Vocab 1
the process of water moving from the air to
Earth and back to the air
Page 55
What is the water cycle?
lighter part of the earth’s crust; makes up continents
Page 45
What is continental crust?
blue-green algae
Page 47
What is cyanobacteria?
wind patterns caused by the rotation of the earth
Page 63
What is the Coriolis effect?
the solid surface and interior of the earth
Page 49
What is the lithosphere?
a system that provides everything needed to stay alive
Page 44
What is life-support system?
water changing from vapor to liquid
Page 56
What is condensation?
three major wind belts on Earth
Page 64
What are the prevailing winds?
a tiny organism that lives in harsh environments
Page 46
extremophile
a form of nitrogen that most plants can absorb
Page 58
What are nitrates?
layer of the earth’s atmosphere between the
stratosphere and the thermosphere
Page 52
What is mesophere?
a chemical change
Page 51
What is a chemical reaction?
layered rocks formed by sand, gravel, and mud
Page 70
What are sedimentary rocks?
parts of the world south of the equator
Page 63
What is the Southern Hemisphere?
pressure caused by the weight of the atmosphere
Page 64
What is air pressure?
study of how the earth’s plates move
Page 49
What is plate tectonics?
imaginary line halfway between the
North and South Poles
Page 62
What is the equator?
high-energy radiation from the sun
Page 53
What is ultraviolet radiation?
water moving from the inside of a plant into
the atmosphere
Page 56
What is transpiration?
the water layer of the earth
Page 49
What is the hydrosphere?
parts of the world north of the equator
Page 63
What is the Northern Hemisphere?
straight line that an object rotates around
Page 62
What is an axis?
elements that help determine the age of rocks
Page 70
What are radioisotopes?
a period of global cooling
Page 69
What is the ice age?
masses of ice at the North and South Poles
Page 56
What are the polar ice caps?