Abeka, Science: Earth and Space, Semester Exam (Test 6)

Seymouria

"missing link" thought to be the transitional form between amphibians and reptiles

tsunamis

A giant wave caused by an underwater disturbance on the ocean floor

Uniformitarianism

Charles Lyell's idea that geologic processes is key to understanding earth's geological history

crevasses

Deep cracks that develop on the surface of a glacier.

metric unit kilopascals

How do oceanographers usually measure hydrostatic pressure?

Because plates are spreading apart at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, magma is closer to the surface.

Iceland is known for its many hot springs and volcanos. Why would this be expected based on Iceland's location on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

dependent

In an experiment, what variable is observed to determine the results?

metamorphic

Rocks "cooked" by intense heat or extreme pressure

The California Current cools Santa Cruz, but the Gulf Stream warms Newport News.

The California Current flows south along the coast of California. During June through August, the city of Santa Cruz, on the California coast, has average high temperatures of about 23 degrees celsius. During the same months, Newport News, Virginia, at about the same altitude on the U.S. East Coast, has average high temperatures of about 31 degrees celsius. Which of the following is a likely reason why Newport News is warmer than Santa Cruz during the summer?

the area is formed by deposits of minerals and sediments

The Nile River, especially the area around the rivers's fan shaped mouth, is known as one of the most fertile areas in the world. Why would the area around the river's mouth be the most fruitful part of the river?

sound waves produced by surface ships are reflected off the thermocline.

The boundary between two water layers with different densities will affect the movement of sounds waves. If sound waves traveling in the lower-density layer hit the boundary at a shallow angle, they will be reflected off the boundary instead of traveling into the higher-density layer. Why can submarines use this fact to avoid detected by sound waves?

These organisms should have evolved at the same rate as other organisms.

The coelacanth is a fish that shows practically no difference between fossils (supposedly millions of years old) and living specimens. Why do the coelacanth and organisms like it pose a problem for evolution?

luster

The way a mineral reflects light from its surface

exfoliation

Type of weathering that involves the breaking or peeling away of rock into layers.

atoll

a circular coral-reef that grows around an underwater volcano

anomaly

a fossil organism found in strata that are supposedly too old or too young to contain that organism

spring tide, because the moon, earth, and sun are in line

a person is walking on the beach at night the light of a full moon. Is this tide a spring tide or a neap tide? How do you know?

Bathyscaphe

a submersible consisting of a crew compartment suspended from a float

breaker

a wave that grows taller and steeper as it travels to shore and topples forward with a white crest.

rift

an underwater valley that gives mid-ocean ridges the appearance of having twin mountain ranges.

upwelling

an upward current that occurs when a land breeze pushes surface water away from the coast

hadal zone

any area of the sea that exceeds 6000 meters in depth

gyres

circular paths that ocean currents move in

Challenger Deep

deepest known point in the sea

gravity corer

device that has an open time that is dropped to the sea floor to allow its weight to puncture sediment and bring up sediment samples

Expendable bathythermograph

device that oceanographers use to measure the temperature at different levels and report them back to a surface ship

sonar

device that uses underwater sound waves to determine the size, distance, and direction of object

polystrate fossils

fossils that extend through multiple strata

sapphire

gemstones that are blue in color

trench

huge, muddy valley that cuts into the deep ocean floor

kettles

large holes left from the melting of huge chunks of glacial ice lodged in washed-out sediments

silicates

largest group of minerals, which compose over 90% of the earth's crust

water

main agent of chemical weathering

sodium chloride

makes up most of the salt in the oceans

surf

mass of foaming water formed when waves wash up unto a beach

strip-cropping

method of erosion prevention that involves planting alternating strips of different types of crops

terracing

modifies a smooth slope into a series of level, stairlike steps

ROV

oceanographic tool is a highly maneuverable robot linked to a support ship by cables

karst regions

regions of the earth's surface where limestone is exposed and abundant

composite volcano

tall, cone-shaped mountains in which layers of lava alternate with layers of ash

radiometric dating

technique that evolutionists use to assign supposedly exact ages to rocks and fossils

repeatability

the ability to duplicate an experiment several times while keeping all factors as similar as possible between experiment and coming to the same conclusion.

Flood

the biblical event that was probably directly responsible for laying down most of Earth's sedimentary rock layers

theistic evolution

the idea that God used evolution to make everything in the world

natural selection

the idea that states that the fittest and strongest organisms are most likely to survive and reproduce

the principle of uniformity

the idea that the natural laws in operation today have existed throughout Earth's history

natural color

the main factor that affects the color of the oceans

load

the materials carried by a stream

modified Mercalli scale

the method of measuring an earthquake's strength is based on the earthquake's effects on people and structures

mantle

the middle layer of the earth, between the crust and the core

levees

the natural ridges along a river's edge

profiling float

the oceanographic tool that charts currents far beneath the surface and sends back accurate measurements of those currents and water properties.

cranial capacity

the scientific term for the volume of the portion of the skull that includes the brain

topsoil

the top layer of soil, which contains most of the organic substances and nutrients

soil creep

the very slow downslope movement of soil and rock fragments

Cro-Magnon man

thought to be a missing link in man's evolution but was later found to be the remains of a modern human

salinity and temperature

two main factors that determine the density of seawater

turbidity current

type of current that is made up of seawater mixed with mud or silt and can erode the ocean floor to produce submarine canyons

star dune

type of dune that looks like a pyramid with several out-reaching arms

thrust fault

type of fault tat occurs when rocks on one side of a fault are shoved on top of the rocks on the other side of the fault

conglomerate rock

type of rock consists of smooth pebbles embedded in hardened sand or clay

diurnal (tide)

type of tide that occurs when there is one high tide and one low tide each day

aftershocks

weaker earthquakes that often follow an earthquake at frequent intervals for days or months

scoria

well known amorphous igneous rock has a glass-like texture and splits to form sharp edges

rip currents

what are dangerous currents that form when large amounts of water from waves surge out to sea through a break in a sandbar

drumlins

what are hills that form when advancing glaciers overrun old piles of till

index

what kind of fossils used by evolutionists to date rock layers

continental slope

what marks the beginning of a sharp drop-off at the end of the sandy, underwater plain that borders the land

uranium

what metal is used as a fuel for nuclear reactors

icebergs are less dense than seawater

why can icebergs float in seawater?