earth science honors review

8/6/2019 Earth Science Honors Review

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Earth Science Review

Prologue

• Scientific Method

A. Nothing goes into a science book unless it goes through this. Consists of:

1. Problem, Question, Introduction

2. Experiment, Procedure, Steps

3. Observations

a) Statistics, charts, graphs, diagrams, maps

b) Using your senses to find out things about the environment

4. Conclusions - Inferencea) Based off of observation

b) Hypothesis- educated guess.

(1) Theory is an example of evolution

(2) Absolute law is gravy, e=mc^2. Etc.

How Can You Calculate Error?

I. Percent Deviation - Remember to use the Absolute Value of the numerator, so it is never

negative.| Measured Value - Actual Value |------------------------------------------ X 100

Actual Value

Measurements

• Mass- Measure of a quantity of matter.

• Weight- Measure of a gravitational force and will change depending on location.

• Volume- Measure of space.

• Density- Mass/Volume or ratio of mass per space

• IE- If you cut a block in half, it still has the same density.

Relationships

• Direct- When one variable goes up as the other variable goes up.

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• IE: The hotter the temperature, the molecules will move faster with more force

• Temperature = Movement, speed, and kinetic energy of molecules.

• Inverse- When one variable goes up, the other goes down.

• As temperature goes down, density increases.

• Cyclic- Happens in cycles. Such as seasons or star patterns.

Observation vs. Inference

• Senses- Conclusion, educated guess. Inferences are based on the senses.

• Fact- Based on observations.

Phases of Matter

• Solids- Highest density, molecules stay in place.

• Liquids- Molecules can move a little.

• Gases- Have total freedom of random movement, least amount of density.

• Plasma- Over 6000 .̊

• Water is an exception Water’s highest density is at 4˚C.

Dynamic Equilibrium

1. When two forces are in balance1. IE: Humans and Earth.

2. When there is chance, but no change.

Energy Flow

• Heat always moves from high to low.

• Energy is exchanged from the interface (Where two spaces meet).

Earth’s Shape

• Model- Round• Earth is slightly oblate; bulged at the equator and flat at the poles.

• Polaris- North star; brightest star.

• Altitude- Amount of degrees from the horizon

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How Do We Know Earth is Round?

II. Photographs

III. Coordinates- To find the placement on a 2 dimensional object.

IV. Latitude is made of parallels.

A. Run east and west

B. Measured North and South of the Equator

C. Never tough each other

Meridians

• Run north and south, pole to pole

• Measured east or west of the prime meridian

• Earth rotates at 15˚ per hour

• 180˚ is international date line

- When moving west you subtract a day, and when moving east you add a day.

Minerals

• Naturally occurring inorganic crystalline. Solid pure materials with a definite composition,

molecular structure, and specific physical properties.

• Either elements or compounds

• More than 2,400 on the surface• Rocks with one mineral= Monomineralic. With more than one= Polymineralic

• Defined by Physical and Chemical Properties

• Physical- Luster, Streak, Hardness, Color, Cleavage, Fracture, Odor, Magnetism, Optical

properties.

• Color is not a reliable property to identify a mineral

• Most minerals always come in different colors due to impurities

• Example of mineral- Water, Diamonds, Salt, Aluminum, Gold, etc.• Luster-The way a metal shines. Non-metallic lusters are glassy, greasy, brilliant,

pearly and earthy.

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• Streak- The color of the mineral’s powder. Although the color of a mineral may

vary, its streak is always the same. The streak may be a different color than the

mineral.

• Hardness- A mineral’s resistance to being scratched. Measured by the Moh’s Scale.

Talc is the softest being scratched with a fingernail. Diamond is the hardest being

scratched by another diamond.

• What is Crystal Structure?- THe internal arrangement of the atoms.

Igneous Rocks

• Are formed by the solidifications and crystallization of molten rock, making rocks solid,

compact, and hard.

• Is formed from molten rocks called magma (Below surface) or lava (Above surface)

• When magma/lava cools and solidifies, it forms an igneous rock.

