2025 Wharton Earth Systems Final Exam Review Guide

Flashcards for final exam review

Big Bang Theory

The prevailing model for the Universe's origin, stating it expanded from an extremely hot, dense state.

Properties of stars

Characteristics such as size, temperature, color, brightness, and composition.

Star Color

Indicates its surface temperature; hotter stars are blue, cooler stars are red.

Universe Changes

It is expanding, and the rate of expansion is accelerating.

Life Cycle of Low/Average Mass Star

Nebula, Protostar, Main Sequence Star, Red Giant, Planetary Nebula, White Dwarf.

Life Cycle of High Mass Star

Nebula, Protostar, Main Sequence Star, Red Supergiant, Supernova, Neutron Star or Black Hole.

Star Spectrum

Chemical composition, temperature, density, and motion.

Age of the Sun

Approximately 4.6 billion years old.

Major Features on the Sun’s Surface

Sunspots, Prominences, Solar Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections. Sunspots are cooler areas. Prominences are large, bright features extending from the Sun's surface. Solar flares are sudden releases of energy. CMEs are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona.

Light Year

The distance that light travels in one year.

Lunar Phases

New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent.

Average vs. Massive Stars

Both fuse hydrogen into helium in their cores, but massive stars are hotter, brighter, and have shorter lifespans.

Size of Our Sun

Average size. It will become a red giant, then a white dwarf.

Causes of Lunar Phases

The changing angles at which we view the illuminated surface of the Moon as it orbits Earth.

Earth's Movement Impact

Rotation causes day and night; revolution causes the year and seasons.

Major Parts of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays.

Wavelength Differences

Wavelengths vary inversely with energy; radio waves have long wavelengths, gamma rays have short wavelengths.

Parts of a Transverse Wave

Crest, trough, wavelength, amplitude.

Red Shift vs. Blue Shift

Red shift indicates that a star is moving away from us, blue shift indicates it’s moving towards us.

One Side of the Moon

The Moon is tidally locked with Earth, so its rotation period matches its orbital period.

Lunar Features

Maria (dark, smooth plains), highlands (bright, heavily cratered areas), craters.

HR Diagram

A graph that plots stars according to their luminosity and temperature which helps understand stellar evolution.

Lunar Eclipse vs. Solar Eclipse

Lunar eclipse is when Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon; solar eclipse is when the Moon blocks sunlight from reaching Earth.

Lunar Phase for Eclipses

Lunar eclipses occur during a Full Moon; solar eclipses occur during a New Moon.

Major Planets of Our Solar System

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars (terrestrial); Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (gas giants). Terrestrial planets are rocky and dense; gas giants are large and made of gas.

Formation of Our Solar System

Formed from a rotating cloud of gas and dust (solar nebula) that collapsed under gravity.

Planetesimals

Small rocky or icy bodies that collided and merged to form planets.

Two Parts of Shadow

Umbra (inner, dark part of the shadow) and penumbra (outer, lighter part of the shadow).

Energy Source for Atmosphere

The Sun.

Wind Movement and Pressure

Wind moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.

Latitude Effect on Climate

Affects the angle of sunlight and the distribution of heat.

Climate Zone

Temperate.

Coriolis Effect

The apparent deflection of moving objects (like air currents) due to Earth's rotation.

Cause of Coriolis Effect

Earth's rotation.

Major Air Masses in North America

Continental polar (cP), maritime polar (mP), continental tropical (cT), maritime tropical (mT), and arctic (A).

Air Mass Over Canada

Continental polar (cP) and Arctic (A).

Layers of the Atmosphere

Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere.

Atmospheric Layer We Live In

Troposphere.

Conditions for Hurricanes

Warm ocean water, low wind shear, and a pre-existing weather disturbance.

Types of Fronts

Cold, warm, stationary, and occluded. Air moves differently depending on the front.

Examples of Greenhouse Gasses

Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor.

Gasses in Our Atmosphere

Nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (0.9%), and trace amounts of other gasses.

Major Global Winds

Trade winds, westerlies, polar easterlies.

Temperature Change in Atmosphere

Temperature generally decreases with altitude in the troposphere and mesosphere, and increases with altitude in the stratosphere and thermosphere.

Conditions for Quickest Evaporation

Warm temperatures, low humidity, and high wind speeds.

Greenhouse Effect vs. Global Warming

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms the Earth; global warming is the increase in Earth’s average temperature due to human activities.

UV Protection

Ozone layer.

Heat Transfer from the Sun

Radiation.

Orographic Effect

The effect of mountains on rainfall. Windward side gets more precipitation, leeward side is drier.

