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| is the study of the Earth and its neighbors in space. It is an exciting science with many interesting and practical applications. Some Earth scientists use their knowledge of the Earth to locate and develop energy and mineral resources. |
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| the branch of science which deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole. |
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| the branch of science concerned with the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere, especially as a means of forecasting the weather. |
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| the science that deals with the earth's physical structure and substance, its history, and the processes that act on it. |
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| The mostly solid, rocky part of the Earth; extends from the center of the core to the surface of the crust. |
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| the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet. |
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| all the waters on the earth's surface, such as lakes and seas, and sometimes including water over the earth's surface, such as clouds. |
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| a block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid, outermost part of the mantle |
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| The name of the single landmass that broke apart 200 million years ago and gave rise to today's continents |
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| the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents. |
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| Shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane of from volcanic activity |
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| openings in Earth's crust from which molten rock, dust, ash, and hot gases flow or erupt |
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| The chemical and physical processes that break down rock at Earth's surface. |
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| chemical weathering[image] |
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| the process by which rocks break down as a result of chemical reactions |
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| mechanical weathering [image] |
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| The type of weathering in which rock is physically broken into smaller pieces |
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| divergent boundary [image] |
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| The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other |
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| convergent boundary [image] |
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| A tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide, come together, or crash into each other. |
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| the sideways and downward movement of the edge of a plate of the earth's crust into the mantle beneath another plate. |
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| transform boundary [image] |
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| The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally |
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| Convection currents[image] |
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| Circular currents in the mantle caused by the magma being heated by the core off the Earth. |
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| a mechanism that may contribute to plate motion; it involves the oceanic lithosphere sliding down the oceanic ridge under the pull of gravity |
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| The transfer of thermal energy by the circulation or movement of a liquid or gas |
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| Form of heat transfer where heat energy is directly transferred between molecules through molecular collisions or direct contact. |
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| Energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles. |
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| the downward slipping of a mass of rock or unconsolidated material moving as a unit along a curved surface |
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| A great mass of ice, earth, or snow mixed with rocks sliding down a mountain |
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| stress that pushes a mass of rock in two opposite directions |
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| The metamorphic rock texture in which mineral grains are arranged in planes or bands. |
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| Liquid magma that reaches the surface; also the rock formed when liquid lava hardens. |
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| A molten mixture of rock-forming substances, gases, and water from the mantle |
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| the process that presses sediments together |
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| The feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface, substance, or fabric. |
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| an idealized cycle of processes undergone by rocks in the earth's crust, involving igneous intrusion, uplift, erosion, transportation, deposition as sedimentary rock, metamorphism, remelting, and further igneous intrusion. |
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| igneous rock formed from lava that erupted onto Earth's surface |
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| Intrusive rock bodies [image] |
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| bodies or structures that penetrate or cut through pre-existing country rock |
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| Process in which sediment is laid down in new locations. |
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| The process by which atoms are arranged to form a material with a crystal structure |
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| (of rock) that has formed from sediment deposited by water or air. |
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| A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions. |
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| a type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten rock at or below the surface |
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