• As the liquid rock solidifies and becomes harder, mineral crystals may form in the igneous

rocks, resulting in crystalline textures.

*The texture depends on the rate of cooling.

*Slow Cooling- Large crystals, coarse texture

*Rapid Cooling- Small crystals, fine texture

-Cooling is related to temperature and pressure*When bubbles of gas are solidifying in magma/lava, holes called Vesicles are

formed.

-Extrusive igneous rocks cooled quickly near the surface and have a fine

or glassy texture

-Intrusive igneous rocks cooled slowly deep under ground and have a

coarse texture

Sedimentary Rocks• The weathering process breaks rocks and produces inorganic sediments which are transported

by water, wind, glaciers, and deposits them in different locations.

• Since water is the chief transporter of sediments, sediments are often rounded.

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• Usually contains rocks and particles (See Earth Science Reference Table for sand, silt, clay,

etc.)

• Only rocks that hold fossils.

• Physical- Take big rocks and turn them into smaller rocks

• Frost-action- When water sinks into the cracks of rocks and freezes.

• Chemical- When you change the chemistry of a mineral

• Erosion- The transportation of sediments

• Deposition- When sediments get deposited and dropped. #1 erosion agent is water. #1

erosional force is gravity.

• Cementation- Process in which pressure forces out air and water to form a rock

• Evaporation- When an ocean evaporate and salt and sediments are left behind

(Monomineralic).

• Precipitation- When water mixes, they produce insoluble substances and precipitates out.

• Organic Process- Rain forests are buried, put under pressure, forms coal.

Metamorphic Rock

• Rocks that change under temperature and pressure

• Heat is enough to break the bonds an melt some of the minerals in the rock but not all of them

• Pressure forces minerals closer together, breaking bonds and enabling molecules to

rearrange

• Deep burial can cause an increase of heat and pressure

• Crustal movement can also cause increases of hear and pressure among deformation of

the rocks.

• Heat can also come from contact with molten material -Contact Metamorphism.• Characteristics- crystalline structure is changed in size, shape and spacing of grains and density

of the rock increases

• Rocks become foliated (layered) or banded and rock structure is often distorted.

• Are classified by composition and texture.

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• Foliation- The separation and alignment of minerals.

• Banding- Creating a striped appearance

• Distorted Structure- The folding and bending of rock layers.

• Regional Metamorphism- Associated with extreme pressure that accompanies

orogeny (mountain building). Most likely to find metamorphic rocks in mountains.

Dynamic Crust

• Crust, Rigid Mantle= Lithosphere

• Crust is broken up into pieces which are called plates.

• Where the plates meet are called plate boundaries.

• Fault Zones- Anything that will disturb crust; volcanoes, mountains, earthquakes

• There can be volcanoes and mountains when its not even near a fault zone. IE- Hawaii.

• Layers- Sandstone, Shale, Conglomerate. As you go deeper, you go back in time.

• Originally Horizontal- Most rocks are layed down horizontally. Indicates little or no crustal

activity.

• Minor Crustal Changes- Faults, Folds and Tilts and Orogeny.

• Major Crustal Changes- Continental drifts, subsidence.

• Subsidence- When the crust sinks into the mantle and melts.• Divergent- Separates, new crust is being created.

• Convergent- Orogeny, building of mountains, Collision, subduction/overriding plate.

• Oceanic plate is always subduction plate (Plate that is on the bottom)

• Overriding plate (Plate going over the subduction plate

Evidence of Seafloor Spreading

• North America and South America and Africa fit together

• Rock types in Northern Europe and North America fit together • Fossils in South America and Africa matched up to a point

• Through sonar, they found the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

• About 5,000 miles long

• Equally distant from both coasts.

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• They dredged the Atlantic

• Magnetic polarity reversed in rocks.

• Rocks were from 0 to 100 million years old.

• Divergent plate boundary, new rocks at center, old rocks further away.

