Earth Science SOL Review
You should know this vocabulary for
each unit!
Introduction to Earth Science Unit
• The outermost surface of the Earth; the 2
types are continental and oceanic
• Crust
• Found between the crust and core of the
Earth; convection currents occur here
• Mantle
• Center of the Earth made of iron and nickel;
outer part is a liquid while the inner part is a
solid
• Core
• Upper part of mantle and the crust; broken
into slabs called tectonic plates
• Lithosphere
• Plastic layer of the mantle that the lithosphere
rides on; moves at the rate your fingernails
grow
• Asthenosphere
• The shape of the land
• Topography
• A line on a topographic map that represents a
constant elevation; when they are close
together it represents a steep slope
• Contour Line
• The difference in elevation from one contour
line to another; a large interval would be used
for mountainous areas
• Contour Interval
• The amount of space on object takes up; units
of cm3 or mL; can be determined using water
displacement
• Volume
• The amount of matter in an object; does NOT
depend on gravity; measured using grams
• Mass
• A measure of the gravitational force exerted
by an object; depends on gravity
• Weight
• How compact an object is; calculated as mass
divided by volume; units of g/mL or g/cm3
• Density
• Lines that run east-west and measure north
and south of the equator; called parallels
• Latitude
• Lines that run north-south and measure east
and west of the prime meridian
• Longitude
• The factors that do not change during an
experiment; in the Myth Busters episode this
would have included things like the speed of
the car
• Constants
• This is the trial that all the others trials are
compared to (or the baseline); in the Myth
Busters episode this was the car’s fuel
economy without drafting behind a semi
• Control
• This is the variable that is controlled or
manipulated in an experiment; in the Myth
Busters episode this was the distance the car
was behind the semi
• Independent variable
• This is the variable that changes as the
independent variable changes; in the Myth
Busters episode it was the fuel economy (or
mpg) of the car while drafting behind the semi
• Dependent variable
Earth’s Resources Unit
• A subatomic particle with a positive charge;
located in the nucleus of an atom
• Proton
• A subatomic particle with no charge; located
in the nucleus of an atom
• Neutron
• A subatomic particle with a negative charge;
located in the electron cloud of an atom
• Electron
• An atom that gains or loses one or more
electrons and has a charge
• Ion
• An atom with a different number of neutrons
than atoms of the same element; example is
carbon-14 (has 2 more neutrons than carbon12)
• Isotope
• An object that is inorganic and naturally
occurring; also contains crystals and has a
consistent internal composition
• Mineral
• One of the most common silicate minerals
that comes in many different colors; used to
make glass
• Quartz
• The mineral that effervesces, or bubbles, in
acid; the mineral that makes up limestone
• Calcite
• The name given to minerals that have basal
cleavage (meaning they split into sheets);
includes biotite and muscovite
• Mica
• The property in which a mineral bubbles in
acid; responsible for the formation of caves
and sinkholes
• Effervescence
• The way a mineral reflects light; examples
include metallic and glassy
• Luster
• When a mineral breaks into flat planes; biotite
and muscovite exhibit this property
• Cleavage
• When a mineral breaks unevenly; quartz
exhibits this property
• Fracture
• When a mineral glows under ultraviolet (UV)
light; fluorite exhibits this property
• Fluorescence
• Mineral property involving a scratch test; scale
of 1-10 with talc being a 1 and diamond being
a 10
• Hardness
• The powdered form of a mineral; pyrite, or
fool’s gold, exhibits this property
• Streak
• The process by which rocks change from one
type of rock to another
• Rock Cycle
• Rock formed by the cooling and crystallizing of
magma/lava; examples include granite, basalt,
pumice, and obsidian
• Igneous Rock
• Rock formed by the compaction and
cementation of sediments; examples include
