maps and measurements

farrell

what is a measurement

what is a measurement

a quantity that has both a number and unit

what are the two types of measurement

qualitative and quantitative

what are qualitative measurements

measurements that are descriptions and words, NOT numbers

examples of qualitative measurements

looks/acts/feels/smells like, hot, cold, red, large, etc

what is a quantitative measurement

measurements involving numbers and units

examples of quantitative measurements

anything that can be assigned a numeric value

20 liters, 17 kaias

what are measurements used for

measurements, or data, are used to make conclusions

what are the four ways to describe measurements/data

accurate, precise, both, or neither

what does accuracy with measurements refer to

how close a measurement is to the true accepted value

what does precision with measurements refer to

how close measurements of the same item are to each other

TRUE OR FALSE

precision is dependent entirely on accuracy

FALSE

precision is independent of accuracy

What are the 5 types of maps

topographic, physical, geologic, weather, resource

what do topographic maps show

earth’s 3D features on a flat map

what lines are used

contour lines and closed contour lines(depressions)

what is a contour line

the line that indicates an elevation

what is a contour interval

tells the distance in elevation between adjacent contour lines

what are closed contour lines

show depressions, areas where inside the contour line the ground is at a lower elevation than on the outside

what do tightly packed and loosely packed contour lines indicate

the closer the lines, the steeper the slope, the further lines, the gentler the slope

What is the formula for calculating the gradient of slopes in a topographic map

G = |Starting elevation - ending elevation/horizontal distance between points| * 100

Key factor in the gradients of slopes to remember

• always a positive number! formula uses absolute value

• reported as a percent

What do physical maps show

physical features of an area - ex. elevation, rivers, oceans, country borders

*with colors

What do geologic maps show

shows the rock type, geological hazards, and sediment type of a certain area

What do weather maps show

shows temperature, pressure, precipitation, and other conditions of an area

What do resource maps show

Indicates areas with high levels of a natural resource

ex. the darker colors on a country have higher solar resources

what are maps used for

to determine and track locations

what are the 2 special types of measurements

latitude and longitude, both measured in degrees

what is latitude

distance north or south of the equator (horizontal lines)

what is longitude

distance east or west of the prime meridian (vertical lines)

what is the relationship between the longitude line and time

the international date line follows the prime meridian

what is the equator

latitude at 0 degrees - no north or south designation

what is the prime meridian

longitude at 0 degrees, no east or west designation

how is the earth split up?

4 hemispheres: northern, southern, eastern, western

*equator for northern and southern

*prime meridian for eastern and western

how to write coordinates with latitude and longitude

latitude first, longitude second, in parentheses

ex. (30°N, 20°W)

What is a map

a flat representation of earth

Why is distortion expected on maps

because the earth is round

however cartographers have found ways to limit distortion

What are the four main projections

Mercator projection, Robinson projection, Conic projection, and Gnomonic projection

what does the mercator projection look like

rectangular shape - as if paper was wrapped around the globe

What are the pros and cons of the mercator projection

pro:

• longitude and latitude are perpendicular

• preserves angles and directions in a small area

• Rectangle shape - easy to carry

cons:

• sizes and distances are distorted

• bad for understanding the real size and shape of land masses

Pros and cons of the robinson projection

pros:

• most distances, sizes, and shapes are accurate

• shows the entire world at once

cons:

• distortions around the map edges

• compromises both area and angles

how are conic projections made

wrapping a cone of paper around the globe at a certain latitudinal line

pros and cons of conic projection

pros:

• great accuracy over small areas

• good for road and weather maps

• good for mapping regions that are primarily West-East in dimension (ex. US)

cons:

• lots of distortion in areas away from latitude that cone is in contact with

• limited in the area it can show - not full map

How are gnomonic maps made

placing a piece of paper on a globe so it touches a singular point on the globes surface (similar to conic but flat disc)

pros and cons of gnomonic maps

Pros:

