STAAR Review
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Questions 33-81
33. What were the discoveries that
led to a theory of plate tectonics,
and when were these discoveries
made?
In 1915, Alfred Wegener wrote a book with about a theory
called continental drift, stating that continents moved or
drifted around the ocean.
 Continental drift led to the theory of plate tectonics in the
1960s




Fossils on different continents matched up
Continents fit together like puzzle pieces
Tropical fossils were found in Antarctica, where the weather is
now cold
34. What is Earth’s lithosphere
made of, and how does it affect
crustal features?
The earth’s lithosphere is the crust and upper mantle
of the Earth.
 When the plates on the Earth move, it changes the
crust
 Crustal features are the different landforms that are
created when plate move together, apart or slide past
each other.

35. What features of Earth’s
crust do convergent, divergent
and transform boundaries form?
Boundary
Landform
Convergent (continental to continental)
Folded mountains
Convergent (oceanic to oceanic)
Volcanic mountains
Convergent (oceanic to continental)
Island arcs
Divergent (continental to continental)
Rift valley
Divergent (oceanic to oceanic)
Mid-ocean ridge
Transform
Fault Line
36. What land features formed by the
movement of tectonic plate can be
observed using images from space?
Mid – Ocean Ridge
- A oceanic – oceanic divergent
boundary
36. What land features formed by the
movement of tectonic plate can be
observed using images from space?
Folded Mountains
- A continental – continental convergent
boundary
36. What land features formed by the
movement of tectonic plate can be
observed using images from space?
Island Arc and subduction zone
- An oceanic – oceanic convergent boundary
36. What land features formed by the
movement of tectonic plate can be
observed using images from space?
Volcanic mountains and subduction zone
- An oceanic – continental convergent
boundary
36. What land features formed by the
movement of tectonic plate can be
observed using images from space?
A fault line
- A transform boundary
37. What is a topographic map
and how is it used?

A map that represents
landforms.

The shape of the Earth's
surface is shown by
contour lines that join
points of equal elevation

The map can include
symbols that represent
streets, buildings,
streams, and vegetation.
38. How can scientists study
erosional changes in a landform
over time?

Scientists can use
satellite images to take
pictures of land before
and after erosion has
occurred.
39. How can scientists predict
changes caused by sediment
deposition, glacier movement, and
river courses?

If a scientist wants to predict how erosion
or deposition will affect an area, they
study erosion and deposition in similar
areas and compare or they see how the
area is currently changing, and predict
how it will continue to change.
40. How can topographic maps
and satellite views help
scientists study landforms?
It gives them a tool where they can look at the land
from above to see how it changes.
 It’s easier to walk through a maze if you have a map or
satellite view of where you are.
 It’s also easier for scientists to see how land is laid out if
viewed from above.
 Scientists can analyze contour lines on a topographic
map to determine how land has changed.

41. What is the major source of
thermal energy on Earth?

THE SUN!!!
42. What is convection?

Convection is transfer of
heat by fluid
43. How is wind formed?

Unequal heating of the Earth
44. How are ocean currents
formed?

Surface Currents




These waters make up about 10% of all the water in the ocean.
These waters are the upper 400 meters of the ocean.
Surface currents are caused by wind
Deep Water Currents




These waters make up the other 90% of the ocean
These waters move around the ocean by density and gravity.
The density difference is a because of different temperatures
and salinity
These deep waters sink into the deep ocean basins at high
latitudes where the temperatures are cold enough to cause the
density to increase.
44. How are ocean currents formed?
45. What are weather maps, and
what are the maps used for?

A weather maps shows
current atmosphere
conditions at a specific
location

Weather maps are used for
predicting weather
46. How do meteorologists
track, measure and predict
atmospheric conditions?

Meteorologists use
scientific instruments,
such as thermometers,
anemometers,
barometers and
satellite images and
record their data on
weather maps to
predict future weather.
47. What are anemometers,
psychrometers and barometers used for?

