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Earth Science
SOL REVIEW
SOL ES 1
 Density
 Relationship between mass and volume
 D = m/v
 Density is always given as g/ml or g/cm3
 Mass can be determined by using a scale or triple
beam balance
 Volume is determined by using a graduated
cylinder
Temperature decreases with depth
Density increases with depth
Pressure also increases with depth
Salinity increases with depth
Atmosphere Temperature and Pressure
 The troposphere is the lowest layer of the
atmosphere and is where all weather occurs
 The stratosphere is the second layer of the
atmosphere. This layer contains the ozone
which is responsible for blocking some forms
of UV radiation from reaching the earth.
Topographic Maps
Topographic Maps
 Measure changes in elevation
 A profile is a side view of an elevation
 When contour lines are close together, the area is steep.
 Contour lines always point upstream (opposite of flow)
 Depressions or holes are identified by lines within a circle
 Valleys will have contour lines very spread apart
7.5 Quadrant (Minute) Topographic map
Latitude
N and S of Equator
Longitude
E and W of the Prime Meridian
SOL ES 2
 Scientific Method
 Scientists use observations of phenomena to
make predictions of future events and explain
what has happened in the past
 Hypothesis
 Tentative explanation
 Only hypotheses that are testable are valid
 Theories offer explanations for observed patterns
in nature
 Laws describe patterns and relationships in nature
and are based on data that has been observed
 Observations are made using the senses
 Inferences are not based on observations.
They are conclusions made on data that is
known to be true
 Variables
 Independent
 Variable changed in an experiment
 Should only be one
 Dependent
 Variable measured in an experiment
 Scientific Laws and Theories
 Plate tectonics
 Convergent, divergent, transform
 Superposition
 Youngest on top, oldest on bottom
 Uniformitarianism
 Processes today are same as in the past
 Original horizontality
 All rock layers are originally laid down horizontally
 Cross cutting
 An intrusion or fault is younger than the rock it cuts
through
 Continental drift
 Matching fossils, rock types, mountain ranges, and changes in
climate
 Seafloor spreading
 Divergent boundary on ocean floor was the mechanism for
movement of continents
 Big bang theory
 Formation of the universe
 Solar nebula theory
 Formation of the solar system
 Sun formed first
 Solid inner planets – able to withstand heat, more dense material,
settle out first
 Gaseous outer planets – moved to distant parts of the solar system
due to solar wind
 Formation of the moon
 Asteroid impact with earth
SOL ES 3
 Earth
 Third planet from the sun
 Solid inner planet
 Consists of layers
 Crust – lithosphere (oceanic and continental crust)
 Mantle – asthenosphere
 Outer core and inner core
 One satellite – the moon
 Water occurs in three forms due to position in solar
system
 Solid, liquid, and gas
 Only planet to support life as we know it due to
oxygen in the atmosphere and liquid water
 Earth along with the other planets revolves
around the sun in paths called ellipses
 The earth’s axis is tilted. This tilt is responsible for
the amount of solar energy reaching the earth’s
surface and the seasons
 The rotation of the earth on it’s axis causes days
and nights
 The tilt of earth’s axis is responsible for duration of
days and nights
 The moon revolves around the earth causing
moon phases and eclipses
 The tides are caused by the gravitational pull of
the moon and sun
 There are 2 types of tides: spring and neap
Full moon
phase
New moon
phase
 Parts of an eclipse
 Umbra
 Dark part of the
moons shadow
 Complete eclipse
 Penumbra
 Light part of the
moons shadow
 Partial eclipse
New and
Full moons
1st and 3rd
Quarter
moons
 Sun
 The sun is a main
sequence star
 Consists mostly of
hydrogen
 Energy is produced
by nuclear fusion of
hydrogen to helium
The Planets
 Inner
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terrestrial
Smaller
Solid
Higher densities
Thinner atmospheres
 Mercury – none
 Venus – thick, CO2
 Earth – nitrogen, oxygen,
argon
 Mars – Thin, CO2
 Faster orbital periods
 Slower periods of rotation
 Few natural satellites
 Outer