sandstone, shale, conglomerate, and
limestone
• Sedimentary Rock
• Particles formed by the weathering of rocks
• Sediments
• Type of rock that forms when rock is changed
by heat and pressure; examples include
marble, quartzite, and gneiss
• Metamorphic Rock
• Forms when rock melts; molten rock
• Magma
• Type of igneous rock that forms when magma
cools slowly beneath Earth’s surface; rocks
have large crystals or coarse texture; example
is granite
• Intrusive Igneous Rock
• Type of igneous rock that forms when lava
cools quickly at Earth’s surface; rock has
small/no crystals or fine texture; examples
include pumice and obsidian
• Extrusive Igneous Rock
• Metamorphic rock property in which the
minerals separate into bands or layers;
examples include slate and gneiss
• Foliation
• Metamorphic rock property in which minerals
do NOT separate into bands or layers;
examples include marble and quartzite
• Nonfoliated
• The process in which sediment, such as sand,
is laid down in a river, lake, or ocean
• Deposition
• When the pore space between sediments
becomes less and less
• Compaction
• The process in which sediments are glued
together to form a sedimentary rock
• Cementation
• An organic sedimentary rock formed from
ancient swamps and forests
• Coal
• Type of sedimentary rock that contains the
mineral calcite; can form from the shells of
marine organisms
• Limestone
• A very common intrusive igneous rock;
commonly used for counter tops
• Granite
• Type of sedimentary rock that is made up of
fragments of other rocks; includes sandstone,
conglomerate, and shale
• Clastic sedimentary rock
• The type of energy that uses a dam
• Hydroelectric power
• The type of energy that uses heat within the
Earth; oftentimes located near plate
boundaries
• Geothermal power
• The type of energy that uses energy from the
Sun
• Solar power
• The type of energy that is renewed within a
human lifetime; includes solar, wind,
geothermal, and hydroelectric power
• Renewable energy
• The type of energy that takes a very long time
to form; often uses fossil fuels such as coal,
oil, and natural gas; includes nuclear power
and coal burning power plants
• Nonrenewable energy
• A form of energy that uses radioactive
isotopes such as uranium; uses the process of
nuclear fission, or the splitting of a nucleus
• Nuclear Power
• A renewable energy source that uses wind
turbines
• Wind Power
History of the Earth Unit
• Law that says that older sedimentary rocks are
on the bottom
• Law of superposition
• Law that says that a fault or igneous intrusion
is younger than any layer it cuts through
• Law of cross-cutting relationships
• The age of an object, such as a rock layer,
relative to the ages of layers around it
• Relative age
• The numeric age of an object, such as a rock;
determined using radiometric dating
• Absolute age
• The remains, impression, or other evidence of
an organism preserved in rock; nearly always
preserved in sedimentary rock
• Fossil
• The fossil of an organism that can be used to
date rock layers; these organisms were found
all over Earth at one time but then went
extinct; an example is trilobites
• Index fossil
• A way to determine the absolute age of rocks
by comparing the amount of parent isotopes
to the amount of daughter isotopes
• Radiometric dating
• A type of radiometric dating that uses Carbon14; used to date organic things, such as wooly
mammoths and bones
• Carbon dating
• The amount of time it takes for half of the
parent isotope to decay into the daughter
isotope
• Half life
• The process in which minerals in groundwater
replace the organic material of an object;
example is petrified wood
• Petrification
• The longest unit of geologic time; divided into
eras
• Eon
• The unit of geologic time that is divided into
periods; examples include Paleozoic,
Mesozoic, and Cenozoic
• Era
• Unit of geologic time that is shorter than an
era but longer than an epoch; examples
include the Jurassic and the Quaternary
• Period
Plate Tectonics Unit
• The theory that states that the
supercontinent, Pangaea, split apart and the
continents drifted to their current locations