Anemometer –
measures wind speed

Psychrometer –
measures relative
humidity

Barometer –
measures air pressure
48. What effect does a change in air
pressure have on local weather
conditions?

High pressure brings
clear, stable weather

Low pressure brings
stormy, unstable air

Air moves from high
pressure to low
pressure as wind
49. Where do weather fronts occur?
Weather fronts occur when 2 air masses meet.
 The boundary is called a front.

50. What is a warm front?
A warm front occurs when a warm air mass pushes
a cooler, more dense mass of air.
 Warm fronts bring rain, but not severe weather.

51. What is a cold front?
A cold front occurs when dense, cool air moves in
and pushes the warmer weather upward.
 Severe weather is associated with cold fronts
because warm, low pressure air is moved up
quickly

52. How are fronts depicted on a
weather map?
53. What is the role of ocean
currents in regulating weather
patterns around the globe?

The ocean absorbs and
releases heat much more
slowly than land.

Oceans help regulate and
stabalize temperatures.
54. How is weather created in an
area?
Weather is created because
Earth has an atmosphere.
 Earth’s atmosphere is heated
unequally by the sun.
 Unequal heating causes
pressure changes that create
unstable air that change the
atmosphere.

55. What is the effect of warm
water moving into an area?
Warm water causes the air
above it to warm up
 Warm water is less dense
 Air begins to rise, which
lowers air pressure
 Thunderstorms are associated
with low pressure systems

56. What is the effect of cold water
moving into an area?
When cold water moves into an area,
it cools the temperature.
 Evidence suggests that a reduced
cooler Gulf Stream current
temperatures triggered the Little Ice
Age in Europe from the 13th to the
19th centuries.
 During this period, temperatures were
persistently reduced, resulting in
longer winters, decreased growing
season, increasing mountain glaciers
and other major effects.

57. What causes a hurricane to
form?
Warm ocean water warms air above it.
 Warm air is less dense and begins to rise,
lowering air pressure.
 Thunderstorms begin to develop.
 The Coriolis effect spins the thunderstorm.
 Pressure continues to drop and tropical
depression forms.
 Pressure continues to drop as low pressure
system is classified as tropical storm, then
hurricane.

57. What causes a hurricane to
form?
58. How does energy flow in a food
chain and food web?
The most energy is at the bottom, with the producers.
 Energy decreases as one organism eats another.
 10% of energy is passed on, the rest is used for body heat.
 The least energy is at the top with the tertiary consumers.

59. Within a given
food web, what are
the autotrophs and
heterotrophs,
including the
primary consumers
secondary
consumers and
tertiary consumers?
60. What are examples of parasite/host
relationships found within a food web?
Toad – predator
Slug - prey
Sparrow hawk – predator
Song Thrush - prey
Stoat – predator
Black vole - prey
60. What are examples of parasite/host
relationships found within a food web?
Fleas– parasite
Arctic hare - host
Mosquitoes – parasite
Arctic hare – host
Inuk hunter - host
61. What are examples of primary producers and
primary and secondary consumers within a marine and
freshwater food web?
62. What are examples of primary
producers and primary and secondary
consumers within a terrestrial food web?
63. How do organisms depend
on abiotic and biotic factors to
survive?



Abiotic and biotic components
influence each other.
Temperature (abiotic factor) can
make plants (biotic factor)
reproduce more or reproduce less.
Water, an abiotic factor, has an
effect on how animals, a biotic
factor, survive in certain areas of
the world. In Africa, for instance,
the migratory patterns of most
herbivores are based where water
is the most plentiful. When the dry
season comes, the animals must
move to where the food and water
are most abundant.
64. What happens when two
species in the same environment
occupy the same niche?