Convection Currents

• Hot material rises - Less dense

• Cooler materials sink - More Dense

• Divergent plate boundaries - Shallow Earthquake

• Convergent with Subduction Zone - Deeper Earthquake

• An earthquake occurs deep in the surface

• Focus- Where the earthquake actually occurs

• Epicenter- Above the earthquake, where vibrations emanate

• Pacific plate in Hawaii is over a permanent plume/convection current.

• The plume punches holes in the pacific plate and becomes an island

• As you may further away from an island, rocks grow older.

Interior of the Earth

• Densities in the Earth’s inner core are greater than the surface

• We think the inner core is iron-nickel rich because most meteorites are iron-nickel• What we know about the inner Earth, we know from seismic waves.

• About 6150 km from the surface

Rate= Change in Temperature------------------------------------------

Change in Time

Or change in Temperature/Change in Time. 5000/3000= 1.7˚ per kilometer

Seismic Waves

V. Earthquake occurs at the focus, below ground and the seismic waves are generated at the

epicenter above ground.

VI. Most of what we know about the interior of the earth, we learn from studying seismic

waves.

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A. Frequency- Amount of wavelengths that travel through a fixed point per second.

Measured in Hertz or HZ.

1. *P Waves are Faster. Primary compressional wave, vibrates in the direction of the

flow. Moves forward and backwards.

2. *S Waves are slower. Secondary wave, vibrates at 90˚ angles to the flow. Sideways

displacement.

3. *P Waves travel through solids, liquids, gases.

4. *S Waves can only go through solids.

a) L Waves- Long waves, do most of the damage.

b) Seismograph- Instrument that measures the distance to the epicenter.

c) Seismogram- Graph made by the needle

• P Wave Arrival Time- How long it takes from the epicenter to the seismic station.

• S Wave Arrival Time- How long it takes from the epicenter to the seismic station.

• Distance in Arrival Time- Time and difference of arrival time for P and S waves.

Shadow Zones• The S and P waves travel at different speeds through different materials.

• More dense, the faster it goes.

• S Waves will be shadowed if they travel from 102˚ to 143˚ because this is liquid.

• Only P Waves are received

• We can only know this by studying seismic waves

• We think the inner core is solid.

Astronomy• Big Bang

• All of the matter, energy, and space was located in one single point.

• That point blew up and created the universe.

• Evidence is universe is still expanding.

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• Light travels at 186,000 miles per seconds. Travels in light years.

• Big Bang created protons, electrons, hydrogen.

• This created stars and stars created galaxies.

• Light year measures distance light travels in a year

• Nearest galaxy is 2-3 million light years away.

Waves

• Energy travels in waves

• We measure its wavelength

• Frequency is the number of crests (top of a wave) that pass through a fixed point per

second.

• Inverse relationship, increase number of crests, decrease wavelength

• Gamma Waves-Shortest wavelength, highest frequency

• Ultraviolet- Makes skin darker and causes skin caner

• The only difference between red and blue is the wavelength

• Infrared- heat.

• Sun gives more light than anything in the spectrum.

Solar Systems

• 4.6 Billion years ago from a condensing gas cloud called a nebula• Geocentric model is made by Ptolemy in 2nd Century

• Everything is centered around the Earth

• Everything rises in the east and sets in the west

• Does not explain the retrograde motion of planets (epicycles)

• Heliocentric Model made by Copernicus in 16th century

• Everything is centered around the sun

• 1 Rotation is one dat• Earth rotates at 15˚ per hour from east to west (daily motion)

• Revolution is once around the sun - 1 year.

Planet Facts

• Mercury- A Dead Planet

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• Venus- Known as Earth’s twin for its size. Hottest planet. Filled with CO2 gas. Known for light

hitting the surface and is absorbed by CO2- Green House Effect. Surface Temperature is 4000˚.

Atmosphere is filled with acid and CO2. At height, it faces away from Earth.

• Mars- Filled with iron and oxygen (rust).

• Earth- Only planet that has water. Water is needed for life.

