Studied by 17 people
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
Note
Flashcard