Earth Science Vocabulary - Core - Focus - Epicenter - Plate Boundary - Seismic Waves - Free Science Worksheet

 

This video explains key earthquake and Earth structure vocabulary. 

Seismic waves are energy waves that travel through the Earth during an earthquake. 

The focus, also called the hypocenter, is the underground point where an earthquake begins and energy is released. 

The epicenter is the spot on Earth’s surface directly above the focus and is usually where the strongest shaking occurs. 

A plate boundary is where tectonic plates meet, and most earthquakes happen in these areas. 

The core is the center of the Earth beneath the mantle, with a solid inner core and a liquid outer core, both made mostly of iron and nickel.

Free Earth Science Vocabulary Worksheet

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Earth Science Vocabulary - Identifying Minerals - + Free Worksheet

 

In this video, we talk about some important Earth Science vocabulary used to identify minerals. 

We start with hardness, which is how easy or hard it is to scratch a mineral. Scientists use the Mohs hardness scale for this, which goes from 1 to 10. Talc is very soft at a 1, while diamond is extremely hard at a 10. If one mineral can scratch another, that means it’s harder.

Next, we look at luster, which is how light reflects off a mineral’s surface. Some minerals look shiny and metallic, while others look dull or glassy. Those are called nonmetallic lusters.

We also explain streak, which is the color of a mineral’s powder when it’s rubbed on a streak plate. This color is often different from the mineral’s outside color and is a better way to help identify it.

Finally, we compare cleavage and fracture. Cleavage means a mineral breaks along smooth, flat surfaces in the same way each time. If a mineral doesn’t do that, it breaks by fracture, creating rough or uneven surfaces. Quartz is a great example of a mineral that breaks by fracture.

Free Worksheet Earth Science Vocabulary ( Mineral Identification)

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Life Science Vocabulary Course

In this course, I cover key Life Science vocabulary for the entire year. I taught middle school Life Science for 30 years, and I used these videos to help my students learn and master essential vocabulary.

I hope you find this course helpful.

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Physical Science Vocabulary ( Electricity) and Free Worksheet

 

Key electricity and magnetism terms defined. 

A solenoid is a long coil of wire that becomes an electromagnet when electric current flows through it, allowing it to move objects or activate switches. 

Static electricity occurs when electrons build up on an object’s surface, creating an imbalance of charges that can cause small shocks. 

A transformer is a device that increases or decreases voltage to safer or more useful levels. 

Voltage is the push that moves electric charges, similar to water pressure, and is calculated as current (amps) times resistance (ohms). 

Finally, a series circuit is a simple circuit with one continuous path for electric current, where the same current flows through all components, a single break stops the circuit, and the voltage is shared.

Physical Science Vocabulary Worksheet

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Earth Science Vocabulary related to Earth plus Free Worksheet

 

Key Earth Science vocabulary related to the structure of the Earth. 

The crust is the thin outermost layer where we live, with two types: continental crust and oceanic crust. 

Beneath the crust is the mantle, a thick layer of hot, solid rock that slowly flows due to heat from the Earth’s core, helping drive plate movement.

The lithosphere is made up of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle and is broken into large pieces called tectonic plates. 

Below the lithosphere lies the asthenosphere, a solid but flexible layer that flows slowly, allowing the lithosphere to move on top of it. 

Tectonic plates move very slowly but their movement causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and the shaping of continents.

Vocabulary Worksheet

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Sulfur Cycle Summary and Worksheet

 

The sulfur cycle describes how sulfur moves through the Earth’s systems — the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

• Sulfur sources: Sulfur is stored in rocks (lithosphere) and released by weathering, volcanic eruptions, hot springs, and the decay of organisms in swamps and bogs.
• In the atmosphere: Gases like hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) are released naturally and by burning fossil fuels.
• Chemical changes: SO₂ reacts with oxygen to form sulfur trioxide (SO₃), which then combines with water to make sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) or with ammonia to form sulfate salts.
• Precipitation: These compounds return to Earth through rainfall, adding sulfates to the soil.
• In the biosphere: Plants absorb sulfate from the soil to make proteins. Animals obtain sulfur by eating plants. When organisms die and decompose, sulfur is released back into the environment as hydrogen sulfide or sulfate.

Bacteria play key roles: Anaerobic bacteria convert hydrogen sulfide to sulfur gas, while aerobic bacteria change sulfur back into sulfate—completing the cycle.

In short, sulfur continually cycles between the earth, air, water, and living things—supporting life and maintaining balance in ecosystems.

Sulfur Cycle Worksheet

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Nitrogen Cycle - Summary and Free Worksheet

 

The nitrogen cycle is how nitrogen moves through the air, soil, plants, animals, and back again. Even though about 78% of the air is nitrogen, people and animals can’t breathe it in or use it directly. We get nitrogen from the food we eat.

In nature, bacteria on plant roots and lightning help change nitrogen gas into a form called ammonia  this step is called nitrogen fixation. Since ammonia is harmful, other bacteria change it into nitrites and then nitrates through a process called nitrification.

Plants take in nitrates from the soil to grow, and animals get nitrogen by eating plants. When animals go to the bathroom or die, decomposers break down the waste and dead material in a process called ammonification, which returns nitrogen to the soil. Some bacteria then change nitrates back into nitrogen gas in a process called denitrification, sending it into the air again.

This process keeps repeating, recycling nitrogen so all living things can use it to make proteins and DNA.

Key Processes:

Nitrogen Fixation: N₂ → NH₃

Nitrification: NH₃ → NO₂⁻ → NO₃⁻

Assimilation: Plants absorb NO₃⁻

Ammonification: Waste/dead matter → NH₃

Denitrification: NO₃⁻ → N₂ gas

Nitrogen Cycle Worksheet

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