 Jovian
 Larger
 Gas giants possibly with
solid cores
 Lower densities
 Thicker atmospheres
 Hydrogen, helium,
methane, ammonia
 Slower orbital periods
 Faster periods of rotation
 Many natural satellites
 Mercury
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Smallest planet
Fastest orbital velocity
No atmosphere
Greatest temperature extremes
No moons
 Venus
 Earth’s twin or sister planet
 Very hot temperatures due to thick atmosphere of CO2
which causes run away greenhouse effect
 Evidence of volcanism and tectonic activity
 Opposite rotation
 No moons
 Mars
 The red planet due to iron oxide which causes rust
 Evidence that there was once liquid water at the
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surface. The only water found now is either below
the surface or in polar ice caps
Very thin atmosphere of CO2 causing it to be very
cold
Hurricane force winds and extensive dust storms
Many volcanoes including olympus mons which is
the largest volcano in the solar system
Half the size of earth
2 moons
 Jupiter
 Largest planet
 Contains the red spot which is believed to be a
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giant hurricane
Banded appearance is due to layering of the
atmosphere from convection and high rotational
speed
Fastest rotation of all planets
Greatest number of moons (63)
One of the moons, Io, is volcanically active caused
by gravitational pull of Jupiter and moons
 Saturn
 System of rings made up of ice and rock
 Least dense planet (less dense than water)
 Second greatest number of moons
 Titan, the largest moon, is believed to be the only
body other than earth to have liquid at the surface
and nitrogen in the atmosphere
 62 moons
 Uranus
 Axis of rotation lies parallel to its orbit causing it to
appear like it is on it’s side
 27 moons
 Neptune
 One of the windiest places in the solar system
 Has the great dark spot which is believed to be a giant
storm
 13 moons
 The moon triton is the coldest body in the solar
system
 Pluto
 Called a dwarf planet because it only meets 2 of
the 3 criteria of planets
 orbits the sun – yes
 Mass for gravity to produce round shape – yes
 Gravity to clear neighborhood – no
 Very elliptical orbit
 Largest moon is Charon
 Part of the Kuiper belt
 Asteroids
 Large objects found in asteroid belt which is between
Mars and Jupiter
 Believed to be fragments of preexisting planets or
large bodies that never became planets
 Comets
 Rocky and metallic core called the coma held together
by ice, ammonia, methane, CO2 and CO
 Orbit the sun in very long ellipses
 The tail always points away from the sun due to solar
winds
 Produced in Oort clouds and Kuiper belt
 Meteoroids
 Remains of a comet believed to form when the
earth passes through the tail of a comet
 Meteoroids are small solid particles in space
 Meteor are meteoroids that burn up in our
atmosphere
 Meteorites are solid particles that come in contact
with earth
 The moon
 Craters of the moon were caused by meteoroid impact
 No erosion due to no winds or rains
 Dark regions are called maria which is composed of
basaltic lava
 Light colored regions are called highlands
 Covered with regolith which is composed of rock
fragments. Similar to the surface of earth
 The moon formed when an asteroid sized object
struck the earth. The ejected debris entered an orbit
around earth and combined. This is called the impact
hypothesis.
SOL ES 4
 All rocks are composed of minerals
 Minerals
 Naturally occurring
 Inorganic
 Solid
 Definite chemical composition and structure
 The major elements in earth’s crust are
oxygen, silicon, aluminum, and iron
 These elements are rarely found in the native
state because they undergo oxidation very easily
Most Abundant Elements in Earth’s Crust
 The most abundant group of minerals on
earth are the silicates
 Most common silicates are quartz (glass) and
feldspar (clay)
 The carbonates (CO3)
 Most common carbonates are calcite and
dolomite (cement and building materials)
 Easily weathered chemically
 The oxide group is composed minerals that
contain oxygen and a metal
 Hematite and magnetite (iron ores)
The silicon-oxygen
tetrahedron is the basic
structure for all silicate
minerals.
The silicates are the
most common minerals
on earth’s surface.
