Review of 6th Grade Key Terms

Soil Soil provides: housing for animals, water storage for plants, and minerals Soil conservation: a method or prevent the soil from erosion and nutrient loss

Mature/ Immature Soil Mature soil: normally has a soil profile with clearly defined horizons Immature Soil: doesn’t have any of these properties. This is the soil that has exposed rock, and can never reach the topsoil- (Caused by climate and temperature )

Weathering Weathering: process by which rock materials are broken down by the action of physical or chemical means

Chemical Weathering Process by which rocks break down as a result of chemical reactions the agents are water, weak acids, and rain acid precipitation and oxidation are examples of chemical weathering

Mechanical Weathering Breakdown of rock into smaller pieces by physical means The agents are wind, water, ice, gravity, plants, and animals Ice wedging and abrasion are forms of mechanical weathering

Erosion/Deposition Erosion – the movement of materials broken down due to the process of weathering- the process by which wind, water, ice, or gravity transport soil and sediment from one location to another Deposition – the process is which material is laid down

Dust bowl Dust Bowl: during the 1930s, a severe drought occurred in a section of the Great Plains that became known as the Dust Bowl

Sedimentary Rock Sedimentary Rock: formed by compaction and cementation

Metamorphic Rock Metamorphic Rock: formed from heat and pressure

Igneous: formed when rock melts ( magma ), and cools and hardens Igneous Rock Igneous: formed when rock melts ( magma ), and cools and hardens * Extrusive ( forms on the Earth’s surface) * Intrusive ( forms inside the Earth)

Continental Drift Continental Drift: Wegener’s hypothesis that states that the continents once formed a single landmass, broke up, and drifted to their present location.

Pangaea Pangaea: all the continents in one landmass- PROOF - similar fossils on separated landmasses

Tectonic Plates: are always MOVING

Geographic Poles Geographic Poles: the north or south points of intersection of the earth’s surface with its axis of rotation – used as reference points for location on the Earth

Fault/Boundaries/Stress Strike-Slip Fault/Transform Boundary – shearing Normal fault/Divergent Boundary – Tension Reverse Fault/Convergent Boundary – Compression

Sea Floor Spreading Sea Floor Spreading: evidence for sea-floor spreading is magnetic reversals ( occurs at a divergent boundary)

Volcanoes Volcanoes: a vent or fissure in the Earth’s surface through which magma and gases are expelled (resulting in a decrease in global temperature)

EARTHQUAKES Occur along the edges of tectonic plates P Wave: move in a back-and-forth direction; travels through solids, liquids, and gases S Wave: a seismic move in a side-to-side direction; cannot travel through the parts of Earth that are completely liquid Surface Wave: moves up, down, and around

Water Water Cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and percolation the water cycle is driven by energy from the sun (causes evaporation)

Ocean Water Ocean water covers about 71% of Earth’s surface

Tides Tides: Tides are caused by the sun and the moon, and they occur in a variety of cycles.

Atmosphere Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds Earth Temperatures at different layers of the atmosphere vary because of the composition of gases in each layer Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere

Smog: Vehicle exhaust reacts with sunlight and ozone

Density density = the ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume of a substance

Air Pressure air pressure is strongest at the Earth’s surface because more air is above you; as altitude increases, air pressure decreases

Greenhouse Effect Greenhouse Effect: the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases absorb and reradiate thermal energy

Climate Climate: the weather conditions in an area over a long period of time- ocean currents effect climate

Hurricane: when warm and cold fronts meet over warm water

Tornado Tornadoes: a funnel cloud that “pokes” through the bottom of a cumulonimbus cloud and hangs in the air