Earth Science - Quiz 1

Theories on the Origin of the Universe, Theories on the Origin of the Solar System, Goldilocks Zone, and Subsystems

Static Universe Theory

the universe is spacially bound and uniform. it is neither expanding nor contracting

in the book Principia written by Isaac Newton in 1687

Where was static universe theory first mentioned?

Albert Einstein (1917)

Who proposed static universe theory?

Big Bang Theory

the universe started with a small, hot, and dense singularity that constantly expanded over the years.

Abbe Georges Edouard Lemaitre (1927)

Belgian astrophysicist and priest that proposed the big bang theory

Steady State Theory

the universe is always expanding but is maintaining a constant average density

Fred Hoyle

Hermann Bondi

Thomas Gold

Who are the proponents of steady state theory?

The big bang theory states that while the universe is expanding, so do the distances between planets and other matter in the universe, diluting it's density while the steady state theory states that as the universe expands, more matter is created, therefore the universe maintains an average density

What is the difference between the big bang theory and steady state theory?

Oscillating Universe Theory

the universe exists between the big bang and the big crunch. our universe is just one of the many series of universes created by a cycle of big bangs and big crunches

Alexander Friedmann (1920s)

Who is the proponent of the oscillating universe theory?

Big Crunch

The expansion of the universe eventually stops and reverses, once again forming a dense singularity

Inflationary Universe/Eternal Inflation Theory

an extension of another theory. this states that the universe rapidly expanded during a brief period and it never stopped, rather it only ended in places, causing the formation of multiple universes (multiverse)

Alan Guth (1979)

Who developed the Eternal Inflation Theory?

The Idea of Multiverse

popularized by Hugh Everett III and Bryce DeWitt in the 1960s and 70s, this idea states that there is a hypothetical group of many different universes including the one we live in.

Nebular Hypothesis

the solar system formed from a slowly rotating cloud of gas that collapsed and flattened with a hot central region that became the sun and the remaining materials formed the planets, etc.

Immanuel Kant and Pierre Simon de Laplace

Who proposed the Nebular Hypothesis?

- gas expands, not contracts

- there would be nothing to swirl it around

- why did the swirling gas not keep going and pushed all of itself into one giant body?

- what kept the smaller bodies from falling into larger ones?

- interstellar gas is not condensing, it is expanding

- the sun rotates too slow for the theory to be true

Give a flaw of nebular hypothesis

Fission Theory

the spin of Earth was so great that a chunk of it flew off from the Pacific Ocean basin and went into orbit around the Earth, forming the moon

George Darwin (1879)

Who is credited for Fission Theory?

- achieving escape velocity would be impossible and even if it did, the earth would be puverized into fragments

- not supported by fossil evidence

- assuming it was possible that a chunk was hurled into space from earth, this would keep moving outward and not begin orbiting earth

- if true, the moon would orbit the earth at the equator and not at an 18-28 degree tilt

Give a flaw of fission theory

Capture Theory

the moon was formed elsewhere and was later drawn in by the gravitational pull of the earth. same goes for the sun.

Michael Mark Woolfson (1964)

Who proposed the capture theory?

- it's improbable for the sun to have caught 9 planets and 60 moons into its orbit

- no moons or planets are flying by us today

- planets and moons would tend to crash into the sun, not begin orbiting it

- moons would crash into the sun or planets, not beging orbiting them

Give a flaw of capture theory

Accretion Theory

a pile of space debris pushed together to make Earth and another pile pushed itself to form our moon then the moon got close enough to earth ad began orbiting it

Otto Schmidt (1944)

Who proposed Accretion theory?

- where did the space dust and rocks come from

- space debris would not push itself together, it would push apart

- the moons and planets would tend to crash together

Give a flaw of accretion theory

Planetary Collision Theory

our world collided with small planet, and the explosion threw off rocks which became the moon, and then it began orbiting us.

Giant Impact/Theia Hypothesis

What theory is Planetary Collision Theory often compared to for being similar?

- the impact would destroy Earth

- material from the explosion would keep moving outward, not start orbiting Earth

Give a flaw of planetary collision theory

Stellar Collision Theory

our sun, the moons, and the planets were created from collisions between stars

- material from the collision would hurl outwards and keep doing so

- pieces drawn together would smash, not orbit one another

Give a flaw of stellar collision theory

Gas Cloud Theory

gas clouds were captured by our sun but instead of being drawn into it, they began whirling and pushing themselves into planets and moons.

- gas does not lump together

- if true, the planets and moons would not start orbiting one another nor would they start circling the sun

Give a flaw of gas cloud theory

Encounter/Tidal Hypothesis

solar system began with a near collision of the sun and a large star. they passed each other and great gravitational pull of the star extracted hot gases from the sun and these gases formed the planets that started orbiting the sun

Harold Jeffreys and James Jeans

Who are the proponents of encounter/tidal hypothesis

Encounter/Tidal Hypothesis

explains why all planets revolve in the same direction and explains why planets closer to the sun are denser than planets that are farther

- hot gas expands, not contracts, amd therefore would not form planets

- it is improbable due to the encounter between stars being extremely rare

Give a flaw of encounter/tidal hypothesis

- the star should survive long enough for its planets to develop life

- planets should exist in a region where water could remain liquid

2 requirements for a habitable planet

As stars age, they release and lose hydrogen while burning, so younger stars have a bluer shade while older stars appear reder

How does the colour of a star determine its age?

The hotter stars are, the farther their habitable zones

How does the temperature of a star affect the distance of habitable zones?

Goldilocks Zone

area in space in which planets are at just the right distance from its star for it to not be too hot nor too cold. it allows liquid water to exist

Mercury

has a thin atmosphere and slow rotation, making it incapable of maintaining the right temperature.

