Moon
half of the lighted side of the moon is visible (if tangent line is drawn, the side towards the sun is illuminated)
what is the lithosphere?
the outer most region
solid rock, low density
earthquakes are focused in this region
what are earthquakes?
energy that travels in the form of waves (seismic or earthquake waves)
focused in the lithosphere
seismic stations are used to measure how far away the earthquake occurred
what is conduction?
what is strong nuclear?
the fundamental force responsible for binding protons and neutrons together when they are sufficiently close to each other
what is the third quarter phase of the moon?
only half of the moon's lighted side is visible (if tangent line is drawn from the other side, the eastern half is illuminated)
the second outer most layer
in between solid and liquid (slurpee)
medium density rock
What is a compression fault?
caused by a stress that squeezes and results from forces applied perpendicular to the surface
two plates pushing against one another
what is convection?
the transfer of heat by movement of the heated substance, such as a fluid
think boiling water and cooking pasta on a stove
what is weak nuclear?
fundamental force responsible for the radioactive decay process
what is a new moon?
when the moon is directly between the earth and sun
the side of the moon is illuminated by the sun is facing away from the earth
as a result, the moon appears dark to us
what is the mesosphere?
complete middle layer of the earth
solid rock
high density --> as you get deeper the density is higher
what is a slip fault?
caused by a build-up of stress that is released when two rocks (plates) slide past one another
California is a model of this
what is radiation?
the transfer of heat by light
what is gravity?
responsible for mass being attracted to another mass
Aristotle - light and heavy objects fall due to gravity
what is a full moon?
when the earth is situated between the moon and the sun, with the moon on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun
the entire sunlit side of the moon is facing Earth
what is the outer core?
second most inner layer of the earth
Liquid Metal (iron)
what is an extension fault?
plates pulling apart creating ridges and valleys
liquid from the asthenosphere comes up through the crack
What is the greenhouse effect and how does it cause global warming?
carbon dioxide is transparent to visible light and opaque to infrared light making the ozone layer opaque to UV radiation but trapping visible light and gasses in the atmosphere
this keeps the earth warm, but when too many gasses are trapped inside global warming occurs
what is electromagnetic force?
the moon is 1/4 the size of the earth
what is the inner core?
the inner most layer of the earth
composed of solid metal
sheer earthquake waves do not pass through this layer, but pressure waves do
what is the difference between pressure waves and sheer waves?
pressure waves - cause compression and expansion (side to side movement), not as dangerous and can be used as an early warning system
sheer waves - cause sideways shearing motions, destructive part of earthquakes
what is nuclear winter?
global cooling
particulates (dust, ice, clouds) absorb visible light or reflect it back into space preventing it from reaching the Earth's surface
when there are too many particles it causes the Earth to cool
the term nuclear winter came about with nuclear bombs because they would cause too many particles to enter the atmosphere and cause the Earth's temperature to cool too much
this effect caused the extinction of the dinosaurs after the asteroid hit Earth
what is nuclear fission?
a reaction that splits an atom's nucleus into smaller parts (nuclei) and releases energy