Chapter 1- Earth’s Changing Surface
Section 1
Topography: the shape of the land determined by elevation, relief, and landforms
(pg. 14)
Elevation: height above sea level (pg. 15)
Relief: the difference in elevation between the highest and the lowest parts of an
area (pg. 15)
Landform: a feature of topography formed by the processes that shape Earth’s
surface (pg. 15)
Landform Region: a large area of land where the topography is similar (pg. 15)
Plain: a landform made up of flat or gently rolling land with low relief (pg. 16)
Mountain: a landform with high elevation and high relief (pg. 16)
Mountain Range: a series of mountains that have the same general shape and
structure (pg. 16)
Plateau: a landform that has high elevation and a more or less level surface (pg.
17)
Lithosphere: Earth’s solid rock outer layer; one of four spheres into which
scientists divide Earth (pg. 18)
Atmosphere: a mixture of gases that surrounds Earth; the outermost of the four
spheres into which scientists divide Earth (pg. 18)
Hydrosphere: Earth’s water and ice; one of the four spheres into which scientists
divide Earth (pg. 18)
Biosphere: all living things; one of the four spheres into which scientists divide
Earth (pg. 18)
Section 2
Map: a model of all or part of Earth’s surface as seen from above (pg. 19)
Globe: a sphere that represents Earth’s surface (pg. 19)
Symbols: on a map, pictures used by mapmakers to stand for features on Earth’s
surface (pg. 20)
Key: a list of the symbols used on a map (pg. 20)
Equator: an imaginary line that circles Earth halfway between the North and
South poles (pg. 21)
Hemisphere: one half of the sphere that makes up Earth’s surface (pg. 21)
Prime Meridian: the line that makes a half circle from the North Pole to the South
Pole and that passes through Greenwich, England (pg. 22)
Degree (0): a unit used to measure distance around a circle; one degree equals
1/360 of a full circle (pg. 22)
Latitude: the distance in degrees north or south of the equator (pg. 22)
Longitude: the distance in degrees east or west of the prime meridian (pg. 23)
Map Projection: a framework of lines that helps to show landmasses on a flat
surface (pg. 24)
Section 3
Satellite Image: pictures of the land surface based on computer data collected
from satellites (pg. 26)
Pixels: the tiny dots in a satellite image (pg. 27)
Digitizing: converting information to numbers for use by a computer (pg. 28)
Section 4
Topographic Map: a map that shows the surface features of an area (pg. 29)
Contour Interval: the difference in elevation from one contour line to the next
(pg. 31)
Global Positioning System (GPS): a method of finding latitude and longitude
using satellites (pg. 33)