Unit C Vocabulary
Howard Middle School
Earth Science
6th grade
1. Inference – To conclude by reasoning
from evidence.
2. Landform – A feature of the earth’s
surface such as a lake, stream, valley,
canyon, hill, ridge, or mountain.
3. Marsh – An area of low-lying wet land;
swamp or bog.
4. Wetlands – An area characterized by a
high proportion of water and watery land,
such as a swamp, marsh, or bog.
5. Contour Interval – The elevation
difference represented by the difference
between two adjacent contour lines on a
topographical map.
6. Contour Line – A line on a topographical
map that indicates places of equal
elevation.
7. Key – An explanatory table, such as that
explaining colors and symbols on a map.
8. Scale – The size of a diagram or model
in proportion to the actual size of the
object.
9. Topography – The shape of the land, or
the collection of landforms, in an area.
10.Topographical Map – A map that uses
contour lines to represent the elevation
of land surfaces.
11.Stability – The tendency of a landform to
resist erosion or other change.
12. Average - The central, or typical,
value of a numerical data set.
13. Mean – The central value of a
numerical data set calculated by adding
up all the data points in the data set
and dividing this sum by the total
number of data points in the data set.
14.Median – The middle value in a data set
arranged in numerical order.
15.Mode – The most frequently occurring
data point of a numerical data set.
16.Sample size – The number of data points
in a data set.
17.Delta – A fan-shaped area that develops
in the flat, low area where a river empties
into a large body of water.
18.River Channel – The depression in the
land through which a river flows.
19.Earth Processes – Dynamic actions that
occur both on earth’s surface and inside
the earth.
20.Constructive – A force or earth process
that builds up earth material to create
landforms.
21.Deposit – Earth materials that have been
left in a particular location as a result of
an earth process that drops sediments
that were previously suspended in air,
water, or ice.
22.Deposition – The earth process that
results in a deposit of earth materials.
23.Destructive – A force or earth process
that breaks down or removes earth
material.
24.Erode – To remove earth materials from
one place and transport them elsewhere,
commonly by moving water or wind.
25.Erosion – The earth process by which
earth materials are removed from one
place and transported elsewhere.
26.Floodplain – The relatively level area on
either side of a river that becomes
covered with water when the water level
in the river rises above its banks and
overflows.
27.Weathering – The breakup of rock caused by
mechanical or chemical processes.
28.Ecologist – Scientist who studies the interactions
between organisms and their environment.
29.Engineer – A professional who uses science to solve
practical problems, make equipment, and build
structures.
30.Geologist – Scientist who studies the earth and the
changes that take place on and beneath its surface.
31.Controlled Variable – A variable in an
investigation or experiment that is held
constant.
32.Tested Variable – A variable that is changed in
a systematic way in an experiment in order to
determine its effect.
33.Uncontrolled Variable – A variable in an
experiment or investigation that the
experimenter either ignores or is unable to
hold constant.
34.Advantage – A property that, in your
opinion, is good.
35.Breakwater – A rock structure parallel to
the shore that is used to slow erosion by
reducing wave energy hitting the shore.
36.Disadvantage – A property that, in your
opinion, is not good.
37.Dredging – Removing earth material from
under water.
38.Jetty – A rock structure built perpendicular to
the shore that prevents deposition in a
particular area, such as a harbor.
39.Longshore Current – A stream of water in the
ocean that runs parallel to the shore.
40.Seawall – A wall made of rock, concrete,
or similar material built along a cliff or
shoreline to reduce erosion.