where plates move apart at mid‑ocean ridges are called ___.
Divergent Boundaries
Mechanical weathering from freezing and thawing of water in cracks is called ___.
Frost Wedging
What is the name of the steep, eroding outer bank of a river meander where most lateral erosion occurs?
Cut Bank
Name the rock type formed by cementation and compaction of sediment
Sedimentary Rock
The layer of molten iron and nickel that helps generate Earth’s magnetic field is the ___.
Outer core
When an oceanic plate sinks beneath another plate, this process is called ___.
Subduction
The chemical reaction that turns iron‑bearing minerals reddish‑brown is called ___.
Oxidation/Rusting
Where a river meets a standing body of water and deposits sediment to form a fan‑shaped landform is called a ___.
Delta
This mineral group is the most abundant in Earth’s crust and includes feldspar and quartz. Name the group.
Silicates
The rigid tectonic plates are part of the ___ (crust + upper mantle).
Lithosphere
This boundary type involves plates sliding past each other horizontally and produces strike‑slip faults.
Transform Boundaries
Name two differences between erosion and deposition.
Erosion is the transport of sediment; deposition is the settling/accumulation of sediment when energy decreases. Or any other correct differences.
Name the feature formed when a meander is cut off from the main channel.
Oxbow Lake
Which igneous rock is coarse‑grained and composed mainly of quartz, feldspar, and mica, formed by slow cooling beneath Earth's surface?
Granite
This boundary separates the mantle from the outer core and involves a change from solid to liquid behavior.
Core-Mantle Boundary
A stationary mantle plume that produces a chain of islands as a plate moves over it is called a ___.
Hot Spot
This term describes very slow downhill movement of soil and regolith often detectable by tilted fences or trees.
Creep
Explain how stream velocity and particle size determine whether sediment is transported or deposited.
Higher velocity carries larger particles; when velocity drops, heavier/large particles settle first while finer particles remain suspended and travel farther
A rock with alternating light and dark bands formed by high‑grade metamorphism is called this.
Gneiss
Name one seismic observation that shows the inner core is solid while the outer core is liquid.
S-Waves, P-Waves, Shadow zones
Explain how convergent plate boundaries produce both deep ocean trenches and volcanic arcs; include which plate types are involved.
Subduction
Explain how increasing surface area affects the rate of weathering for a rock.
More surface area exposes more mineral surfaces to chemical agents, increasing reaction rates and speeding weathering
What is the gently sloping area beside a river that floods and collects sediment called?
Floodplain