Ms. Shon's Spectacular Science
  • Blog
    • Unit 0: Scientific Inquiry
    • Unit 1: Earth as a System
    • Unit 2: Rocks and Minerals
    • Unit 3: Chemistry
    • Unit 4: Human Body Systems
    • IPW
  • Videos
    • Unit 0: Scientific Inquiry
    • Unit 1: Earth as a System
    • Unit 2: Rocks and Minerals
    • Unit 3: Chemistry
    • Unit 4: Human Body Systems
    • Ms. Shon's "Home" Videos
    • MS 88 in the Media
    • IPW
    • Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014) >
      • Episode 3: When Knowledge Conquered Fear
  • Announcements & Homework
  • Links
    • Unit 1: Earth as a System
  • Glossary
    • Unit 0: Scientific Inquiry
    • Unit 1: Earth as a System
    • Unit 2: Rocks and Minerals
    • Unit 3: Chemistry
    • Unit 4: Human Body Systems
    • IPW
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Tests and Quizzes
  • Rubrics
  • For Teachers

Nouns

Biological Weathering: The breaking up of a rock or mineral into smaller fragments through living things, such as the growth of roots, or feeding animals

Burial: the process of getting buried

Cementation: the process in which dissolved minerals glue sediments together to form solid sedimentary rock

Chemical Weathering: The chemical break up of a rock or mineral into smaller fragments that changes its chemical make-up; chemical weathering alters the internal structure of minerals by the removing and/or adding elements. 

Cleavage: the tendency of a mineral to break along flat surfaces

Color: the color of a mineral; often an unreliable property for mineral identification

Compaction: the process in which sediments are pressed together in layers

Composition: the make-up of something

Crystalline Structure: a unique, orderly, repeating arrangement of atoms

Crystallization: the formation of crystals (minerals) from a liquid or gas

Density: a measure of how tightly packed the tiny particles (called atoms and molecules) that make up any substance/material are; can be calculated by dividing the mass by the volume of the substance/material.

Deformation: the process of changing or distorting rocks through applied pressure

Deposition: the process by which wind, water, and gravity leave eroded sediments in new locations

Dichotomous Key: a key that is continuously divided into two parts, and used to identify something through the process of elimination

Erosion: the transport/movement of sediment by wind, water, ice, and gravity.

Extrusive Igneous Rock: igneous rock formed through the cooling of lava on the surface of the Earth

Fossil: the mineralized (preserved) remains or traces of an organism

Fracture: the tendency of a mineral to break along jagged, uneven surfaces

Hardness: a measure of how hard a mineral is; a measure of a mineral’s resistance to scratching

Hardness Test: a test that measures a mineral’s resistance to scratching

Igneous Rock: rock formed through the cooling of magma or lava

Intrusive Igneous Rock: igneous rock formed through the cooling of magma inside the Earth

Lava: molten rock above the surface of the Earth

Lithification: the process of changing sediment into solid sedimentary rock; includes compaction (of grains), cementation (filling of spaces between grains), and crystallization (to solidify sediment). 

Luster: the way a mineral’s surface reflects light

Magma: molten rock beneath the surface of the Earth found in the mantle.

Mechanical Weathering: the mechanical or physical break up of a rock or mineral into smaller fragments

Melting: the process of melting something; the process by which heat changes something from solid to liquid

Metamorphic Rock: rock formed from extreme heat and pressure

Mineral: a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a crystalline structure

Mohs Hardness Scale: a scale that ranks the hardness of a mineral (1- softest; 10- hardest)

Model: a physical, visual, or mathematical representation used to explain some aspect of the universe.

Pressure: the force pushing on an area or surface

Properties: the characteristics unique to something

Rock: a solid mixture of two or more different types of minerals

Rock Cycle: the continuous process by which one rock type changes into another

Sediment: small bits and pieces of rock (sand, gravel, clay, pebbles, soil) formed from the weathering of existing rocks

Sedimentary Rock: rock formed from the compaction and cementation of sediments. 

Sedimentation: the downward settling of sediments due to gravity

Soil: loose organic materials that sit above bedrock mixed with sediments that support plant growth

Solidification: the process of being solid/hard

Streak: the color of a mineral in powdered form

Transportation: the transporting or movement of sediments

Weathering: the process by which water, wind, and ice break down rocks and other exposed surfaces into smaller pieces (sediments)

Verbs

Erode: to transport/move sediment through wind, water, ice, and/or gravity

Fossilize: to become a fossil; to preserve

Weather: to break down rocks and exposed surfaces 

Adjectives

Continuous: without interruption; never-ending (adv. continually)

Crystalline: an orderly, repeating structure of atoms

Dense: of high density; crowded; thick; tightly packed

Dichotomous: divided into two parts

Distorted: twisted

Extrusive: outside

Foliated: layered

Inorganic: not living or once living

Intrusive: inside

Molten: melted

Organic: made up of living or once living matter

Plastic: flowing; moving; capable of being made into different shapes

Scaled: to scale; proportional; maintaining the same ratios

Stratified: layered; foliated

Varying: different; changing

Proudly powered by Weebly