Earth Science SOL Review Flashcards

A set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering comprehensive Earth Science topics including oceanography, meteorology, geology, and astronomy based on the 2006 SOL review notes.

Tides

The daily rise and fall of ocean water level caused by the moon's gravitational pull.

Spring Tide

The greatest tidal range that occurs when the moon, sun, and Earth are in alignment.

Neap Tide

The lowest tidal range worldwide, occurring during quarter moon phases.

Coriolis Effect

The deflection of air and water currents caused by Earth's rotation; in the Northern Hemisphere, currents turn clockwise.

Upwelling

A process occurring when cold, nutrient-rich water from the bottom rises to the surface to fill gaps, resulting in rich biological activity.

Estuaries

Areas where fresh water rivers meet salt water areas, such as the Chesapeake Bay.

Salinity

The amount of salt in water; the average for ocean water is $3.5\%$, consisting primarily of chloride ($55\%$), sodium ($31\%$), and magnesium ($4\%$).

Density Currents

Currents that occur when dense seawater, such as cold water or high-salinity water, moves to a less dense area.

Pelagic Species

Species that live in seawater.

Benthic Species

Species that live on the ocean floor.

Abyssal Plain

The flattest area on Earth, where sediments immediate fill any crevices.

Atolls

Coral structures that form around extinct volcanoes.

Greenhouse Effect

The retention of heat by the Earth's atmosphere caused by increased levels of $CO_2$ and water vapor.

Weather

Describes the day-to-day, moment-to-moment changes in atmospheric conditions.

Climate

Describes the weather pattern for a given location over a period of many years.

Dew Point

The temperature at which air is saturated and clouds begin to form.

Condensation Nuclei

Small particles on which water vapor condenses to form clouds.

Cirrus Clouds

Light, thin, feathery clouds associated with fair weather.

Stratus Clouds

Low, gray clouds.

Tornado

A violently rotating column of air that usually touches the ground.

Mesocyclone

A rotating updraft of air in a thunderstorm cloud that can eventually form a tornado.

Hurricanes

The largest storms on Earth, featuring counterclockwise movement and winds up to more than $250\,km/hr$, forming over warm water of at least $80^{\circ}$.

Saffir-Simpson Scale

A scale used to measure the intensity of hurricanes based on sustained wind speeds.

Sling Psychrometer

A weather instrument used to measure relative humidity.

Anemometer

An instrument used to measure wind speed.

Isotherms

Lines on a weather map that connect points of equal temperature.

Isobars

Lines on a weather map that connect points of equal pressure.

Density Formula

$\text{Density} = \frac{\text{Mass}}{\text{Volume}}$ with units of $g/mL$ or $g/cm^3$.

Mercator Projection

A map projection where both latitude and longitude lines are parallel, but North and South latitudes are distorted.

Topographic Maps

Maps used to measure changes in elevation; contour lines pointing upstream indicate the direction opposite to flow.

Representative Fraction (RF)

A map scale showing the relationship between one unit on the map and the same units in reality (e.g., $1:24,000$).

Solar Nebula Theory

The theory stating that the nine planets formed as a result of the sun's formation from a condensing solar nebula.

Big Bang Theory

The theory that the universe originated from the instant expansion of an extremely small agglomeration of matter with high density and temperature.

Impact Theory

The theory that the moon formed about $4.5$ billion years ago from a collision between Earth and a planet-sized object.

Revolution

Earth's elliptical orbit around the sun, which takes $365.25$ days and causes the yearly cycle and seasons.

Foucault Pendulum

A device used to prove Earth's rotation.

Lunar Eclipse

Occurs during the full moon phase when the moon passes through Earth's shadow.

Geocentric Universe

Ptolemy's belief that Earth was the center of the universe and everything revolved around it.

Heliocentric Solar System

Copernicus's model where planets revolve around the sun.

Photosphere

The layer of the sun that produces light.

Corona

The largest layer of the sun, visible only during a solar eclipse.

H-R Diagram

A diagram showing the relationship between a star's temperature and its luminosity (brightness).

Subduction Zones

Areas where dense ocean crust goes under less dense continental crust when they collide.

Richter Scale

A scale used to measure the magnitude (energy released) of an earthquake.

Mohs Scale of Hardness

A scale from $1$ (Talc) to $10$ (Diamond) used to identify minerals by their resistance to scratching.

Ore

A mineral or material that is useful and profitable.

Intrusive Igneous Rocks

Rocks formed from the slow cooling of magma inside the Earth, resulting in coarse-grained textures like Granite.

Extrusive Igneous Rocks

Rocks formed from the quick cooling of lava outside the Earth, resulting in fine-grained or glassy textures like Pumice or Obsidian.

Metamorphic Rocks

Rocks formed from heat and pressure on existing rocks; they can be foliated (banded) or nonfoliated.

Karst Topography

A landscape characterized by caves and sinkholes caused by groundwater dissolving limestone and dolomite.

Law of Superposition

The principle that in an undisturbed rock sequence, the oldest layers are on the bottom.

Half-life

The amount of time it takes for $50\%$ of a radioactive parent isotope to break down into its stable daughter product.

Precambrian Era

The first geologic era, accounting for $90\%$ of all history; initially lacked oxygen until cyanobacteria produced it.