Term
|
Definition
| inputs of energy and matter flow into the system, and outputs of energy and matter flow from the system (ex: solar energy enters freely and heat energy goes back to space) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Earth is an open system in terms of _____ |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a system that is shut off frmo the surrounding environment so that it is self-contained |
|
|
Term
| physical matter and resources |
|
Definition
| Earth is a closed system in terms of ______ ______ and _______ |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| information discouraging response in the system |
|
|
Term
| when is a system in steady state equilibrium condition? |
|
Definition
| when engery and material system remains balanced over time, and conditions are constant. when the rates of input and output in the system are equal and the amounts of energy and matter in storage within the system are constant |
|
|
Term
| what kind of system is the human body? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what is the living sphere |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| what are the 3 spheres that make up planet earth |
|
Definition
| atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| angular distance north or south of the equator |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a line connecting all pointes along the same latitudinal angle |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| angular distance east or west of a point on earth's surface |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a ling connecting all points along the same longitude |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| any circle of earths circumference whose center coincides with the center of the earth |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| these circles have centeres that do not coincide with earths center |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| shortest distance between 2 points |
|
|
Term
| what does timekeeping have to do with the longitude? |
|
Definition
| the prime meridian is the International Date Line which is a measure of longitude; the west side of the line is always one day ahead of the east side |
|
|
Term
| how is UTC (coordinated universal time) calculated? |
|
Definition
| regular vibrations of cesium atoms in primary standard clocks measure the length of a second and UTC accurately determines the time |
|
|
Term
| where is the prime meridian |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| why is Greenwich the location for the prime meridian? |
|
Definition
| bc it was originally in the pacific ocean and everyone was confused |
|
|
Term
| how does the sun produce so much energy? |
|
Definition
| the sun produces trememdous amounts of pressure and high temperatures in its core. the suns atoms of hydrogen are fused together therefore creating huge amts of energy |
|
|
Term
| describe the segments of electromagnetic spectrum from shortest to largest wavelength (9) |
|
Definition
| radio waves, microwaves, thermal infrared, middle infrared,shortwave infrared, visible light, uv, x rays, and gamma rays |
|
|
Term
| what wavelengths are mainly producedd by the sun? (5) |
|
Definition
| uv, xray, gamma ray, visible, and infrared |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| average value of insolcation recieved at the thermopause when earth is at its average distance from the sun |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| refers to the passage of either shortwave or longwave energy through either the atmosphere or water |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the assimilation of radiation and its conversion from one form to another |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the downward component of scattering light |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the molecule to molecule transfer of heat energy as it diffuses through a substance |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| gases and liquides transfer energy through ______ in which their physical mixing involves strong vertical motion |
|
|
Term
| what is the difference between the real greenhouse effect and earth's greenhouse effect |
|
Definition
| on earth the longer wavelengths arent "trapped" they are only delayed as the heat radiates between earths surface and certain gases and particules int he atomosphere causing warming |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| encompasses internal processes that produce flows of heat and material from deep below the crust, powered by radioactive decay |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| involves external processes that set into motion air, water, and ice, all powered by solar energy |
|
|
Term
| geologic time scale is a product of both ____ and ____ time measures |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
seeks to explain why certain areas are
clearly distinct from other areas;try to explain this by combining the cultural, historical and physical
features of the areas |
|
|
Term
| human-environment interaction |
|
Definition
Geographers have also concentrated on the
relationships between people and the environment: how do they affect each other? |
|
|
Term
| environmental determinism |
|
Definition
| culture is largely a product of where a people lives. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
There is a focus on
the processes that cause things to be different from one place to another. For example,
human geographers ask why towns are spaced the way they are. Physical geographers
ask what causes the climate to vary or why do streams act differently in different
areas. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
structured set of components which are related to each other and which operate
together as a complex whole. |
|
|
Term
| what is the ultimate system |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
was started by biologists looking at individual cells. They organized their
thinking around the flows of energy and materials into the cell, within it, and out of it. Other
sciences realized the utility of the approach and we now look at ecosystems, social systems,
economic systems, glacial systems, urban systems, etc.. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| no exchange of energy or materials. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| no change will occur in the system unless there is a change in the energy |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the system fluctuates about a changing mean |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
systems can change drastically from a small change in the amount of
energy input |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sometimes systems don't respond to changing situations immediately. Delays in system changes |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| refers to the way in which a system reacts to a change. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
building blocks of matter and they are made up of protons (with positive electrical
charge), neutrons (with no charge) and electrons (with negative charge). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| groups of atoms held together. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
When matter is hot enough for the electrons to be separated from the
nuclei, |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
things
either have a positive or a negative charge, or they are neutral, with no electrical charge. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
occur within the nucleus, affecting only protons and
neutrons. While protons are all positively charged, they stick together because the strong
and weak forces are greater than the electrical force within the nucleus. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
such that any two things are attracted to each other. The
amount of attraction is determined by how much mass each has and how far apart they
are. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
happened around 14
billion years ago, or at least that’s our best guess. At that time, the universe was a small
