| What is the 'atmosphere' (noun)? | A layer of gases that surrounds the earth. |
| What is the 'hydrosphere' (noun)? | All the waters on the earth's surface, such as lakes and seas, and sometimes including water over the earth's surface, such as clouds. |
| What is the 'geosphere' (noun)? | All the rocks, minerals, and landforms on (and under) the earth's surface. |
| What is the 'biosphere' (noun)? | All of the parts (ecosystems) where life exists on Earth. |
| What are 'minerals' (noun)? | Solid substances that occur naturally and form through geological processes. |
| What are 'fossils' (noun)? | The preserved remains or impressions of a living organism such as a plant, animal, or insect. |
| What are 'plate tectonics' (noun)? | A scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a result of movement underneath the earth's surface. |
| What is the 'carbon cycle' (noun)? | Nature's way of reusing carbon atoms, which travel from the atmosphere into organisms in the Earth and then back into the atmosphere over and over again. |
| What is 'molten rock' (noun)? | Liquid rock at extremely high temperatures under the surface of the earth. |
| What is 'magma' (noun)? | Liquid rock at extremely high temperatures above the surface of the earth; also known as lava. |
| What is 'igneous rock' (noun)? | Rock that is formed when a volcano erupts; when hot, molten rock solidifies. |
| What is 'erosion' (noun)? | The wearing away of the land by forces such as water, wind, and ice. |
| What is 'sedimentary rock' (noun)? | Rocks that are formed by years and years of sediment compacting together and becoming hard. |
| What is 'metamorphic rock' (noun)? | Rocks formed by great heat and pressure; generally found inside the Earth's crust where there is enough heat and pressure to form the rocks. |
| What is 'weathering' (noun)? | The breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on the earth's surface. |
| What is 'sediment' (noun)? | Rocks, minerals, and plant/animal remains that are broken down through weathering and erosion, and deposited in a new location. |
| What is 'evaporation' (noun)? | The main process by which water goes from the ground to vapour in the atmosphere. |
| What is 'condensation' (noun)? | The process of water vapour becoming liquid water. |
| What is 'transpiration' (noun)? | When plants release water on to their leaves that then evaporates into vapour. |
| What is 'precipitation' (noun)? | When water falls from the atmosphere back to land. |
| What is 'groundwater' (noun)? | The water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand, and rock. |
| What is 'surface runoff' (noun)? | The flow of water, from rain, melted snow, or other sources, over the earth's surface. |
| What is 'sublimation' (noun)? | The process of snow and ice changing into water vapour (gas) in the air without first melting into water. |
| What is 'plant respiration' (noun)? | The process of a plant taking in oxygen and releasing it as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. |
| What are 'emissions' (noun)? | Substances discharged (sent out) into the atmosphere; like smoke from a factory or carbon dioxide from decomposing animals. |
