The Geosphere Vocabulary

Abiotic Factors

• Living organisms that interact with each other

• Non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.

• The study of living organisms and their interactions

• The process of energy flow in ecosystems.

Erosion

• The process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents.

• The process of building up land through sediment deposition.

• The process of breaking down rocks into smaller pieces.

• The process of transporting materials from one location to another.

Biotic Factors

• Non-living components that affect the population of another organism.

• Living components that affect the population of another organism, or the environment.

• Chemical substances that influence the growth of organisms.

• Physical conditions that impact the survival of species.

Tectonic Plates

• Massive slabs of solid rock composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere.

• Thin layers of gas surrounding the Earth.

• Liquid layers of magma beneath the Earth's surface.

• Small fragments of rock that float on the Earth's surface.

Convergent Boundary

• A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving away from each other.

• A tectonic boundary where two plates are sliding past each other.

• A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving toward each other.

• A tectonic boundary where one plate is forced under another.

Geosphere

• The gaseous layer surrounding the Earth.

• The liquid layer of the Earth, including oceans and rivers.

• The solid parts of the earth, including the crust and upper mantle.

• The biological components of the Earth, including plants and animals.

Gravity

• The force that repels objects away from each other.

• The force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass.

• The force that keeps objects in motion indefinitely.

• The force that causes objects to float in space.

Earthquake

• A sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction.

• A gentle tremor felt in the atmosphere.

• A natural phenomenon that occurs only underwater.

• A type of volcanic eruption that causes ground shaking.

Plate Tectonics

• A scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of plates of the Earth's lithosphere.

• A method for measuring the Earth's temperature variations.

• A process that explains the formation of clouds in the atmosphere.

• A theory that describes the behavior of ocean currents.

Inner and Outer Core

• The outer core is solid and the inner core is liquid.

• Both the inner and outer core are composed of aluminum and silicon.

• The innermost layers of the Earth, composed of iron and nickel, with the outer core being liquid and the inner core solid.

• The inner core is composed of gas and the outer core is composed of liquid.