Download Study Guide 8th Grade Ocean Motions In the Northern Hemisphere

Study Guide 8th Grade
Ocean Motions
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In the Northern Hemisphere, ocean currents curve to the right because of the Coriolis effect.
Both surface currents and waves are caused mainly by winds.
As you go deeper in the ocean, pressure does NOT decrease.
Two gasses found in ocean water that are necessary for living things are oxygen and carbon
dioxide.
Low tides occur about every 12 hours and 25 minutes.
A spring tide occurs when the moon, sun, and Earth are in a straight line.
The total number of high tides that occur each day in most places is two.
Tsunamis are most common in the Pacific Ocean.
The strength of a wave depends mainly on its wave height.
When a wave passes by, water particles move in a circular motion.
Weather Factors Test
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The sky look blue because of scattering
The direct transfer of electromagnetic waves is called radiation
On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point of water is 32 degree
The upward movement of warm air and the downward movement of cool air is called a
convection current
Wind direction is often measured with a wind vane
In the Northern Hemisphere, global winds that blow from the southwest to the northwest are
called prevailing westerlies
You compare the readings of wet-bulb and dry-bulb thermometers to measure relative humidity
Clouds form when humid air is cooled to the dew point
Hailstones form only in the type of clouds called cumulonimbus
A form of precipitation in which rain freezes as it falls through the air is called sleet
Storms
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Cumulonimbus clouds are the type of cloud were thunderstorms form
You hear it after you see the lightning that caused it and it occurs because lightning heats the air
are true about thunder
Avoid touching electrical appliances, get out of the water if you are swimming, and don’t use the
telephone are ways to stay safe in a thunderstorm
Tornadoes develop in the same type of clouds that bring thunderstorms (T)
Tornadoes occur often in the Great Plains and tornadoes occur more often in the US than in any
other country
Hurricanes are a tropical storm & forms over water
Hurricanes do not last as long as other storms (F)
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If you hear a hurricane warning and are told to evacuate, you should leave the area immediately
(T)
1000 tornadoes happen in the US every yr
Summer/Spring bring the most tornadoes
15 min is how long a tornado lasts
Lightning makes the sound of thunder
Tropics are the place where you would find the most thunderstorms
The Earth would be dry if there weren’t any thunderstorms
Hurricanes happen in the winter and spring (F)
Hurricanes can flood rivers and roads (T)
A mobile home is a safe place to be in a hurricane (F)
In winter, the days are longer (T)
Ice storms happen when rain freezes on the ground (T)
Earth, Moon, & Sun
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Earth’s spinning on its axis is called its rotation
Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hrs
When the south end of Earth’s axis is tilted toward the sun, it is winter in the Northern
Hemisphere
The force that propels a rocket forward is called thrust
Spring tides occur when the sun, moon, and Earth line up
The tendency of an object to resist a change in motion is inertia
The pull of gravity on the surface of the moon is 1/6 that of Earth
Maria are regions formed from huge lava flows
The goal of the Apollo program was to land astronauts on the moon
The main advantage of a multistage rocket is that the total weight of the rocket is reduced as
the rocket rises
The Solar System
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The scientist who first used a telescope to make discoveries that supported the heliocentric
model was Galileo
The flash of light produced when a meteoroid passes through Earth’s atmosphere is a(n) meteor
The four terrestrial planets all have rocky surfaces
A stream of particles that extends outward from the sun’s corona is called solar wind
The planet Venus is similar to Earth in its density and internal structure
Ice is not included in scientists “Goldilocks conditions" for supporting life
The asteroid belt is between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
A(n) comet is a loose collection of ice, dust, and small rocky particles that typically has a long,
narrow orbit
Prominences are loops of gas on the sun that link different parts of sunspot regions together
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Jupiter has a thick atmosphere composed mainly of hydrogen and helium
Solar flare: an eruption of gas from the sun’s surface that occurs when the loops in sunspot
regions suddenly connect
Core: the central region of the sun, where nuclear fusion takes place
Chromosphere: the middle layer of the sun’s atmosphere
Sunspot: a dark area of gas on the sun’s surface that is cooler than surrounding gases
Corona: the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere
Nuclear fusion: the combining of two atomic nuclei to produce a single larger nucleus and much
energy
Photosphere: the inner layer of the sun’s atmosphere that gives off its visible light
Solar wind: a stream of electrically charged particles that emanates from the sun’s corona
Prominence: a huge, reddish loop of gas that protrudes from the sun’s surface, linking parts of
sunspot regions
Radiation zone: a region of very tightly packed gas in the sun’s interior where energy is
transferred mainly in the form of light
Convection zone: the outermost layer of the sun’s interior
Terrestrial Planets: the names often given to the four inner planets: mercury, venus, earth, mars
Greenhouse Effect: the process by which heat is trapped in the atmosphere by water vapor,
carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases that form a “blanket” around Earth; the trapping of
heat by a planet’s atmosphere
Gas Giant: the name often given to the first four outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Ring: a thin disk of small ice and rock particles surrounding a planet
Asteroid: rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be
considered planets
Asteroid belt: the region of the solar system between the orbits of Mars & Jupiter, where many
asteroids are found
Coma: the fuzzy outer layer of a comet
Comet: a loose collection of ice, dust, and small rocky particles, typically with a long, narrow
orbit of the sun
Kuiper belt: a doughnut shaped region that stretches from around Pluto’s orbit to about 100
times Earth’s distance from the sun
Meteor: a streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteoroid in Earth’s
atmosphere
Meteoroid: a chunk of rock or dust in space
Meteorite: a meteoroid that passes through the atmosphere and hits Earth’s surface
Oort cloud: a spherical region of comets that surrounds the solar system
The terrestrial plants or inner planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
The outer planets are: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
Pluto is considered a dwarf planet
Stars, Galaxies, & the Universe
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Patterns of stars in the sky are called constellations
Sound waves are not part of the electromagnetic spectrum
A neutron star that appears to produce pulses of radio waves is called a pulsar
The earliest stage of a star’s life is called a protostar
The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram graphs stars’ absolute brightness and temperature
How long a star lives depends on its mass
Parallax can’t be used on a star if the star is too far away
A light-year is a unit of distance
The distance between the crest of one wave of electromagnetic radiation and the crest of the
next one is its wavelength
When a star runs out of fuel, it cannot become a protostar
A star system in which one star blocks the light from another is called a(n) eclipsing binary
A device used to detect radio waves from objects in space is called a(n) radio telescope
A(n) refracting telescope focuses light through a transparent lens
A(n) reflecting telescope collects and focuses light by using a mirror
A large cloud of gas and dust in a galaxy is called a(n) nebula
A star is born when nuclear fusion begins inside a protostar (T)
A quasar is a type of globular cluster (F; galaxy)
A star system containing two stars is called a binary star (T)
A star’s absolute brightness is its brightness as seen from Earth (F; apparent brightness)
The coolest stars are blue-white in color (F; red)