 Some of the most important metallic
minerals are produced by igneous processes
(cooling of magma)
 Most of the nonmetallic minerals form
through metamorphic processes (heat and
pressure)
 Major rock forming minerals
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quartz
Feldspar
Calcite
Mica
 Physical properties of minerals
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Hardness
Color
Luster
Streak
Cleavage and fracture
 Special features of Minerals
 Magnetism – magnetite
 Specific gravity – ratio of the density of mineral to
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the density of water
Fluorescence – glowing under a blacklight (fluorite
and calcite)
Radioactivity – minerals that contain uranium
Double refraction – bending of light (some forms
of calcium)
Acid reaction – calcite and dolomite
Malleability – able to be hammered into objects
(gold, copper, and silver)
Major Rock Forming Minerals
 The concentration of many ore minerals is
small in the earth’s crust
 Ore minerals
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Pyrite (fools gold) (iron)
Magnetite and hematite (iron)
Galena (lead)
Graphite (carbon)
Sulfur
Calcopyrite (copper)
Sphalerite (zinc)
 Mineral uses
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Apatite – phosphorus fertilizers
Calcite – cement and building stone
Kaolinite – ceramics and bricks
Corundum, diamond, garnet – gemstones, valued
because they are rare, beautiful or brilliant, and
extremely hard
 Fluorite – steel
 Graphite – pencil lead
 Gypsum – plaster and wallboard
 Halite – table salt
 Muscovite – electronics insulator
 Quartz – glass
 Sulfur – chemicals
 Sylvite – potassium fertilizers
 Talc – powder used in paint and cosmetics
SOL ES 5
 Rocks are identified based on mineral content
and texture
 The rock cycle is the process that shows how
one type of rock can be changed into another
type
 Igneous Rock
 Form by cooling (crystallization) of magma
(melted, molten material)
 Extrusive
 Small crystals because they cool quickly at the
surface
 Fine grained or glassy texture
 Rhyolite, andesite, basalt, obsidian, pumice
 Intrusive
 Large crystals because they cool slowly beneath the
surface
 Coarse grained
 Granite, diorite, gabbro
 Igneous rock can also be classified by composition
 Granitic – light in color (granite, rhyolite, obsidian,
and pumice)
 Andesitic – mixture of light and dark color (diorite
and andesite)
 Basaltic – dark in color (gabbro and basalt)
 Sedimentary rock
 Formed by compaction and cementation of
weathered material
 The following terms are always associated with
sedimentary rock:
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Weathered
Eroded
Compacted
Cemented
Lithification
Deposited
 Clastic
 Sediments from preexisting rock
 Breccia, sandstone, shale, conglomerate
 Larger grains and coarser texture
 Chemical
 Evaporation or precipitation
 Rock salt and limestone
 Organic
 Made from biological processes
 Some forms of limestone and coal
 There are certain features that are only associated
with sedimentary rock
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Strata – layering
Fossils
Ripple marks from water
Mud cracks from drying
 Metamorphic Rock
 From by heat and pressure that occurs below the
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earth’s surface
Foliated (layers) and nonfoliated (no layers)
The heat is the most important agent and is most
responsible for change
Contact metamorphism: contact with magma
causes elevated heat
Regional metamorphism: plate tectonics causes
increased heat and pressure
 Foliated (parent rock in parentheses)
 Slate (shale)
 Phyllite (slate)
 Schist (phyllite)
 Gneiss (schist or granite)
 Nonfoliated
 Marble (limestone)
 Quartzite (sandstone)
 Anthracite (hardest form of coal)
Physiographic Provinces of Virginia
 Coastal Plain
 Youngest
 Deposition of weathering and erosion of the
appalachian mountains
 Sedimentary rock
 Piedmont
 Rolling hills and deeply weathered bedrock
 Metamorphic rock from N. America / Africa
collision
 Igneous rocks are the remains of ancient
volcanoes
 Rift zones from pulling apart of Pangaea
 Blue Ridge
 Igneous and metamorphic rock
 Oldest rock in the state
 Formed during collision between Africa and N.
America
 Valley and Ridge
 Folded and faulted sedimentary rock
 Formed by collision between Africa and N.
