earth and space science mid term review 2026

when was the universe made

13 billion years ago

red shift

moves away

blue shift

coming closer

is the earth expanding? how?

yes because cosmic background show it

nuclear fusion

2 hydrogen make helium then turn into energy

what determines the way a star dies

mass

dark matter

pulls galaxies together (25%)

dark energy

pushes the universe apart (mostly made up of the universe; around 68%)

where in the sun does nuclear fusion occur

the core

conduction

convection

radiation

solids

liquids

how sunlight gets to earth

how are sunspots made

magnetic field lines pushes down/holds the heat creating sun spots

solar flares

occurs when sunspots energy gets too much then explodes

consequences of solar flares

fry communications, fry astronauts, and cause auroras in the sky

when was solar system made

4.6 billion years ago

how was the sun made

gas contracts then spins and gets hotter

accretion

when rocks meld together and create planets

kepler’s laws

further planet from the sun = longer year

eccentrecity

sun is at one foci

1= flat 0=circular

aphelion

furthest point away from the sun

perihelion

closest point from the sun

how was the moon made

piece of the earth came off and created the moon.

how many days does the sun to fully orbit earth

27.3 days

how many days does it take to go from one moon phase to another (full moon to next full moon)

29.5 days

why do we see the same side of the moon

revolution is the same time as rotation

why do we see phases of the moon

the moon revolves around the earth

solar eclipse (arrangement)

sun - moon - earth

lunar eclipse (arrangement)

sun - earth - moon

whats a neap tide

90 degree angle

whats a spring tide

big difference of tides

cyclic changes

predictable changes

why do we have seasons

all because of the tilt of the earth and revolution

angle of insolation

angle

higher the sun = hotter

lower the sun = colder

duration of insolation

how many hours of sunlight and night time

tropic of cancer

june 21

sun above their heads

90 degrees = no shadow

tropic of capricorn

december 21

lowest point of the sun

equinox

equal 6 hour day light and 6 hour night

what color surface absorbs the most amount of heat

dark surfaces

what does the Foucault pendulum prove

that the earth spins on its axis

what is the coriolis effect

moving objects move because of the earth’s rotation on its axis

how many revolution degrees are there per day

1 degree

how much speed (in degrees) does the earth rotate per hour

15 degrees

why do we have seasons

because of the tilt of the earth

why do we see different constellations

because the earth is revolving around the sun

rocky planets

small dense planets (terrestrial planets)

composed of rocks and metals

surfaces with craters, volcanoes, and mountains

example: mercury, Venus, earth, mars

gas giants

massive planets mostly composed of hydrogen and helium

lacking solid surfaces

example: Jupiter, saturn

icy planets

surfaces of ice

large rocky/ice core

example: uranus and neptune

how long can carbon date things

recent objects

what does p waves go through

everything

(faster)

what does s waves go through

solids only

divergent boundary

convergent boundary

faults