Download Force and Motion Vocabulary

Name____________________________________________ Date _____________________ Period _________
Vocabulary Test Words
Test Date: Wednesday May 25, 2011
On Wednesday, May 25, you will have a vocabulary test. This test will have 50 words you have learned from
this semester. The test will be separated into sections of 8-10 words each and you need to match them with
their definitions. Please review the list below and look over your vocabulary flash cards that you have made
throughout this semester.
Earth Science Vocabulary
1. Asthenosphere – the part of the mantle that features plasticity
2. Continental Drift – the hypothesis that all continents were once joined together in a single landmass and have
since drifted to their current locations
3. Convection Current – the movement of a fluid, caused by differences in the temperature and density of that fluid
4. Convergent Boundary – a plate boundary where two plates move toward each other
5. Core – Earth’s innermost layer (center)
a. outer is composed of liquid iron & nickel
b. inner is composed of solid iron & nickel
6. Crust – Earth’s outermost layer (thinnest layer)
a. continental is found under the continents, composed of granite
b. oceanic is found under the oceans, composed of basalt
7. Deep Ocean Trench – a deep valley along the ocean floor through which oceanic crust slowly sinks towards the
mantle; a convergent plate boundary
8. Divergent Boundary – a plate boundary where two plates move away from each other
9. Fault – breaks in Earth’s crust where rocks have slipped past each other
10. Folded Mountain – A mountain formed by plates converging and causing layers of the lithosphere to rise and fold
11. Geology – the study of the Earth’s processes
12. Lithosphere – the rigid layer of earth that includes all of the crust and the upper part of the mantle
13. Mantle – the Earth layer that is between the crust and the core, has plasticity
14. Mesosphere – the transition layer between the outer core and the asthenosphere
15. Mid-Ocean Ridge – the undersea mountain chain in the Atlantic Ocean where new ocean floor is produced; a
divergent plate boundary
16. Pangaea – large ancient landmass that was composed of all the continents joined together
17. Plasticity – a substance that has the properties of a solid, but has the ability to flow.
18. Plate Tectonics – the theory that Earth's crust and upper mantle are broken into plates that float and move
around on a plastic like layer of the mantle
19. Rift Valley – deep valley that forms when two plates diverge or move apart, located along the center of the
mid-ocean ridge
20. Sea floor Spreading – the process by which molten material adds new oceanic crust to the ocean floor
21. Shearing – a type of stress that results in a change of a tectonic plates shape or volume
22. Subduction – the process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle at
a convergent plate boundary
23. Transform Boundary – a plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite directions
Weather Vocabulary
24. Weather- the condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place in a region
25. Meteorology- the study of weather and the understanding of the forces and causes of weather
26. Atmosphere- the air that surrounds the Earth
27. Wind- air in motion, a result of the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the sun
28. Global winds- winds that blow over long distances from specific direction
29. Local winds- winds that blow over short distances
30. Coriolis Effect- the deflection of winds caused by the rotation of the Earth on its axis
31. Doldrums- mostly very calm air in a band over the equator
32. Trade Winds- warm, steady winds that blow back toward the equator in usually clear skies
33. Prevailing westerlies- cool air, usually moving quickly toward the poles from the west to east in both hemispheres
34. Polar easterlies- cold, fairly weak winds blowing from east to west
35. Prevailing winds- winds that blow more often from one direction than the other
36. Sea breeze- the breeze created when cooler moist air from over the water slides beneath the rising air on an ocean
beach
37. Land breezes- the breeze caused when the water stays warm and the land has cooled
38. Heat- energy that flows from one object to a cooler object.
39. Barometer- an instrument used for measuring air pressure
40. Cold front- cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass
41. Warm front- when a warm air mass overtakes a cold air mass
42. Stationary front- occurs when air masses tend to remain in place for a period of time
43. Occluded front- when two cold air masses collide and push a warm air mass up between them
44. Continental air mass- air mass that builds over land
45. Maritime air mass- air masses assembled over oceans
46. High-pressure system- regions of sinking cool air
47. Low-pressure system – regions of rising warm air mass
48. Climate- temperature and precipitation for a particular area over a long period of time
49. Windward- the side of a mountain that faces the oncoming wind; rain falls on this side of the mountain
50. Leeward- the downwind side of the mountain; very little precipitation
Living Systems and the Environment Vocabulary
51. Commercial harvesting- fishing huge amounts of fish from the oceans in large commercial fishing boats
52. Desalination- the process of removing salt from saltwater
53. Photosynthesis- the process by which plants and some other organisms capture light energy and use it to make food
from carbon dioxide and water
54. Artificial reefs- man-made structures that help new reefs begin to grow, for example from sunken ships, concrete
blocks, and offshore oil platforms
55. Estuary- places where rivers empty into the ocean and you have freshwater mixing with saltwater
56. Aquaculture- the process of raising fish in tanks on land or in enclosed nets in the water
57. Overfishing- fishing too many fish to where the fish are unable to reproduce and the fish population can decrease
and even become extinct
Force and Motion Vocabulary
58. Force – a push or pull on an object
59. Balanced Force – equal forces acting on an object in opposite directions
60. Unbalanced Force – a nonzero net force that changes an object’s motion
61. Motion – the state in which one object’s distance from another is changing
62. Work – The product of force and distance when a force is used to move an object ( W = fd )
63. Speed – the measure of distance traveled in a given time
64. Velocity – a unit of speed with a given direction
65. Acceleration – the change in velocity resulting from a change in speed or direction
66. Mass – the amount of matter that an object has
67. Newton – a unit of force
68. Inertia – the tendency of an object in motion to remain in motion; the tendency of an object at rest to remain at rest
69. Weight – the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
(weight = mass x acceleration due to gravity or weight = mg, g = 9.8 m/s2 )
70. Newton’s First Law of Motion – objects at rest will remain at rest and objects in motion will remain in motion until
acted upon by an outside force
71. Newton’s Second Law of Motion – force equals mass times acceleration
72. Newton’s Third Law of Motion – for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction
73. Gravity – the force that pulls objects toward each other and can affect motion
74. Air Resistance – the friction experienced by objects falling or moving through air
75. Friction – a force that opposes motion when two surfaces touch or rub against each other