The Physical World

The Physical World

chapter 2

Faulting: process of cracking that occurs when the folded land can't be bent any further.

Ring of fire: one of the most earthquake-prone places on the planet. It is a zone of earthquake and volcanic activity around the Pacific ocean.

external: arising outside of

erosion: the movement of weathered rock and material by wind, glaciers and moving water.

moraine: piles of rocky debris left by melting glaciers.

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topography: the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features.

water cycle: regular movement of Earth's water from ocean to air to ground and back to the ocean.

evaporation: the process of converting liquid into vapor, or gas.

condensation: the process of excess water vapor changing into liquid water when the warm air cools

precipitation: moisture that falls to the Earth as rain, sleet, hail, or snow

constant: unchanging

enormous: gigantic; exceedingly large

desalination: the removal of salt from seawater to make it usable for drinking and farming.

groundwater: water located underground within the Earth that supplies wells and springs.

aquifier: underground water-bearing layers of pourous rock, sand or gravel.

subduction: slow process in which an oceanic plate slides under a continental plate, creating debris that can cause continents outward

spreading: process by which magma wells up between oceanic plates and pushes the plates apart.

fold: a bend in layers of rock, sometimes caused by plate movement.

fault: a crack or break in the Earth's crust

water cycle: regular movement of Earth's water from ocean to air back to the ocean

evaporation: the process of convertaing liquid into vapor , or gas.

condensation: the process of excess water vapor changing into liquid water when warm air cools

percipation: moisture that falls to the earth as , rain, hail, sleet or snow.

desalination: the removal of salt from seawater to make it usable for drinking or farming

core: innermost layer of the earth made up of a super-hot but solid inner core and super-hot solid liquid core outer core.

mantle: thick middle layer of the Earth's interior structure consisting of hot rock that is dense but flexible.

crust: outer layer of the Earth, a hard rocky shell forming Earth's surface.

Lesson 1 / Planet Earth

continental drift: the theory that the continents were once joined and then slowly drifted apart.

plate tectonics: the term scientist use to describe the activities of continental drift and magma flow, which creates many of Earth's physical features.

create: to bring into being or cause to exist.

magma: molten rock that is located below the Earth's surface.

Sphere: a globe-shaped body

Theory: a plausible general principle offered to explain observed facts

Hydrosphere: the waters areas of the Earth, including oceans, lakes rivers, and other bodies of water.

Lithosphere: uppermost layer of the Earth that includes the crust, continents and ocean basins.

atmosphere: a thin layer of gases that surrounds the Earth.

biosphere: the part of the earth where life exists.

continental shelf: part of a continent that extends out underneath the ocean.