Name: ____________________
Earth Science Midterm Review
January 2010
Earth Science Midterm Review
January 2010
Unit 1 - EARTH SCIENCE
Unit 2 – MAPPING
1 . What are the four different branches of Earth
8 . What does a topographic map show?
Science?
9 . What do contour lines mean when they are
2 . What do we call the scientists who study Earth
close together? far apart?
Science (four branches)?
10 .Be able to visually look at a topographic map
3 . List, describe and recognize the steps of the
and understand the slope.
scientific method.
11 .Describe the shape of a river on a topographic
4 . What is the formula for density?
5 . How do you calculate density?
map.
12 .How can you tell which direction a river is
traveling on a topographic map?
6 . What are units of the metric system?
13 .Be able to read latitude and longitude given a
7 . Recognize tools related to measuring for the
map.
units.
14 .Where is the distortion on a square (Mercator)
map?
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Name: ____________________
Earth Science Midterm Review
January 2010
Unit 3 – ASTRONOMY
Earth/Sun/Moon
15 .What are the types of tides and what causes
24 .What is the reason for the seasons?
them?
25 .Define albedo?
16 .What two objects’ gravitational pull affect the
tides on Earth?
17 .What is the Earth’s tilt?
26 .How long is Earth’s rotation?
27 .How long is Earth’s revolution?
18 .How does the position of the Earth make it
unique to the other planets in our solar system?
28 .Why is the weight of a person different from
one planet to another?
19 .What is the one feature on Earth that all living
things require to survive?
20 .During which portion of the Earth’s revolution
around the sun is the Northern Hemisphere
tilted toward the sun?
21 .During which phases of the moon will the tides
be highest?
22 .Does the moon have an atmosphere? What is
the reason for this?
23 .Why does erosion not occur on the moon?
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29 .Recognize a solar and lunar eclipse.
30 .Polaris is the North Star. Explain how it
appears to move over the Earth. Why was this
star important for ocean navigation
31 .What do we call the material that is thrown out
of a crater on the moon?
Name: ____________________
Earth Science Midterm Review
Stars and the Universe
January 2010
42 .What is the shape of the milky way galaxy?
32 .What is a nebula? / What is a nebula composed
of?
33 .What is the composition of a comet?
The Planets
43 .List the planets in order starting closest to the
sun.
34 .What happens to a comet as it gets close to the
sun?
35 .Why does a comet’s tail point away from the
Sun?
36 .Why do stars appear to change position during
the night?
37 .What element is the main component of most
stars?
38 .Who is Edwin Hubble and what is his
contribution to telescopes?
39 .What is retrograde motion?
44 .Where is the asteroid belt located?
45 .Which planet is sometimes called Earth’s
Twin?
46 .What planet has the smallest diameter and the
greatest average density?
47 .Which planets travel the fastest around the sun
and why?
48 .Which planets have the fastest daily rotation on
their axis?
49 .Why does a planet appear brighter than a star in
the sky?
40 .Is all matter in the universe stationary or
moving?
41 .How do we measure the brightness of a star?
50 .Does a planet produce it’s own light?
51 .Which planet has a fierce hurricane-like storm
that is several times the size of Earth?
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Name: ____________________
Earth Science Midterm Review
January 2010
Unit 4 – Atmosphere/Weather
52 .What tools can be used to measure weather?
64 .How does the ozone protect the Earth?
53 .List the steps of the water cycle.
65 .How does the Greenhouse effect occur?
54 .What happens when a cold front comes into an
area?
66 .What effect does the hole in the ozone layer
have on the Earth?
55 .Where do most hurricanes form?
67 .How does a cloud form?
56 .What is the main energy source for a hurricane?
68 .What is the dew point?
57 .Reading a barometer. What happens when a
barometer rises? falls?
58 .What happens when a warm front comes into
an area?
59 .Draw the map symbol for a cold and warm
front.
60 . What are isobars?
61 .What is global climate change (warming) and
what is the effect on the polar ice cap and the
global water level?
62 .What does cloud cover do to the energy
absorbed by the Earth during the day?
63 .What do released CFCs and similar compounds
do to the atmosphere?
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69 .What are land and sea breezes
70 .What is fog? Where is it likely to form?
71 .Why does a desert form near a mountain range
and a large body of water?
72 .What countries produce high levels of CO2 and
why?
73 .What is the role of ozone in the atmosphere?
74 .What are the layers of the atmosphere (in
order)?