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Semester 1 Exam Study Guide Key
Scientific Method:
1. Steps of the scientific method
State the question, collect info, form hypothesis, test,
record data, draw conclusion
2. Variables: identify controls, independent and
dependent
Controls- do not change, ind-changed by the scientist, depchanges in response to independent variable
Measurement:
3. Identify science tools (meter stick/ruler, graduated
cylinder, balance)
Graduated Cylinder- Volume
Meter stick/ruler- length
Balance- mass
4. List the 3 units for each type of measurement
Length: Meters, cm, mm – Volume: Liters, mL – Mass:
Grams, kg, mg
5. Define/describe mass, volume, length, density
Mass- amount of material in an object. Volume-amount of
space object takes up. Length- the distance from one point to
another. Density- mass per unit volume.
Earth’s interior:
6. Identify the layers of the earth and label (#’s go
clockwise)
Crust(2), Mantle(3), Core(4), Asthenosphere(5),
Lithosphere(1)
7. Compare and contrast oceanic and continental crust
Oceanic-basalt, more dense, thinner. Cont-granite, less
dense, thicker
8. What is a seismic wave?
Energy released by an earthquake that travels through the
earth
9. What is a seismograph?
Tool used to measure the amount of energy released by an
earthquake
10. Explain what seismic waves tell us about Earth’s
interior
Speed up in more dense substances and slow down in less
dense. P waves can travel through the core, but they bend, S
waves are blocked by the liquid core. This creates a Shadow
Zone.
Earthquakes/Volcanoes:
11. Know the parts of an earthquake (fault, epicenter,
focus)
Fault-plane where the rock breaks. Epicenter-point above the
focus on Earth’s surface. Focus-point within earth where the
earthquake takes place
12. Identify the 3 types of seismic waves and how they
move
P-Waves move back and forth. S-Waves move at right angles
to direction.
Surface Waves move in a side-to-side swaying
motion.
13. Which waves can go through liquids or solids?
P Waves
14. Explain the Ring of Fire.
Plate boundaries around the Pacific Ocean where there are
many volcanoes and earthquakes
15. What is a hot spot? Give an example.
Hot spot is an area of the mantle which is hotter than the
surrounding areas, causes magma to rise up through crust –
Hawaii
Continental Drift:
16. Whose idea was it?
Wegener
17. What is the idea of continental drift?
Continents are moving across the Earth’s surface.
18. What was the name of the large landmass when
continents were joined together?
Pangaea
Plate Tectonics:
19. What does the theory explain?
How plates move
20. What are the convection currents?
Currents within the mantle which move around when
heated and cooled
21. Where do convection currents take place inside the
Earth and which layer of the Earth produces the heat
that moves them? Asthenosphere, Heat comes from
core
22. Heat rises in the mantle because it is __LESS__ dense
and sinks because it’s MORE dense
23. What do we call the large sections of the Earth’s
crust? Know that they are part of the lithosphere which
includes oceanic and continental crust. Plates
24. What is a plate boundary? Know the 3 types
(convergent, divergent, transform)
Place where plates meet; Convergent- coming together.
Divergent- moving apart. Transform-side by side
25. Geologic activities such as mountains are formed at
convergent boundaries. Earthquakes are formed at all
boundary types, and volcanoes occur along divergent
and convergent boundaries.
26. Based on the following boundaries, list if lithosphere
(crust) is created, destroyed, or neither:
Convergent- destroyed, neither. Divergent- created.
Transform- neither.
Sea Floor Spreading:
27. Explain what happens during this process.
Plates move apart under the ocean floor
28. What type of boundary does it occur along? Why?
Divergent. Plates are moving apart due to convection
currents
29. Explain if crust is created, destroyed, or neither during
this process.
Created
30. Explain why oceanic crust sinks beneath continental
crust.
It is more dense
31. If plates are spreading apart, why doesn’t the Earth
continue to get larger and larger?
