Minerals
Rocks
Plate Tectonics
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
100
A naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition.
What is a mineral?
100
A series of processes on the surface and inside Earth that slowly changes rocks from one kind to another.
What is the rock cycle?
100
A place where the edges of two plates meet.
What is a plate boundary?
100
A landform that has a more or less level surface and is elevated high above sea level.
What is a plateau?
100
The molten mixture of rock-forming substances, gases, and water that makes up part of Earth's mantle.
What is magma?
200
The color of a mineral's powder.
What is streak?
200
Small, solid particles of material from rocks or organisms which are moved by water or wind, resulting in erosion and deposition.
What is igneous rock?
200
The movement of energy from a warmer object to a cooler object.
What is heat transfer?
200
A type of seismic wave that forms when P waves and S waves reach Earth's surface.
What is a surface wave?
200
A weak spot in the crust where magma has come to the surface.
What is a volcano?
300
A mineral's ability to split easily along flat surfaces.
What is cleavage?
300
A particle of mineral or other rock that gives a rock its texture.
What is the grain?
300
The process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor.
What is sea-floor spreading?
300
A device that records ground movements caused by seismic waves as they move through Earth.
What is a seismograph?
300
Said of a volcano that is erupting or has shown signs of erupting in the near future.
What is active?
400
The way a mineral looks when it breaks apart in an irregular way.
What is fracture?
400
Sedimentary rock that forms where remains of organisms are deposited in thick layers.
What is an organic rock?
400
The hypothesis that the continents slowly move across Earth's surface.
What is continental drift?
400
A scale that rates earthquakes according to their intensity and how much damage they cause.
What is the Mercalli Scale?
400
A major belt of volcanoes that rims the Pacific Ocean.
What is the Ring of Fire?
500
The process by which ore is melted to separate the useful metal from other elements.
What is smelting?
500
Term used to describe metamorphic rocks whose grains are arranged in parallel layers or bands.
What is foliated?
500
A well-tested concept that explains a wide range of observations.
What is scientific theory?
500
A scale that rates earthquakes by estimating the total energy released by an earthquake.
What is moment magnitude scale?
500
Said of a volcano that is unlikely to erupt again.
What is extinct?
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