A series of steps that is used to find answers to questions about the world around us.

Scientific Method

How many steps are there to the scientific method?

6

The ____________________ is the starting or reference line on a map.

Equator

Provides direction

Compass

Key to unlocking secrets of maps

Legend

Unit of measurement used on maps

Scale

Flat representations of the Earth’s surface

Map

How many main minerals do we need to know?

21

Ways we observe minerals.

Color, cleavage, and hardness

Who created the Hardness Scale for minerals?

Moh

The powdered color remaining after the mineral is dragged across a white tile.

Streak

This describes the geological process that forms rocks.

Rock Cycle

Three types of rocks.

Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary

What type of rock was once igneous or sedimentary, but has been changed due to heat and pressure?

Metamorphic Rocks

What type of rock has distinctive layering or bedding?

Sedimentary Rocks

How many types of weathering are there?

2

When water seeps into cracks in rock and then freezes, breaking the rock, is considered what type of weathering?

ice/frost wedging

This type of erosion usually occurs in dry areas with little to no vegetation.

Erosion by wind

Mechanical Weathering

Rock is broken down by oxidation, hydrolysis, or acid precipitation.

Single Column

When a stalactite and stalagmite meet in the middle and fuse together.

Chemical Weathering

Physical breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces.

Slump

When a large block of soil and rock becomes unstable and moves downhill in one piece.

Glacier

A large, slow moving mass of ice.

If water does not infiltrate the ground or evaporate, it flows downhill under the influence of gravity. This is called __________.

Runoff

Ridges that are formed in a natural way that can be a few feet high or hundreds.

Levees

Earth is sometimes referred to as the __________________ planet.

Blue

The process by which a substance change from a liquid to a gas is called.

Evaporation

Rain, sleet, snow, and hail are examples of _______________.

Precipitation

This kind of glacier begins high in the mountain area and flows from the high ice fields through valleys to lower elevations.

Valley Glacier

A cliff that sticks out into the sea and is surrounded by water on three sides.

Headland

Stretch of sand extending from the mainland out to sea.

Spit

A feature of a landscape.

Landform

Landscapes can be classified into 3 regions, what are they?

Plains, plateaus, and mountains

The Earth is composed of how many layers?

4

What layer is much hotter and flowing/moving?

Mantle

What layer do we live on?

Crust

Another name for plate tectonics is…

Lithospheric

Who proposed the theory of the continental drift?

Alfred Wegener

What was the name of the supercontinent where all of the land was connected together?

Pangaea

What type of plate boundary occurs when two plates slide against each other?

Transform

A sudden movement of Earth’s crust that release energy.

Earthquake

Location on Earth’s surface directly above the focus.

Epicenter

How many wave types are there when we talk about earthquakes?

2

This is the first wave after an earthquake is detected.

Primary

What are the two scales used to measure earthquakes?

Mercalli and Richter

A series of travelling waves of extremely long wavelength and time period.

Tsunami

Three ways a tsunami forms.

Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Landslides

What is the average speed of a tsunami?

600 mph

Most common way a tsunami forms.

Earthquakes

Opening in the earth’s crust through which molten lava, ash, and gases are ejected.

Volcanoes

Three places where volcanoes form

Convergent boundaries, divergent boundaries, and hotspots

There are two types of magma, which one produces quiet eruptions.

Granitic and Basaltic

There are there types of volcanoes.

Composite, cinder cone, and shield

How many eras are there on the geological time scale?

4

This is the era we are currently living in.

Cenozoic

A record of the life forms and geological events in Earth’s history.

Geologic time scale

This era was when Pangea started to separate.

Mesozoic

Jellyfish were developed in this era.

Precambrian

How many types of fossils are there?

4

A shell or other hard part of an organism dissolves leaving an empty space or imprint of that organism.

Mold Fossil

Paths of animals that crawled on or burrowed into the seafloor.

Trace Fossil

When the space of the mold becomes filled in with minerals it will form a cast.

Cast Fossil