• Continental drift
• The process by which tectonic plates are
pushed apart at a mid-ocean ridge
• Sea floor spreading
• The theory that states that large pieces of
lithosphere move around on the surface of the
Earth at different speeds and directions
• Plate tectonics
• Where one plate goes under another
• Subduction zone
• A deep hole in the ocean crust that forms at a
subduction zone
• Trench
• A chain of volcanic islands that form above a
subduction zone; examples include the
Aleutian and Marianas Islands
• Island arc volcanoes
• Waves generated by earthquakes
• Seismic waves
• The fastest moving seismic waves; also called
primary waves
• P waves
• The second seismic wave to arrive at a
seismograph station; called secondary waves
• S waves
• Seismic waves that travel on the surface of the
Earth
• Surface waves
• The point along a fault where the initial slip
takes place during an earthquake
• Focus
• The point on Earth’s surface directly above the
focus of an earthquake
• Epicenter
• Plate boundary where two plates are colliding;
this type of boundary was responsible for
forming the Appalachian Mountains in VA
• Convergent boundary
• Plate boundary where two plates are pulling
away from each other; example is the MidAtlantic Ridge
• Divergent boundary
• Plate boundary where two plates are sliding
past each other; example is the San Andreas
Fault in California
• Transform boundary
• A fracture in Earth’s crust where rocks slide
past each other
• Fault
• A bend in Earth’s crust; examples include
anticlines (A-shaped) and synclines (U-shaped)
• Fold
• The sudden return of land to its undeformed
(or original) shape; happens during an
earthquake
• Elastic rebound
• The difference in arrival time between P
waves and S waves; used to determine how
far away an earthquake occurred
• Lag time
• Mountains formed when two continents
collide; examples include Himalayas and
Appalachians
• Folded mountains
• a spot located over a mantle plume that
remains volcanically active; does not have to
be near a plate boundary; example is Hawaii
• Hot spot
• Super hot rock material shot out of a volcano
• Pyroclastic material
• Physiographic region of VA made up of mostly
sediment; contains swamps and estuaries; flat
topography
• Coastal Plain (or Tidewater)
• Physiographic region of VA located between
the Valley and Ridge and Piedmont; contains
rugged igneous and metamorphic rocks that
are over 1 billion years old
• Blue Ridge Mountains
• Physiographic region of VA characterized by
caves and sinkholes in the limestone (karst
topography)
• Valley and Ridge
• Physiographic region of VA that contains our
state’s most abundant natural resource, coal
• Appalachian Plateau
Weathering and Erosion Unit
• Dark, organic matter found on top of the soil
• Humus
• Large chunks of weathered bedrock; found on
the Earth and on the surface of the moon
• Regolith
• Rock found underneath the soil layers
• Bedrock
• The rock from which the soil forms; it is
oftentimes the bedrock underneath the soil
• Parent rock
• The ability of water to flow through a material
• Permeability
• The percentage of pore space in a rock or
sediment
• Porosity
• The top of the zone of saturation; or the upper
surface of an aquifer; will rise and fall with
rain and drought
• Water table
• A body of rock or sediment that can hold or
allow the flow of groundwater
• Aquifer
• A dip in the water table that forms due to the
pumping of a well
• Cone of depression
• Groundwater zone where the pore space is
completely filled with water
• Zone of saturation
• Groundwater zone where the pore space is
mostly filled with air; located above the water
table
• Zone of aeration
• Fan-shaped deposit of sediment that forms
where a river enters a larger body of water;
example is where the Mississippi River enters
the Gulf of Mexico
• Delta
• A fan-shaped deposit of sediment that forms
at the base of a mountain
• Alluvial fan
• The term for land that has a lot of caves,
caverns, and sinkholes; limestone is the rock
found in these areas; the Valley and Ridge
region of Virginia
• Karst topography
• Rain, sleet, snow, hail, etc.
