Earth Science: Continents & Spheres

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Questions and Answers

What are large landmasses on Earth's surface called?

Continents (correct)

Mountains

Oceans

Islands

What is the solid rock portion of Earth's surface called?

Lithosphere

What is the thin layer of gases surrounding Earth called?

Atmosphere

What is the term for all the water at and near the surface of the Earth?

Hydrosphere Signup and view all the answers

What comprises all life on Earth and the parts of Earth where life exists?

Biosphere Signup and view all the answers

What is the hypothesis that the continents slowly move across Earth's surface called?

Continental drift Signup and view all the answers

What does the solar system consist of?

The sun, planets, and all the other objects that revolve around the sun Signup and view all the answers

What is the Earth's core made of and where is it?

The center of the Earth is made of iron and nickel Signup and view all the answers

What layer of hot, solid material lies between Earth's crust and core?

Mantle Signup and view all the answers

What is the thin and solid outermost layer of the Earth above the mantle called?

Crust Signup and view all the answers

What is the cycle through which water in the hydrosphere moves called?

Hydrologic cycle Signup and view all the answers

What is a large stream of moving water that flows through the oceans called?

Current Signup and view all the answers

What are swells and ridges produced by winds in water called?

Waves Signup and view all the answers

What are the regular rise and fall of the ocean's surface influenced by the moon's gravity called?

Tides Signup and view all the answers

What is the area from which a single stream or river and its tributaries drains all of the water called?

Drainage basin Signup and view all the answers

What type of water is held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock?

Ground water Signup and view all the answers

What is the upper level of the saturated zone of groundwater called?

Water table Signup and view all the answers

What is a natural feature of the Earth's surface called?

Landform Signup and view all the answers

What is the earth's surface from the edge of a continent to the deep part of the ocean called?

Continental shelf Signup and view all the answers

What encompasses the surface shag and composition of the landforms and their distribution in a region?

Topography Signup and view all the answers

What are sections of the Earth's crust that move due to convection currents called?

Tectonic plates Signup and view all the answers

What is a plate boundary where two plates move away from each other called?

Divergent boundary Signup and view all the answers

What is a tectonic plate boundary where two plates collide called?

Convergent boundary Signup and view all the answers

What is a plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions called?

Transform boundary Signup and view all the answers

What is a break in the Earth's crust called?

Fault Signup and view all the answers

What is a device that measures the strength of an earthquake called?

Seismograph Signup and view all the answers

What point on Earth's surface is directly above an earthquake's focus called?

Epicenter Signup and view all the answers

What is a giant wave usually caused by an earthquake beneath the ocean floor called?

Tsunami Signup and view all the answers

What is magma that reaches Earth's surface called?

Lava Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the major belt of volcanoes that rims the Pacific Ocean?

Ring of Fire Signup and view all the answers

What is the breaking down of rocks and other materials on the Earth's surface called?

Weathering Signup and view all the answers

What are small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or living things called?

Sediment Signup and view all the answers

What is the breakdown of rock into smaller pieces by physical means called?

Mechanical weathering Signup and view all the answers

What is the process in which rock is broken down by changes in its chemical makeup called?

Chemical weathering Signup and view all the answers

What are processes by which rock, sand, and soil are broken down and carried away called?

Erosion Signup and view all the answers

What is a landform made of sediment that is deposited where a river flows into an ocean or lake called?

Delta Signup and view all the answers

What is a wind-formed deposit made of fine particles of clay and silt that produces fertile soil called?

Loess Signup and view all the answers

What is a large mass of moving ice and snow on land called?

Glacier Signup and view all the answers

What is a process by which glaciers form and spread called?

Glaciation Signup and view all the answers

What are piles of rocky debris left by melting glaciers called?

Moraine Signup and view all the answers

What is organic, dark material remaining after decomposition by microorganisms called?

Humus Signup and view all the answers

What is the third planet from the Sun in the solar system called?

Earth Signup and view all the answers

What is the distance from Earth to the Sun?

93 million miles Signup and view all the answers

What are ice and dust spheres leaving vapor trails called?

Comets Signup and view all the answers

What are large rocky materials found in space called?

Asteroids Signup and view all the answers

What is the region between Mars and Jupiter's orbits called?

Asteroid belt Signup and view all the answers

What is the approximate circumference of the Earth?

24,900 miles Signup and view all the answers

What is the approximate diameter of the Earth?

7,900 miles Signup and view all the answers

What is the liquid layer surrounding the inner core called?

Outer core Signup and view all the answers

What is the solid center of the Earth called?

Inner core Signup and view all the answers

What layer surrounding the core contains most mass called?

Mantle Signup and view all the answers

What is molten rock formed in the mantle called?

