Earth Systems and Sustainability
Dr. Debrah Fine
La Jolla Country Day School
Trimester 2: Final Exam
Study Guide
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The final exam is on Monday 2/11/13
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Extra help is available Friday 2/8 from 10:15-12:15pm after the English final.
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Extra credit opportunity: Planetarium show “The Sky Tonight” at the Reuben H. Fleet Center in
Balboa Park – 7pm or 8:15pm on Wednesday 2/6 (Dr. Fine and her son will be at the 7pm show)
***We began the material covered on this exam on 11/14/12***
Remember to:
 Use flashcards
 Study with a friend and explain things to each other
 Start your studying early and ask questions if needed
Review the following items:
Previous Trimester 2 Exams:
 Review your mistakes on the quiz (blue) and the test (pink). Much of the material on these
exams will be tested again on the final exam. Review your study procedure for the last test
and make any necessary adjustments.
Readings and Homework Questions:
The readings are all called “Digging Deeper” and the questions are the “Check Your
Understanding” questions on the side of the page. These were handed out in class, but you can
download them on the class website as well.
The date below matches the date the homework was assigned.
2012-11-20: Taking a Ride on a Lithospheric Plate
2012-11-26: Plate Boundaries and Dynamics
2012-11-28: What Makes the Plates Move?
2012-12-17: An Earthquake in Your Community
2012-12-17: How Big Was It?
2013-01-07: An Earthquake History of Your Community
2013-01-08: Ring of Fire Student Guide and Questions
2013-01-14: Lessening Earthquake Damage
2013-01-15: Mystery of the Far Flung Fossils: Investigating Plate Tectonics
2013-01-29: Bathymetric Evidence for Sea Floor Spreading
Activities:
1. Taking a Ride on a Lithospheric Plate (analyzing and understanding GPS data regarding
plate movement)
2. Review Torrey Pines geology notes and scavenger hunt (scavenger hunt document posted on
website under Study Guides and Materials)
Earth Systems and Sustainability
Dr. Debrah Fine
La Jolla Country Day School
3. Ring of Fire Activity (understanding the relationship between plate tectonics and geological
features, volcanoes, and earthquakes.
4. Mystery of the Far Flung Fossils: Investigating Plate Tectonics
5. Tracking Tsunamis (know how to calculate wave speed, convert to km/hr, and calculate the
wave travel time for a given distance).
6. Mapping the Unknown Sea Floor
Notes:
Review your notes from class including homework corrections.
Math Based Calculations:
 Please make sure that you understand the concept and formula for density
o (Density = Mass / Volume).
o You will need to be able to solve for density, mass, or volume, depending on the
problem.
o You must know the units for mass (g), volume (cm3), and density (g/cm3).
 Tracking Tsunamis calculations (see handout and notes from class)
***Please remember to bring a calculator with a square root function to the final exam***
Videos
1. http://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/v/plate-tectonics---evidence-of-plate-movement
2. http://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/v/plate-tectonics---geological-features-of-divergent-plate-boundaries
3. http://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/v/plate-tectonics--geological-features-of-convergent-plate-boundaries
4. http://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/v/plates-movingdue-to-convection-in-mantle
5. http://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/v/hawaiian-islandsformation
6. https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/earth-historytopic/plate-techtonics/v/pangaea
Some things you should know for the final exam:
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Lithosphere versus asthenosphere
Convection currents in the asthenosphere driving plate motion
How density differences drive convection currents
Density, mass, and volume calculations
Types of plate boundaries:
o Divergent
o Convergent
o Transform
Earth Systems and Sustainability
Dr. Debrah Fine
La Jolla Country Day School

Types of convergent plate boundaries:
o Ocean-ocean convergence
o Ocean-continent convergence
o Continent-continent collision

Geological features associated with the different types of convergent plate
boundaries:
o Ocean-ocean convergence: subduction occurs resulting in a trench and volcanoes
(volcanoes become volcanic islands)
 Example: Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska
o Ocean-continent convergence: subduction occurs resulting in a trench and volcanoes
(volcanoes become volcanic mountain arcs)
 Example: Andes Mountains in South America
o Continent-continent collision: no subduction occurs due to low density of
continental crust. Collision results in mountains.
 Example: Himalayan Mountains (e.g. Mount Everest)
***YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT PLATES WITH CONTINENTAL CRUST ON TOP DO
NOT SUBDUCT BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT DENSE ENOUGH TO SINK INTO THE
ASTHENOSHPERE***
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Earthquakes:
o Scientific definition and cause of earthquakes
o Focus versus epicenter
o Types of plate boundaries and which ones lead to earthquakes
o Magnitude versus intensity
o Distribution of earthquakes and how this supports the theory of plate tectonics
o Earthquake damage (primary hazards, secondary hazards).
Taking a Ride on a Lithospheric Plate Activity:
Understand what GPS is and how it works. Make sure you can read the graphs for GPS movement
and interpret them.
Ring of Fire Mapping activity:

Ring of Fire:
o What is it?
o What plate does it surround?

Alfred Wegener’s Theory of Continental Drift
Earth Systems and Sustainability
Dr. Debrah Fine
La Jolla Country Day School
o What kinds of data did Alfred Wegener use to develop his Theory of Continental
Drift?
o Why didn’t other scientists believe him?
o How is the Theory of Continental Drift different than the Theory of Plate
Tectonics?
o What was the key piece of evidence that revived the Theory of Continental Drift and
allowed it to be transformed into the Theory of Plate Tectonics?
Mystery of the Far Flung Fossils Activity:

Understand how the Theory of Plate Tectonics is supported by fossil evidence and
be able to determine which continents were connected at a certain time based on the
fossils present at that time.

Be able to identify the pieces of evidence that support the Theories of Continental
Drift and Plate Tectonics
o Fossil evidence (continents that were connected had similar fossils from the same
time period)
o Glacial grooves (advancing glaciers carved grooves into the continents and the
pattern only makes sense when the continents are all connected into one land mass)
o Mammals evolved independently (there are very different mammals on the
different continents and mammals evolved after the continents had moved apart, so
the differences we see in modern mammals supports these theories)
o Closely related species exist on continents that were previously connected
(which suggests that they shared a common ancestor when the continents were
connected and then evolved to survive in the differing conditions on the continents
after they drifted apart).
o Shape (the continents fit together like puzzle pieces)
o Global positioning system (GPS) data (confirms that the continents/plates are in
fact moving, and if you “rewind” this movement, the continents move back together
into one land mass)
Tracking Tsunamis:
Practice problems will be done in class
Mapping the Unknown Sea Floor:
Make sure you understand how the ocean floor is mapped (review Bathymetric Evidence for Sea
Floor Spreading)
Be able to identify the following features:
o Guyot
o Sea Mount
o Volcano
o Rift Valley