The Dynamic Earth

Target Language or Knowledge:

The process by which rock is reduced in size by the scraping of other rocks driven by water, wind, and gravity. Any method of measuring the age of an event or object in years. Rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acids. A fan-shaped mass of material deposited by a stream when the slope of the land decreases sharply. The soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move. A mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, a moon, or other celestial body. The smallest unit of an element that maintains the properties of that element. A long ridge of sand of narrow island that lies parallel to the shore. An area of shoreline that is made up of deposited sediment. The part of Earth where life exists; includes all living organisms on Earth. The chemical breakdown and decomposition of rocks by natural processes in the environment. In geology, the tendency of a mineral to split along specific planes of weakness to form smooth, flat surfaces. The weather conditions in an area over a long period of time. The chemical makeup of a rock; describes either the minerals or other materials in the rock. A substance made up of atoms of two or more different elements joined by chemical bonds. Stress that occurs when forces act to squeeze an object. The movement of matter due to differences in density; the transfer of energy due to the movement of matter. The boundary between tectonic plates that are colliding. The central part of the Earth below the mantle. The slow downhill movement of weathered rock material. The thin and solid outermost layer of Earth above the mantle. Those portions of Earth's surface where water occurs in solid form. A solid whose atoms, ions, or molecules are arranged in a regular, repeating pattern. The bending, tilting, and breaking of Earth's crust; the change in the shape of rock in response to stress. A mass of material deposited in a triangular or fan shape at the mouth of a river or stream. The process in which material is laid down. The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. A mound of wind-deposited sand that moves as a result of the action of wind. All of the nonliving things, living things, and processes that make up the planet Earth, including the solid Earth, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere. A movement or trembling of the ground that is caused by a sudden release of energy when rocks along a fault move. The sudden return of elastically deformed rock to it undeformed shape. A substance that cannot be separated or broken down into simpler substances by chemical means. The net flow of energy into and out of a system. The point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's starting point, or focus The process by which wind, water, ice, or gravity transports soil and sediment from one location to another. A break in a body of rock along which one block moves relative to another. An area along a river that forms from sediments deposited when the river overflows its banks. The location within Earth along a fault at which the first motion of an earthquake occurs. The bending of rock layers due to stress. The trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock. An ordered arrangement of rock layers that is based on the relative ages of the rocks in which the oldest rocks are at the bottom. The standard method used to divide Earth's long natural history into manageable parts. The scientific study of the origin, history, the structure of the Earth, and the processes that shape Earth. The mostly solid, rocky part of Earth's surface; extends from the center of the core to the surface of the crust. The rock material carried and deposited by glaciers. A large mass of ice that exists year-round and moves over land. The water that is beneath Earth's surface. The time required for half of a sample of a radioactive isotope to break down by radioactive decay to form a daughter isotope. A volcanically active area of Earth's surface, commonly far from a tectonic plate boundary. Dark, organic material formed in soil from the decayed remains of plants and animals. The portion of the Earth that is water. A long cylinder of ice obtained from drilling through ice caps or ice sheets; used to study past climates. Rock that forms when magma cools and solidifies. In Earth science, the amount of damage caused by an earthquake. The sudden movement of rock and soil down a slope. Magma that flows onto Earth's surface; the rock that forms when lava cools and solidifies. The solid, outer layer of Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle. Fine-grained sediments of quartz, feldspar, homblende, mica, and clay deposited by wind. The way in which a mineral reflects light. The molten or partially molten rock material containing trapped gases produced under the Earth's surface. A measure of the strength of an earthquake. The layer of rock between Earth's crust and core. Anything that has mass and takes up space. The strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core. A rock that forms from other rocks as a result of intense heat, pressure, or chemical processes. A natural, usually inorganic solid that has a characteristic chemical composition and an orderly internal structure. The flow of a mass of mud or rock and soil mixed with a large amount of water. A chemical reaction in which a material combines with oxygen to form a new material; in geology - a form of chemical weathering. The supercontinent that formed 300 million years ago and that began to break up 200 million years ago. The mechanical breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces that is caused by natural processes and that does not change the chemical composition of the rock material. The theory that explains how large pieces of Earth's outermost layer, called tectonic plates, move and change shape. The process in which a radioactive isotope tends to break down into a stable isotope of the same element or another element. A method of determining the absolute age of an object by comparing the relative percentages of a radioactive (parent) isotope and a stable (daughter) isotope. And method of determining whether an event or object if older or younger than other events or objects An area of deep cracks that forms between two tectonic plates that are pulling away from each other. A naturally occurring solid mixture of one or more minerals or organic matter. The series of processes in which rock forms, changes from one type to another, is broken down or melted, and forms again by geologic processes. The rapid mass movement of rock down a steep slope or cliff. A low ridge of sand deposited along the shore of a lake or sea. The process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms when magma rises to Earth's surface at mid-ocean ridges and solidifies, as older, existing sea floor moves away from the ridge. A rock that forms from compressed or cemented layers of sediment. A wave of energy that travels through Earth and away from an earthquake in all directions. A tracing of earthquake motion that is recorded by a seismograph. Stress that occurs when forces act in parallel but opposite directions, pushing parts of a solid in opposite directions. The boundary between land and a body of water. A loose mixture of rock fragments, organic material, water, and air that can support the growth of vegetaion. Each layer of soil within a soil profile. A vertical section of soil that shows the layers, or horizons. The color of a mineral in powdered form. The sinking of regions of Earth's crust to lower elevations. A principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed. A block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle. The edge between two or more plates, classified as divergent, convergent, or transform by the movement taking place between the plates. Stress that occurs when forces act to stretch an object. The quality of a rock that is based on the sizes, shapes, and positions of the rock's grains. A fossilized structure, such as a footprint or a coprolite, that formed in sedimentary rock by animal activity on or within soft sediment. The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally. A break in the geologic record created when rock layers are eroded or when sediment is not deposited for long periods of time. A principle that geologic processes that occurred in the past can be explained by current geologic processes. The rising of regions of Earth's crust to higher elevations. An opening at the surface of Earth through which volcanic material passes. A vent or fissure in Earth's surface through which magma and gases are expelled. The natural processes by which atmospheric and environmental agents, such as wind, rain, and temperature changes, disintegrate and decompose rocks.

Abrasion Absolute dating Acid precipitation Alluvial fan Asthensophere Atmosphere Atom Barrier island Beach Biosphere Chemical weathering Cleavage Climate Composition Compound Compression Convection Convergent boundary Core Creep Crust Cryosphere Crystal Deformation Delta Deposition Divergent boundary Dune Earth system Earthquake Elastic rebound Element Energy budget Epicenter Erosion Fault Floodplain Focus Folding Fossil Geologic column Geologic time scale Geology Geosphere Glacial drift Glacier Groundwater Half-Life Hot Spot Humus Hydrosphere Ice Core Igneous rock Intensity Landslide Lava Lithosphere Loess Luster Magma Magnitude Mantle Matter Mesosphere Metamorphic rock Mineral Mudflow Oxidation Pangea Physical weathering Plate tectonics Radioactive decay Radiometric dating Relative dating Rift zone Rock Rock cycle Rockfall Sandbar Sea-floor spreading Sedimentary rock Seismic wave Seismogram Shear stress Shoreline Soil Soil horizon Soil profile Streak Subsidence Superposition Tectonic plate Tectonic plate boundary Tension Texture Trace fossil Transform boundary Unconformity Uniformitarianism Uplift Vent Volcano Weathering