• Asteroid Belt- Bunch of rocks floating around the sun.

• Jupiter- Jovian planet- Big ball of gas.

• Saturn- Similar to Jupiter. Rings are grains of sand, rocks, and ice, density is .7

• Uranus- 11 Years per season

• Neptune- Blue planet. Hyper belt is the debris around neptune.

• Sun- Outer portion is 6,000˚. The core is 15 million ˚ Gravity compresses it and the Core

expands it out.

• Miscellaneous- Further away from the sun, the colder (except Venus). Moon has no

atmosphere. Comets are bug dirty icy snow balls.

Astronomy

• Celestial objects - anything above Earth’s atmosphere.

• Every season has a different constellation.

• Foucault Pendulum proved the Earth rotates• Rotational velocity is highest at the equator.

Insolation

• INcoming SOlar radiATION - Insolation

• All electromagnetic radiation from the sun (Light, Infrared, Ultraviolet or UV)

• Duration of Insolation- Length of time the sun is out

• Longest is June 21, Shortest is December 21

• Angle of Insolation- Angle at which the energy hits the ground• Intensity of Insolation- Amount of energy that hits the ground

• Direct Relationship - Higher the angle, higher the intensity

• Perpendicular, direct, verticle ray is when the angle is at 90˚

(IE: The equator)

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- Notice How in Winter, The Eafacing away from the sun.

-Notice how in Summer, the Eafacing towards the sun



• Maximum Angle means Maximum Intensity.

Solstice, Equinox

• Winter solstice- December 21, Direct rays hit the Tropic of Capricorn

• North pole is tilted away from the sun, the arctic circle receives no sun.

• Vernal Equinox- March 21, relative tilt, the whole planet has 12/12 hours of daylight. Rises due

east, sets due west.

• Summer Solstice- June 21, Direct rays on the Tropic of Cancer, Closest to NY, North pole

receives 24 hours of daylight, 16 hours of daylight, Sun rises north of east at 72˚ and sets north

of west.

• Autumn Equinox- No tilt, direct rays on the equator, no relative tilt, ruses due east and sets due

west.

Coriolis Effect

• Any moving object that moves along and above Earth’s surface will be deflected to the right in

the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere

• All storms get sent directly to New York in the United States because of this.

Orbits and Revolutions

• Revolution- When one body revolves around another body

• Planetary Laws• Everything revolves in an ellipse or oval

• The planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times.

• Eccentricity- The more oval it is, the more eccentric

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Parahelion• Winter• January 4th and 5th• Highest Gravity• Highest velocity for Earth

while in orbit.• Highest kinetic energy

Anahelion• Summer• July 4th and 5th• Slowest velocity for Earth• Lowest Gravity• Highest potential energy• Remember “A” for far away



• The higher the number, the more eccentric and a circle is 0 eccentricity and .9

repeating is highest.

• Orbital Velocity- Speed the planet is traveling in its orbit.

• Apparent Diameter- The way it looks. the closer it looks.

Phases of the Moon

• Revolution of the moon is 27 1/3 days

• Phases occur in a 29 1/2 day cycle

• Moon is ALWAYS half lit.

Tides

• Depending on the position of the moon, it makes the water gravitate towards it.

• Spring Tide- When the sun and moon are on the same side

• Neap Tide- When the moon and sun are at right angles.

• Average time between tides is 12.5 to 13 hours.

Eclipses

• Solar- When the sun is eclipsed by the moon.

• Total Eclipse- Covers all of the sun• Partial Eclipse- Covers part of the sun

• Lunar- When the Earth is between the sun and the moon and the Earth eclipses the Sun.

Air Masses

• Mass of Air. Daily weather is based on the movement of an air mass.

• Cool or Cooler = Temperature

• Humid and Wet or Dry = Moisture content

• All relative.• A large body of air in the troposphere with similar characteristics of pressure, moisture, and

temperature which are uniform within the airways.