It is subducted/ destroyed on the other side of the
Earth.
Natural Resources:
32. What is a natural resource?
Resources which are created naturally by the Earth.
33. Difference between renewable and non-renewable
resources; examples of each
Renewable: Within a lifetime it can be recreated.
Nonrenewable: Fossil Fuels, Renewable: Solar Energy
34. What is an ore, mineral, fossil fuel
Ore: Can be mined for a profit.
Mineral: Non-living, solid materials found in nature.
Fossil Fuel: From living things and can be used for
energy.
35. 3 types of fossil fuels: Coal, Oil and Natural Gas. Coal
is formed from buried plants, oil is formed from buried,
tiny marine plants and animals (plankton).
Minerals:
36. Characteristics of a mineral (be able to define each)
Non-organic, solid, crystalline structure, hardness,
luster, transparency, color, streak, etc.
37. List the different tests used to identify a mineral and
label them as physical or chemical (be able to explain
each).
Phy: Crystals, Cleavage/Fracture, color, Streak, luster,
hardness, transparency.
Chem: Fluorescence, reaction to acid, and ability to
burn.
38. What is the Moh’s hardness scale
Determine hardness by scratching one mineral against
another.
Rocks:
39. 3 types of rock
Sedimentary, Metamorphic, and igneous.
40. 3 ways to classify a rock
What it’s made of, how it is formed, and crystal size.
41. How does igneous rock form? Give 2-3 examples.
Cooling magma/lava. Granite, Kimberlite, obsidian
42. Contrast the two main types of igneous rock (intrusive
vs. extrusive).
Int: Forms inside the Earth. Ext: Forms outside of the
Earth.
43. How does metamorphic rock form? Examples
Heat and Pressure. Gneiss, marble, garnet schist
44. Constrast the two main types of metamorphic rock
(foliated vs. non-foliated)
Foliated: Bands Non: No bands, tiny crystals.
45. How does sedimentary rock form? Examples
Broken pieces compacted together. Conglomerate,
sandstone, travertine.
46. What is the rock cycle?
Shows how a rock can change from one type to
another.
Fossils:
47. What is a fossil? Remains or traces of prehistoric
organisms.
48. List the main types of fossils and how they form
Trace-footprint, cast- copy of shape, mold- cavity left,
permineralized/ petrified-water and minerals flowing
through mold, Preserved/ original remains- stuck in ice/
amber/ tar, carbon- stamp of carbon on rock.
49. What type of rock do most fossils form in?
Sedimentary
50. Which fossil provides clues about the activities of an
organism?
Trace
51. What is the difference between a mold and cast
fossil?
A mold is the empty cavity. A cast is the copy of the
shape of the organism.
52. What is an index fossil?
A fossil used for dating because it lived for a short time,
it was abundant, and geographically widespread.
53. Contrast relative dating v. absolute (carbon) dating.
Relative Age
Absolute Age
Age in
The number of
comparison to
years since the
the age of other rock or organism
things.
formed.
METHOD: Uses
METHOD: Uses
principle of
amount of
superposition.
Carbon (in onceliving things).
Adaptations
54. Give 4 examples of structural adaptations of animals.
Warning coloration, mimicry, protective coloration, and
body parts.
55. Give 4 examples of behavioral adaptations of animals.
Building a nest, building a dam, playing dead, and
migration.
56. How does natural selection lead to evolution?
The organisms that are better suited to the
environment will survive and reproduce.
57. What defines the members of a species?
Similar organisms which are able to reproduce.
58. List 1 natural and one human cause of an extinction
of a species? ___N:climate change, natural disasters__
___H:deforestation, pollution, hunting_.
59. An organisms coloring or body parts are examples of
_structural_ adaptations.
60. A moth caterpillar looks like a snake to protect itself is
an example of __mimicry__ adaptations.
61. A snake showing it is poisonous by exhibiting bright
red and yellow coloring is an example of __warning
coloration___ adaptations.