Intro to Earth Science Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering Earth's spheres, internal layers, geographic orientation lines, hemispheres, axial rotation, orbital revolution, and scientific terms from the lecture notes.

Hydrosphere

The water portion of Earth, which includes oceans.

Atmosphere

The gaseous envelope around Earth.

Geosphere

The sphere of Earth composed of the core, mantle, and crust.

Biosphere

All life forms on Earth.

Core

Dense, heavy inner sphere of Earth.

Mantle

Located between the crust and core of Earth.

Crust

Thin outside layer of Earth's surface.

Latitude

The distance, measured in degrees, north or south of the equator.

Longitude

The distance east or west of the prime meridian.

Equator

The line of latitude around the middle of the globe at a measurement of $0^\bullet$.

Prime Meridian

The line of longitude at a measurement of $0^\bullet$.

Globe

A spherical model of Earth.

Northern Hemisphere

The hemisphere located north of the equator.

Southern Hemisphere

The hemisphere located south of the equator.

Eastern Hemisphere

The hemisphere formed east of the prime meridian and the $180^\bullet$ meridian.

Western Hemisphere

The hemisphere formed west of the prime meridian and the $180^\bullet$ meridian.

Rotation

Earth moving on its axis, taking one day and responsible for night and day.

Revolution

The movement taking a whole year, or $365.25\,\text{days}$, for Earth to make one complete orbit around the Sun.

GPS

An abbreviation that stands for Global Positioning System.

Oblate Sphereroid

The scientific name given for the shape of the Earth in the notes.

Polar Zone

The zone considered to be north of the Arctic Circle.

Arctic Circle

A geographic boundary with a measurement listed as $0^\bullet$.