Fall Exam- Science Vocab
Some terms to help understand the key points on the Fall Science Exam, according to the study guide handed out in class.
Terms
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- Radioactive Dating
- used to determine age of rocks by comparing parent and daughter material of an isotope
- Gems
- rare and beautiful minerals, some with industrial applications (ex: rabies-laser, diamonds-cutting, quartz- watches)
- Foliated
- mineral grains line up in parallel layers (ex: slate, gneiss)
- Mass
- amount of matter in an object
- Fossil Clues
- evidence of continental drift that is supported by fossils found on different continents and suggests that they could not have crossed the ocean to the other continent
- Transform Boundary
- two plates slide past each other (ex: San Andres Fault)
- Vent
- opening through which magma reaches Earth's surface and flows out
- Internal Structure of an Atom
- made of protons, neutrons, and electrons--- protons and neutrons-nucleus, electrons-electron cloud
- Weight
- the amount of gravitational pull on an object
- Igneous Rock
- formed when magma and lava cool (ex: Granite, Basalt, Pumice, Obsidian, Gabbro)
- Extrusive Rocks
- rocks form from lava as it cools on Earth's surface (ex: Basalt, Scoria, Pumice, Obsidian); smaller grains
- Earthquakes
- result from the buildup of energy in rocks by passing the elastic limit and moving along faults
- Basaltic Rocks
- dense-dark colored rocks; form from magma rich in iron and magnesium and poor in silica; Basaltic lava flows freely from volcanoes
- Length
- how its measured- meters
- Inner Core
- hottest, innermost layer of Earth that is made of solid iron and nickel
- Intrusive Rocks
- rocks form from magma below the surface (ex:Gabbro, Granite); large grained
- Unconformities
- gaps in rock record; can be angular, non, or dis
- Detrital
- classification of sedimentary rocks that are made from broken fragments of other rocks (ex: conglomerate, breccia, sandstone)
- Outer Core
- secondmost layer of Earth, made of liquid iron and nickel
- Index Fossils
- fossil of a now extinct animal that ws abundunt and geographically widespread during its short period of life; can be used to tell age by comparing how old the fossil is in a rock layer
- Sedimentary Rocks
- forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together, or when minerals form from solutions
- Earth Science
- one area of specific study of Earth and space
- Volume
- how its measured- liters
- Dependent Variable
- the variable being measured (ex: how clean the clothes are)
- Tension Forces
- make rocks move along faults by causing rocks to be pulled apart, causing a normal fault
- Solid
- atoms are fixed in position relative to each other
- Boiling Points
- 212 F, 100 C, 373 K
- Cast
- formed when sediments wash into a mold (ex: sea shells)
- Constant
- variable that does not change (ex: type of washer)
- Idea of Continental Drift
- theory proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912 stating that the continents have moved slowly to their current positions
- Shear Forces
- make rocks move along faults by pushing on rock in opposite horizontal directions; the forces can split rock and create strike-slip faults
- Plasma
- electrons can escape and move outside of the atom's electron cloud; most common state of matter
- Rock
- mixture of minerals, volcanic glass, or other material
- Mineral
- follows five characteristics that all minerals share
- Divergent Boundary
- two plates moving apart (ex: Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Great Rift Valley)
- Laccolith
- magma is pushed up and is formed in a mushroom- dome shape
- Granitic Rocks
- light-colored rocks of lower density; contain lots of silica but less iron and magnesium
- Conditions for Fossils to Form
- 1. buried quickly by sediments, 2. has many hard parts, 3. protected from scavengers
- Absolute Zero
- -459 F, -273 C, 0 K
- Lower Mantle
- third layer of Earth, made of molten rock
- Puzzle-Like Fit
- clue to continental drift that is supported by the continents having a puzzle-like fit with each other
- Reverse Faults
- rock above the surface is forced up and over the rock below the fault surface
- Gas
- atoms have almost attractive force on each other, so atoms move freely and will fill the entire container they are placed in
- Carbon Film
- carbon residue forms a silhouette of the original organism (ex: fern leaf in coal)
- Trace Fossil
- evidence of organism of activities (ex: footprint, dinosaur tracks, coprolites)
- Sill
- horizontal layer of magma
- Four States of Matter
- solid, liquid, gas, plasma
- Formation of Pangaea
- continents put together in one large landmass
- Homogeneous Mixture
- compounds evenly mixed; can't see individual components; also called solution
- Igneous Intrusions
- sill, dike, laccolith, batholith
- Temperature
- how its measured- Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin
- Rock Clues