Magma Signup and view all the answers

What is the thin outer layer of rock on Earth's surface called?

Crust Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the supercontinent that existed before continental drift?

Pangaea Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the ocean surrounding the supercontinent Pangaea?

Panthalassa Signup and view all the answers

What is the exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates called?

Absolute location Signup and view all the answers

What is the position of a place in relation to another place called?

Relative location Signup and view all the answers

What describes where a place is? (Absolute & Relative)

Location Signup and view all the answers

What are features of the earth's surface, such as landforms, water systems, climate patterns, and plant and animal life called?

Physical characteristics Signup and view all the answers

What includes a variety of factors such as history, government, social groups, economic systems, language, religion, clothing, housing, food, or art forms?

Human characteristics Signup and view all the answers

What explains what a place is like?

Place Signup and view all the answers

What addresses how do people interact with the environment?

Human Environment Interaction (HEI) Signup and view all the answers

What describes how is the place connected to other places? (Through the movement of people, ideas or goods)

Movement Signup and view all the answers

What explains how common geographic characteristics help us describe / understand a place?

Regions Signup and view all the answers

What is a region defined by government or administrative boundaries called?

Formal region Signup and view all the answers

What is a region defined by some function or reason called?

Functional region Signup and view all the answers

What is a region defined by what people think and the perceptions of the region called?

Vernacular region Signup and view all the answers

What type of map shows geographic locations on Earth's surface, such as the locations of cities or oceans?

Reference map Signup and view all the answers

What type of map displays one or more variables-such as population, or income level-within a specific area?

Thematic map Signup and view all the answers

What type of map tells you how to get from place to place?

Navigational map Signup and view all the answers

What is the process of observing, measuring, and recording data that will be used for map accuracy called?

Survey Signup and view all the answers

What is a database of information called?

Global Information Systems (GIS) Signup and view all the answers

What is the distance north or south of the equator called?

Latitude Signup and view all the answers

What measures distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in degrees?

Longitude Signup and view all the answers

What are either of the two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator called?

Solstice Signup and view all the answers

What is the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length called?

Equinox Signup and view all the answers

What is the condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place called?

Weather Signup and view all the answers

What is the overall weather in an area over a long period of time called?

Climate Signup and view all the answers

What type of precipitation is formed due to surface heating of the air at the ground surface?

Convectional precipitation Signup and view all the answers

What type of precipitation occurs when two air masses of different temperatures meet?

Frontal precipitation Signup and view all the answers

What describes the precipitation caused by winds blowing warm, moist air toward coastal mountains?

Orographic precipitation Signup and view all the answers

What is the dry region on the side of a mountain that is sheltered from wind called?

Rain shadow Signup and view all the answers

What type of climate, located along the equator, experiences rain every day of the year?

Tropical wet climate Signup and view all the answers

What type of climate, located along the equator, has a dry season with little to no rain?

Tropical wet and dry climate Signup and view all the answers

What type of climate is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, dry winters?

Semiarid climate Signup and view all the answers

What type of climate is defined by very dry weather conditions?

Desert climate Signup and view all the answers

What type of climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters?

Mediterranean climate Signup and view all the answers

What type of climate is a moderate climate with cool summers and mild winters that is heavily influenced by maritime conditions?

Marine west coast climate Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the climate that is located on the east coast of continents and has warm humid summers, and mild to cool winters?

Humid subtropical climate Signup and view all the answers

What type of climate is located in the middle latitudes, the agriculturally productive, true four-season climate?

Humid Continental climate Signup and view all the answers

What type of climate has limited precipitation, cool summers, and very cold winters?

Subarctic climate Signup and view all the answers

What is a vast treeless plain in the arctic regions between the ice cap and the tree line called?

Tundra Signup and view all the answers

What type of climate is a cold area near the North or South pole called?

Polar region climate Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the cool to cold climates found in mountains and on high plateaus called?

Highland climate Signup and view all the answers

What are broadleaf trees that lose leaves in the cold season called?

Deciduous Signup and view all the answers

What are broadleaf trees that stay green year round called?

Rainforest Signup and view all the answers

What are needle leaf trees with cones that stay green year round called?

Coniferous Signup and view all the answers

What is the name of the scrubland biome of dense, spiny evergreen shrubs found at midlatitudes along coasts where cold ocean currents circulate offshore?

Chaparral Signup and view all the answers

What is a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees called?

Savanna Signup and view all the answers

What are temperate grasslands called?

Steppe or prairie Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Continents & Earth's Spheres

Continents are large landmasses on Earth's surface.
The lithosphere is the solid rock portion of Earth's surface.
The atmosphere is the thin layer of gases surrounding Earth.
The hydrosphere encompasses all the water on and near Earth's surface.
The biosphere includes all life and the parts of Earth where life exists (land, water, atmosphere).

