Principles of Earth Science final exam vocabulary Cedarville

atmosphere

the collection of gasses that surround the Earth and are held in by gravity

atmospheric pressure

a measure of the amount of atmosphere over a particular place

hydrosphere

all the water on the planet's surface

groundwater (chapter 1)

the most important water source on the planet that allows the earth to be populated in certain areas

geosphere

the solid, rocky components,

oceanic crust

60% of earth's surface; made up of igneous rocks basalt and gabbro; <10 km thick; density is 2.9 g/cm3

continental crust

40% of the earth's surface; 30-70 km thick

mantle

84% volume, 67% mass

upper mantle

extends from the bottom of the crust to 670 km; made up mostly of peridotite

lithosphere

several large and many small slabs of rock called plates that move with respect to one another; 150-280 km thick

asthenosphere

weak layer; 370 km deep; plastic like

lower mantle

extends from 670 km to 2890 km deep; density is 5.0 g/cm3;

core

composed of iron and nickel; 15% volume, 30% mass

outer core

liquid; density of 11 g/cm3; extends from mantle boundary to 5150 km deep

inner core

solid; density of 3 g/cm3; extends from outer core boundary to 6371 km deep

biosphere

all living organisms on the planet; mostly in oceans

euphotic zone

the first 200 meters of ocean; sunlight penetration

aphotic zone

no sunlight penetration

tropical rain forests

most diverse life on land

system

interactive components working together to form a complex and interdependent unit

Earth Science Systems

an interdisciplinary approach to trace and understand the systems and subsystems of the planet

hydrologic cycle

the set of processes that move water around the earth

dominion mandate

the biblical mandate that gives humans the right to subdue all of the planet.

resource

any material that can be used by people

renewable resource

resources that can be replenished at about the same rate in which they are used

non-renewable resource

resources that exist in fixed quanitities

reserve

a resource that has been determined to exist or has a good likelihood of existing in a specific area

proved resource

a reserve that is known to exist and can be recovered economically

mineral resource

any material extracted from rocks such as sand limestone and iron ore

mineral

a naturally occurring object that is a crystalline solid, generally inorganic, and has definite chemical formula

mineral attributes

1) naturally occurring

2) crystalline

3) solid

4) (generally) inorganic

5) definite chemical formula

rock

an aggregate (collection) of one or more minerals

atom

the smallest particle of matter that cannot be split into similar substances by chemical processes

proton

positively charged particles that are confined to the atom's central region

nucleus

the central region of an atom

neutron

particles within the nucleus of an atom without charge

electron

extremely small, negatively charged particles that orbit the nucleus

periodic table

the organization of the elements by number of protons in the nucleus

atomic number

the number of protons in the nucleus

element

a material of characteristic physical and chemical properties that cannot be broken down; all atoms with the same number of protons

atomic mass

the total number of protons and neutrons within an atom

isotopes

atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons

valence shell

the outer most portion of the election cloud

octet rule

atoms are the most stable when their valence shell is filled with eight electrons

chemical bonds

the linking of atoms by gaining, losing, or sharing electrons

ionic bond

one atom transfers one or more electrons to another atom

ion

an atom with a positive or negative charge

anion

negatively charged ion

cation

positively charged ion

covalent bond

two or more atoms sharing each others' electrons

metallic bond

weak covalent bonds between two or more metals

hydrogen bond

lose connections between weakly charged regions of overall neutral molecules

mineral properties

determinants used to identify a mineral

mineral properties (optical)

1. color

2. luster (metallic or non-metallic)

3. streak (the color of the mineral in powder form)

mineral properties (mechanical)

1. hardness

2. tenacity (behavior when broken)

3. cleavage plane

4. fracture (splintery, irregular, conchoidal)

mineral properties (other)

1. odor

2. taste

3. magnetic

silicate minerals

the vast majority of minerals in Earth's crust

silicon-oxygen tetrahedron

an anion made of a central silicon atom covalently bonded to to 4 oxygen atoms

tetrahedra (5 groupings)

1) isolated

2) single chain

3) double chain

4) sheet

5) framework silicates

non-silicate minerals

8% of earth's minerals (not a real group) (halites, oxides, sulfates, carbonates, native elements)

mining

the recovery of solid metallic or non-metallic resources from rock or loose sediment

ore

metal-rich minerals or rock

igneous rock

crystallize from liquid rock

sedimentary rock

small particles or pieces of other rock

metamorphic rock

rocks that become changed by heat and/or pressure

ways by which a rock can change

1) weathering

2) metamorphism

3) melting

4) recrystallization

rock cycle

a schematic drawing that shows how these processes change rock

sediment

broken up pieces of loose rock and minerals

lithification

rock hardening

compaction

the reduction of the amount of open space between the grains of rock and the packing together of the grains

de-watering

the squeezing of water out of a rock

cementation

the cementing of the grains together with minerals such as quartz, calcite, or hematite

recrystallization

the result of hot fluids interacting with the mineral ingredients of the rock to produce new minerals

regional metamorphic rock

metamorphic rock created by heat and pressure

contact (thermal) metamorphic rock

a rock formed mostly as a result of heat

dynamic metamorphism

a process that uses only pressure to form metamorphic rock

magma

melted rock as a result of intense heat and pressure

lava

magma that has erupted from a volcano

intrusive igneous rock

rocks formed from cooled magma underground

extrusive (volcanic) igneous rock

rocks formed from cooled lava aboveground

creation week rocks

any rock formed during the initial creation of the earth

pegmatites

rocks with crystals greater than 30 mm

phaneritic rocks

rocks with crystals 1-30 mm

aphanitic rocks

rocks with crystals too small to be seen with the naked eye

porphyritic rocks

rocks with both phaneritic and aphanitic textures

vesticular rocks

rocks with many tiny hole resulting from volcanic gasses leaking out of the rock

pyroclastic rocks

rocks that resulted from explosive volcanism

Bowden's Reaction Series

patterns recognized for determining rocks discovered by N.L. Bowden

kimberlite pipe

a narrow conduit that forms when magma reaches earth's surface from 150-500 km deep

clastic (detrital) sedimentary rock

rocks made from other pieces of other rock

shale

rocks composed entirely of clay sized particles (1/256-1/16mm)

siltstone

rocks made entirely of silt-sized particles

mudrocks

siltstones, shale, mudstones, claystones

sandstone

rocks made of particles 1/16-2 mm in size

conglomerate (breccia)

rocks with smaller matrix grains filling the spaces between the larger clasts

chemical sedimentary rock

rocks formed out of sediments made by chemical processes within water

dolomite

10% of all sedimentary rock

organic sedimentary rock

rocks with living things as their origin

coal

organic sedimentary rock made up almost entirely of tree bark and other organic remains from plants

lignite

brown coal with the lowest percentage of carbon and least energy per unit