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Unit 6 vocab

Term	Definition
mineral	A natural, usually inorganic solid that has a characteristic chemical composition and an orderly internal structure.
element	A substance that cannot be separated or broken down into simpler substances by chemical means; all atoms of an element have the same atomic number.
atom	The smallest unit of an element that maintains the properties of that element.
compound	A substance made up of atoms or ions of two or more different elements joined by chemical bonds
matter	Anything that has mass and takes up space
crystal	Natural solid substance that has a definite geometric shape.
streak	A color of a mineral in powered form.
luster	The way in which a mineral reflects light
cleavage	In geology, the tendency of a mineral to split along specific planes of weakness to form smooth, flat surfaces
Weathering	The natural process by which atmospheric and environmental agents, such as wind, rain, and temperature changes, disintegrate and decompose rocks.
erosion	The process by which wind, water, ice, or gravity transports soil and sediments from, one location to another.
deposition	The process in which material is laid down.
igneous rock	Rock that forms when magma cools and solidifies
sedimentary rock	A rock that forms from compresses or cemented later of sediment
metamorphic rock	A rock that forms from other rocks as a result of intense heat, pressure, or chemical processes
rock cycle	The series of processes in which rock forms, changes from one type to another, is destroyed, and forms again by geologic processes
uplift	The rising of regions of the Earth's crust to higher elevations.
subsidence	The sinking of regions of the Earth's crust to lower elevations
rift zone	An area of deep cracks that forms between two tectonic plates that are pulling away from each other.
crust	The thin and solid outermost later of Earth above the mantle.
mantle	The layer of rock between the Earth's crust and core.
convection	The movement of matter due to differences in density; the transform of energy due to the movement of matter.
core	The central part of Earth below the mantle
lithosphere	The solid, outer most layer of Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle.
asthenosphere	The soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move.
mesosphere	The strong, lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and outer core, 2. The layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere and which temperature
Pangaea	The super continent that formed 300 million years ago and that began to break up 200 million years ago.
Sea-floor spreading	The process by which new oceanic lithosphere (sea floor) forms when magma rises to Earth's surface at mid-ocean ridges and solidifies, as older, existing sea floor moves away from the ridge
Plate tectonics	The theory that explains how large pieces of lithosphere, called plates, move and change shape.
tectonic plates	A block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle.
convergent boundary	The boundary between tectonic plates that are colliding.
divergent boundary	The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.
transform boundary	The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally.
deformation	The bending, tilting, and breaking of Earth's crust; the change in shape of rock in response to stress.
folding	The bending of rock layers due to stress.
fault	A break in a body of rock along which one block moves relative to another
shear stress	Stress that occurs when forces act in parallel but opposite directions.
tension	Stress that occurs when forces act to stretch an object
compression	Stress that occurs when forces act to squeeze an object.
earthquake	A movement or trembling of the ground that is caused by a sudden release of energy when rocks along a fault move.
focus	The location within Earth along a fault at which the first motion of an earthquake occurs.
epicenter	The point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's starting point, or focus.
tectonic plates boundary	The edge between two or more plates classified as divergent, convergent, or transform by the movement taking place between the plates.
elastic rebound	The sudden return of elastically deformed rock to its undeformed shape.
Volcano	A vent or fissure in Earth's surface through which magma and gases are expelled
magma	The molten or partially molten rock material containing trapped gases produced under the Earth's surface.
lava	Magma that flows onto Earth's surface; the rock that forms when lava cools and solidifies.
vent	An opening at the surface of the Earth through which volcanic material passes.
hot spot	A volcanically active area of Earth's surface, commonly far from a tectonic plate boundary

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