They compete for
resources
65. How are habitat resources
affected by competition?
When animals compete for
resources, they can deplete
(use up) resources such as
food and shelter
 When animals compete, one
species becomes more
predominant and the other
must either adapt, migrate or
become extinct

66. How are organisms and
populations affected by human
– induced environmental
changes?
When the

environment changes,
plants and animals
must compete for
resources or adapt to
the changes.
 Several members of
the species can die off
and affect the food
web
67. How are organisms and
populations affected by natural
environmental changes?
When the environment
changes, plants and animals
must compete for resources
or adapt to the changes.
 Several members of the
species can die off and
affect the food web

68. How do populations
respond to long-term
environmental changes?

Populations can
change their niche
(job) or adapt to
the changes
69. How do populations respond to
short-term environmental changes?

Populations of animals will
have more competition for
resources if their
environment changes or
they will have to migrate to
another ecosystem
70. What is the difference
between diversity and
abundance?
Diversity is a variety of different species. If there
is a lot of biodiversity (many different types of
plants and animals) then the ecosystem is
healthy.
 Abundance means there is a lot of something. If
there is a lot of only a few types of species, then it
is not very healthy.
 Diversity is a better indicator of a healthy
ecosystem than abundance.

71. What ocean systems do
humans depend on and how do
humans rely on these systems?
Humans rely on the ocean food web and food chain
to supply food
 Humans depend on ocean currents to bring food
(upwelling) and regulate weather
 We also depend on the ocean to filter our pollution

72. How have human activities
modified the ocean systems they
depend on?
Human activities have unintentionally modified ocean
systems in ways that we didn't imagine would be
possible.
 We are currently changing the chemistry, the physical
structure and the biology of our oceans.
 Overfishing is a major way we are modifying our ocean
systems.
 By overfishing, we are affecting the ocean food chain.

73. What are the consequences
of human impact on ocean
systems?
Overfishing depletes ocean fish populations, reduce
the biodiversity of underwater life and lower the
resilience of marine systems.
 Nutrient pollution from farm and yard fertilizer
runoff, sewage, and other land-based sources that
contributes to overgrowth of algae, which in turn lead
to fish kills and swimmer illness, and ocean "dead
zones"-- places without marine life.
 Coastal development can endanger fish species, and
create a network of paved surfaces that move oil,
grease, and toxic pollutants into coastal waters.

74. How do interacting forces
affect the speed and direction of
an object’s motion?
Newton’s 3 Law influence how objects will move.
 There are also several forces that affect how objects will
move.





Gravity – pulls objects toward the center of Earth.
Air friction – can affect an object’s speed
Surface friction - depends on the size of the surface of
contact, the force that the object exerts on the surface
All the above forces are proportional to the mass of the
object
75.How can you differentiate
between speed, velocity and
acceleration on a graph?
A speed or velocity graph will
have time on the x-axis and
distance on the y-axis
An acceleration graph has time
on the x-axis and speed of
velocity on the y-axis
76. How do different forces
change an object’s motion?

If a force is applied to an
object, it’s motion will
change
77. How can you determine
speed or velocity of an object
given distance and time?
78. What is the difference
between speed, velocity and
acceleration?
Speed is how far an object goes in a
certain amount of time (distance divided
by time)
 Velocity is speed with direction
 Acceleration is a change in motion
(change in speed, direction or both)

79. How does the mass of a
body at rest affect its tendency
to remain at rest?
Newton’s 1st Law states that a object at
rest will remain at rest unless acted upon
by an unbalanced force. (Law of inertia)
 The more mass an object has, the more
inertia it has.
 More mass would cause more force to
accelerate it and change its motion.

80. How does the force required
to move an object change with
mass?
Newton’s 2nd Law is F=ma
 If the mass of an object is larger, more
force will be required to move it.
 If the mass of an object is smaller, less
force will be required to move it.

81. How does the force acting on
an object affect its tendency to
remain at rest?
If a force is applied to an object, the object
will accelerate, either by changing speed,
direction or both.
 Newton’s 1st Law – an object at rest will
stay at rest and an object in motion will
stay in motion unless acted upon by an
unbalanced force.
