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Earth Science Final
Earth Science Final 2024
| Explain why scientific investigations should be replicable. | Allows scientists to discover errors, proves the data is accurate & the results are reliable & allows other scientists to replicate and learn from past investigations. |
| What is Observational Research? | Researchers make observations without interfering- often leads to new ideas and real-world data. One downside is that it takes a long time to complete. |
| What is a Controlled Experiment? | Occurs when you test a hypothesis- the independent variable is INTENTIONALLY changed in order to test the hypothesis. |
| Why is creativity important in science? | It allows scientists to come up with new ways to solve problems or produce new things. They must be open to new ideas & be creative when designing experiments & reviewing evidence. |
| Identify the role that models play in science. | Models help us understand ideas and phenomena that are too big, too small, too dangerous or too complicated to understand otherwise. |
| Why is it important that scientists come from different backgrounds with varied talents, interests, and goals? | People from different backgrounds & educational levels can come together to solve problems or create new things- people with a vested interest can sometimes have the best ideas. |
| What is convection? | Convection is the transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid or gas. Ex: Warming up by a camp fire. |
| What is conDuction? | ConDuction is the transfer of heat between two substances that are in DIRECT contact. Ex: Touching a hot iron with your hand. |
| What is radiation? | Radiation is the transfer of heat (thermal energy) by electromagnetic waves. Ex: The sun warming the Earth. |
| What is evaporation? | The process of a liquid changing into a gas due to an INCREASE in heat or pressure. |
| What is condensation? | The process of a gas changing into a liquid due to a DECREASE in heat or pressure. |
| What is transpiration? | The process of plants absorbing water through their roots and giving off water vapor through their leaves. |
| What is precipitation? | A direct product of condensation that falls under gravity. |
| What is runoff? | Water from precipitation or other sources that flows over land. |
| Atmospheric & Oceanic Currents: | The sun heats the air or ocean- the hot air/water rises and cool air/water sinks creating circular convection currents. |
| How does the ocean influence weather & climate? | The ocean absorbs and stores more energy from the sun than the land or air. This energy is moved around Earth through convection currents. |
| The atmosphere being heated or cooled by contact from the ocean is an example of: | Conduction- the atmosphere is in DIRECT contact with the ocean. |
| Explain how hot or warm air & water behave. | Hot or warm air and water: Rise, molecules move faster, are more spread out & are less dense. Warm air stores more moisture. |
| Explain how cold or cool air & water behave. | Cold or cool air and water: Sink, molecules move slower, are closer together & are more dense. Cool air stores less moisture. |
| What is air pressure? | Air pressure is the result of the weight of a column of air pushing down on an area. There is more air pressure at sea level. |
| What is a cold front? | When the leading edge of a cold air mass(moves S or SE) near ground level replaces a warmer air mass- results in thunderstorms followed by cool temps & clear skies. |
| What is a warm front? | When the leading edge of a warmer air mass (moves N or NW) is replacing a cooler air mass- results in light rain followed by warmer temps and higher humidity. |
| What is a stationary front? | Occurs when a cooler air mass & a warmer air mass meet and don't move (they are stationary)- results in clouds and rainy weather. |
| What is high pressure? | High pressure is characterized by clear skies and drier air. |
| What is low pressure? | Low pressure is characterized by cloudy skies and moister air. |
| What is the Jet Stream? | An upper atmospheric current that moves weather systems from West to East across the U.S. |
| What is the Gulf Stream? | An ocean current, originating in the Gulf of Mexico that moves warmer water around the globe through convection. |
| How does the Gulf Stream affect temperatures on the East Coast? | The Gulf Stream is a warm ocean current that creates warm air masses, causing the air temperature along the East Coast to be warmer. |