America
 Karst topography of carbonates (limestone)
 Appalachian Plateau
 Ancient flat sedimentary rock
 Coal, natural gas, and petroleum
 Formation of fossil fuels originally occurred in
swamp areas that were uplifted during the
collision between Africa and N. America
SOL ES 6
 Formation of Fossil Fuels (hydrocarbons)
 Coal
 Heat and pressure transforming plants
 Stages of coal formation
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Peat
Lignite (sedimentary)
Bituminous (sedimentary)
Anthracite (metamorphic)
 Petroleum and Natural Gas
 Formed from remains of organisms that were buried
in ancient seas
 Pressure from surrounding rock layers squeezes the
oil and gas out of sedimentary rock
 Nonrenewable Resources of Virginia
 Coal is Virginia’s most important natural resource
 Crushed stone and gravel – road construction
 Limestone – concrete
 Kyanite – ceramics, electronics, and insulation
 Vermiculite – insulation, packing materials, and
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potting soil
Quartz – glass and electronics
Zircon – ceramics
Rutile – source of titanium
Ilmenite – source of titanium
 Renewable resources of Virginia
 Soil
 Forests
 Water
 These resources have a great deal of
potential in Virginia due to the large amounts
that are found in the state
 The production and use of nonrenewable
resources in Virginia has increased over the
last 150 years
 When extracting resources from earth the
benefits and costs must be weighed
 Renewable resources can be replaced and
nonrenewable resources cannot be replaced
 Fossil fuels are nonrenewable and may cause
pollution but they are cheap and easy to use
Energy Resources on Earth
Energy Source
Advantages
Disadvantages
Oil
Efficient; can be converted into
different types of fuel
Causes air pollution; risk of spills
while drilling/transporting;
nonrenewable
Natural gas
Available in US; clean
Difficult to store and transport;
mostly nonrenewable
Coal
Abundant in US; inexpensive
Causes air pollution and acid
rain; mining practices harmful to
miners’ health
Nuclear
Highly efficient; does not cause
air pollution; inexpensive
Thermal pollution; radioactive
waste; nuclear accidents
Hydroelectric
No air pollution; inexpensive;
renewable
Not available in all areas; effects
local ecology
Wind
No pollution; clean; inexpensive;
renewable
Winds not always constant; not
practical for large-scale
Solar
No pollution; clean; renewable
Expensive to convert into usable
form
 Layers of the Earth
 Solid inner core composed of iron and nickel.
Remains solid due to pressure from surrounding
layers
 Liquid outer core composed of iron. Causes the
earth’s magnetosphere
 The mantle is composed of a plastic like material
that is solid but able to flow
 The crust is rocky and brittle
 The lithosphere
 Divided into plates
 Composed of the crust and upper mantle
 Two types of crust
 Oceanic: more dense, relatively thin, and young
 Continental: less dense, thick, and old
 The asthenosphere
 Found entirely in the upper mantle
 The lithosphere rides on the asthenosphere
 Plate boundaries
 Earthquakes,
volcanoes, and
mountain building
are a result of motion
along plate
boundaries
 Plate boundaries and formations
 Continents : divergent boundaries that broke apart
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Pangaea
Mountain chains : continental – continental
convergent boundaries
Island arcs : oceanic – oceanic convergent boundaries
Deep ocean trenches: oceanic – continental
convergent boundaries
Earthquake zones: convergent and transform
boundaries
Continental volcanoes: oceanic – continental
convergent boundaries
Oceanic volcanoes: oceanic divergent boundaries
 Volcanism and geothermal activity
 Hawaii: oceanic hot spot volcanoes
 Yellowstone: continental hot spot volcanoes
 Iceland: divergent boundary volcanoes formed
over the mid ocean ridge
 Mt. St. Helens: cascade mountain range, oceaniccontinental convergent boundary
 Catoctin greenstone: basaltic geothermal flows
indicating that the area was once under water
 Tambora (Indonesia): formed by a subduction
zone between 2 oceanic crusts, largest volcanic
eruption in history
 Deccan Traps (India): largest volcanic provinces in
the world, consists of layers of basalt
 Plate boundaries
 Japan and Aleutian Islands: oceanic – oceanic
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convergent boundary (currently active)
California: transform boundary (currently active)
New Madrid, MO: divergent boundary (very active
between 100 and 200 years ago)
Appalachian System: convergent boundary
between Africa and N. America (very active
billions of years ago)
Iceland: divergent (currently active)
Tonga: convergent boundary between 2 oceanic
plates (currently active)
 It was determined that the outer core is liquid
because S-waves could not penetrate the
molten layer and P-waves were slowed.
 It was determined that the inner core is solid
because there is a sudden increase in P-wave
activity. The inner core is the most dense
layer of the earth
 Evidence for Plate Tectonics
 The seafloor gets older as you move away from
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the mid ocean ridge
Magnetic reversal on the ocean floor. Both sides
are mirror images of each other
Similar fossils and rock types and have been found
on separated continents
At the mid ocean ridge magma moves up through
a divergent boundary. The new ocean crust
formed pushes older crust away.
