Environmental Geology

Theory

A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Libertarian Extension

Encompasses those theories that extend civil rights to humans, non-human animals, and possibly even the inanimate.

Ecologic Extension

Emphasis that everything is interconnected

Conservation Ethics

The ethics of the use, allocation, protection and exploitation of the natural world

Propaganda

Ideas spread to influence public opinion for or against a cause.

Name-calling

the use of language to defame, demean, or degrade individuals or groups

Bandwagon

A fallacy which assumes that because something is popular, it is therefore good, correct, or desirable.

Appeals to Pride

I hear you're a good, upstanding citizen. You care about your children and the safety of the neighborhood. Will you sign this petition to keep them from putting in the proposed strip club?

Generalizations

a general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases.

Testimonials

the use of satisfied customers and celebrities to endorse a product in advertising

Logical Fallacy

An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid

Straw Man Fallacy

instead of dealing with the actual issue, it attacks a weaker version of argument

Slippery Slope Fallacy

a logical fallacy that assumes once an action begins it will lead, undeterred, to an eventual and inevitable conclusion

False Cause Fallacy

a statement asserting that if an event occurs before some outcome, the event therefore caused that outcome

Appeal to Authority

A fallacy in which a speaker or writer seeks to persuade not by giving evidence but by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution.

Red Herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion

False Dichotomy

Consists of a consideration of only the two extremes when there are one or more intermediate possibilities

Appeal to Emotions

When something is associated with good/bad feelings, then it must be true/wrong (manipulates people's emotions)

Illusory Truth

people tend to believe information to be correct after repeated exposure, even if it is false

Fake News

content, articles, videos that present made up or false information

China's One Child Policy

Law created in 1979 to slow down population growth and to prevent overpopulation

One-Two-Four Problem

One adult is left with having to provide support for their two parents and four grandparents

Big Bang Theory

The theory that the universe originated in a huge explosion that released all matter and energy.

Solar System

sun, planets, and all the other objects that revolve around the sun

Crust

Earth's outermost layer.

Mantle

The layer of hot, solid material between Earth's crust and core.

Core

The central part of the earth below the mantle

Environmental Geology

the study of the interactions between humans and their geologic environment

Scientific Method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

Observation

Information obtained through the senses.

Growth Rate

Rate of increase or decrease of a population

Exponential Growth

Growth pattern in which the individuals in a population reproduce at a constant rate

Doubling Time

The number of years needed to double a population, assuming a constant rate of natural increase.

Carrying Capacity

Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support

Elements

A molecule composed of one kind of atom; cannot be broken into simpler units by chemical reactions.

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons

Ions

positively and negatively charged atoms

Compound

A substance made up of atoms of two or more different elements joined by chemical bonds

Mineral

a naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition

Streak

the color of a mineral's powder

Cleavage

A mineral's ability to split easily along flat surfaces.

Effervescence

the rapid escape of a gas from a liquid in which it is dissolved

Rock

A naturally occurring solid mixture of one or more minerals or organic matter

Igneous Rock

a type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten rock at or below the surface

intrusive igneous rock

rock formed from the cooling and solidification of magma beneath Earth's surface

extrusive igneous rock

rock that forms from the cooling and solidification of lava at Earth's surface

Sedimentary rocks

Formed when particles of broken rock and organic materials are pressed and cemented together to form new rocks. Sediments are mud, sand, pebbles, shells, bones, leaves, and stems. Some rocks of this type can be sandstone, limestone, and gypsum.

Lithification

The process that converts sediments into solid rock by compaction or cementation.

Metamorphic rock

A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions.

Plate tectonics

A theory stating that the earth's surface is broken into plates that move.

Lithosphere

A rigid layer made up of the uppermost part of the mantle and the crust.

Asthenosphere

The soft layer of the mantle on which the lithosphere floats.

Sea Floor Spreading

The process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor

Paleomagnetism

The study of the alignment of magnetic minerals in rock, specifically as it relates to the reversal of Earth's magnetic poles; also the magnetic properties that rock requires during formation

Stress

force applied

Strain

deformation of materials in response to stress

divergent plate boundary

an area beneath the ocean where tectonic plates move away from each other

Tensile stress

Pulls and stretches the material

Continental Drift

The hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present locations

transform boundary

A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions

Shearing stress

the stress produced by two tectonic plates sliding past each other horizontally

Compressive stress

A stress due to a force pushing together on a body.

Convergent plate boundaries

Areas where plates move toward each other and collide, causing uplift.

Convection Cell

A circular pattern of air rising, air sinking, and wind.

Rock Cycle

A series of processes on the surface and inside Earth that slowly changes rocks from one kind to another

polar-wander curve

a plot of apparent magnetic pole positions at various times in the past relative to a continent, assuming the continent's position to have been fixed on the earth