| Name the four main spheres that work together to perform Earth's Systems- | GEOsphere (land), HYDROsphere (water) *includes CRYOsphere (frozen water), ATMOsphere (air/gas-water vapor) & BIOsphere (life) |
| Define weather. | Describes the daily, short term, conditions in an area- can change quickly. |
| Define climate. | Climate is the long-term weather pattern for an area. It's affected by latitude, altitude, distance from large bodies of water, ocean currents & global winds. |
| Why does the air cool quickly as a thunderstorm approaches? | Evaporation of rain from the storm absorbs heat energy. |
| Atmospheric Layer-Troposphere | Closest layer to Earth- where weather happens Tropo-to turn or change. |
| Atmospheric Layer- Stratosphere | Where planes fly- the air is much thinner in this layer. Ozone layer is located here and absorbs much of the sun's UV energy. |
| Atmospheric Layer-Mesosphere | The middle and coldest layer where most meteors burn up. Meso-middle |
| Atmospheric Layer-Thermosphere | This is the hottest layer of the atmosphere because the sun's energy hits here first. Thermo-heat |
| Atmospheric Layer-Exosphere | Satellites orbit here and it extends into the vastness of space. Exo-outer |
| Define Astronomical Unit (AU) | 1 AU (astronomical unit) equals the average distance measured from the center of the Sun to the center of the Earth- about 150,000,000km or about 93,000,000 miles. |
| Define Light-Year | The distance that light travels in one year- about 9.46 trillion kilometers |
| Size of our solar system | Our solar system extends more than 100,000 AU from the Sun |
| When do scientists use AUs? | When scientists want to measure distances between objects in our solar system they use astronomical units (AU). |
| When do scientists use light-years? | Scientists use light-years when measuring distances between stars and galaxies outside of our own. |
| Define galaxy. | A galaxy is a huge group of single stars, star systems, star clusters, dust and gas bound together by gravity. |
| Describe a Spiral Galaxy. | Spiral galaxies have a huge bulge in the middle and arms that spiral outward like pinwheels. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a spiral galaxy. |
| Describe an Elliptical Galaxy. | Elliptical galaxies are rounded and can be elongated- these are older galaxies that are no longer forming stars and contain some of the oldest stars in the universe. |
| Describe an Irregular Galaxy. | Irregular galaxies do not have a defined shape. They tend to be smaller galaxies that contain young, bright stars and are still forming stars. |
| Describe the properties of the Gas Giants. (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune) | Gas Giants are large, made of mostly hydrogen & helium with a small, rocky core. They tend to have planetary rings, many moons & have a lower density than Earth. |
| Define gravity. | Gravity is a force of attraction between two objects with mass. |
| Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation | This law states that every object in the universe attracts every other object. Two factors play a role in this- mass & distance. |
| Mass & Distance (applied for Newton's Law) | The more mass an object has, the stronger its gravitational pull. The greater the distance between two objects, the weaker the gravitational pull. |
| Define mass. | Mass is the amount of matter in an object. |
| The gravitational force between two objects is directly proportional (the same) to their mass, so... | As mass increases the gravitational force increases & as mass decreases the gravitational force decreases. |
| Define apparent magnitude (apparent brightness). | How bright a star APPEARS from Earth. |
| Define absolute magnitude (absolute brightness). | The brightness a star would have if it were at a standard distance from Earth. 10 paresecs |
| What does a star's color tell about it? | A star's color indicates it's surface temperature. The coolest stars appear red and the hottest stars appear blue. |
| Explain the life cycle of a high mass star. | Stellar nebula- protostar-high mass star- super giant- super nova- the biggest stars become black holes while the others become neutron stars. |
| Explain the life cycle of an average mass star. | Stellar nebula- protostar- low/medium mass star- red giant- planetary nebula- white dwarf |
| What does a star's mass dictate about its lifespan? | The larger the star, the shorter its life. Larger mass stars burn their fuel (hydrogen atoms fuse to make helium atoms) faster than low mass stars. |
| Describe the structure of the Sun's Interior-Core | Core-nuclear fusion occurs here as hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium atoms |