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Wind

• Horizontal movement of air over Earth’s surface due to uneven heating of Earth’s surface.

Convective currents distribute this energy

• Low Pressure- Less dense air, warm/moist air that rises. Wind moves towards the center.

Convergent winds and also known as a cyclone.

• High Pressure- More dense air, cool/dry air that sinks. Clockwise circulation with divergent

winds that move away from the center and known as an anticyclone.

• Generated by pressure gradients

• Pressure gradient is the rate of change in air pressure between two points (isobars)

• Wind always moves from high pressure to low pressure or divergence to convergence.

• Winds move surface ocean currents.

• Source Region- Where the air mass comes from

• C- Continental and Dry

• M- Marine or Maritime or Wet

• A- Arctic or Cold

• P- Polar and cool

• T- Tropical and Warm

• Every system gets tunneled into the NortheastAir Pressure

• Pressure the air exerts on the ground

• High Pressure- Cool and Dry

• Low Pressure- Warmer and Wetter

• Hurricanes are the lowest pressure system

• More water means lower pressure. Water vapor weighs less than air.

• Atmospheric convection is affected by variation in insolation

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Station Models

• Is a short hand

• Represents weather variables at a given place and time

• Winds are always named from the direction they come from

Dew Point

• Tells you how much water is in the air

• The more the temperature, the more the water vapor

• The closer the air temperature is to the dew point temperature, the more likely you are to get

precipitation

Pressure

• Measured in bars or inches of mercury

• One atmosphere is a normal day at sea level (see Earth Science Reference Table)

• Every line is worth .01

• 500 Rule, Drop the first 2 numbers and remove the decimal. If more than 500, then add a 9. IE-

1036.0 Millibars becomes 360

Sea breeze

• Winds from sea to land• Coastal areas have a lower range

• Makes summers cooler and winters warmer

• Winter is a land breeze

• Wind from land to sea, depending on pressure

Jet Stream

• High altitude and high wind speed• Makes a barrier

• If above us, we get warm moist air from the gulf

• If below us, we get cold dry air from Canada

Vertical Movements in the Atmosphere

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• Atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude increases (inverse relationship).

• Adiabatic change is any change that occurs without the addition or removal of hear enrgy. It

occurs as a result of a change in pressure

• When a gas expands by an adiabatic process, its temperature drops (Adiabatic cooling).

When a gas is compressed (increasing pressure) its temperature rises (Adiabatic warming)

• Whenever a mass of air rises or falls it undergoes an adiabatic temperature change

Key Energy Chains

• Conduction- Works through the contact of atoms

• Convection- Heat transfer through density differences

• Radiation- Heat transfer through waves

Heating Curve

• Melting- Absorbs Energy

• Condensation- Absorbs Energy

• Evaporation- Absorbs Energy

• Precipitation- Releases Energy

• When ice goes turns into liquid water, it is absorbing energy and requires energy to melt it.

• When going from vapor to liquid water, it is condensing

• Condensation powers hurricane

• To Increase Evaporation

• Low moisture/dry air

• Wind

• Amount of insolation

• Surface Area

• When liquid water reaches atmospheric pressure, it boils.

See Reference Table for Dry and Wet Bulb

Water Cycle and Climate

• Transpiration - Water produced by plants and animals and evaporites

• Evapotranspiration- Water produced by everything

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• Condensation- Water vapor to liquid water

• Run Off- When more precipitation then evaporation and the ground is saturated. The excess

water becomes run off.

• Ground Water- The water in the ground.

• Water Table- Underneath the saturation zone.

Porosity

• The amount of open space in the dirt/regolith/soil

• Soil/Regolith/Dirt- Loose material that sits on the surface of the Earth.

• Dependent on shape of the soil, packing and sorting.

• Size doesn’t matter

• Shape- The rounder the particles, the more porous it is. THe more loosely packed it is,

the more porous.

• Sorting- When they are all the same shape and size, the more sorted, the more porous.