Earth's Interior Structure

Earth's core is made of iron and nickel, located at the center.
The mantle is the layer of hot, solid material between the crust and core.
The crust is the thin, solid outermost layer of Earth above the mantle.

Earth's Hydrologic Cycle & Surface Processes

The hydrologic cycle describes the movement of water in the hydrosphere (evaporation, precipitation).
Currents are large streams of moving water in the oceans.
Waves are swells and ridges in water produced by winds.
Tides are the regular rise and fall of ocean surfaces due to the moon's gravity.
A drainage basin is the area from which a river and its tributaries collect water.
Groundwater is water held below the surface in soil or rock.
The water table is the upper level of the saturated zone of groundwater.

Landforms & Topography

Landforms are natural features of Earth's surface.
Continental shelves are the shallow parts of the ocean floor adjacent to continents.
Topography combines surface shape and composition of landforms, plus their distribution.

Plate Tectonics & Earth's Dynamics

Tectonic plates are sections of Earth's crust that move due to convection currents.
Divergent boundaries occur where plates move apart.
Convergent boundaries involve colliding plates.
Transform boundaries involve plates sliding past each other.
A fault is a break in the Earth's crust.
A seismograph measures earthquake strength.
The epicenter is the point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus.
Tsunamis are giant waves caused by underwater earthquakes.
Lava is magma that reaches Earth's surface.
The Ring of Fire is a region of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean.

Weathering, Erosion, & Landform Formation

Weathering breaks down rocks into smaller pieces.
Mechanical weathering involves physical breakdown, while chemical weathering involves chemical changes.
Erosion is the process that moves weathered material (e.g., by wind, water, glaciers).
Deltas form where rivers meet oceans or lakes.
Loess deposits are wind-blown silt and clay, creating fertile soil.
Glaciers are large moving masses of ice and snow on land; glaciation is the process of glacial formation and spread.
Moraines are piles of rock debris left by melting glaciers.
Humus is organic material after decomposition.

Characteristics of Earth & Solar System

Earth is the third planet from the Sun
Earth is 93 million miles from the Sun.
Comets are ice and dust spheres that leave vapor trails.
Asteroids are large rocky objects in space
The asteroid belt is between Mars and Jupiter.
Earth's circumference is about 24,900 miles.
Earth's diameter is about 7,900 miles.

Earth's Interior Continued

Earth's core has an outer liquid and an inner solid part.
The mantle surrounds the core and contains most of Earth's mass
Magma is molten rock formed in the mantle.
The Crust is the thin outermost layer of Earth.
Pangaea was a supercontinent that existed before continental drift.
Panthalassa was the ocean that surrounded Pangaea.

Earth's Location & Geographic Characteristics

Absolute location is the exact position on Earth using coordinates.
Relative location describes the position of one place in relation to another.
Physical characteristics are Earth's surface features (landforms, water, climates).
Human characteristics include history, government, society, economy, language, religion, etc.

Spatial Relationships & Regions

Place is describes what it is like at a specific location.
Human-Environment Interaction (HEI) describes how people interact with their environment.
Movement involves how people, ideas, and goods travel between places.
Regions are areas grouped by common characteristics.
Formal regions have defined boundaries (political or administrative).
Functional regions are defined by a function or connection (e.g., a trade area).
Vernacular regions are defined by people's perceptions or beliefs.

Maps & Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Reference maps show locations of geographic features (cities, oceans).
Thematic maps show specific variables (population, income).
Navigational maps direct travel.
Surveys collect data for map accuracy.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) store geographic data.
Latitude measures distance north or south of the equator.
Longitude measures distance east or west of the prime meridian.

Climate & Weather

Weather describes atmospheric conditions at a specific time and place.
Climate is the overall weather patterns in an area over a long period.
Precipitation types include convectional, frontal, and orographic.
Rain shadows are dry areas on the leeward side of mountains.
Various climate types exist (tropical wet, tropical wet and dry, semi-arid, desert, etc).

Biomes & Vegetation

Biomes are regions with specific vegetation types.
Deciduous trees lose leaves seasonally.
Rainforests have broadleaf trees year-round.
Coniferous trees are needle-leaved, evergreen in all climates..
Chaparral is a scrubland biome with shrubs.
Savannas are tropical grasslands.
Steppe/prairies are temperate grasslands.

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Description

Explore the fundamental aspects of Earth, including its continents and spheres. This quiz covers the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, as well as the interior structure of the Earth and processes like the hydrologic cycle. Test your knowledge of how these components interact to shape our planet.