• Precipitation
• When water vapor turns into water; occurs
when temperature drops below the dew point
• Condensation
• When water turns into water vapor
• Evaporation
• The natural flow of water onto Earth’s surface
where the water table touches the surface
• Spring
• An area of land where all of the water drains
to the same place; separated by divides, such
as mountain ridges
• Watershed
• A large sheet of ice found in very tall
mountains; found in the Rockies, Andes,
Himalayas, and the Alps; carves out a Ushaped valley
• Alpine glacier
Oceanography Unit
• A mountain under the ocean formed over a
hot spot
• Seamount
• The flattest regions on Earth; located on the
ocean floor
• Abyssal plains
• The part of the continent that is underwater;
located between the shoreline and the deep
ocean basin; includes the continental shelf
and the continental slope
• Continental margin
• The wedge-shaped deposit of sediments at
the bottom of the continental slope
• Continental rise
• A flow of sediment that moves from the
continental shelf down the continental slope
to the deep ocean; can carve out submarine
canyons; responsible for forming the
continental rise
• Turbidity current
• Locating how deep or far away something is
using sound waves; used to make topographic
maps of the ocean floor
• Sonar
• A mountain range located on the ocean floor;
extends for 40,000 miles; site of sea floor
spreading; form at divergent boundaries;
youngest ocean crust found here
• Mid-ocean ridge
• A large wave created by underwater
earthquakes or landslides; also called a tidal
wave, but NOT caused by the moon’s
gravitational pull
• Tsunami
• Movement of nutrient rich water from the
bottom of the ocean to the surface; very
important for ocean plants and animals on the
continental shelf
• Upwelling
• A measure of how salty the water is
• Salinity
• The rise and fall of water level caused by the
gravitational pull of the moon (and to a lesser
extent the gravitational pull of the Sun)
• Tides
Weather Unit
• The study of Earth’s atmosphere, including the
weather
• Meteorology
• The amount of energy absorbed or released
when water changes phases
• Latent heat
• The movement of matter caused by
differences in density; caused by temperature
differences; occurs in mantle, ocean, and
atmosphere
• Convection
• The transfer of energy or heat when objects or
molecules come into direct contact
• Conduction
• The transfer of energy through
electromagnetic waves; does not require any
matter; the main form of energy transfer in
the upper atmosphere where air molecules
are very spread out
• Radiation
• The curving of wind due to Earth’s rotation;
it’s what causes storms to rotate CCW in the
northern hemisphere and CW in the southern
hemisphere
• Coriolis effect
• Global wind belt located between the equator
and 30o North and South; winds blow east to
west
• Trade winds
• Global wind belt located between 30o and 60o
latitude; located in the northern and southern
hemisphere; winds blow west to east
• Westerlies
• Global wind belt located between 60o latitude
and the poles; located in both the northern
and southern hemisphere; winds blow east to
west (like in the trade winds)
• Polar easterlies
• Layer of the atmosphere closest to the surface
where temperature decreases with height
• Troposphere
• The second layer of the atmosphere located
above the troposphere where temperature
increases with height; contains the ozone
layer
• Stratosphere
• The third layer of the atmosphere where
temperature decreases with height; the
coldest layer of the atmosphere; this is also
the name for the lower part of Earth’s mantle
• Mesosphere
• The outermost layer of the atmosphere where
temperature increases with height; contains
the ionosphere and the exosphere
• Thermosphere
• Part of Earth’s atmosphere where auroras
exist; lower part of the thermosphere
• Ionosphere
• A brilliant light display caused by solar wind
interacting with air molecules in Earth’s upper
atmosphere; located above the north and
south poles
• Aurora
• A molecule made up of 3 oxygen atoms (O3);
found in the stratosphere; absorbs ultraviolet
(UV) radiation
• Ozone
• A molecule that was commonly found in
hairsprays and refrigerants; destroys ozone
and is responsible for the ozone hole; short for
chlorofluorocarbons
• CFCs
• Where two air masses collide
• Front
• Large body of air with a uniform temperature
and humidity; examples are continental polar
(cP) and maritime tropical (mT)