- similar rock structures are found on different continents, suggesting they were once connected (ex:mountains similar to Appalachians found in Greenland)
- Climate Clues
- cluse to continental drift suggesting that the continents once had similar climates (suggested by glaciers in South America, Africa)
- Seafloor Spreading
- theory proposed by Harry Hess in the 1960's that stated hot, less dense material below Earth's crust rises towards the surface at mid-ocean ridges, then flows sideways carrying the seafloor away from the ridge in both directions; magma is then forced upward and cools to form new seafloor
- Chemical
- classification of sedimentary rocks that are formed when dissolved minerals come out of a solution (ex: limestone, rock salt)
- Metamorphic Rocks
- rocks that have changed because of changes in temperature and pressure or the presince of hot, watery fluids; classified as foliated or nonfoliated
- Compression Forces
- make rocks move along faults by squeezing rocks, and the forces can break the rocks pushing from opposite directions causing a reverse fault
- Strike-Slip Faults
- rocks on either side of the fault are moving past each other without much upward or downward movement
- Non Foliated
- mineral grains grow and rearrange but do not line up in parallel layers
- Dike
- vertical layer of magma
- Liquid
- atoms are attracted to each other, but can change positions with each other; least common state of matter
- Freezing Points
- 32 F, 0 C, 273 K
- Crystal Shapes
- cubic (isometric), hexagonal, tetragonal, monoclinic, triclinic, orthorombic
- Asthenosphere
- made of bottom part of upper mantle-plates move on this layer, plates move on convection currents
- Independent Variables
- the variable that you change (ex: amount of detergent)
- Ores
- minerals containing a substance that can be mined at a profit
- Mass
- how its measured- grams
- Batholith
- magma is pushed up and is formed in a large, wide shape
- Earthquakes
- formed when two plates slide past each other and one suddenly slips past one another at a transform boundary
- Compound
- when atoms of more than one element are chemically combined (ex: H2O, NaCl)
- Permineralized Remains
- type of fossil formation where the spaces inside minerals are filled with minerals from groundwater (ex: petrified wood, dinosaur bones)
- Matter
- anything that has mass and takes up space
- Plates of the Lithosphere
- move along the asthenosphere
- Physical Properties to Identify Minerals
- color, luster, fracture/cleavage, hardness, specific gravity, double image/magnetic/other properties
- Crater
- steep-walled depression around a vent
- Lithosphere
- made of crust and rigid upper mantle
- Science
- a process of observing, , studying, and thinking about things to gain knowledge and better understand the world
- Alpha Decay
- two protons and two neutrons leave an atom, causing it to decay or break down into daughter material
- Absolute Dating
- dating a rock's age in years of a rock or other object; determined by properties of atoms
- Volcanoes
- formed when plates collide at a convergent boundary
- Scientific Method
- identify a problem, gather information, make a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, analyze the results, draw conclusions
- Heterogeneous Mixture
- components not evenly mixed; each component retains own properties
- Relative Dating
- dating by comparing how old something is with something else
- Isotope
- atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons
- Control
- standard to which results can be compared (ex: normal load)
- Mixture
- two or more substances are not chemically combined
- Original Remains
- reserved in amber, ice, or tar (ex: insect in amber)
- Crust
- thin layer above upper mantle, where life on Earth happens (part of lithosphere)
- Upper Mantle
- fourth layer of Earth, (RUM part of lithosphere, other asthenosphere)
- Organic
- classification of sedimentary rocks that are formed from the remains of once-living things (ex: limestone)
- Five Characteristics all Minerals Share
- solids, inorganic, naturally occurring, crystalline solids, have an orderly arrangement of atoms
- Age Clues
- supports seafloor spreading by stating that younger rocks are near mid-ocean ridges and rocks get older towards the continents
- Normal Faults
- rock above the fault surface moves downward in relation to rock below the fault surface
- Beta Decay
- one electron leaves the atom
- Two Ways Minerals Form
- when magma cools or from solutions (if water evaporates or too much of one substance is dissolved in water)
- Mohs Scale of Hardness
- 1. Talc, 2. Gypsum, 3. Calcite, 4. Fluorite, 5. Apatite, 6. Feldspar, 7. Quartz, 8. Topaz, 9. Corundum, 10. Diamond
- Magnetic Clues
- supports seafloor spreading by recorded magnetic reversals in rocks forming along mid-ocean ridges
- Convergent Boundary
- two plates moving together (ex: subduction zones, volcanoes, deep-sea trench)
- Dating Rock Layers
- principle of superposition, comparing age of fossils in layers to other layers