Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Topic 2
Mapping the Earth
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Altitude | The height of an object. In astronomy, altitudes are often measured as the angular distance above the horizon. |
| Asthenosphere (plastic mantle) | The partially fluid portion of the upper mantle; the region of the mantle directly below the lithosphere; the portion of the mantle located between approximately 100 km and 250 to 300 km. |
| Atmosphere | The mixture of gases that surround the Earth, consisting primarily of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. |
| Contour interval | The difference in elevation between adjacent contour lines. |
| Crust | The outermost zone of the Earth. The solid surface of the planet separated from the solid upper mantle by the Mohorovicic Discontinuity (Moho). The crust and solid upper mantle make up the lithosphere. |
| Depression | An enclosed area with a lower elevation than its surroundings. Depressions are indicated on a topographic map by hatchured contour lines. |
| Distance | The separation in time or space between two points or locations. |
| Elements | A substance composed of only one type of atoms. There are 92 naturally occurring elements in the Earth. |
| Elevation | The vertical distance (height) of a surface above an accepted reference point, usually sea level. Elevation generally measures the height of a surface where as altitude indicates the height of an object above a surface. |
| Equator | An imaginary line drawn around the Earth midway between the North and South Poles. The basic reference point for the system of latitude. |
| Field | A region of space in which there is a measurable value for some quantity at every point. Fields are represented in two dimensions as field diagrams or maps. Weather maps, topographic maps, and geologic maps are all examples of fields. |
| Gradient | The slope or rate of change on a graph or field diagram. The closer the isolines on a map, the steeper the gradient. |
| Hydrosphere | The oceans; the thin film of water that covers approximately 70% of Earth's surface. |
| Iso-intensity line | Isoline. Lines on a field diagram or map that connect points that have equal values. |
| Isoline | Iso-intensity line. A line drawn on a field map that connects points having the same value. |
| Latitude | The angular distance (in degrees) measured North and South of the equator. The latitude of an observer is equal to the altitude of Polaris. |
| Lithosphere | The solid surface of the Earth. The portion of the Earth consisting of crust and solid upper mantle. |
| Longitude | The angular distance, measured in degrees, east and west of the Prime Meridian. |
| New York State | A middle-latitude (40° to 45°) location in the Northern Hemisphere with longitudes ranging from approximately 72° to 79° West Longitude; one of the 50 states that makes up the United States. |
| North Pole | Geographic North. The point on the Earth’s located where the axis of rotation intersects the surface. |
| Northern Hemisphere | The half of the Earth located between the equator and the North Pole. |
| Oxygen (O) | A gas that makes up approximately 21% of the troposphere. Diatomic oxygen gas, O2. The most abundant element in Earth's crust. Oxygen combines with hydrogen to form water, and with silicon to form the basic unit of silicate minerals. |
| Ozone | Triatomic oxygen. A form of oxygen that is composed of three atoms (O3). A gas that is produced in the stratosphere through the absorption of ultraviolet radiation from the sun and the recombination of oxygen molecules. |
| Ozone Hole | Measured decreases in amounts of the gas ozone (O3) over the poles during the appropriate winter months. |
| Ozone Layer | A zone of high ozone (O3) concentration located in the stratosphere. The ozone layer absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation. |
| Polaris | The North Star, or the star that appears to be located above the Earth’s North Pole. |
| Prime Meridian | The 0º meridian. The imaginary line that extends from the North Pole to the South Pole and passes through Greenwich, England. The reference point for Earth's system of longitude. |
| Profile | A graph that represents the change in the field quantity vs. distance. A side view of an object. |
| Silicon (Si) | The second most abundant element by mass in Earth’s crust (28.20%); one of the two elements that make up silicon-oxygen tetrahedrons; silicon combines with oxygen and other elements to form silicate minerals, the most abundant rock-forming minerals of the |
| Snow | A solid form of precipitation that generally forms complex six-sided crystals but can also occur in the form of prisms and plates. |
| Southern Hemisphere | The half of the Earth that is located between the equator and the South Pole. |
| Stratopause | The portion of the Earth’s atmosphere located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is absorbed through the production of ozone in the stratosphere. |
| Stream valleys | V-shaped valleys formed by running water. |
| Temperature | A measure of the degree of heat or random motion of the particles in an object or region. |
| Topographic map | A map that shows the relief of the land surface through the use of contour lines. |
| Tropopause | The interface or boundary in the atmosphere that separates the troposphere from the stratosphere. The tropopause is located at an altitude of approximately 13 km; it marks the top of the troposphere and the bottom of the stratosphere. |
| Troposphere | The layer of the atmosphere located directly above the Earth’s surface and extends to an altitude of approximately 13 kilometers. Almost all weather phenomena occur in the troposphere. |
Created by:
bhowell65
Popular Earth Science sets