Download facts and concepts that you need to know to pass the earth science

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FACTS AND CONCEPTS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PASS THE
EARTH SCIENCE REGENTS
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The same substance always has the same density, even if you cut it in half or change its shape.
As pressure increases, density increases.
As temperature increases, density decreases.
Most substances, except water, expand when they are heated.
Water expands as it freezes.
Water is most dense at 4oC, when it is a liquid.
The Earth’s shape is an oblate spheroid.
When drawing the Earth to scale it should be drawn as a perfect circle.
The altitude of Polaris equals your latitude in the Northern Hemisphere.
Latitude lines go east to west but measure distances north and south of the equator.
Longitude lines go north to south but measure distances east and west of the Prime Meridian.
180o longitude is the International Date Line.
There are 24 time zones, each 15o of longitude apart.
As you cross a time zone going east you add one hour, as you go west you subtract one hour.
The closer the isolines (contour lines, isotherms, isobars) are, the steeper the slope or gradient is.
All the characteristics of minerals except color are caused by the internal arrangement of the atoms.
Different colors in a mineral are caused by impurities.
Mohs hardness scale measures the hardness of a mineral. The hardness is its resistance to being
scratched.
Rocks are classified on the basis of how they form.
Igneous rocks form from the cooling and crystallization of magma or lava.
Igneous rocks formed from lava cool quickly and are called extrusive. They have small or no crystals.
Igneous rocks formed from magma cool slowly and are called intrusive. They have large crystals.
Sedimentary rocks form from sediments by compaction, cementation, or crystallization.
Fossils are found in sedimentary rocks.
Metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks are changed by great heat and or pressure.
A banded metamorphic rock occurs because the minerals in the layers have different densities.
The ocean crust is denser and thinner and made of basalt.
The continental crust is less dense and thicker and made of granite.
The ocean floor is younger than the continents. New crust is made at the mid-ocean ridges and
ocean crust is being destroyed at subduction zones.
Convection currents in the asthenosphere (plastic mantle) cause the plates to move.
Earthquake waves: P-waves travel faster than S-waves.
P-waves can travel through solids, liquids, and gases.
S-waves can only travel through solids.
Having just one seismic station will tell you how far away from the earthquake’s epicenter you are.
You need three seismic stations to find the epicenter of an earthquake.
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Weathering breaks things down into smaller pieces, erosion moves the sediments, and deposition
puts the sediments down somewhere.
Weathering occurs more rapidly in humid climates:
a. Physical weathering occurs more in cold, humid climates. (frost action)
b. Chemical weathering occurs more in warm, humid climates.
Weathering rates increase with more surface area.
Permeability increases as particle size increases.
Capillarity decreases as particle size increases.
Porosity is not affected by particle size.
Gravity is responsible for all erosion.
Streams:
a. cause the most erosion
b. The steeper the gradient the faster the river flows
c. The more discharge (water) in the river the faster it flows.
Erosion occurs on the outside of the meander where the water is moving faster, so it is steeper.
A
B
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a. Deposition occurs on the inside of the meander where the water is moving slower, so the gradient
is more gentle.
b. There is more kinetic energy at B where the water is moving faster, and more potential at A where
the water is moving slower.
45. Rounder, bigger, denser sediments will settle faster so have a smaller settling time.
46. Rivers and lakes (liquid water) will have sorted sediments.
47. Glacial sediments are unsorted. This is called till. Piles of till are moraines.
48. The outwash plain is formed from glacial melt water and so is sorted. We live on an outwash plain.
49. Glaciers have U shaped valleys will streams have V shaped valleys.
50. Landscapes in arid climates are angular with steep slopes. Landscapes in humid climates are smooth
and rounded.
51. Mountains have high relief (elevation) and distorted rock structure.
52. Plateaus have high relief (elevation) and horizontal rock structure.
53. Plains have low relief (elevation) and horizontal rock structure.
54. Black and rough absorbs energy, white and smooth reflects energy.
55. A good absorber is also a good radiator of energy. Energy is reradiated as infrared radiation.
56. Energy transfer:
a. Conduction-transfers heat molecule to molecule by touching –happens in solids
b. Convection-transfers heat by currents-happens in liquids and gases
c. Radiation-transfers through space-like light
57. Energy moves from high temperatures to low temperatures, from a source to a sink
a. Source is the hottest spot in the area
b. Sink is the coldest spot in the area
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In the greenhouse effect visible light (short wavelengths) can be absorbed and infrared radiation
(long wavelengths) are trapped by carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor.
