Intro to Earth
This is the outermost, brittle, and rocky layer of Earth's interior, notable for being the least dense layer overall.
What is the crust?
This rock type is unique because it is the only one that contains preserved fossils, layers, or a grainy, dull appearance.
What is sedimentary rock?
This German meteorologist first proposed the Theory of Continental Drift after noticing that the coastlines of modern continents fit together like puzzle pieces.
Who is Alfred Wegener?
This spinning motion of Earth on its internal axis takes roughly 24 hours to complete and is the direct cause of day and night.
What is rotation?
This is the long-term average weather pattern of a region evaluated over a span of 30 or more years.
What is climate?
This is a thick solid layer of the Earth's interior, it is the second least dense layer and it contains the convection currents.
What is the mantle?
To be classified as a mineral, the substance must be a crystalline solid, have a definite chemical composition, be naturally occurring, and have this quality, meaning it did not come from a living thing.
What is inorganic?
This is the engine behind tectonic plate movement, consisting of circular loops of rising and sinking molten rock within the mantle.
What are convection currents?
Unlike the rocky, dense inner planets, the outer planets (like Jupiter and Saturn) are given this structural classification due to being massive, gaseous, and less dense.
What are Jovian planets (or Gas Giants)?
This term describes the short-term, day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere, such as a rainy afternoon or a temporary heatwave.
What is weather?
This sphere includes all of the liquid water found on Earth's surface, such as oceans, lakes, and rivers.
What is the hydrosphere?
This type of rock forms when pre-existing rocks are buried deep underground and fundamentally changed by extreme heat and pressure without completely melting.
What is metamorphic rock?
These underwater mountain ranges are commonly formed at divergent boundaries where magma rises up to fill the gap left by separating plates.
What are ocean ridges?
Taking about 365.25 days to finish, this is the term for Earth's orbital path traveling all the way around the Sun.
What is a revolution?
Written as lowercase "m" and uppercase "T" (mT), this type of air mass forms over warm ocean water and brings hot, humid weather.
What is Maritime Tropical?
This sphere represents the global ecological system integrating all living organisms on Earth.
What is the biosphere?
This continuous geological concept states that any rock can eventually transform into any other type of rock over time.
These sudden geological hazards happen most frequently along transform boundaries, like California's San Andreas Fault, due to friction building up and releasing.
What are earthquakes?
This celestial event occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, temporarily casting its shadow on Earth and blocking out the sunlight.
What is a solar eclipse?
An air mass that forms over the frozen land of northern Canada would carry this two-letter scientific abbreviation.
What is cP (Continental Polar)?
This is the correct ranking of Earth's four internal layers starting from the one with the lowest density to the one with the highest density.
What is Crust \ Mantle \Outer Core \ Inner Core?
If magma cools incredibly slowly deep underground rather than exploding out of a volcano, the resulting igneous rock will display this distinct physical feature.
What are large crystals?
This deep underwater feature is created at a convergent boundary when one tectonic plate is forced downward underneath another plate.
What is an ocean trench?
This term describes the two days of the year (usually in June and December) when Earth's axis is tilted the maximum amount either toward or away from the Sun, causing the longest or shortest days of the year.
What is a solstice?
Unlike a barometer which measures the weight of the air, a psychrometer calculates relative humidity by measuring the temperature difference between these two specific bulbs.
wet bulb and dry bulb