When the oceanic crust comes in contact with
continental crust, the oceanic crust is subducted
 Features associated with convergent
boundaries
 Continental – continental: folded and thrust fault
mountains
 Continental – oceanic: trenches and continental
volcanoes, subduction zones
 Oceanic – oceanic: trenches and island arcs,
subduction zones
 Features associated with divergent
boundaries
 Rift valleys
 Mid ocean ridges
 Seafloor spreading
 Fissure volcanoes
 Features associated with transform
boundaries
 Strike slip faults
 There is much more tectonic activity along
the Pacific coast than there is along the
Atlantic coast because the Pacific coast is
closely associated with plate boundaries
 Earthquake activity
 Earthquake activity is associated with all types of
plate boundaries
 The major parts of an earthquake are the focus
and epicenter
 There are 3 types of earthquakes: shallow focus
(cause the most damage), intermediate focus, and
deep focus
 In order to determine the epicenter of an
earthquake you need information from 3
seismograph stations
 The Richter scale measures the amount of energy
released by an earthquake. Each number is 10
times greater.
 The Mercalli scale measures the intensity or
amount of damage created by an earthquake
 Volcanic Activity
 Most volcanic activity is associated with
subduction (cascades and andes), rifting, and
seafloor spreading (fissure volcanoes)
 Hot spot volcanic activity (Hawaii and
Yellowstone) are not associated with plate
boundaries but are associated with a stationary
magma source called a plume
A fold is a permanent
bend in rock where there
is no break.
A change in the shape of
rock is called a
deformation.
Anticlines and Synclines
are formed by
compression
Monoclines are formed
by tension
A fault is a break in rock where movement occurs
 Weathering
 Chemical
 Water is the most important agent
 One or more compounds are formed
 Quartz weathers very slowly
 Examples include hydrolysis and oxidation
 Mechanical
 Rock is broken down into smaller pieces without
changing the mineral composition
 Examples include frost wedging, exfoliation, and
biological activity
 Erosion
 Weathered materials are moved by wind, water,
or ice
 The more energy, the farther the material will
travel
 Deposition
 Occurs when eroded materials settle out
 Heavier materials settle first
 The processes of weathering, erosion, and
deposition form sedimentary rock
 2 major depositional features are deltas and
alluvial fans
 Deltas form where a river meets a larger body of
water and velocity decreases
 Alluvial fans form at the base of a mountain where
the velocity of water decreases
SOL ES 8
 Soil is formed by
weathered material
and organic material
(humus)
Organic
Topsoil
Subsoil
Partially weathered
material (regolith)
 Karst Topography
 Underlain by carbonate rocks including limestone
and dolomite
 Forms by chemical weathering when limestone is
dissolved by acidic groundwater (CaCO3)
 The valley and ridge province has an abundance of
karst topography
 Features include sinkholes, caverns, stalactites
(ceiling), and stalagmites (floor)
 Freshwater can be
found in rivers,
streams, lakes,
aquifers, and
groundwater
 Earth’s freshwater
supply is finite and
can be polluted
Hydrologic Cycle
 Porosity is the ability of a rock to hold water
 Permeability is the ability of a rock to transmit water
 Water does not pass through impermeable material
 Sandstone is permeable
 Permeable rock that is full of water is called an
aquifer.
 A rock can have a high porosity but a low
permeability if the pore space is too small or the
pores are not connected
 Rock that is permeable is well sorted (sediments are
the same size)
Watersheds of Virginia
 The Chesapeake Bay
 Largest estuary in the US
 An estuary is a body of water found where rivers
meet the sea
 The Chesapeake Bay is home to thousands of
birds, fish, and mammals
 The water of the bay is brackish which means it
has a higher level of salts and dissolved minerals
 The Chesapeake Bay receives nutrients, sediment,
and pollutants from land
 Excessive nutrients in the bay come from
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treatment plants, runoff, and air pollution
Excessive nutrients such as nitrogen and
phosphorus increase the growth of dense algal
blooms.
The algal blooms block sunlight that grasses need
and consume the oxygen that organisms need
Sediment can also cloud up the water
Contaminants alter the food chain
 The saltwater intrusions that occur in the
aquifers located in eastern Virginia were
caused by a meteor impact off the coast of
Virginia.
 The craters formed by the meteorite has
caused large amounts of seawater to enter
the aquifers.
SOL ES 9
 Fossils
 Only found in sedimentary rock
 Remains, impressions, or evidence of previous life
 Fossil evidence shows that life has changed and
become more complex over time
 Examples of fossils include molds, casts, and
organism remains
 Index fossils are useful for correlation because
they are widespread and abundant but limited to
one area of geologic time
 Relative Dating
 Provides a sequence but not actual dates
 Fossils, superposition, and crosscutting are
examples of relative dating techniques
 Absolute Dating
 Provides a numerical age
 Radioactive dating (U-238 to Pb-206) and Carbon
dating are examples
 Uranium – rocks
 Carbon – organic (fossils)
 Parent (radioactive) material and daughter
(stable) material are compared
 Absolute ages are given in half lives
 It is believed that the earth is about 4.6 billion
years old.
