Intro to Science & Earth Spheres
This Earth sphere includes all water in any form, including oceans, ice, and groundwater.
What is the hydrosphere?
The point on Earth’s surface directly above where an earthquake begins.
What is the epicenter?
A naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a crystalline structure.
What is a mineral?
This is the largest division of geologic time.
What is an eon?
The area of land drained by a stream system.
What is a drainage basin?
The process of forming a general conclusion from specific observations.
What is inductive reasoning?
This type of volcano is broad with gentle slopes and formed by low-viscosity lava.
What is a shield volcano?
This test measures a mineral’s resistance to scratching.
What is hardness?
This principle states that rock layers are originally deposited horizontally.
What is original horizontality?
A body of rock that stores and transmits groundwater.
What is an aquifer?
A volcanic eruption releases ash into the air, which later settles into the ocean and affects marine life. This scenario demonstrates interaction between these three Earth spheres.
What are the geosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere?
(biosphere could also be included with justification)
This scale measures earthquake magnitude based on energy released.
What is the moment magnitude scale?
Igneous rock formed from cooling lava at Earth’s surface is called this.
What is extrusive (Volcanic) igneous rock?
This era is known for the dominance of dinosaurs.
What is the Mesozoic?
A bend in a stream channel is called this.
What is a meander?
An Earth scientist studies fault lines and creates hazard maps to help communities prepare for future earthquakes. This illustrates this important role of Earth scientists.
What is protecting life and property?
A boundary where plates slide past each other horizontally.
What is a transform boundary?
This rock type forms from heat and pressure without melting.
What is metamorphic rock?
Gaps in the geologic record due to erosion or non-deposition are called this.
What is an unconformity?
The flat area next to a stream that floods periodically.
What is a floodplain?
A student claims crystals heal illnesses without testing or evidence; this is an example of this.
What is pseudoscience?
Evidence such as matching fossils across continents supports this earlier theory.
What is continental drift?
The process that breaks down rock at Earth’s surface
What is weathering?
The time it takes for half of a radioactive isotope to decay.
What is half-life?
Wetlands are especially important because they naturally do this to pollutants.
What is filter/remove pollutants? (accept: improve water quality)