• Air mass
• Type of front where cold air advances into
warm air; symbol is spikes or triangles on a
weather map; cumulonimbus clouds and
thunderstorms are created
• Cold front
• Type of front where warm air slowly advances
into cold air; symbol is red semi-circles on the
weather map; steady rain is common; low
level nimbostratus clouds are created
• Warm front
• Type of front created when air masses of
similar density collide; the front stalls and
steady rain can fall in an area for days; symbol
is triangles and semi-circles on opposite sides
• Stationary front
• Type of front in which cold air overtakes warm
air; can create very violent weather; symbol is
triangles and semi-circles on the same side
• Occluded front
• A towering thunderstorm cloud; associated
with cold fronts; can also be created on hot
summer days due to convection (hot air rising
and condensing)
• Cumulonimbus cloud
• Cotton ball clouds
• Cumulus clouds
• Low level sheet like clouds
• Stratus clouds
• Highest altitude clouds found at the top of the
troposphere; made of ice crystals
• Cirrus clouds
• Temperature at which the rates of
condensation and evaporation are equal; dew
and clouds form below this temperature
• Dew point
• The process in which a solid turns directly into
a gas; an example is snow turning into water
vapor
• Sublimation
• The process in which Earth’s atmosphere acts
like the glass in a greenhouse and traps heat;
keeps the Earth’s surface warm; Earth would
be an ice ball without it
• Greenhouse effect
• The gradual increase in Earth’s average
temperature due to the addition of
greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide;
caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as
coal and gas
• Global warming
• Caused by the uneven heat distribution at
Earth’s surface
• Wind
• Wind blowing during the daytime from the
ocean towards the land
• Sea breeze
• Wind blowing at nighttime from the land
towards the ocean
• Land breeze
• Wind blowing during the daytime from the
valley up the mountain; eagles and hawks soar
on this
• Valley breeze
• Cold wind blowing down the mountain side;
usually stronger at night during the
wintertime
• Mountain breeze
• Day to day changes in atmospheric conditions
• Weather
• The typical weather patterns for a given
location over a period of several years;
determined by latitude, elevation, proximity
to bodies of water (such as an ocean), and
position relative to mountains; examples are
polar, temperate, and tropical
• Climate
• A narrow, violent funnel-shaped column of
spiral winds
• Tornado
• A tropical cyclone (counterclockwise
movement of air) characterized by sustained
winds of 75 mph or greater; called cyclones
and typhoons in other areas of the world
• Hurricane
Astronomy Unit
• A saying to remember the order of the planets
(Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn
Uranus Neptune)
• My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us
Nachos
• Earth’s twin; has the runaway greenhouse
effect
• Venus
• The first four planets of our solar system;
made up of mostly solid rock
• Terrestrial planets
• The outer four planets of our solar system that
have massive gaseous atmospheres; made up
of mostly hydrogen and helium
• Gas giants
• A ring of rocky material located between Mars
and Jupiter; separates the inner and outer
planets
• Asteroid belt
• A ring of rocky and icy material located
outside the orbit of Neptune
• Kuiper Belt
• A rocky, icy body with a very eccentric orbit
and a tail; its tail always points away from the
Sun because of solar wind
• Comet
• A rocky object that burns up in the Earth’s
atmosphere; also called a shooting star
• Meteor
• A meteor that reaches and strikes Earth’s
surface; usually very small but can be large;
leading theory for why the dinosaurs went
extinct 65 million years ago
• Meteorite
• Caused by Earth’s tilt of 23.5o
• Seasons
• When the Earth is tilted as far north or south
as possible; marks the first day of summer and
winter; around June 21st and December 21st
• Solstice
• When the sun is over the celestial equator;
marks the first day of spring and fall; around
March 21st and September 21st
• Equinox
• Type of tide that occurs twice a month during
full and new moons when the Sun, moon, and
Earth are aligned; responsible for a very large
tidal range
• Spring tide
• Type of tide that occurs twice a month during
1st quarter and 3rd quarter moons; the Sun
and moon pull at a right angle relative to
