CHAPTER SIX:

PROCESSES SHAPING PLANET EARTHVOCABULARY

LITHOSPHERE The lithosphere is made up of the Earth’s crust and solid

upper mantle.

EARTH’S MANTLE A region of hot, dense rock between the Earth’s crust and its

core.

PLATE TECTONIC MOTION A scientific theory that describes the large-scale motions

of Earth's lithosphere through tectonic plates. 

CONVECTION The spread of heat through fluid substance

contributing to its movement.

TSUNAMI Immense ocean waves of destructive force caused when an

earthquake occurs under or near the ocean.

WEATHERING The wearing down of rocks at the Earth’s surface by the

actions of wind, water, ice and living things.

EROSION The processes by which rock, sand, and soil are broken

down and carried away.

DEPOSITION The depositing or laying down of a mineral or material by a

natural process of water as in a river or ocean.

WATER CYCLE The circulation of the earth's water, in which water

evaporates from the sea into the atmosphere, where it condenses and falls as rain or snow, returning to the sea by rivers or returning to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration.

TIDES & CURRENTS Tides are the alternate rising and falling of the sea, usually

twice in each lunar day at a particular place, due to the attraction of the moon.

Currents is the movement of the ocean’s waters by air and convection.

ATMOSPHERE Atmosphere is the levels of gases around the earth.

BIOMES Biomes are distinct geographic regions with their own

particular types of plant and animal life.

GRASSLANDS Grasslands are drier areas that do not receive a lot of rain

and do not have a lot of trees.

STEPPES A steppe is a large area of flat unforested grassland.

TUNDRA Found close to the poles in which the soil is so cold and

frozen year round trees cannot grow only small shrubs and bushes.