All weather occurs due to differences in temperature which set up convection cells in the
atmosphere.
Warm air rises because it is less dense and cold air sinks because it is more dense.
As temperature increases, air pressure decreases.
As temperature or air pressure increases, relative humidity decreases.
As altitude increases, air pressure and temperature decrease.
Winds blow from high pressure to low pressure.
The closer the isobars the stronger the wind is. (The higher the pressure or temperature gradient
the stronger the winds.)
Anticyclones are high pressure with cool temperatures and dry air. The air moves clockwise, out,
and down.
Cyclones are low pressure with warm temperatures and moist air. The air moves counterclockwise,
in, and up.
Winds are named for the direction they come from.
When converting an air pressure from the station model to millibar form use the 500 rule. If the
number is above 500 add a 9 at the front. If it below 500 add a 10 in front. Put a decimal before the
last digit whether you added a 9 or a 10.
The Earth’s rotation causes the Coriolis Effect. This causes wind and ocean currents to curve.
When the air temperature and the dew point are equal the air is saturated.
When the air temperature and the dew point are close together there is a greater chance of
precipitation.
Clouds form when air rises, expands, cools, and condenses around a condensation nuclei.
A warm front occurs when warm air meets cold air.
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A cold front occurs when cold air meets warm air.
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An occluded front occurs when a cold front meets a warm front.
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Weather moves from west to east and then northeast in this country due to global winds.
The windward side of the mountain is wetter because rising air expands and cools. The leeward side
is dryer with air sinking and warming.
Long Island’s climate is moderated by the ocean.
The universe began with the Big Bang.
The universe is still expanding, so everything outside our solar system will have a Doppler red shift
because objects are moving away from each other.
The Earth rotates counterclockwise from west to east at 15o/ hour.
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All celestial objects, (moon, stars, other planets) appear to rise in the east and set in the west and
move across the sky at 15o/ hr.
Rotation is when the Earth spins on its axis, a day; and revolution is when the Earth goes around the
Sun, a year.
The Earth’s revolution is a slightly eccentric ellipse.
The lower the angle of the Sun the lower the intensity of insolation, so lower temperatures.
The Foucault pendulum and the Coriolis effect prove the Earth rotates.
The lower the angle of the Sun the longer the shadow.
Seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis relative to the Sun.
Summer Solstice: June 21 or 22, Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer 23.5 o N, first day of
summer in the northern hemisphere and longest daylight hours
Winter Solstice: Dec 21 or 22, Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn 23.5 oS, first day of
winter in the northern hemisphere and shortest daylight hours
Vernal (spring) equinox: March 21 or 22, Sun is directly over the equator, 12 hours of daylight
Autumnal (fall) equinox: Sept 22 or 23, Sun is directly over the equator, 12 hours of daylight
The moon has phases because of the angle at which we see the lit portion as it revolves around the
Earth. Half of the Moon’s surface is always lit by the Sun.
In a lunar eclipse the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow. It happens during a full moon.
In a solar eclipse the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth. It happens during a new moon.
The Earth is closer to the Sun in winter and further away in summer.
The northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun in summer and away from the Sun in winter.
When a planet is closer to the Sun it has a faster orbit, more kinetic energy.
Our solar system is located halfway down one spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy.
Rock strata means rock layers.
In undisturbed strata the oldest layer is on the bottom.
Intrusions, extrusions, faults, and folds are younger than the rock they are in.
An unconformity is a buried erosional surface. Part of the rock record is missing here.
An index fossil will tell you how old a rock layer is. An index fossil lived for a short time over a large
area.
Geologic time is based on the fossil record.
Radioactive Dating is a good way to age fossils and rocks because the decay rate (called half life) is
constant and nothing will change it.
Do not second guess your answers. Your gut instinct is usually correct so don’t change an answer
unless you know you make an obvious mistake.
REMEMBER TO USE YOUR EARTH SCIENCE REFERENCE TABLES!!!!!!
Do not assume you remember the material on the reference table. You have plenty of time so take
it slowly and look things up.
If you are not using your reference table for a few questions go back and look them over again to see
if the information may be on the reference table.