Unsorted has least porosity

• Beach- Long island is a pile of unsorted rocks, sorted, more porous, packed loosely,

Beach has roundest shape.

• Lawn- Unsorted, Less porous, packed tightly, different shapes

Permeability Rate

• Rate at which speed water passes by.

• Water passes more quickly in cobbles, Less quickly in pebbles, Least quickly in sand.

• Water is magnetic, that is why when you shake your hands when wet, the water stays.

• If the ground is impermeable, there is runoff.

• Most infiltration of precipitation will occur when the Earth’s sol is saturated and

impermeable.

Capillary Migration

• Water can move against the force of gravity (like being absorbed by a paper towel)

• Sand has the greatest capillarity and capillary migration.

*The greater the porosity, the less the capillarity.

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Water Budget

• P- Precipitation/Water you receive.

• New York is humid, we receive more precipitation than we give back

• EP- Potential evaporation, stands for insolation energy for rom the sun and temperature.

• In New York, the P is greater than the climate. When the EP is greater than the P, it is an

Arid climate.

• Semi Arid- Texas. Arid- Nevada. Humid- New York

Factors that Affect Climate

• Latitude

• The closer you are the equator, the more insolation. The equator has little if any seasons.

• Number one factor that determines temperature

• Equator is warm and humid

• Elevation

• The higher you go, the colder it gets.

• Large Bodies of Water

• Keep Summers Cooler and Winters Warmer.

• In Winter-Land Breeze• In Summer-Ocean Breeze

• Narrows temperature range

• Orographic Effect -

• The effect the mountains have. Windward side has all precipitation, the leeward side is all

desert.

• El Niño

• Warming of the oceans surface south of South America• Moving nutrients away from fishing banks,changing the entire ecosystem.

• Sea surface temperatures in the tropics are a major source of weather and climate

variability.

• Occurs every 3-5 years

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• La Niña

• when the trade winds are very strong. The cold water that upwells along the western coast

of South America is pushed westward across the Pacific Ocean.

Greenhouse Effect

• The ground gives off terrestrial radiation (The ground gives off heat)

• Allows light waves in that heats the ground. The ground releases infrared and the infrared is

trapped.

• Allows short wave radiation in and entraps long-wave radiation.

• CO2 and H20 absorbs the heat

• When the UV rays hit the ozone layer, the UV smash the bonds of O2 and form O3

• O2+UV=O+O3=O3e

• The propellants in hairspray prevent the UV rays from reaching the ozone layer

• The Ozone layer blocks UV rays

Evolution of Life

• Principle Superposition- youngest layers are on top and oldest are on bottom. Exception if soil

is overturned

• Fossils- A fossil bone is a copy of the original. Minerals seep into the bone and preserve theshape.

• Two Types of Dating

• Relative- When events are placed in order based on age

• Absolute- When the age has n exact number. IE: Earth is 4.6 billion years old

• All life is based on carbon. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid

(RNA) is from carbon

• Little known acquired knowledge about Precambrian Eon. The Paleozoic era is filled withmarine life, and the beginning of life.

• Mass Extinction is cyclic. 95% of species become extinct.

• Index Fossil- Must be found in a large, wide geographical area and must have a short time span

like 5 million years. One Layer, in one region, must date for an area.

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• Correlation- When fossils found in different continents match to a layer and time period

• Unconformity- Erosion and the sequence is broken and is represented by a squiggly line.

• Contact Metamorphism- When 2,000˚ magma touches pre-existing rock and it metamorphoses.

Radioactive Decay Sequence and Radioactivity

• Nothing but nothing can change the rate in which it decays.

• Ask yourself ow many half lives have gone by

• For Carbon 14, a half life is 5,700 years and turns into nitrogen.

• a 100 gram block of carbon-14

• 1 Half Life - 50g C14 and 50g N14 - 5,700 years

• 2 Half Lives- 25g C14 and 75g N14 - 11,400 years

• 3 Half Lives - 12.5g C14 and 87.5g N14 - 17,100 years

*Notes From Packet*

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