Earth, partially cancelling each other’s pulls;
responsible for a very small tidal range
• Neap tide
• When the moon casts a shadow on the Earth
and our view of the Sun is blocked; can
happen when there is a new moon; the
corona of the Sun can be seen
• Solar eclipse
• When the Earth casts a shadow on a full
moon; the moon appears blood red
• Lunar eclipse
• The center of the Earth or Sun (and other
planets and stars) where pressure and
temperature are highest; nuclear fusion
occurs here in stars
• Core
• When lighter elements combine to form larger
elements; hydrogen combines to form helium
in the core of stars
• Fusion
• The surface of the Sun; the part of the Sun
that we see
• Photosphere
• The outermost layer of the Sun that can be
seen during a total solar eclipse
• Corona
• Dark spots on the photosphere of the Sun;
relatively cooler than the rest of the
photosphere; 11-year cycle where more of
these appear due to Sun’s magnetic field
being stronger
• Sunspots
• Charged particles (or ions) leaving the surface
of the sun; causes the tail of a comet to point
away from the sun; also responsible for
auroras
• Solar wind
• Theory that says that the Sun, planets, and
everything else in our solar system formed
from one cloud of gas and dust about 4.6
billion years ago
• Solar nebula theory
• Theory that states that everything in our
Universe started out at a single point about 14
billion years ago; event would have been
similar to a massive supernova; evidence for
this theory is a red shift in stars and galaxies
and cosmic background radiation (or leftover
debris from the explosion)
• Big Bang Theory
• The apparent shortening or stretching of a
wave that occurs as a star travels towards
(blue shift) or away from (red shift) Earth
• Doppler effect
• The apparent stretching of the wavelength of
light as a star (or galaxy) travels away from
Earth; tells us that the Universe is expanding;
used as evidence for the Big Bang Theory
• Red shift
• The apparent shift in a star’s position as the
Earth revolves around the Sun; the more the
star appears to shift, the closer it is to Earth;
can be used to determine a star’s distance
from Earth
• Parallax
• The actual brightness of a star; also called a
star’s luminosity; Sun’s is average
• Absolute magnitude
• How bright a star appears from Earth;
depends on the star’s absolute magnitude and
its distance from Earth; Sun’s is the brightest
because it is so much closer than any other
star
• Apparent magnitude
• A cloud of gas and dust; all stars start out as
this
• Nebula
• A concentrated disk of matter that forms
when gravity pulls a nebula together; can turn
into a main sequence star if it gets hot enough
for fusion to begin
• Protostar
• Star that forms once nuclear fusion begins in
the core; located in a diagonal band on the HR Diagram; can be red, yellow, orange, white,
or blue; red stars are cooler and burn longer
than blue stars
• Main sequence star
• Large, cool star that stars the size of our Sun
become after the main sequence stage
• Red giant
• A small, yet hot, star; the leftover core of a
star; form after the red giant stage; our Sun
will eventually become one of these
• White dwarf
• A white dwarf that has cooled down and no
longer gives off any light; our Sun, and other
small stars, will end its life as one of these
• Black dwarf
• A very large but relatively cool star; larger
than a red giant; blue main sequence stars will
eventually swell to form this
• Red supergiant
• A large explosion in space; occurs during the
collapse of a red supergiant
• Supernova
• A very dense star that forms when gravity
collapses on a red supergiant and smashes the
matter into neutrons
• Neutron star
• A single point of infinite density; occurs when
the largest stars in the Universe collapse; an
object so dense that not even light can escape
its gravity
• Black hole
• A diagram that plots all stars based on how
bright they are (their luminosity or absolute
magnitude) and how hot they are (their
temperature)
• Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram
• A collection of billions of stars; there are at
least a billion of these scattered across the
Universe; the 3 types are spiral, elliptical, and
irregular
• Galaxy
• We are located in one of the arms of this
galaxy; it is a spiral galaxy; a black hole may be
located at its center; made up of 100 billion
stars
• Milky Way Galaxy
• What you are going to do to the SOL
• Dominate!