Earth Science Written Work 1 Reviewer: Theories, Solar System, Universe, Energy Sources, Minerals, Rocks

Astrophysics

The study of earth science that focuses on the physics of the universe including the physical objects found in space

Planetary Science

The study of earth science that focuses on the planets of the solar system and the processes that form them

Climatology

The study of earth science that focuses on the patterns of weather over a long period of time

Atmospheric Chemistry

The study of earth science that focuses on the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of other planets

Paleontology

The study of earth science that focuses on the remains of organisms that once lived on Earth and ancient environments

Geochemistry

The study of earth science that focuses on the Earth's composition and the processes that change it

Physical Oceanography

The study of earth science that focuses on the physical characteristics of oceans, such as salinity, waves, and currents

Marine Geology

The study of earth science that focuses on the geologic features of the ocean floor including the plate tectonics of the ocean

Environmental Soil Science

The study of earth science that focuses on the interactions between humans and the soil such as the impact of farming practices and effects of pollution on soil, plants, and groundwater

Environmental Chemistry

The study of earth science that focuses on the chemical alterations to the environment through pollution and natural means

Theory

It describes a hypothesis that is generally supported by a much greater body of evidence

Scientific Law

It describes a specific relationship or phenomenon and applies without exception for a defined range of conditions

Scientific Method

It describes a continuous process used to collect observations, form and test hypotheses, make predictions and identify patterns in the physical world

Inductive Reasoning

It describes a thought process from specific to general

Deductive Reasoning

It describes a thought process from general to specific

Experiment

It describes a scientific test carried out under controlled conditions

Independent Variable

It describes a factor being manipulated by the researchers

Dependent Variable

It describes a factor being measured that is predicted to be affected by the independent variable

Control

It describes a factor in an experiment to show that the results of an experiment are a result of the condition being tested

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

It is a graph for stars that measures luminosity from bottom to top and temperature from right to left.

Stellar Nebula

It is the first stage of all stars.

Protostars

It is the second stage of all stars and is not yet hot enough for nuclear fusion to begin but begins producing heat energy.

Main Sequence Star

It is the third stage of all stars and occurs when the core temperature reaches the point for nuclear fusion to commence.

Red Giant

It is the fourth stage of average mass stars and converts hydrogen into helium, eventually running out. Without reactions, it expands creating this star stage. It fuses helium to turn into carbon.

Supergiant Star

It is the fourth stage of all stars and converts hydrogen into helium, eventually running out. Without reactions, it expands creating this star stage. It fuses helium into iron.

Planetary Nebula

It is the fifth stage of average-mass stars and is achieved when most of the material of the star is ejected away.

Supernova

It is the fifth stage of supergiant stars and is achieved when the star compresses then ejects its matter away.

White Dwarf

It is the sixth stage of average mass stars.

Neutron Star

It is the sixth stage of supergiant stars and is the extremely dense, collapsed core of a massive star.

Black Hole

It is the sixth stage of massive supergiant stars and is extremely dense that not even light can escape.

Spiral

It is a type of galaxy with a disk with spiral arms.

Barred Spiral

It is a type of galaxy with a disk with spiral arms extending from a central bar.

Elliptical

It is a type of galaxy with a spherical or oval disc.

The Milky Way

A barred spiral galaxy that contains the sun with dwarf galaxies.

Dark Energy

A repulsive force that pushes matter outward causing the expansion of the universe to speed up and makes up 73% of the universe.

Dark Mass

A form of matter that does not interact with light and makes up 23% of the universe.

Ordinary Matter

A form of matter that does interact with light and makes up 4% of the universe.

Closed Universe

A theory that states that if the gravitational force of the universe is sufficient, all the galaxies will slow down, reverse direction fall back to the center and collapse creating a new universe after an explosion.

Open Universe

A theory that states that if the gravitational force of the universe is not sufficient enough to stop the expansion, then the galaxies will continue to fly apart forever as the stars fade and cool to become a cold void.

Waves

A disturbance that transmits energy from one point to another in the form of periodic motions.

Crests

A part of the wave that is the peak.

Trough

A part of the wave that is the bottom.

Doppler Effect

The change in the frequency of a wave due to the relative motion between the source and the observer.

Red Shift

The change in frequency that lower that moves away from you and becomes redder as light shifts.

Blue Shift

The change in frequency that increases that moves toward you and becomes more blue as the light shifts to higher frequencies.

Hubble's Law

The observation that galaxies are moving away from earth at a speed proportional to their distance.

Big Bang Theory

It occurs around 13.7 billion years ago and starts as a singularity then a rapid expansion.

Singularity

It is the point that is compact where matter and energy are contained at the same point.

Less than 0.01 Second

It is the time period where the universe underwent a burst of expansion known as cosmic inflation.

1 Second

It is the time period where the universe cooled to about 10 billion ºC allowing primordial matter to form, consisting of a plasma of radiant energy, electrons, protons, neutrons, and extremely light particles called neutrinos.

