Download Name: June Proficiency Exam Study Guide 7th Grade Science

Name: _________________________
June Proficiency Exam Study Guide
7th Grade Science – Miss Maxwell and Mr. Burgmeyer
Proficiency Exam Dates: Wed 6/18 & Thurs 6/19
Chapter 20: The Sun-Earth-Moon System
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Lesson 1 Earth’s Motion (pages 726 – 734)
Lesson 2 Earth’s Moon (pages 736 – 742)
Lesson 3 Eclipses and Tides (pages 744 – 751)
1. Explain the two ways Earth moves in space. Earth
rotates on its axis every 24 hours and revolves on its
orbit around the Sun every 365 ¼ days
2. List and describe the two forces that keep objects in
orbit. Both gravity and inertia keep objects such as the
Earth in orbit. Gravity: the attractive force between all
objects with mass. Inertia: the tendency of an object to
resist change in its motion.
3. Explain each event and describe the positions of the
Earth, moon, and sun during:
a. A solar eclipse:
The moon moves directly between the Sun and Earth and
casts a shadow on Earth
b. A lunar eclipse
The Moon moves into Earth’s shadow. The Earth is directly
between the Sun and the Moon.
c. Spring tide
occur during a new Moon and full Moon. This is when
the Sun’s and Moon’s gravity effects combine which
produces higher high tides and lower low tides.
d. Neap tide
occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon form a right
angle. The Sun’s effect on the tides reduces the
Moon’s effect. They occur during the 1st and 3rd
quarters. This causes high tides to be lower and low
tides to be higher._
e. The phases of the moon
New Moon: the sunlit side of the moon is not facing
Earth
Waxing Crescent: The portion of the Moon you can
see is waxing, or growing into a crescent shape
1st Quarter: You can see half of the sunlit side of the
Moon.
Waxing Gibbous: the Moon continues to wax. The
visible shape of the Moon is called gibbous.
Full Moon: the sunlit side of the moon is facing Earth
Waning Gibbous: the portion of the Moon you can
see wanes, or shrinks.
3rd Quarter: You can see half of the Moon’s lighted
side.
Waning Crescent: you see a crescent once again.
4. Why do coastal regions experience tides?
Due to the Moon’s gravitational pull
5. What causes seasons on Earth? How would Earth be
positioned during winter and summer in the Northern
hemisphere?
Seasons on Earth are caused by Earth’s tilited rotational
axis and Earth’s motion around the Sun. In the summer
the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, in the
winter it is tilted away from the Sun.
Chapter 13: The Earth System
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Lesson 1 Earth Systems and Interactions (pages 469 – 478)
Lesson 2 The Geosphere (pages 480 - 489)
6. What are the four main systems of Earth? Describe
each and give an example of something that can be
found in each.
Hydrosphere: all of Earth’s water (river)
Biosphere: all living things on Earth (deer)
Atmosphere: outermost system made up of a mixture
of gases and particles of matter (contains the ozone
layer)
Geosphere: largest system, solid Earth (Cliff)
7. Give 3 examples of interactions between Earth’s
systems.
Water cycle: water moves from the hydrosphere to the
atmosphere, then to the geosphere, and then the
biosphere and back to the hydrosphere.
Rock Cycle: rocks in the geosphere interact with the
other systems through weathering and erosion.
Carbon Cycle: carbon moves from the biosphere to the
atmosphere, to the geosphere to the hydrosphere.
8. Explain the steps of the water cycle.
Evaporation: process by which liquid water escapes
into the air as water vapor.
Condensation: process by which water vapor in the air
becomes liquid water
Precipitation: any form of water that falls from clouds
and reaches Earth’s surface.
Chapter 14: Earth’s Changing Surface
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Lesson 1 Plate Tectonics (pages 500 - 506)
Lesson 2 Earthquakes and Volcanoes (pages 508 - 516)
Lesson 3 Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition (pages 518 - 525)
9. What are the two types of weathering? Define each
and give an example.
Physical weathering: process of breaking rocks without
changing its composition. Example: Frost Wedging
(freezing and thawing)
Chemical Weathering: process of changing the
composition of rocks by exposure to water and the
atmosphere. Examples: acid rain, rusting, gases in the
atmosphere
10.
What are the components of soil?
Weathered rock, mineral material, organic matter, air,
water
11.
Where do the nutrients in soil come from?
Organic matter that is broken down
12.
List and describe the layers of the geosphere.
Crust: thin outer layer, solid
Mantle: thick, rocky middle layer-convection currents
Outer Core: liquid iron and nickel
Inner Core: solid, extreme heat and pressure
13.
How do scientists learn about all of the layers of
the geosphere?
They analyze seismic waves from earthquakes
14.
What does the hypothesis of continental drift
state?
Continents have slowly moved to their current locations
15.
What evidence did Wegener use to try to prove his
continental drift hypothesis?
Fossil Evidence: tropical plant fossils found in Antarctica
Geological Evidence: matching rock structures
16.
What are the three types of plate boundaries?
Describe the movement at each.
Divergent: plates move away from each other.
Convergent: plates move towards each other
Transform: plates slide past each other
17.
What landforms and events can occur along each
of the plate boundaries? Describe them.
MOST earthquakes occur along plate boundaries
Volcanoes form along divergent and convergent plate
boundaries as well as at hot spots.
18.
What force drives plate tectonics?
Convection currents in the mantle
19.
What is a volcano?
Weak spot where magma comes to the surface
Weather and Climate
Weather and Climate slides (pages 570 -683 as a reference)
20.
What are some properties of air?
Mass, density, volume, and pressure
Air has pressure because air has mass.
21.
What are the layers of the atmosphere? List
important facts about each layer.
Troposphere: surface-weather
Stratosphere: ozone layer
Mesosphere: meteors
Thermosphere: satellites
Ionosphere: Auroras
Exosphere: space-no definite end
22.
How is heat transferred throughout the
troposphere?
Convection currents mostly
23.
What causes global winds?
Unequal heating of Earth’s atmosphere
24.
Why do winds curve?
The Coriolis Effect
25.
What are fossils?
Preserved remains of traces of living things
26.
List the correct order of the divisions of the
geologic time scale from largest to smallest.
Eons-Eras-Periods