Weak Points Of Science Final

These are my weak points in the science final. I should study these until I can regularly complete them.

James Hutton

Developed the principle of uniformitarianism.

Uniformitarianism

The same geologic processes operating today also operated in the past.

Fossil

Preserved remains or evidence of prehistoric life.

Paleontology

The study of fossils and what they tell us about the history of life on Earth.

Continental Drift Hypothesis

The hypothesis that continents were once connected and later drifted apart.

Evidence for Continental Drift

Matching fossils and matching coastlines on different continents.

Pangaea

A supercontinent that existed before the continents separated.

Sea-floor Spreading

The formation of new oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges as magma rises and cools.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that Earth's lithosphere is divided into moving plates.

Subduction Zone

A region where one tectonic plate sinks beneath another.

Alvarez Hypothesis

The hypothesis that an asteroid impact caused the K-Pg mass extinction.

Iridium

A rare element on Earth that is common in asteroids and provides evidence for the Alvarez Hypothesis.

K-Pg Boundary

A layer marking the mass extinction that eliminated about 80% of species.

Milankovitch Theory

The theory that changes in Earth's orbit, tilt, and wobble influence ice ages.

Fossil Record

The collection of fossils that provides evidence of Earth's history and evolution.

Evolution

The process by which populations of organisms change over time.

Radioactive Decay

The process by which unstable isotopes break down into stable isotopes.

Absolute Age

The actual numerical age of a rock, fossil, or geologic event.

Relative Age

The age of a rock or fossil compared with other rocks or fossils.

Mid-Ocean Ridge

An underwater mountain chain formed at a divergent boundary where sea-floor spreading occurs.

Rift Valley

A valley formed when tectonic plates move apart at a divergent boundary.

Glacier

A large mass of moving ice formed from compacted snow.

Internal Plastic Flow

The movement of glacier ice due to deformation within the ice.

Basal Slip

The movement of a glacier when it slides over the ground beneath it.

Drumlin

An elongated hill formed by glacial deposition.

Kettle Lake

A depression formed when a buried block of ice melts and fills with water.

Renewable Resource

A resource that can be naturally replenished in a relatively short period of time.

Nonrenewable Resource

A resource that forms much more slowly than it is used.

Fossil Fuel

A nonrenewable energy source formed from ancient organisms over millions of years.

Dissolved Oxygen

The amount of oxygen dissolved in water that is available to aquatic organisms.

Nitrates

Nutrients that can contribute to algal blooms when present in excess.

Water Temperature

A factor that affects dissolved oxygen levels in aquatic ecosystems.

Acidity

A measure of how acidic or basic water is.

Algal Bloom

A rapid increase in algae growth, often caused by excess nutrients.

Fossil Formation

An organism dies and is buried by sediment; over time, more sediment accumulates, pressure increases, and the remains are preserved or replaced by minerals, forming a fossil.

Point-Source Pollution

Is traced to one location such as a drainpipe or a smokestack from a factory.

Nonpoint-Source Pollution

Cannot be traced to one location such as runoff from large areas of land.

Alfred Wegener

Proposed the Continental Drift Hypothesis

Luis Alvarez and Walter Alvarez

Proposed the Alvarez Hypothesis

Harry Hess

Proposed the theory of sea-floor spreading, which provided evidence for plate tectonics.

Sea-floor Spreading

The process by which new oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges and moves outward.

Till

Unsorted sediment deposited directly by a glacier.

Terminal Moraine

A ridge of sediment deposited at the furthest point a glacier advances.

Drumlin

An elongated hill formed by glacial deposition.

Kettle Lake

A depression formed when a buried block of ice melts and fills with water.

Oxygen

The most abundant element in Earth's crust, making up about 46%.

Silicon

The second most abundant element in Earth's crust, making up about 28%.

Aluminum

The third most abundant element in Earth's crust, making up about 8%.