Unit 2 Vocabulary - Chemistry

Unit 2 - Heat & Temperature in the Earth

Diffusion

Diffusion

The movement of molecules from an area of high concentration to low concentration.

Particle Movement

The movement of particles in all directions and at different speeds.

First Law of Thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed into another form.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

The entropy of the universe is always increasing.

Plate Boundaries

Fractures that separate one tectonic plate from another.

Earthquakes

Shaking and vibration of the Earth's crust due to the movement of tectonic plates.

S-waves

Transverse waves that travel through only solids, slower than p-waves.

P-waves

Longitudinal/compression waves that travel through gas, liquid, and solid, fastest waves.

Body Waves

Waves that travel through the Earth's interior and happen twice in bursts.

Surface Waves

Waves that travel across the surface/crust of the Earth, causing more damage and traveling slower.

Convergent Boundaries

When two continental plates collide, forming mountain ranges and deep earthquakes.

Divergent Boundaries

When plates move away from each other, allowing magma to push up through the crust and form new crust. It creates mid-ocean ridges and young sea floor, with shallow earthquakes.

Transform Boundaries

Places where plates slide sideways past each other, causing shallow earthquakes.

Convection

The transfer of heat through liquid.

Conduction

The transfer of heat by contact.

Radiation

The transfer of thermal energy through electromagnetic waves.

Continental Crust

Older, thicker, less dense crust that makes up the Earth's continents.

Oceanic Crust

Younger, thinner, more dense crust that makes up the Earth's ocean floor and sinks lower.

Entropy

The amount of disorder in a system.