Download earth science fact packet

EARTH SCIENCE STUDY GUIDE- FIRST SEMESTER EOC
1. An observation is a record of what you see. An inference is an interpretation based on what you observed.
2. Direct observations are made with the five senses. Indirect observations are made with instruments.
3. Energy is the ability to do work or transfer heat.
4. The Law of Conservation states matter cannot be created or destroyed, it only changes form and moves from place
to place. There is a fixed or finite amount of energy in our universe.
5. Energy exists in different forms. They are: kinetic, the energy of motion, and potential, stored energy.
6. In a fluid (anything that flows) the hotter, less dense material will rise and the colder, denser material will sink.
7. Energy travels in the form of waves.
8. The wavelength, distance from crest to crest, of the energy determines how we perceive that energy. Radio (long
wavelength), gamma (short wavelength), and visible light are types of waves (medium length wavelengths).
9. The wavelength and the frequency of energy are inversely proportional. That is to say the shorter the wavelength
the higher the frequency and the longer the wavelength the lower the frequency.
10. Heat is the form of energy that causes the motion of molecules, cold is the absence of heat.
11. Heat always moves from warmer objects, more energy, to cooler objects until they reach equilibrium.
12. Temperature is the measure of the average speed of the molecules within a substance.
13. Conduction is the transfer of energy to a substance by direct contact of the molecules.
14. Convection is the transfer of energy through substances due to density changes within the substance.
15. Radiation is the transfer of heat through waves.
16. Substances exist as a solid, liquid, or gas depending on the motion of the molecules. Fast — gas, medium —
liquid, slow — solid. You can change the substance’s state of matter when the energy changes.
17. As you put energy into a system the temperature increases, the atoms move faster, and the atoms spread farther apart,
the density will decrease, the pressure will decrease, and the volume will increase. Temperature, density, volume, and
pressure are all directly related. As energy leaves a system the temperature decreases, the atoms move slower, and the
atoms move closer together, the density will increase, the pressure will increase, and the volume will decrease.
Here’s
how it works!
Here’s how it works:
Energy in
Pressure
increases
Volume
decreases
Temperature
increases
Density
Decreases
Density increases
Temperature falls
Atoms move slower and get
closer together
Atoms move faster
and get farther apart
Energy out
Volume
Increases
Pressure
Decreases
18. Fusion is the process of making a heavier element out of lighter elements by building up the nucleus, or fusing
atoms. Fusion occurs in the core of the sun.
19. All the water in the oceans circulate by density currents and surface currents. Those currents are caused by
different heating rates of the oceans and atmosphere.
20. What two factors determine climate? The ocean currents have a major impact on the climate of adjacent landmasses.
21. Earth’s atmosphere changed dramatically with the production of free oxygen from photosynthesis of living organisms.
22. Earth’s atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other gases.
23. The lowest level of the atmosphere where weather occurs and contains all life is called the troposphere.
24. The next layer up into the atmosphere contains the ozone layer and is called the stratosphere.
25. The mesosphere, then thermosphere, is found above the stratosphere.
26. The ionosphere is made up of electrically charged particles and is used to reflect radio waves. The ionosphere is a
layer within the mesosphere and thermosphere.
27. As you increase in altitude the density and pressure of the atmosphere decrease.
28. A period of revolution is when one object travels around another. For a planet, one revolution is one year.
29. A period of rotation is one spin on the axis. For a planet, one rotation is one day.
30. The seasons are caused by the relationship of the tilt of the earth’s axis to its position around the sun. During the
summer, the Northern Hemisphere receives direct light. In winter, the hemisphere receives indirect light.
31. The atmosphere circulates in an attempt to evenly distribute Earth’s heat.
32. The rotation of the earth causes the Coriolis Effect, the deflection of air and water currents into a circular pattern,
rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
33. If the earth did not rotate, both the ocean currents and the atmospheric currents would flow from the poles to the
equator, high pressure to low pressure.
34. An air mass is a large section of air with the same temperature and pressure.
35. The boundary between two air masses is called a front. Changes in the weather occur at fronts.
36. Different air masses have different temperatures and pressures. Air masses try to equalize the temperature
/pressure by moving air from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. We call this air movement wind.
37. The greater the pressure and temperature difference between air masses, the greater the potential energy of the
wind or storm.
38. Evaporation occurs when a substance changes from a liquid to a gas. Condensation occurs when a substance
changes from a gas to liquid.
39. Warm air (low pressure) has a larger capacity to hold water than cold air (high pressure) because there is more
space between the molecules. As air cools there is less room for water vapor and it condenses as dew or precipitation.
40. Global warming, believed to be caused by an increase in the greenhouse gases (C0 water vapor, methane), which
allows light energy to penetrate the atmosphere but does not let infrared energy (heat) escape. Subsequently, global
temperatures rise.
41. Ozone (03) is an important component of our atmosphere because it shields the earth from ultraviolet radiation.
There is a concern that the CFC’s are breaking down the ozone layer allowing the amount of UV radiation reaching the
earth’s surface to increase.
42. The earth is composed of the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust.
43. The lithosphere, which is broken into rigid sections called plates, is composed of the crust and solid upper mantle.
44. Fission (radioactive decay) is the process of breaking a heavy element into smaller pieces by creating a chain
reaction, which breaks apart the nucleus. Fission occurs in the core of the Earth.
45. It is believed that the radioactive decay of the core provides the energy to create convection currents in the
mantle, causing the plates to move.
46. The vast majority of earthquakes and volcanoes occur along plate boundaries.
47. Divergent plate boundaries are places where plates move apart and new material is added to the earth’s crust.
48. Convergent plate boundaries are areas where plates move together and form a collision or subduction zone.
49. Most earthquakes are the result of the release of built-up energy along plate boundaries. When the pressure on
the fault overcomes the friction on the fault, an earthquake occurs.
50. Energy released by the earthquake travels in the form of waves.
51. Magnitude is a measure of the energy (reflected in the amount of ground motion) released by earthquakes.
52. Evidence for the Theory of Plate Tectonics comes from seismic data and paleomagnetic banding.
Quizzes Quiz over #1-18 on 6 and 7th ; #19-41 quiz on 8-11th; #42-52 quiz on 12-13th