earth science regents review

made before the 2023 earth science regents exam

An observation...

uses your senses

An instrument...

extends your senses

An inference/prediction...

is a conclusion based on observations

What is classification?

grouping by observable properties

A direct relationship

as the x-axis increases, the y-axis increases

A indirect relationship

As the x-axis increases, y-axis decreases

No relationship/Static

as the x-axis increases, y remains the same

Most changes in the environment are

cyclic and predictable

What is dynamic equilibrium?

Balance

What is the formula for percent error?

difference/accepted x 100

The accepted/"real" value is

the correct answer

What in a substance stays the same no matter how many pieces you break it into?

The same density at the same tempature

As pressure increases

density increases

As temperature increases

density decreases

Volume of a regular solid

length x width x height

Magic Triangle

D = M/V
M = D x V
V = M/D

Water expands when it

freezes

water is most dense at

4°C when it's a liquid

Anything with a density greater than 1 will

sink

An interface is...

A boundary across which energy is exchanged

The shape of the Earth is

an oblate spheroid (slightly flattened at the poles and slightly wider at the equator)

The best model of the Earth is

a billiard ball - a perfectly
smooth sphere.

What are the evidences that the Earth is round

1) "sinking ship" observation; 2) photographs from space; 3) Earth's shadow on the Moon; 4) stars shift relative to the horizon as you move North and South 5) Eratosthenes's measurements and 6) sunrise and sunset (sun hits tops of mountains first.).

A good map should have

Both scale and direction

Latitude lines measure

distances north and south of the equator

Latitude is expressed as

0-90 degrees north or south

The altitude of polaris equals

Your latitude (only in the northern hemisphere)

Longitude lines measure

east and west of the prime meridian

Longitude is expressed as

0-180 degrees east or west

What is the international dateline?

180* east or west of the Meridian

Longitude is based on

Observations of the sun

The earth rotates on its axis from

west to east (counterclockwise)

1 full rotation of the earth is

360 = 24 hours

Earth's rate of rotation (on its axis)

15 ̊/hr

As you go east time will

increase

As you go west time will

decrease

Isolines never

cross

Isolines must

connect to each other or run off the map

The closer the isolines

the steeper the slope

Contour lines go the ___ direct of a stream flowing across them

opposite

The maximum elevation is

higher than the highest contour line but less than the
height of the next (hypothetical) line.

A profile is

a vertical cutaway section or side view

Gradient formula

change in field value/distance

Sedimentary rocks

may have flat layers and are most likely to have fossils

Igneous rocks

have visible crystals.

cools very fast with a glassy texture

no crystals

cools fast and is usually extrusive

small crystals

cools slowly and is usually intrusive

large crystals

Metamorphic rocks

Banded, distorted structure. Recrystallization

Contact metamorphism is caused by

an igneous intrusion

Mineral properties depend on

internal arrangement of the atoms

What are the ways of identifying a mineral

color, streak, hardness, luster, cleavage & fracture

Calcite fizzes with

acid

What other rocks fizz with acid

Other rocks made of calcite - marble, limestone, and dolostone

The 3 basic types of crustal boundaries

Divergent, Convergent, and Transform

evidence of plate tectonic theory

1) the fit of the continents; 2) the rock, mineral and fossil correlation; 3) evidence of ancient glaciers and tropical forests; and 4) alignment of the North Pole with the magnetism of different ages of rock.

Earthquakes and Volcanoes usually occur along

crustal plate boundaries

Mid-Ocean ridge

new crust being created- sea floor spreading

evidence of sea floor spreading

1) the reversal of magnetic polarity; and 2) the farther from the mid-ocean ridge, the older the rock (basalt).

Convection

The movement of matter due to differences in density - works best in liquid and gas

convection currents in the mantle

move plates

Ridges create

Crust; area of divergence.

Trenches destroy

Crust; subduction zone

Uplift causes

mountains

Hotspots are

not at plate boundaries

Ocean crust is

thin and made of basalt

Continential crust is

thick and made of granite

Mountains form by

uplift, folding and faulting

which is faster; P-waves or S-waves

P-waves

P waves can pass through

solids and liquids

S waves can only travel through

solids

You need at least ____ to plot an earthquake

3 seismometer stations

The focus is

the underground position of the earthquake

the epicenter is

Point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus

scientists infer earth's properties from

earthquakes (seismic data) and meteorites

a shadow zone is caused by

S waves not passing through the liquid outer core and P waves being bent as they go through the earth

Porosity is

the amount of empty space

Porosity does not depend on

particle size

If you have the same shape & sorted

porosity is the same

Permeability is

ability of a liquid to pass through

Permeability increases as

particle size increases

Rate increases as

Time decreases

If soil is highly permeable

water passes through very quickly

Capillarity is

the movement of a liquid upward against gravity

Weathering is

breaking things down

Erosion is

moving things

Deposition is

dropping things

Physical weathering occurs mostly in

Cold, humid climates

Physical weathering is

A process that doesn't change the chemical composition

Chemical Weathering is

A process that changes the chemical composition

Chemical weathering occurs mostly in

warm, humid climates

Humid

wet

when a rock is broken into smaller pieces

surface area increases and weathering rate increases

Gravity is

the force behind all erosion

Running water is

the number one agent of erosion

Stream velocity depends on

slope and discharge

Stream Velocity is

the speed of the water in a stream

Stream velocity is the fastest on

the outside of the meander bend

Fast stream velocity causes

erosion

Stream Velocity is the slowest at

the inside edge