Earth Science Finals 2024

This is missing a few units so I'll get that sorted out. Happy finals! *sobs* Some other important science finals flashcard sets: Places (plus a few events): https://knowt.com/flashcards/d5dd2e9f-94e6-410a-bc0a-ba6f22d1626f People: https://knowt.com/flashcards/96f33e34-194d-4f81-a49f-578fc4ac4f15

Tunguska, Chixulub, and Chelyabinsk

three impact events we talked about in class

Oceans, forests, sediment, etc.

What can cover up the craters on Earth?

It has no atmosphere

Why can’t the moon burn through asteroids?

Volcanos

What landforms could have caused the dinosaurs to go extinct?

Mammal competition

How could other lifeforms cause the dinosaurs to go extinct?

Eggs took too long to hatch

How could reproduction impact the dinosaur extinction?

Climate Change

What environmental changes could’ve impacted the dinosaur extinction?

66 mya

When did the KT extinction impact occur?

meteor impact

What is the leading theory as to what caused the KT extinction?

Gas

What are jovian planets (planets located beyond the asteroid belt) made of?

Rock

What are terrestrial planets (planets located closer to the sun) made of?

Distance from Earth to Sun

How large is an AU?

Red

What colour is the light of objects moving away from us?

Blue

What colour is the light of objects moving towards us?

Time and space

Light is stretched over __________

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

Who discovered the amount of hydrogen and helium in space?

74.5%

What percentage of hydrogen is there in the universe?

24%

What percentage of helium is there in the universe?

Hydrogen and Helium

Which elements were created moments after the Big Bang (hint: easiest elements to make)

expanding

Everything in the universe is showing up as redshifted, meaning the universe is _________

Doppler effect

What is this phenomenon called: when you hear a car’s horn, it will sound different coming toward you (sound is compressed) and different when moving away from you (sound is stretched).

Edwin Hubble

Who discovered a formula that showed which way galaxies are moving?

Penzias and Wilson

Who discovered Cosmic Background Radiation?

Leftover energy from the Big Bang

What is Cosmic Background Radiation?

13.82 billion years old

How old is the universe?

singularity

An infinitely hot and dense point in space that doesn’t take up any space at all is a ____________

expansion

The universe was not an explosion, but a(n) __________

Big Bang

Time, space, energy, and matter were created as soon as the __________ occurred

Matter clumped together

What happened as the universe began cooling and particles started to form atoms?

end of a star’s life

Black Holes, White Dwarf Stars, and Neutron Stars are all things that stars can become at the ____________

Star-forming nebula

What are both sun-like stars and massive stars formed in?

protostar

The name for an early/very young star

Massive star

Larger type of star

Sun-like star

Smaller type of star

red supergiant

Massive stars turn into _______

red giant

Sun-like stars turn into _______

Mass x width x velocity

Conservation of Angular Momentum formula

Fermi Paradox

Where all signs point to aliens being real but we have no evidence of them ever existing

2.537 million ly

How far away are we from the Andromeda Galaxy?

4.2 ly

How far away are we from Proxima Centauri?

Proxima Centauri

What is the closest star to us?

spiral galaxy

What type of galaxy is the Milky Way?

100,000 ly by 10,000 ly

What are the dimensions of our Milky Way?

1 AU

149,597,871 KM is the same length as __________

Planets

• They need to be round.

• They have to orbit the sun.

• They have to clear their orbit

What are they?

Mercury, Mars, Earth, and Venus

Name the terrestrial planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

Name the jovian planets

Kuiper belt

The two rocky belts in our solar system are the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and the ___________

Iridium

Element that is rare on Earth but common in asteroids (hint: Walter Alverez)

Meteor

Something that’s entered Earth’s atmosphere

Meteoroid

Something traveling through space

Meteorite

The part of the meteor that survives Earth’s atmosphere and hits the Earth

Chixulub

What was the name of the impact that killed the dinosaurs?

Tunguska

in Siberia, only witnesses were yak herders

Chelyabinsk

the meteor that exploded in the city in Russia

adiabatic cooling

the cooling effect of reduced pressure on air as it rises higher in the atmosphere and expands

Alto

prefix meaning cloud is found higher in the sky than usual

atmosphere

the envelope of gases surrounding the earth

Capacity

the maximum amount of water that can be present in the air at a certain temperature; increases with increasing temperature.

Cirrus*

high-altitude clouds that are thin*

Climate

A description of aggregate weather conditions; the sum of all statistical weather information that helps describe the weather of a region

Cloud

a collection of small water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air

Condensation Nuclei

microscopic particles on which water vapor condenses to form cloud/fog droplets (ex. dead skin, dust…)

Condensation

the change from water vapor to liquid water

Convergence

as air is drawn together at the surface

Cumulonimbus

a type of cumulus cloud that has vertical development

Cumulus

low altitude thick, puffy, white clouds with flat bases, formed by vertically rising air currents often localized convective lifting or convergence

Dew Point

the temperature at which condensation occurs because the air is saturated

Dew

tiny drops of water that form on cool surfaces when water vapor condenses

Evaporation

the change from liquid water to water vapor

Fog

a cloud in contact with the ground

Frost

feathery crystals of ice formed on surfaces when water vapor in the air deposits at a temperature below freezing

Halo

a circle of light around the sun or moon in a cirrostratus cloud

Latent Heat

heat absorbed or radiated during a change of phase

leeward side

Protected side; the direction opposite from which the wind is blowing.

Mare's Tail

type of cirrus cloud with a hook shape that can indicate rain within 24 hours if caused by a warm front

Mesopause

The boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere

Mesosphere

The layer of the Earth's atmosphere that extends from the stratosphere to the thermosphere, temp decreases with height, coldest part of the atmosphere is at the top of this layer, idk kinda boring

Meteorology

The scientific study of the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena; the study of the weather and climate

Mountain Wave Cloud

stationary lenticular clouds situated over and downwind of a prominent mountain range

Nimbo

prefix-suffix to indicate that a cloud is rain-bearing

Orographic Lifting

mountains acting as barriers to the flow of air

Outgassing

The process of gases contained within the Earth being put into the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions.

Ozone

a form of oxygen that has three oxygen atoms in each molecule instead of two. In the stratosphere it protects us from dangerous ultraviolet radiation. In troposphere it is considered a pollutant as it is a main ingredient in photochemical smog and damaging to plants and people.

precipitation

Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface.

rain shadow

a region with dry conditions found on the leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side

Relative Humidity

a comparison of the actual amount of water vapor in the air with the maximum amount of water vapor that can be present in the air. (Specific Humidity/Capacity)

Saturation

the condition in which the air is holding as much water vapor as possible at a given temperature and pressure. Hint: it’s not capacity lmao

Specific Humidity

the amount of water vapor in the air at a given time and place; expressed as the number of grams of water vapor per kilogram of air.

Stratopause

The boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere

Stratosphere

The layer of Earth's atmosphere that extends from the troposhere to the mesosphere; concentration of ozone in this layer causes the temperature to rise as you go up.

Stratus

clouds that form in low, horizontal layers, covering all or most of sky

Thermosphere

The layer of Earth's atmosphere above the mesosphere

Transpiration

the emission of water vapor into the atmosphere from the leaves of plants

Tropopause

The boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.

Water Vapor

water in its gaseous form

Weather

the state of the atmosphere at any given time

windward side

the side or direction from which the wind is blowing.

Cap Cloud

Person A: “It’s a cloud”

Person B: “No cap”

cirrostratus