• reliably shows the shortest distance between two points

cons:

• shape, area, and distance distortions increase with distance from the center

what is earth science

the study of the earth and its neighbors in space

what do earth scientists study

impacts of human activity on earth and its scientific processes, specifically in the hydro/litho/bio/atmosphere

what is geology

the study of rocks and minerals

what is oceanography

study of oceans

what is meteorology

study of weather

what is climatology

study of climate

what is the diff between climatology & meteorology

meteorology = short-term & tides, climatology = long-term & larger region

what is atmospheric science

study of the composition of the atmosphere

what is astronomy

study of the universe (stars, galaxies, etc)

what is cosmology

study of the origin and fate of the cosmos

*diff bc cosmology falls under astronomy

Environmental science

study of the environment and human impact

what is different about environmental science and earth science

earth science: earth’s natural processes/events

environmental science: combines social & natural sciences to study human impacts on the environment (and vice versa)

what is a system

any size group of interacting parts that forms a complete whole

what are the two types of systems

open and closed

what is an open system

system that freely allows energy and matter to be transferred into and out of itself

ex. boiling water without a lid - heat(energy) and steam(matter) escape

what is a closed system

does not allow the exchange of matter but allows energy to be transferred

ex. a pressure cooker - steam(matter) stays in the pot, heat(energy) escapes

what type of system is earth and why

closed system - gravity keeps matter in the system, energy radiates into Earth from the sun

where does earth get its energy from

the sun and earth’s interior

what does the sun do

drives external processes that occur in the hydro&atmosphere & at earth’s surfaces

how does solar power work

sun emits energy, earth absorbs it

What does earth’s interior do

the intense heat in the interior results in internal processes such as volcanoes & earthquakes

what energy is based off of earth’s interior

geothermal energy

what is the atmosphere

thin, gaseous layer that surrounds earth

what is the hydrosphere

all the water on earth (sub-sphere: cryosphere - all frozen water on earth)

what is the biosphere

all life on earth

what is the geosphere

rock layer found under atmosphere and oceans

what does the precision of a measurement depend on

depends on the instrument used to measure it

what is the rule of estimating a measurement

give all known numbers, and then estimate one more digit

how to measure volume

measure from the bottom of the curve (the meniscus)

how to measure with triple beam balance (mass)

each bar represents one digit

what to remember with electronic scales

the final digit on display is STILL the estimated digit

what is each long/latitudinal degree divided into

60 minutes

what is each minute of degree divided into

60 seconds

what is percent error

a measure of how inaccurate a measurement is

what is the % error formula

| theoretical value - experimental value/ theoretical value | x 100

what is theoretical value

what your answer should have been

what is experimental value

what you got as an answer

what does scientific notation allow

allows us to express very large and very small numbers with accuracy, using the power of ten

what are the rules of scientific notation

• must be a non zero number in ones place

• nothing may be in tens place or higher

• number must be multiplied by 10 and 10 must have exponent

  • exponent tells us the number of decimal places a number shifted (was multiplied)

exponent rules

if moved left → exponent is positive

if moved right → exponent is negative

what is the formula for density

mass/volume

what is the formula for volume

mass/density

what is the formula for mass

volume * density

common units

density: g/mL, g/cm³

Mass: grams

Volume: 1 mL, 1 cm³

what happens to density when temperature increases

mass remains the same, volume increases

what is the density of water

1 mL

what is the geologic timeline

eons, eras, periods, epochs

what splits geological time

major geologic events/evolutionary changes

what are the 4 major eons

hadean eon - earth formed

archean eon - oceans formed

proterozoic eon - life formed

phanerozoic eon - fossil record became abundant

important eras

paleozoic era - bugs

mesozoic era - flowering plants

cenozoic era - mammals first recorded & 3 periods

• quaternary

• neogene

• paleogene

percent of life in eons

88% in first 3 eons, 12% in current eon