Rocks & spheres of the Earth Science Vocabulary ACOS 10 Earth Features Rocks & spheres of the Earth Rocks and the Rock Cycle

The continuous series of changes that rocks go through Rock cycle Small pieces of rock sediment Sedimentary rock Rocks that form from sediment such as sand, clay, gravel, and seashells, that settle at the bottom of watery places

Rock that forms when melted rock materials from Earth’s mantle cools and hardens Igneous rock New rock that forms when existing rock is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical beneath the Earth metamorphic rock

Destructive forces in which pieces of rock are moved by water, wind, or moving ice erosion Destructive force such as wind or water that breaks down rocks into smaller pieces weathering

The solid part of the earth: contains the crust, mantle, and core geosphere The solid part of the earth: contains the crust, mantle, and core A mixture of gases that surround the Earth; the blanket of air surrounding the Earth atmosphere

The very thin layer of atmosphere; first to be struck by sunlight Coldest layer of atmosphere; lies above the stratosphere Cold, dry layer of atmosphere; contains most of the ozone layer that protects us from radiation The atmosphere closest to the Earth where weather occurs

A map that shows the shape of surface features and their elevations Topographic map

Lines on a topographic map that show areas with the same elevation contour lines

The idea that giant plates of rock are moving slowly across Earth’s surface plate tectonics

Area where Earth’s solid upper mantle and crust combine to form a rigid (hard) shell lithosphere

The thick layer of Earth’s structure just below Earth’s crust mantle

The thinner, uppermost layer of the Earth; rocky outer layer of Earth that makes up the continents and the ocean floor crust

Earth’s most innermost structure; the center core