| Describe the structure of the Sun's Interior-Radiative Zone | Radiative Zone-energy leaves the core as electromagnetic radiation (radiation as heat transfer-through electromagnetic waves)Very dense plasma is characteristic of this zone. |
| Describe the structure of the Sun's Interior-Convection Zone | Convection Zone- heated plasma rises to the surface as cooling plasma sinks, forming convection. Cooler plasma appears darker due to less thermal energy (sunspots) |
| Describe the structure of the Sun's Atmosphere-Photosphere | Photosphere-inner layer of the sun's atmosphere-plasma is dense enough to be directly observed |
| Describe the structure of the Sun's Atmosphere-Chromosphere | Chromosphere-middle layer of the sun's atmosphere- gives off a reddish glow sometimes visible at the beginning & end of a solar eclipse. (chromo is Greek for color) |
| Describe the structure of the Sun's Atmosphere-Corona | Corona-the outer layer of the sun's atmosphere- extends into space for millions of kilometers- leads to electrically charged particles called solar winds. |
| Describe the Geocentric model of the Solar System. | Greek astronomer Ptolemy developed the GEOcentric model which placed Earth in the center of the Solar System. Ge or Geo is Greek for Earth. |
| Describe the Heliocentric model of the Solar System | Polish astronomer Copernicus developed the HELIOcentric model which placed the Sun in the center of the Solar System. Helios is Greek for sun. |
| What is Johannes Kepler credited with discovering? | Kepler observed/discovered that the orbit of each planet was elliptical. |
| Define tides. | Tides-the rise and fall of ocean water that occur approximately every 12.5 hours. They are the result of gravitational differences in the different alignments of the Sun, Earth & Moon. |
| Define Spring (King) Tides. | Spring (King) Tides occur when the Sun & Moon are in line with each-other causing high tides to be higher and low tides to be lower. Occurs at the New Moon & Full Moon phases. |
| Define Neap Tides. | Neap Tides occur when the Sun & the Moon are at right angles (90°)- causing high tides to be lower and low tides to be higher. Occurs at the 1st quarter & 3rd (last) quarter moon phases. |
| Why does Earth have seasons? | Earth's rotation on a tilted (23.5°) axis as it orbits the sun on an elliptical path leads to the poles being tilted TOWARD or AWAY from the sun, leading to seasonal changes. |
| Explain summer in the Northern hemisphere. | When the Northern hemisphere is tilted TOWARD the sun, receiving DIRECT sunlight, it is summer. |
| Explain winter in the Northern hemisphere. | When the Northern hemisphere is tilted AWAY from the sun, receiving INDIRECT sunlight, it is winter. |
| When it's Winter in the Northern hemisphere, what season is it in the Southern hemisphere? | Always opposite, so it would be Summer. |
| What is the result on Earth after one full rotation? | 1 Day- 24 hours is the result of one full rotation of Earth on its axis. |
| What is the result on Earth after one full revolution? | 1 Year- 365.25 days is the result of one full revolution of Earth in its orbit around the Sun. |
| How long is the Lunar Cycle? | A Lunar Cycle is 29.5 days Lunar Cycle-the gradual change of the portion of the Moon that is visible to us as the Moon orbits Earth. |
| How much of the Moon's surface is ALWAYS illuminated? | Half (50%) of the Moon's surface is ALWAYS illuminated, however, what we see on Earth changes due to the Moon's position as it orbits the Earth. |
| How does the Moon get its light? | The Moon itself does not produce light. Its appears to be lit because it is reflecting light from the Sun. |
| List the phases of the Moon. | New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third (Last)Quarter, Waning Crescent |
| Define Waxing. | Waxing refers to the portion of the Moon's lit surface we see from Earth getting BIGGER. |
| Define Waning. | Waning refers to the portion of the Moon's lit surface we see from Earth getting SMALLER. |
| Explain the word eclipse in reference to positioning. | Positionally, eclipse means to cover, block or obstruct. |
| Define Solar Eclipse. | Solar (Sun) Eclipse - the Sun is being blocked(eclipsed)by the shadow of the moon- this is rare and can ONLY occur during the New Moon phase. Small parts of Earth see a total solar eclipse. |
| Define Lunar Eclipse. | Lunar Eclipse- the Moon is being blocked (eclipsed) by Earth's shadow- more common and can ONLY occur during the Full Moon phase. |
Created by:
Demes Earth Science
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