Earth Science Flashcards
7 cards from real MAAP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Earth Science flashcards as text
Which process describes the movement of Earth's crustal plates sinking into the mantle at convergent boundaries?
Answer: Subduction
Subduction occurs when a denser oceanic plate slides beneath a less dense continental or oceanic plate at a convergent boundary, eventually melting back into the mantle.
What is the primary difference between weathering and erosion?
Answer: Weathering breaks down rock in place; erosion transports material
Weathering is the in-place breakdown of rock into smaller particles, while erosion is the subsequent transport of those particles by agents like water, wind, or ice.
Earth orbits the Sun once approximately every 365.25 days. What phenomenon results from the extra 0.25 days accumulating over four years?
Answer: A leap year
Every four years, the 0.25-day surplus accumulates to approximately one full day, which is added as February 29 in a leap year to keep calendars aligned with Earth's orbit.
Which type of energy drives the water cycle?
Answer: Solar energy from the Sun
Solar energy provides the heat that evaporates water from oceans and land surfaces, initiating the water cycle by moving water into the atmosphere.
A mineral that has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale can scratch a mineral with a hardness of 5. What does this tell us?
Answer: The mineral with hardness 7 is harder and more resistant to scratching
On the Mohs hardness scale, a mineral can scratch any mineral with a lower hardness value, so a hardness-7 mineral is harder and will always scratch a hardness-5 mineral.
Which type of eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, blocking sunlight from reaching part of Earth's surface?
Answer: Solar eclipse
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon aligns between Earth and the Sun, casting a shadow on Earth and blocking sunlight for observers within the shadow's path.
What is the term for the gradual movement of continents over geologic time, as proposed by Alfred Wegener?
Answer: Continental drift
Continental drift, proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912, describes the slow movement of Earth's continents across its surface over hundreds of millions of years, supported by fossil and rock evidence.