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125 Ways to ACE the Earth Science Regents Exam
Index Card List
Directions: Each night you will be assigned a topic from the list below. You must create an index card for
each numbered concept. The slash separates what goes on the front and back of the card. Expect a five
question quiz each day to assess whether or not you can apply the knowledge on each card.
Prologue, Energy & Insolation:
1-Dark & rough / absorbs light
2-Light & smooth / reflects light
3-When in doubt / use the reference tables
4-Become one with / the index cards
5-The earth absorbs mostly / short wavelength light energy
6- The earth reradiates mostly / long wavelength heat energy also called infrared radiation
7-Gases such as carbon dioxide / prevent the escape of heat causing the greenhouse effect
8-The air is heated by/ the re-radiation of infrared heat from earth’s surface
9-The following all go on one index card:
-Summer solstice / June 21
-sun rises / north of east
-sun sets / north of west
-sun‘s altitude / highest of year in Northern Hemisphere
-vertical ray hits / tropic of cancer (23.5 º N)
-NY gets / 16 hours
- North Pole gets / 24 hours
10- The following all go on one index card:
-Winter solstice / December 21
-sun rises / south of east
-sun sets / south of west
-sun’s altitude / lowest of year in Northern Hemisphere
-vertical ray hits / tropic of Capricorn (23.5 º S)
-NY gets / 8 hours
-North Pole gets / 0 hours
11-The following all go on one index card
-Equinoxes/ March 21/Sept 23
-sun rise/ due east
-sunset/due west
-vertical ray hits / equator
-All places on earth/ receive 12 hours of daylight
-Shadow runs directly/ through the north pole when look down at earth
12-The intensity of sunlight varies with / the angle of the sun
13-The sun is most intense at an angle of / 90
14-Shadows get longer as the sun / gets lower in the sky (winter, morning and night)
15-The equator always receives / 12 hours of intense sunlight
16-In the US, at noon, to see the sun you have to face / south
17-In the US, at Noon, your shadow will fall/ north
18- If one variable increases and the other also increase/ Direct
19- If one variable increases and the other decreases/ inverse or indirect
20- If one variable increases and the other stays the same/ constant
Earth’s Dimensions:
21- The highest possible elevation of top of a hill/ is one less than what the next contour line would have
been.
22-The closer isolines are / the steeper the gradient
23-Stream velocity depends on / gradient and volume of water
24- Isolines that cross a stream/ will form a “v” that points uphill opposite the flow of the stream
25- Sea level/ elevation of zero feet.
Astronomy:
26- The earth rotates / west to east, 15 degrees per hour, in 24 hours or one day
27- The earth revolves / counterclockwise, 1 degree per day, in 365 1/4 days or one year
28-The moon revolves / counterclockwise around the earth, in an elliptical orbit, in one month
29-The lower the eccentricity (closer to 0)/ the more circular the orbit
30-The seasons are caused by / the tilt of the earth’s axis AND the revolution around the sun
31-The closer & larger two objects are / the greater the force of gravity
32-The altitude of Polaris equals / the latitude of the observer
33- Blue to you/ Red away
34- Two proofs that the earth rotates / Coriolis Effect & Foucaults Pendulum
35- The proof that the universe is expanding is /the redshift
36-A solar eclipse / The moon is between the earth & the sun and it blocks out the sun (new moon)
37-A lunar eclipse/Earth is between the sun & the moon & the Earth casts shadow on the moon (full moon)
38-A new moon occurs when / the moon is between the earth & the sun
39-A full moon occurs when / the earth is between the sun & the moon
40- Spring tides/ highest high tides, lowest low tides, occurs during Full and New Moon Phases
41-To find Polaris (North star) / go 5 times the distance between the pointer stars of the big dipper
42- Perry the Platypus is close to my heart/ Perihelion is close to the sun
43- The higher the eccentricity (closer to 1)/ The more elliptical the orbit
44-As a planet gets closer to the sun / the faster it orbits
45-The earth’s orbit around the sun is / a nearly circular ellipse
Weather:
46-The weather in a high is/ nice (sunny no precip)
The weather in a low is/ bad (cloudy & precip)
47- Precipitation occurs when: warm, moist air rises, expands and cools
48-Warm air is capable of / holding more water vapor than cool air
49-As altitude increases, air pressure / decreases
50-Wind is named for / the direction it comes from
51-Wind is caused by / differences in air pressure
52-The closer air temperature is to the dew point / the greater the chance of precipitation
53- Air in a low pressure area is / warm & moist
54- The 500 rule says/over 500 add a 9, below 500 add a 10, and always add a decimal
55-A rising barometer means / good weather is coming
A falling barometer means / bad weather is coming
A steady barometer means / no change
56-Fronts occur where / air masses meet
57-The most likely areas for precipitation are / the leading edges of air masses (fronts)
58-The circulation around a low pressure system is / counterclockwise, toward the center, where air rises
59-Weather systems in the US usually move / from west to east (with a hook to the NE)
