Science Study Guide - Semester 2 Finals - part 2

Which factor has the smallest effect on the rate of erosion?

daily hours of sunlight

Landforms created by deposition ________ than those created by erosion

Are flatter and lower

When the Sun’s energy reaches Earth

about half of it is absorbed by Earth’s surface

Why doesn’t Earth become hotter with time as the Sun shines on it?

Earth sends back into space the same amount of energy it receives

Which gases are most responsible for the warming that occurs with the greenhouse effect?

carbon dioxide and water vapor

What is the cause of wind?

Unequal heating of Earth

Sea breezes form during the day when

The land heats faster than the nearby ocean

What does the Corolla effect do to winds in the northern hemisphere?

causes them to turn to the right

Why do land breezes blow from the land to the sea at night?

land cools faster than nearby water

A factory smokestack is a

point source solution of air pollution

Which example is a nonpoint source of air pollution?

a highway that has many cars releasing exhaust

Which example is an effect of acid precipitation?

weathered stone on buildings

Pollution that’s forms when sunlight reacts with chemicals in the air is

Smog

Why have air pollution controls failed to decrease ground-level ozone?

There are more cars on the roads

What are the gases in Earth’s atmosphere in order of most abundant to least?

nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor

How does temperature change in the troposphere?

It decreases with height

What happens to the Sun’s radiation after it reaches Earth?

Earth’s surface absorbs about half of it

Air pressure is greatest in Earth’s

Troposphere

________ makes up about 21% of Earth’s atmosphere

Oxygen

Global an local winds form as air moves from

east to west

Infrared radiation that is directed back toward Earth produces

The greenhouse effect

Prevailing winds in Antarctica are called

polar easterlies

Which statement is true of the solar radiation that reaches Earth?

About 50% of it is absorbed by Earth’s surface

Which statement is true in all layers of Earth’s atmosphere?

Air pressure decreases with an increase in altitude

All inner planets

are rocky and have a solid atmosphere

Because Mercury’s mass is so small, it

Has no atmosphere

Why is Venus the hottest inner planet?

its atmosphere traps a lot of heat energy

Earth is the only planet with a wide variety of life because of its

moderate temperature and liquid water

Why do scientists think that liquid water might have existed on Mars?

Mars’s surface has deep gullies on it

How is Venus unlike other planets

it’s period of rotation is longer than its period of revolution

Which inner planet has the longest period of revolution and why?

Mars, because it is the farthest from the Sun

All the outer planets are made mostly of

gas and liquid around a solid core

Which planet is the solar system’s largest?

Jupiter

The outer planets have atmospheres composed mostly of

hydrogen and helium

Which planet has a moon larger than the planet Mercury?

Saturn

Why can we see the Moon?

it reflects sunlight

What causes the Moon to revolve around Earth

Earth’s gravity

What causes the Moon change phases?

its movement around Earth

The Moon’s phase is waning then it changes from

last quarter to a new moon

Because the Moon’s periods of rotation and revolution are the same, it

keeps the same side always facing Earth

How does Earth move around the Sun

In a nearly circular path

Why does the Earth revolve?

The Sun’s gravity pulls on it

What causes Earth’s seasons to change?

Earth’s tilt on its axis

What causes the phases of the Moon to change?

the Moon’s revolution

What happens during a total lunar eclipse

The moon passes through Earth’s umbra

What causes tides on Earth?

The gravitational pull of only the Sun

What keeps Earth from flying outward into space

The inward gravitational pull of the Sun

Suppose the Earth was tilted much less on its axis. What effect would this have on our planet?

winters would be warmer

The Moon prevents sunlight from reaching parts of the Earth

During a total solar eclipse

Which statement is true of all lunar eclipses?

They can be seen from any point on Earth

The largest number of shells exposed along a beach would be found when

The Moon’s and Sun’s gravitational pulls combine

What do astronomers use to divide the sky into regions?

constellations

Star light provides information about the star’s

Temperature

What would astronomers use to measure the distance between the Sun and the star Proxima Centauri?

light-years

Astronomers measure how far an object is from Earth by using angles created by

Parallax

Stars shine because

Fusion takes place in their cores

Which group represents the interior layers of a star

Core, radiative zone, convection zone

Which features of the Sun change over short periods of time

Sunspots

The Hertzsprung-Russel diagram plots the

Luminosity and temperatures of stars

Which star is the hottest?

a blue main sequence star

Which sequence correctly shows how stars form?

nebula forms - nebula collapses - protostar forms - fusion begins

Which statement is true of stellar evolution?

The most massive stars do not become white dwarfs

How do stars recycle matter

Gravity pulls together gases and matter from old stars to relate new ones

Scientists estimate that more than 90% of the universe in composed of

dark matter

Which type of galaxy has many old, red stars?

elliptical

The universe began from a single point according to the theory

Big Bang

The more red-shifted a galaxy is, the

Faster it moves away from Earth