Earth Science Study Guide for Nursing
Abrasion -ansThe wearing away of rock material by grinding action
Agents of erosion -ansFactors of erosion: water, wind, or glaciers
Atmosphere -ansThe gaseous envelope of air surrounding Earth, made up of a mixture of about 78 percent
nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other gases and water vapors, one of the four spheres of the Earth
system
B Horizon -ansMineral enriched horizon
Banding -ansAlternation of dark and light mineral alignment in a metamorphic rock
Biological Abrasion -ansPlant roots that grow in the cracks of rocks and animals burrow beneath the ground. As
a plant grows, its roots invade the crevices of a rock and hold them open.
C Horizon -ansUsually composed of broken bedrock, which may merge into solid bedrock
Chemical Weathering -ansBreakdown/Decomposition of rock that takes place when minerals are changed into
different substances.
Chemical/Organic (evaporate) -answater evaporates leaving back a rock
Cinder Cone -ansCone-shaped volcano formed from lava fragments that have been ejected from a volcanic
vent
Clastic/Fragmental -ansSedimentary rocks formed from fragments of other rocks
, Cleavage -ansTendency of a mineral to split along planes of its crystalline structure where bonds are weakest.
climate -anscourse of the weather that an area has over a long period of time
Composite -ansVolcano made of layers of hardened lava flows and pyroclastic materials
Contour Interval -ansDifference in height between two adjacent contour lines
Contour Lines -ansIsoline on a map that connects places with the same elevation and shows the shape of the
land
Convection -anstransfer of heat energy in a liquid/gas through circulation of currents of heated particles within
the substance
Convergent Boundary -ansBoundary between 2 plates moving toward each other/converging
Core -ansInner part of the Earth
Crust -ansvery thin outer layer of Earth above mantle, composed of a rigid layer of lighter rocks
Crystal structure -ansInternal arrangement of atoms
Crystallization -ansFormation of crystals
D Horizon/Bedrock -ansSolid layer beneath the soil horizons
Divergent Boundary -ansBoundary between 2 lithospheric plates moving apart
Abrasion -ansThe wearing away of rock material by grinding action
Agents of erosion -ansFactors of erosion: water, wind, or glaciers
Atmosphere -ansThe gaseous envelope of air surrounding Earth, made up of a mixture of about 78 percent
nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other gases and water vapors, one of the four spheres of the Earth
system
B Horizon -ansMineral enriched horizon
Banding -ansAlternation of dark and light mineral alignment in a metamorphic rock
Biological Abrasion -ansPlant roots that grow in the cracks of rocks and animals burrow beneath the ground. As
a plant grows, its roots invade the crevices of a rock and hold them open.
C Horizon -ansUsually composed of broken bedrock, which may merge into solid bedrock
Chemical Weathering -ansBreakdown/Decomposition of rock that takes place when minerals are changed into
different substances.
Chemical/Organic (evaporate) -answater evaporates leaving back a rock
Cinder Cone -ansCone-shaped volcano formed from lava fragments that have been ejected from a volcanic
vent
Clastic/Fragmental -ansSedimentary rocks formed from fragments of other rocks
, Cleavage -ansTendency of a mineral to split along planes of its crystalline structure where bonds are weakest.
climate -anscourse of the weather that an area has over a long period of time
Composite -ansVolcano made of layers of hardened lava flows and pyroclastic materials
Contour Interval -ansDifference in height between two adjacent contour lines
Contour Lines -ansIsoline on a map that connects places with the same elevation and shows the shape of the
land
Convection -anstransfer of heat energy in a liquid/gas through circulation of currents of heated particles within
the substance
Convergent Boundary -ansBoundary between 2 plates moving toward each other/converging
Core -ansInner part of the Earth
Crust -ansvery thin outer layer of Earth above mantle, composed of a rigid layer of lighter rocks
Crystal structure -ansInternal arrangement of atoms
Crystallization -ansFormation of crystals
D Horizon/Bedrock -ansSolid layer beneath the soil horizons
Divergent Boundary -ansBoundary between 2 lithospheric plates moving apart