ball of energy (smaller than a pea? A point with no size?) that was extremely hot (billions
of degrees) |
|
|
Term
| how were hydrogen and helium created |
|
Definition
The hydrogen in our bodies was created in the Big Bang and most of
the rest of the stuff–the calcium, carbon, oxygen, and the rest–was created inside massive
stars that no longer exist. |
|
|
Term
| what is the order of the earths crust from the middle |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
the idea that those better adapted
to the environment are more likely to reproduce |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Very simply, each generation of a species has
variation: for example, some individuals will be bigger, or stronger, or more
resistant to disease. For this reason, some will be more likely to survive and
reproduce. Since offspring tend to resemble their parents (e.g. big parents tend
to have big children), those that survive will produce more of the next generation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
is
mostly iron and nickel and has two parts. There is a solid inner core and a liquid
outer core. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
is about
2900 km thick and has three parts. The lower part is solid and makes up most of
the mantle. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
a soft layer. We will see later that material in the asthenosphere can
move around. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Earth’s core is very hot and that heats the mantle and that heat extends to the
crust. The source of this heat is |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The time it takes for decay to occur varies with the isotope. We use the term half
life to describe the rate of decay. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
an Irish archbishop and
scholar, estimated the year of Creation at 4004 B.C. mainly by counting the
"begats" in the Old Testament. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Over time, some
scholars deviated from the biblical interpretation and felt that the Earth's surface
could be explained by a series of massive floods. This idea is known as |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
a Scottish physician and farmer, put forth a new
way to look at Earth's history. Hutton spent much time looking at the rocks near
his home and on his travels and came to the conclusion that the past could be
explained simply by applying the processes working today. "The present is the
key to the past" sums up Hutton's idea |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
"The present is the
key to the past" sums up Hutton's idea, called |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
the dominant geologist of the ninteenth
century and a close follower of Hutton, did the most to convert the world to the
uniformitarian view. Lyell went to the extreme of believing that everything in the
past operated exactly as it does today, which we now know is too strict an
interpretation. Lyell did not know about things like ice ages until later in his
career or that massive floods do occur occasionally (the Mediterranean Sea filled
in a big flood). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| variations in an element, caused by differing numbers of neutrons. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| atoms or groups of atoms are found with a positive or negative electrical charge. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
based on carbon and other elements–the
substances making up living tissue are organic. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
energy being
used in motion. It is the energy used by a walking person or the blowing wind or an
ocean current |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
stored energy that may be used in the future. It is the
energy in the gas of a parked car, in an unused battery and a rock sitting on a hillside. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
stored inside and so do plants; they create chemical energy with
photosynthesis (the sugar in that candy bar has chemical energy created by plants). Wood
in a tree has chemical energy that gets used in a fire or when the tree decomposes. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
created by charged particles. It is what flows through wires to light
bulbs and is found in nature as lightning. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Vibrating atoms and molecules hit each other
and the collisions create |
|
|
Term
| electromagnetiv radiation |
|
Definition
a form of energy that is given off by all objects and it
travels in waves. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
distance from the crest of one wave to the crest of the next
one. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a perfect emitter of radiation and does follow the laws |
|
|
Term
| first law of thermodynamics |
|
Definition
that there is a set amount of energy in the
universe and that amount never changes. The amount of energy in that little ball of
everything before the Big Bang is the same amount that exists in the universe today.
Energy cannot be created or destroyed but it can change form. Energy to move a car is
not created out of gasoline, instead the energy existing in the gas is converted into a more
useable form to run the engine which then moves the car. Solar radiation is absorbed by
the ground and is converted into heat energy. |
|
|
Term
| second law of thermodynamics |
|
Definition
no conversion of energy is 100% efficient.
Some of the energy in your gas tank drives the engine, but some is “lost” as heat. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| amount of disorder in a system. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
says that the intensity of the radiation is
inversely proportional to the distance squared. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
it is 90° above the horizon. At sunrise and sunset, the sun will be at an
angle of zero and we get little insolation on, say, a square meter of ground. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the Sun is the highest it will be that day |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
When we are
closest to the sun |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| when we are furthest away from the sun |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The path Earth takes in its elliptical orbit around the sun is on a plane–an
imaginary flat surface. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The Sun is directly at its zenith at 23.5° N.
We call this line of Latitude |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Everything north of 66.5° N is
in sunlight all day. 66.5°N is called the |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The Sun is directly at zenith at 23.5° S and we
call this line of Latitude |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Everything south of 66.5° S is
in sunlight all day. 66.5°S is called the |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
mostly nitrogen (78%), oxygen (just less than 21%)
and argon (just less than 1%). While these percentages stay pretty constant,
many of these substances are being cycled with the solid Earth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
a small fraction of the mass of the air but some are
crucial to the operation of the atmosphere and to the existence of life itself. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
tiny solid and liquid particles in the air, excluding water droplets.
These occur naturally, but also are a form of pollution. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
the weight of all the air above pressing
down–the higher you go, the less air above you and therefore, the lower the
pressure. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
ranging from 11 km to about 50 km.
Up to about 20 km, the temperature is relatively constant, but above that there is
an increase in temperature with height. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
which you can think of as a transition zone between
the troposphere and the stratosphere |
|
|
