Earth and Space Science Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards created from the Earth and Space Science Vocabulary Pre-assessment (Lessons 1-3).

Natural Resource

Any natural material that is used by humans. Example: Water

Renewable Resource

A natural resource that can be replaced at least as quickly as it is used.

Nonrenewable Resource

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

Fossil Fuel

A nonrenewable resource formed from the buried remains of plants and animals.

Mineral

Naturally occurring usually inorganic solid that has a definite crystalline structure and chemical composition.

Crystal

A solid, geometric form that results from a repeating pattern of atoms or molecules.

Streak

The color of the powdered form of a mineral.

Luster

The way a surface reflects light.

Cleavage

The tendency of a mineral to split along specific planes of weakness to form smooth, flat surfaces

Weathering

When water, wind, ice, and changes in temperature break down rock.

Erosion

Process in which sediment is moved from one place to another.

Deposition

The process in which sediment comes to rest.

Igneous Rock

Rocks that form when magma or lava cools and hardens to become a solid.

Sedimentary Rock

Rocks that form when minerals or sediment from older rocks get pressed and cemented together

Metamorphic Rock

Rocks that form when pressure, temperature, or chemical processes change an existing rock.

Rock Cycle

The series of processes in which rocks change from one type to another.

Uplift

Rising of regions of the crust to higher elevations.

Subsidence

The sinking of regions of the crust to lower elevation.

Rift Zone

An area where a set of deep cracks form.