Venus

hottest planet; has a lot of active volcanoes that gives it a thick atmosphere. this thick atmosphere increases the greenhouse effect, making it's surface temperature very high.

Mars

has a thin atmosphere and cold surface temperature

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

What are the Jovian planets?

Jovian planets

mainly composed of gases and has no land where organisms can live

1. magnetic field protects it from harmful solar radiation

2. kept warm by its insulating atmosphere

3. has the right chemical substances needed for life (ex.: carbon, water)

4. has various processes that cycles the elements throughout the planet that sustains life, mineral, and energy sources

5. ozone layer protects us from from UV rays from the sun

6. has a moon stabilizing its axial wobble

7. has a stable rotation preventing extreme changing temperatures

8. has gas giant neighbors protecting it from asteroids and comets

Features of Earth that makes it habitable

Atmosphere

thin, life-giving gaseous envelope of Earth that holds oxygen and keeps us from being burned

Nitrogen

What gas makes up most of Earth's atmosphere?

Troposphere

lowest layer of the atmosphere where the temperature decreases with altitude

Troposphere

where weather occurs

Tropopause

boundary between troposphere and stratosphere

Tropopause

from here, the temperature starts increasing until reaching the stratosphere

Stratosphere

second layer where temperature increases with higher altitude

Stratosphere

where the ozone layer is located and jet aircrafts and radiosondes fly

Stratopause

boundary between stratosphere and mesosphere; temperature begins to decrease again

Mesosphere

third layer where temperature decreases with increasing altitude

Mesosphere

layer where meteoroids burn up

Mesopause

boundary between mesosphere and thermosphere; temperature decreases with increasing altitude

Mesopause

reaches the coldest temperature in the atmosphere

Thermosphere

layer where the temperature can reach 1500C due to high energy radiation from the sun; has the least amount of atmospheric molecules

Thermosphere

where auroras occur, specifically in the ionosphere

Thermopause

boundary between the thermosphere and exosphere

Thermosphere

where space shuttles fly and where the international space station orbits the earth

Exosphere

highest layer that is extremely thin; where atmosphere merges into outerspace

Exosphere

layer composed of very widely dispersed particles of hydrogen and helium

Karman Line

represents the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space

Biosphere

the global ecological system integrating all living things and their relationship and interactions

Edward Guess (1875)

Who coined the term "biosphere"?

Zone of life

What is biosphere also known as?

Biomes

the world's major communities classified according to predominant vegetation characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular climate

Aquatic, Desert, Forest, Grassland, Tundra

Enumerate the different biomes

Aquatic Biome

houses numerous species of plants and animals from marine and freshwater regions

Forest Biome

includes tropical rainforest, temperate, and boreal forest (taiga), each having distinct features dominated by large shrubs or trees

Desert Biome

low rainfall; has specialized vegetation as well as specialized animals that can adapt to its condition

Grassland Biome

lands dominated by grasses; divided into two: tropical grasslands (savannas) and temperate grasslands

Tundra Biome

coldest biome; has low biotic and simple vegetation structure

Finnish word "tunturia" meaning treeless plain

What is the origin of the word "tundra"?

Hydrosphere

total amount of water on a planet; includes water on the surface, underground, and in the air of the planet in solid, liquid, and gas form

97% Saline (salt water); 3% Freshwater

Composition of all water on Earth

Horizontal and Vertical zones

What are the 2 layer divisions of the ocean?

Vertical zone

begins at sea level to the deepest point

Challenger Deep in the Mariana trench

the deepest known point in the ocean

Horizontal zone

Divides the ocean from and to the sea

Coastal and Pelagic

2 Areas of the Horizontal zone

Coastal zone

region in which sea bottom is exposed during low tide and is covered during high tide; sea stars, sea urchins, and some species of corals can be found here

Pelagic zone

located seaward of the coastal zone's low tide mark; it is always covered with water

Neritic and Oceanic

2 zones of the Pelagic zone

Neritic zone

lies above the continental shelf; extends from the low tide mark outward from the seashore and extends to a depth of 200m (photic zone)

Oceanic zone

extends from the end of the continental shelf, over the continental shelf, and over the ocean floor (aphotic zone)

Division by light

How are the photic and aphotic zones divided?

Photic zone (photo = light)

sunlit layer of the ocean's surface

Aphotic zone (a = without, photo = light)

deepest and largest region of the open ocean that extends until the bottom

Euphotic zone (eu = well/good, photo = light) (euphotic = well lit)

upper part of photic zone with lots of light that supports plant production and photosynthesis

Disphotic zone (disphotic = poorly lit)

lower part of photic zone where animals can see, but does not have enough light to support photosynthesis

Epipelagic zone (epi = near, pelagic = open sea/ocean)

known as the sunlight zone, this zone has a lot of aquatic plants; seals, sea turtles, sea lions, etc., can be found here

Mesopelagic (meso = middle, pelagic = ocean)

known as the twilight zone, meaning it is dimly lit; octopuses and squids are found here

Bathypelagic zone (bathus = deep, pelagic = ocean)

known as the midnight zone, this zone does not receive sunlight; stripe eel, angler fish, and viper fish are found here

Abyssopelagic zone (abysso = without end/impossible to measure, pelagic = ocean)

described as the deep sea; blind shrimps, small squids, and hagfish are found here

Hadalpelagic zone (hadal = after Hades of the underworld, referring to bottom of the ocean w/ harsh conditions, pelagic = ocean)

known as the trenches and is described as the deepest part of the ocean; sea cucumber and tube worms are found here