50 likes | 155 Views
“MUST KNOW” WORDS. Earth’s History. Absolute Age- tells the absolute age of the rock or fossil or how long ago an event occurred Relative Age- describes the age of an object or event in comparison to another object or event
E N D
Earth’s History • Absolute Age- tells the absolute age of the rock or fossil or how long ago an event occurred • Relative Age- describes the age of an object or event in comparison to another object or event • Radioactive Dating- is a means of measuring the age of a material by comparing the amount of a radioactive form of an element in a rock or fossil • Law of Superposition-states that in undisturbed rock layers, older layers of rock lie beneath younger rock layers • Unconformity- a discontinuity in rock sequence indicating interruption of sedimentation, commonly accompanied by erosion of rocks below the break.
Evidence of Geological Evolution • Subduction-occurs when two oceanic plates collide causing one plate to be pushed under the other • Lava-magma that reaches Earths surface • Fault- a break in Earths surface along which movement occurs • Hot Spot- an area of volcanic activity in the middle of a plate • Weathering- the process in which rocks are broken down • Mechanical Weathering- breaks rocks apart without changing their chemical composition • Chemical Weathering- changes the chemical composition of rocks as they are broken down
Monitoring Earth From Space • Electromagnetic Wave- a wave that transfers energy through a field and does not require matter to transfer its energy • Electromagnetic Spectrum- refers to all types of electromagnetic waves that vary based on wavelength • Reflective Curve- a graph that shows how a type of matter reflects visible, infrared or other wavelengths of light • Spectral Analysis- the study of how matter on Earth reflects light using satellite images
Maps and Remote Sensing • Ground Truthing- the process of verifying a mapped area to confirm that the maps/ images of an area represent the actual terrain of the area • Remote Sensing- the process of using satellites to collect information about a certain area without actually visiting the area • Urban Sprawl- the spreading out of a city into rural areas • Lithosphere- the solid portion of Earth’s crust that is broken into large sections called tectonic plates • Asthenosphere- the partially melted layer of rock that is just beneath the lithosphere that has convection currents which power tectonic movement