Essential Terms

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Essential Terms

• Jenks Middle School
• 8th Grade Science

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Instrument used for measuring metric length or
distance.

• Meterstick

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Instrument used to measure metric mass.

• Triple-beam Balance

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Instrument used to measure metric volume.

• Graduated Cylinder

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Instrument used to measure temperature.

• Thermometer

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Instrument used to measure weight.

• Scale

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A situation or question concerning the natural
world.

• Problem

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A proposed solution to a problem educated guess

• Hypothesis

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An organized test for the hypothesis that
includes controls variables.

• Experiment

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The part of the experiment that is being tested
does change

• Variable

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The part of the experiment that is kept at normal
conditions does not change

• Control

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The information that is gained from an
experiment graphs charts

• Data

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Statements concerning whether the experiment
accepts/rejects the hypothesis.

• Conclusion

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Invisible envelope of gasses that surrounds the
Earth.

• Atmosphere

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The rigid outer layer of Earth contains the
crust upper mantle

• Lithosphere

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The water portion of the Earth contains all the
seas, oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.

• Hydrosphere

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Naturally occurring inorganic, crystalline solids
that make up rocks.

• Mineral

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The compound of Oxygen Silicon that forms the
majority of the minerals.

• Silicate

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Mineral characteristic of breaking into smooth,
definite surfaces.

• Cleavage

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The powder left behind when a mineral is rubbed
on a rough surface.

• Streak

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A mineral's ability to resist being scratched.

• Hardness

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The way light reflects off of a mineral's
surface.

• Luster

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List of 10 minerals according to hardness used
to identify unknown hardnesses.

• Mohs Scale

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A hard substance made of one or more minerals.

• Rock

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A type of rock produced by cementing compacting
(Clastic/Chemical)

• Sedimentary

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A type of rock changed by heat, pressure or by
chemicals (Foliated/Nonfoliated)

• Metamorphic

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A type of rock formed by cooling lava/magma
(Coarse grained/Fine grained)

• Igneous

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This idea states that the Earth's crust is broken
into moving sections.

• Theory of Plate Tectonics

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He proposed the Theory of Continental Drift

• Wegener

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The name for the "original" single landmass of
Earth.

• Pangaea

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Area that divides the mantle from the crust

• Moho Boundary

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Type of plate boundary where the plates collide

• Convergent

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Type of plate boundary where the plates separate
(seafloor spreading)

• Divergent

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Type of plate boundary where the plates grind
past each other in opposite ways.

• Transform Fault

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Molten rock that cools hardens inside the
Earth's crust

• Magma

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Molten rock that is expelled from a volcano or
fissure onto the surface.

• Lava

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Type of dome shaped volcano made of lava flows

• Shield

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Type of volcano made of pyroclastic material

• Cindercone

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Type of volcano that has long dormancies with
short violent eruptions

• Composite

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A crack in the Earth's crust

• Fault

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A bend in the Earth's crust

• Fold

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An upward fold in the rock.

• Anticline

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A downward fold in the rock

• Syncline

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Scale used to measure the intensity of seismic
energy during an earthquake.

• Richter Scale

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Instrument used to measure seismic energy waves.

• Seismograph

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The collective processes that result in the
formation of mountains.

• Orogenesis

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The removal transportation of rock/soil by
wind, water, or ice.

• Erosion

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Proportion of dissolved salts to pure water in
bodies of water.

• Salinity

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Massive sheets of compacted ice snow found at
high elevations the poles.

• Glacier

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Water that soaks into the ground and remains
there.

• Ground water

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Longest era in Earth's history

• Precambrian

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Era containing the Age of Invertebrates, Fish,
Amphibians

• Paleozoic

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Era containing the Age of Reptiles/Dinosaurs

• Mesozoic

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Era containing the Age of Reptiles/Dinosaurs

• Mesozoic

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Current era known as the Age of Mammals

• Cenozoic

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Period that ended with the largest extinction in
Earth's history

• Permian

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He stated that the Earth was the center of the
Universe and designed a model.

• Ptolemy

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He calculated that the planets have elliptical
orbits around the Sun

• Kepler

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He stated that the Sun was at the center the
Earth rotates on an axis.

• Copernicus

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He discovered the general laws of motion and
gravity.

• Newton

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This idea states that the Universe began in a
cataclysmic explosion.

• Big Bang Theory

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This idea states that our solar system formed
from a cloud of interstellar gas.

• Nebula Hypothesis

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This idea states that objects in motion stay in
motion, ones at rest stay at rest.

• Law of Inertia

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This idea states that objects in space have
elliptical orbits.

• Law of Planetary Motion

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This idea states that for every action there is a
reaction in the opposite direction.

• Law of Action/Reaction

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Plant that has the fastest revolutionary period.

• Mercury

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Hottest planet in the solar system due to the
greenhouse effect.

• Venus

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Largest planet in the solar system that could
have become a very small star.

• Jupiter

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Planet that has the most elaborate ring system
made of rock ice.

• Saturn

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Blue-green planet that rotates on its side.

• Uranus

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Blue planet that has the fastest recorded wind
speeds in the solar system.

• Neptune

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Planet that has a moon half its size.

• Pluto

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The spinning of an astronomical object on an
imaginary axis

• Rotation

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The distance it takes for an object to make a
full orbit around another in space

• Revolution

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Instrument used to measure doppler effect
composition of stars.

• Spectrometer

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Apparent shift in the wavelength of light/sound
caused by an object's movement

• Doppler Effect

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Fusing of 2 or more elemental atoms to form a
single atom producing energy.

• Thermonuclear Fusion

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The amount of light that a star actually gives
off.

• Absolute Magnitude

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The brightness of a star as it appears in the
night sky.

• Apparent Magnitude

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Smallest of all stars that have high density,
spin fast, and blink/pulse.

• Neutron Star

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Collapse of a massive star to a point where
gravity prevents the escape of light

• Black Hole

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Small stars that are usually cool in temperature
and dim in brightness.

• Dwarf Star

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Classification for the majority of stars on the
H-R diagram

• Main Sequence

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Most massive/largest of all star sizes in the
Universe

• Supergiant

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Large sized stars that range from very cool to
very hot.

• Giant

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Physical process of heating liquid water so it
changes into water vapor (gas)

• Evaporation

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Physical process of water vapor (gas) cooling to
change into liquid water.

• Condensation

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Water that falls to the ground in the form of
rain, sleet, snow, or hail.

• Precipitation

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The push of the atmosphere on the Earth's crust
due to the pull of gravity

• Air Pressure

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Instrument used to measure air pressure.

• Barometer

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The lateral movement of air due to changes in air
pressure.

• Wind

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Instrument used to measure wind speed.

• Anemometer

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Phenomena caused by Earth's rotation that
air/water is shifted a certain direction

• Coriolis Effect

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The measurement of the amount of water vapor in
the atmosphere.

• Humidity

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Instrument used to measure relative humidity.

• Psychrometer

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Suspended droplets of water (aerosol) in the
atmosphere.

• Clouds

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A warm air mass invades a cold air mass possibly
producing long periods of rain

• Warm Front

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A cold air mass invades a warm air mass possibly
producing fast thunderstorms.

• Cold Front

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A cold air mass catches up to a warm air mass and
overtakes it.

• Occluded Front

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A cold air mass and warm air mass collide
producing no further air movement.

• Stationary Front

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A dry air mass invades a moist air mass possibly
producing fast thunderstorms.

• Dry Line