Breaking a mineral
Pieces always have the same shape
Magma
Cools slowly underground and rocks have large crystals
Lava
Cools quickly above ground.. Rocks have small or no crystals
Softest and hardest mineral
Talc is softest and diamond is hardest
Break
Fracture = random break. Cleavage = breaks with flat sides
Definition of a mineral
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Igneous rock
Comes from cooling magma or lava
Metamorphic rock
Rock changed from heat (from mantle) and pressure (from rock above)
Earth's interior
Scientists learn about the interior of the earth from seismic waves (EQ)
Weathering
Rock wearing away. Occurs fastest with soft rock in warm and wet climates.
Marble
Metamorphic rock from limestone. Dissolves in acid water.
Law of superposition
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Intrusion
magma leaking up through older rock layers
The Rock cycle
Process on earth's surface where rocks change into different rocks. (draw it)
Deposition
Depositing of sediments to make new rock layers
Plate tectonics (see notes)
Plate tectonics
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Plate boundaries
see notes.. know all 3!... and what they cause)
What causes plate movement
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Ice age
Sea level drops since much more water is frozen as ice on land.
Divisions of geologic time
Based on changes of life present at that time.
Sunlight
Heat reaches us through radiation (and are visible and infrared rays)
Convection
Heat transferred through fluid movement (water, magma, or air)
Conduction
Heat transferred from one solid to another solid.
Layers of atmosphere
(Lowest first) troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere
Earth's wind directions
Deflected (bent) due to earth's rotation.
El Ni�o
Cause is in the tropical pacific and happens every 5 years or so.
Green house effect
Sunlight is trapped in earth's atmosphere gasses.
Rising air
Cool air sinks (more dense)... hot air rises (less dense)
Wind
Air movement caused by differences in air pressure
Climate
Average weather conditions for a given area.
Fossil fuel
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Wind energy
Wind comes from pressure differences from solar heating.
Water cycle
The path water takes from earth's surface through the atmosphere and back
Evaporation
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Condensation
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Weather tracking
West to east due to jet stream
Troposphere
This lowest layer in the atmosphere is where we live.. weather happens here
Cirrus clouds
High icy clouds... often rainfall is 24 hours away.
Humidity
Water vapor in air. 100% when dew point and temperature match.
Wind direction
A north wind means winds are coming FROM the north.