1.5 Minutes

It is the period where protons are hot enough to continuously fuse together forming the next heavier element, helium. When it was less than this time period, it was still so hot that helium was almost instantly blasted apart as soon as the formed. The temperature was slightly below 1 billion ºC.

10 Minutes

It is the period where the universe was so cool that fusion could no longer occur and the formation of helium nuclei or primordial synthesis occurred over a time span of 8.5 minutes.

300,000 Years

It is the period where the universe continued to expand and cool by a few thousand degrees, creating the first atoms.

1 Billion Years

It is the period where galaxies finally form.

9 Billion Years

It is the period where the solar system forms after the Big Bang.

Planets

A celestial body that is orbit around the sun, nearly round in shape, and has cleared its orbit of other objects.

Terrestrial Planets

A planet that is made of materials with high melting points, rotates slower, has thin or not atmosphere.

Gas Planets

A planet known for their dominance of gases and their larger size, rotates faster, has a thick atmosphere, lower densities, and fluid interiors rich in hydrogen.

Asteroids

An object that orbits the sun but is too small to be considered a planer.

Comets

An object that is a collection of rocky material, dust, water, ice, and frozen gases such as ammonia and methane.

Meteor

An object or debris that enters Earth's atmosphere.

Meteoroid

An object or debris in space.

Meteorite

An object or debris in space that lands on Earth.

Dwarf Planets

A celestial body that orbits the sun and are essentially spherical due to their gravity but are not large enough to sweep their orbits clear of other debris.

Kuiper Belt

A region beyond the orbit of Neptune and contains icy bodies and dwarf planets.

Descartes' Vortex Theory

A theory that suggests the Solar System was formed into bodies with nearly circular orbits because of whirlpool-like motion in the pre-solar materials.

Buffon's Collision Theory

A theory that suggests that planets were formed by the collision of the sun with a giant comet, with the debris resulting into planets that rotate in the same direction as they revolved around the sun.

Kant-Laplace Nebular Theory

A theory that suggests that a great cloud of gas and dust called a nebula, began to collapse because of a gravitational pull. The spinning cloud flattens with a bulge at the center.

Jeans-Jeffrey's Tidal Theory

A theory that suggests that planets were formed from the substance that was torn out by the sun, and a speeding star passed the sun pulling out material due to gravitational attraction.

Nebular Theory

A theory that proposes that the sun and planets formed from a rotating cloud of gas and dust called solar nebula, with matter gathering at the center and coalescing into planetesimals.

Naturally Occurring

A characteristic of a mineral that is formed through natural geologic processes.

Solid

A characteristic of a mineral that only solid crystalline substances are considered mineral.

Definite Chemical Composition

A characteristic of a mineral should be expressed in a chemical formula.

Generally Inorganic

A characteristic of a mineral formed by inorganic processes and not derived from organic materials.

Crystalline Structure

A characteristic of a mineral that says its atoms are arranged in an orderly manner.

Mineral

A solid inorganic substance of natural occurrence.

Mineraloids

A naturally occurring inorganic solid that does not exhibit crystallinity.

Rocks

An aggregate or mixture of minerals.

Color

The characteristic of minerals that is the most conspicuous and uses waves of visible light.

Streak

The characteristic of minerals that describes the color of a mineral in powdered form.

Luster

The characteristic of minerals that describes the quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral.

Diaphaneity

The characteristic of minerals that describes the ability of a mineral to transmit light.

Hardness

The characteristic of minerals that describes the measure of the resistance of a mineral to abrasion or scratching.

Brittle

The characteristic of minerals that describes how easily it breaks or powders.

Malleable

The characteristic of minerals that describes how easily it can be hammered into thin sheets.

Sectile

The characteristic of minerals that describes how easily it can be cut into thin shavings with a knife.

Ductile

The characteristic of minerals that describes how easily it can be stretched into a wire.

Flexible

The characteristic of minerals that describes its ability of being bent without breaking.

Elastic

The characteristic of minerals that describes its ability to restore in its form after deformation.

Crystal Shape

The characteristic of minerals that describes its shape of individual or aggregates of crystals.

Density

The characteristic of minerals that describes the amount of matter in a given molecule.

Silicates

The minerals the contain the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron as their building block.

Non-silicates

The minerals that do not contain the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron as their building block.

Igneous Rock

The rocks that are formed when magma cools and solidifies through the process of crystallization.

Metamorphic Rock

The rocks that are formed through high pressure and heat.

Sedimentary Rock

The rocks that are formed through weathering, erosion, and deposition and will undergo lithification.

Phaneritic

The characteristic of an igneous rock with coarse-grained, large crystals visible to the naked eye.

Aphanitic

The characteristic of an igneous rock with very small, tiny crystals that cannot be seen to the naked eye.

Porphyritic

The characteristic of an igneous rock with differences in grain sizes.

Phenocryst

The large crystals in a porphyritic igneous rock.