Big picture and observation- Cycles and Scientific Method

Question 1

Geology

Answer 1

Study of the Earth

Question 2

Plates

Answer 2

one of about 20 distinct pieces of the relatively rigid lithosphere

Question 3

theory of plate tectonics

Answer 3

the theory that the outer layer of the Earth consists of separate plates that move with respect to one another

Question 4

Earth system

Answer 4

the global interconnecting web of physical and biological phenomena involving the solid Earth, the hydrosphere, and the atmosphere

Question 5

internal processes

Answer 5

a process in the Earth System ultimately caused by the Earth’s internal heat

Question 6

external processes

Answer 6

geomorphologic process that is the consequence of gravity or of the interaction between the solid Earth and its fluid envelope

Question 7

gravity

Answer 7

attractive force that one mass exerts on another, the magnitude depends on the size of the objects and the distance between them

Question 8

geologic time

Answer 8

the span of time since the formation of the Earth

Question 9

shatter cones

Answer 9

small, cone-shaped fractures formed by the shock of meteorite impact

Question 10

science

Answer 10

systematic study of natural phenomena via observation, computation, experiment, and modeling

Question 11

scientific method

Answer 11

sequence of steps for systematically analyzing scientific problems in a way that leads to verifiable results

Question 12

hypothesis

Answer 12

an idea that has the potential to explain a phenomenon; must be rigorously tested if it is to eventually become a theory

Question 13

theories

Answer 13

a scientific idea supported by an abundance of evidence that has passed many tests and failed none

Question 14

scientific laws

Answer 14

a concise statement that completely describes a natural relationship or phenomenon; it does not however, explain the phenomenon

Question 15

supercontinent cycle

Answer 15

very long cycle where continents move over time to form large land masses

Question 16

rock cycle

Answer 16

succession of events that results in the transformation of Earth materials from one rock type to another; then another, and so on

Question 17

biogeochemical cycle

Answer 17

passage of chemicals among nonliving and living reservoir to another over time

Question 18

nonliving reservoir

Answer 18

atmosphere, rock magma, soil, ocean

Question 19

living reservoir

Answer 19

plants, animals, microbes

Question 20

steady state conditions

Answer 20

proportions of chemical indifferent reservoirs remain constant, even though there is a constant flow of the chemical among the reservoirs

Question 21

hydrologic cycle

Answer 21

movements of water from reservoir to reservoir on or near the surface of the Earth

Question 22

carbon cycle

Answer 22

progressive transfer of carbon from reservoir to reservoir on the Earth’s surface