Heat Absorption and Reflection

Earth absorbs solar radiation and reflects some back into space.

Climate vs. Weather

Climate is long-term average weather conditions; weather is short-term atmospheric conditions.

Types of Clouds

Cumulus, stratus, cirrus, and cumulonimbus. Cumulonimbus are associated with thunderstorms.

Tornado Location in the US

The Great Plains, also known as 'Tornado Alley'.

What Fossils Tell Us

They provide evidence of past life, environmental conditions, and evolutionary changes.

Movement of Land Masses

Convection currents in the mantle.

Formation of Hawaiian Islands

A hot spot.

Age of the Earth

Approximately 4.54 billion years.

Types of Volcanoes

Shield, cinder cone, and composite. Shield volcanoes erupt effusively. Cinder cone volcanoes erupt explosively. Composite volcanoes have alternating explosive and effusive eruptions.

Oceanic Fossils on Mountains

Tectonic plates have shifted, uplifting the sea floor.

Evidence of Seafloor Spreading

Magnetic striping of the ocean floor and radiometric dating of rocks.

Alfred Wegener

Proposed the Theory of Continental Drift, citing evidence such as the fit of continents, fossil distribution, and matching rock formations.

Major Layers of the Earth

Crust (solid), mantle (mostly solid, but with a plastic-like asthenosphere), outer core (liquid), inner core (solid).

Lithosphere vs. Asthenosphere

The lithosphere is the rigid outer layer made up of the crust and upper mantle; the asthenosphere is the partially molten layer below the lithosphere.

Features at Plate Boundaries

Divergent (mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys), convergent (mountains, volcanoes, trenches), transform (faults).

Youngest Ocean Floor

At mid-ocean ridges.

Theory of Plate Tectonics

Explains the movement of Earth’s lithosphere and the features and events that occur at plate boundaries.

Volcano Explosivity

The amount of dissolved gas and the viscosity of the magma.

Epicenter of an Earthquake

Using seismic waves to determine the distance from at least three seismograph stations.

Reading a Travel-Time Curve

Determining the time difference between the arrival of P-waves and S-waves.

Examples of Minerals

Quartz, feldspar, mica, etc.

Formation of Each Rock Type

Igneous rocks form from cooled magma or lava; sedimentary rocks form from compacted and cemented sediments; metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks are changed by heat and pressure.

Rocks Tell Us About History

They can indicate past environmental conditions, geological events, and the presence of resources.

Weathering vs. Erosion

Weathering is the breakdown of rocks; erosion is the transport of weathered material.

Compaction vs. Cementation

Compaction is the squeezing together of sediments; cementation is the hardening and gluing together of sediments.

Textures of the Three Types of Rocks

Igneous (coarse-grained, fine-grained, glassy), sedimentary (clastic, chemical, organic), metamorphic (foliated, non-foliated).

Glassy Texture

Rapid cooling of lava.

Intrusive vs. Extrusive Igneous Rocks

Intrusive igneous rocks cool slowly inside the Earth forming large crystals; extrusive igneous rocks cool quickly on the Earth’s surface forming small crystals or glass.

Fossil Fuels

Formed from the remains of ancient organisms.

Mohs Hardness Scale

A scale to measure the relative hardness of minerals.

Rock Cycle

A model that describes how rocks change from one type to another.

Renewable Resource

A resource that can be replenished naturally.

Characteristics of a Mineral

Naturally occurring, inorganic, solid, definite chemical composition, and ordered internal structure.

Law of Superposition

The oldest layers are on the bottom and the youngest layers are on the top.

Major Eras of Earth History

Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic.

Water Distribution

97% saltwater, 3% freshwater.

Salinity

The saltiness or amount of dissolved salt in water.

Polarity

A molecule with opposite charges on either end.

Adhesion vs. Cohesion

Adhesion is the attraction of water molecules to other substances; cohesion is the attraction of water molecules to each other other.

Causes of Tides

The gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun.

Examples of Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources

Renewable (solar, wind, water); non-renewable (coal, oil, natural gas).

Why Coal in PA

PA used to be a swampy area with lots of plant life that turned into coal over millions of years.

Parts of the Water Cycle

Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, infiltration, transpiration.

Water Doesn't Mix With Oil

Water is polar and oil is non-polar.

Water Be Created

No.

What Makes Biome Unique

Temperature and precipitation.

Ecology

The study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.

Organism Feeds On Dead Material

Detritivore or decomposer.

Producers vs. Consumers

Producers create their own food; consumers obtain food by eating other organisms.

Types of Symbiotic Relationships

Mutualism, commensalism, parasitism.

Tick/Flea Relationship

Parasitism.