 Most of the fossils found in Virginia are
located in the Coastal Plain, Valley & Ridge,
and Appalachian Plateau.
 Most of the fossils are marine which means
that the state was once covered with
seawater.
 Fossils from the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and
Cenozoic Eras are found in Virginia
 Divisions of Time
 Eons – Eras – Periods – Epochs –Years
Each era ended with a major event.
The end of each era is normally
associated with a major extinction.
The extinction of the dinosaurs was
caused by an asteroid impact with
Earth.
The Appalachians formed during the
Ordovician Period (Paleozoic)
Remember that
intrusions are
always igneous
(usually granite)
SOL ES 10
 The most abundant
elements in ocean
water are hydrogen
and oxygen
 The most abundant
salts in ocean water
are sodium and
chloride
 The gases nitrogen, oxygen, and CO2 are the
most abundant dissolved gases in ocean
water just like the atmosphere
 Oxygen is used for respiration
 CO2 is one of the most important gases that
dissolves in the oceans
 Plants and algae use it to undergo photosynthesis
which produces oxygen
 It can become carbonate which some marine
animals use to make shells
 CO2 dissolves easier in ocean water than
other gases
 Cold water dissolves more gases than warm
water
 Oceans with lower salinity hold more gases
 Deep ocean water holds more gases
 As ocean depth increase
 Density increases
 Salinity increases
 Pressure increases
 Temperature decreases
 Sea level falls when ice caps grow
 Sea level rises when ice caps melt
 Large current system in the ocean carry warm
water toward the poles and cold water
toward the equator.
 Upwelling is a type of deep current that
carries nutrient rich water from the deep
ocean to the surface. It replaces surface water
that was blown from the coast.
Ekman Transport
 El Nino
 Unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Pacific
ocean around the equator
 The temperature of the ocean water rises because
the trade winds slow and the thermocline drops
 The consequences of El Nino are increased rainfall
and changes to water temperature which affects
the productivity of the oceans
 Temperatures in winter are warmer in the
northern US and cooler than normal in the
southern US
 La Nina
 Unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Pacific
around the equator
 Winter temperatures are warmer in the southern
US and cooler in the northern US
 La Nina can also increase hurricane activity
 Ocean currents
 Move clockwise in the northern hemisphere
 Move counterclockwise in the southern hemispher
 The movement of currents is due largely to the
Coriolis effect
 Currents from low latitude areas transfer heat
from warmer to cooler areas
 Currents from high latitude areas help moderate
temperatures of adjacent land
 Waves and surface currents are generated by
winds
 Affects of Climate Change on Oceans
 Warmer oceans will affect the organisms of the
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oceans and decrease upwelling
Melting sea ice affects the habitats of organisms
Rising sea levels affect the habitats of organisms
and can affect the locations where millions of
people live
Changes in current systems which will affect the
climates of continents and the location of
nutrients in the ocean
Ocean water can become more acidic due to
burning of fossil fuels
 Storms such as hurricanes are more likely to
form over warm water such as the water in
the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic ocean
 The waters in these areas are at their
warmest during the late summer and early
fall which is peak time for hurricane season
 The tides are the rise
and fall of water
level due to the
gravitational pull of
the moon, and to a
lesser degree, the
sun
 Resources obtained from the ocean floor
 Oil and natural gas
 Gas hydrates
 Salts
 Sand and gravel
 Manganese nodules which contain small amounts
of other valuable minerals. The costs outweigh the
benefits however
 The ocean is the largest reservoir of heat at
the earth’s surface
 The ocean drives much of the earth’s weather
 The ocean causes climates near the ocean to
be milder than the climate in the interior of
continents
 Convection is the major mechanism of energy
transfer in the oceans, atmosphere, and
earth’s interior
 Features on the ocean floor associated with plate
tectonics
 Mid ocean ridges
 trenches
 Other features on the ocean floor
 Continental shelf, slope, and rise
 Abyssal plain
 seamounts
-Plankton – drifters
-Nekton - swimmers
-Benthos – bottom dwellers
-Photic zone – light zone, all plants
-Aphotic zone – no sunlight
-Intertidal zone – shallow area affected
by tides
-Neritic zone – covers the continental
shelf, most productive
-Oceanic zone – open ocean
-Pelagic zone – open ocean of any
depth
-Benthic zone – sea bottom surface
-Abyssal zone – deep ocean floor
Particles in a wave
move in a circular
pattern
The amount of
movement decreases
as you go deeper
Swash and Backwash
 Depositional features of the coast
 Spit
 Tombolo
 Bars
 Barrier islands
 Erosional features of the coast
 Cliffs
 Sea arches
 Sea stacks
 Human activities have important
consequences for oceans
 Waste disposal
 Construction
 agriculture
 These all affect water quality
 Pollution and overfishing can harm or deplete
valuable resources
SOL ES 11
 Earth’s atmosphere is the only atmosphere to
contain oxygen (21%)
 Earth has had 3 atmospheres:
 Helium and hydrogen
 CO2, CO, and water vapor (after the moon
formed)
 Nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and trace gases
such as argon and CO2 (1%)
 The oxygen in our atmosphere was generated
by photosynthesis.