60- CT / warm & dry CP / cool & dry
MT / warm & moist MP / cool & moist
61-Hurricanes form / over warm oceans in summer and autumn
62- Hurricanes lose strength / as they move over land or cool water
63- Marine climate has / cool summers & warm winter
Continental climate has / cold winter & hot summers
64-Leeward side of a mountain is / dry & warm due to compression
Windward side of a mountain is / cool & moist due to expansion
65-The closer air temperature is to the dew point / the greater the chance of precipitation
66- The circulation around a high pressure system is / clockwise, away from the center, where air sinks
67-Air in a high pressure area is / cool & dry
Rocks and Minerals:
68-Sedimentary rocks form from / sediments, evaporation of water and organic remains
69-Rocks are identified by their / texture
Igneous / Coarse, fine, glassy, vesicular
Sedimentary / clastic, fossiliferous,
Metamorphic / foliated or banded
70-Fossils are found almost exclusively in / sedimentary rocks
71-Metamorphic rocks form from / other rocks by the action of heat and/or pressure (recrystallization)
72-Contact metamorphism occurs when / molten rock comes in contact with other rocks
73-Regional metamorphism occurs / over large areas and is associated with mountain building
74-The basic elements of most minerals are / oxygen and silicon
75-The physical properties of minerals depends upon / the internal arrangement and bonding of atoms
76-Rocks are classified on the basis of / their origin (how they formed)
77-Igneous rocks form by / the crystallization of molten magma or lava (intergrown crystals)
78-Crystal size in igneous rocks depends on / the rate of cooling
79-Intrusive igneous rocks form / slowly beneath the earth’s surface (large crystals)
80-Extrusive igneous rocks form / quickly on the earth’s surface (small crystals)
81-Minerals are identified on the basis of / well defined physical and chemical properties
82-The mineral & rock that react to acid are/ calcite & limestone
83- Sedimentary Rocks / Contain fossils, Clastic, Rock Fragements or Pebbles cemented together
84- Igneous Rocks/ Crystals visible, Intergrown Crystals, Vesicular (Air Pockets), Glassy,
85- Metamorphic/ Banding, Foliation, Distorted Structure, Alternating light and dark bands
86- Everything about Rocks/ is in your ESRT!
Surface Processes:
87- Glacial landscapes show / U shaped valleys, depressions, irregular hills, scratched boulders
88-The outside of a meander bend is / fast and erodes. The inside of a meander bend is / slow and
deposits
89-As stream velocity increases, the size of the particles that can be transported / increases
90-Streams carry sediments by / solution, suspension, bouncing & rolling
91-The particles that settle out first are / larger, most dense, and roundest
92-Water and wind deposits are / sorted by size and layered
93-Gravity and glacial deposits are / unsorted
94-Resistant layers of rock / stick out (forms cliffs)
95-As stream velocity decreases/ larger particles will be deposited first (horizontal sorting)
96-Weathering occurs when rocks are exposed to / the hydrosphere, biosphere, & atmosphere
97-Moist & warm climates favor / chemical weathering
98-Moist & cold climates favor / physical weathering
99-As particle size decreases / surface area increases & the rate of weathering increases
100-Soils develop as a result of / weathering and biological activity
101-The primary force that drives the agents of erosion is / gravity
102-As particle size increases, capillary action / decreases
103-The area drained by a river and its tributaries is a / watershed
104-Porosity does NOT depend on / particle size
105-The sediments deposited at the mouth of a river form a / delta
106-As particle size increases, permeability / increases
107- Streams valleys are / V shaped
Dynamic Earth:
108-The 3 types of plate boundaries are / divergent (moving away at mid ocean ridges), convergent
(coming
together) and transform (sliding/San Andreas Fault)
109-Plate tectonics says / the earth’s lithosphere is divided into pieces called plates that move
110-Earthquakes and Volcanoes occur/ along plate boundaries and fault zones
111-Subduction is when / one plate sinks under another forming a trench
112- Continents are / less dense, granite and thick
Oceans are /more dense, basalt and thin
113-We know the outer core is liquid because / S waves cant go through it
114-Plate tectonics is caused by/mantle convection currents
115-The farther you go from the center of a ridge/the older the rocks get
116-One seismograph can give you/epicenter distance
To get the direction you need/three seismographs
117- Hot spots occur/ over rising convection currents in the mantle
Geologic History:
118-In undisturbed strata, the bottom layer is / older
119-Faults, folds, & intrusions are / younger than the rocks they are found in
120-Index fossils are / found over a wide area and existed for a short period of time
121- An unconformity is a / buried erosional surface
122- Unconformities represent a / gap in the geologic record
123-The half life of a radioactive isotope / cannot be changed but heat, pressure or size of sample
124-Carbon is used to date / recent organic remains under 50,000 years old
125-Most life forms of the geologic past have / become extinct