 The first organisms to undergo
photosynthesis were cyanobacteria (bluegreen algae)
 These organisms consumed the CO2 and
produced oxygen
 Factors that affect the composition of the
atmosphere
 Increases in greenhouse gas emission, especially
CO2, by the burning of fossil fuels
 Increased greenhouse effect has caused the
warming of earth by trapping more infrared
radiation
 Chemicals have decreased the ozone composition
which has increased the amount of UV radiation
reaching the earth
 Volcanic activity and meteorite impacts can eject
large amounts of gas and dust into the
atmosphere
 Water vapor and CO2 are gases in the
atmosphere that are able to absorb and
retain heat
 How plate tectonics affects climate change
 Changes in plate positions alter ocean currents
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and therefore heat transport
Alters atmospheric circulation
If more glaciers form on land then the earth has a
higher albedo which causes cooler temperatures
Plate movement also generate more volcanic
activity
Increased volcanic activity leads to more water
vapor and CO2 released which leads to warmer
temperatures
 In a positive feedback mechanism the impact
of initial events are enhanced
 Example
 Increased CO2 emissions
 Increased greenhouse effect
 Increased temperatures on earth
 Increased melting of polar ice caps
 Increased sea level
SOL ES 12
 Energy transfer between the earth’s surface
and atmosphere creates weather
 Weather and climate are different
 Weather describes day to day changes in
atmospheric conditions
 Climate describes the typical weather patterns
from data collected over many years
 4 major factors that affect climate:
 Latitude, altitude, bodies of water, and mountains
 Major climate zones:
 Tropical, temperate, and polar
 Weather instruments
 Temperature – thermometer
 Barometer – atmospheric pressure
 Psychrometer – humidity (amount of water vapor
in the atmosphere)
 Anemometer – wind speed
 Wind vane – wind direction
 The amount of energy reaching any point on
the earth’s surface is controlled by the angle
of the sunlight which varies with seasons
 The closer to 90° the sun’s rays strike the
earth, the more energy
 Winds are created by uneven heating of the
earth’s surface and are changed by the
rotating of the earth
 The deflection of winds to the right in the
north and to the left in the south is called the
Coriolis Effect
 Convection in the atmosphere is the major
cause of weather and winds
 Cloud formation
 Air temperature at or below the dew point
 Air is saturated
 Condensation nuclei are needed
 Adiabatic cooling: as air expands it cools
 Fog Formation
 Forms by cooling when warm moist air moves
over a cool land surface and cools below its dew
point
 Forms by evaporation when cool air moves over
warm water. Moisture evaporates from the water
surface to produce saturation. Common over lakes
and rivers.
 Precipitation Formation
 Occurs in cold clouds
 Supercooling: water in a liquid state that is below
O° C, will readily freeze if it touches a solid object
 Ice crystals form as the condensation nuclei
accumulate more water vapor
 When the crystals become large enough they fall
as precipitation
 If the temperature is above 4°, they melt and form
rain. Below this temperature they become snow
Sea breezes
occur during the
day when the air
over the land is
warmer and
rises. This air is
replaced by air
from over the
sea
Land breezes
occur at night
when the air over
the sea is
warmer and
rises. This air is
replaced by air
from land.
 Mountain and Valley Breezes
 Valley breeze
 During the day heating causes warm air to rise from
the valley floor
 Mountain breeze
 At night cooling causes cool air to move down
mountain slopes
 This cool air can come in contact with warm rivers
and streams in valleys forming fog
 The jet stream
 Very fast movement of
air in the upper
atmosphere
 Moves from west to
east
 Boundary between
cold and warm air
masses
 Weather tends to
follow the path of the
jet stream
 High pressure systems
 Air descends and diverges
 anticyclone
 Associated with good weather
 Air moves clockwise
 Low pressure systems
 Air converges ascends
 Cyclone (travel west to east, stormy weather)
 Rising air is associated with cloud formation and
rain
 Associated with poor weather
 Air moves counterclockwise
 Fronts
 Warm front
 Light to moderate precipitation over a large area
 Cold Front
 Stormy weather with cumulonimbus clouds
 Weather clears quickly after front passes
 Stationary front
 Gentle to moderate precipitation
 Occluded front
 Light precipitation
 Mid latitude cyclones, which affect the
weather of the US, are formed by a stationary
front that becomes an occluded front
 Air masses
 cP: cold continent origin
 mP: cold ocean origin
 cT: warm continent origin
 mT: warm ocean origin
Air Mass Sources
Isotherms connect points of equal
temperature
Isobars connect points of equal
pressure
 Hurricanes
 Tropical cyclones
 Form within 20° of the equator
 Form over warm water such as the Gulf of Mexico
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or the Atlantic near the equator
Most form in late summer or early fall when the
water temperature is highest
Fueled by energy given off when huge quantities
of water vapor condense
The eye is the calm area in the center
Measured by the Saffir Simpson scale
 The lowest pressure and therefore the worst
weather is found in the eye wall of the hurricane
 The highest pressure and therefore the clearest
weather is found in the hurricane eye
 Tornadoes
 Form in association with thunderstorms
 Vortex inside a cumulonimbus cloud
 April – June
 Form from mesocyclones which is a vertical
cylinder of rotating air
 Measured by the Fujita Scale
 Thunderstorms
 Associated with cumulonimbus clouds
 Warm moist air moves up into the cloud causing
the clouds to grow
 The large amount of water is too great for the
cloud to support so large amounts of rain falls
 3 stages: cumulus, mature, dissipating
SOL ES 13
 The universe is very vast and is believed to be
approximately 14 billion years old
 The theory for the formation of the universe
is the Big Bang Theory
 According to this theory the universe began
as a very large, hot, and dense mass that
expanded and condensed into galaxies
 The solar nebula theory is the theory for the
formation of our solar system
 According to this theory
 The sun and planets formed from a rotating disk
of dust and gases
 The material contracted due to gravity causing
most of the material to accumulate near the
center (the sun)
 The remaining material in the flat rotating disk
became the planets
 The solid inner materials became the inner planets
and the gases and ices became the outer planets
 Stars form by condensing and gravitational
compression of interstellar gas and dust in a
nebula
 The fate of a star is determined by its mass
Hertzsprung – Russell (H-R) Diagram
Hottest
Coolest
 Galaxies are
collections of billions
of stars
 There are 3 types of
galaxies
 Spiral (Milky Way)
 Elliptical
The Milky Way is actually a barred spiral
 Irregular
Our solar system is located in the Milky
Way Galaxy
We are in the Milky Way so the shape
appears different to us from Earth
 A light year is the distance light travels in one
year. It is the most commonly used
measurement of distance in astronomy
 Parallax is the movement of a star or object in
space compared to a background of stars.
 Stars that are closer appear to move more over a
set amount of time (6 months) and stars that are
farther away appear to move less
 Magnitude is a measure of brightness of stars
 Apparent: brightness from earth
 Absolute: how bright the star actually is
 Stars produce energy by the process of
nuclear fusion of Hydrogen to Helium
 In giant stars the fusion of heavier elements
occurs forming all of the elements
 Giants – up to iron
 Supergiants – all elements
 As a star reaches the giant stages the core
condenses because hydrogen fusion ends but
the outer layers expand
 Key Moments in Space Exploration
 1957 – Sputnik is the first artificial satellite to orbit the
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Earth
1958 – First American satellite to orbit Earth
1961 – First human in space (Yuri Gagarin – Soviet
Union)
1962 – First American to orbit the Earth (John Glenn)
1965 – first spacewalk
1968 – first manned moon orbital launch (Apollo 8)
1969 – First human to walk on the moon (Neil
Armstrong – United States)