Earth Science Final Exam Study Guide
Name
First Semester – 2010
Class
Date
1. At Namni Middle School, students must keep their shirts tucked at all times. Nick and Will feel that this rule
adversely affects student performance. In other words, they think students get bad test grades because of this
rule. With Ms. Kninnun’ permission, they set up an experiment where Team 6B students are allowed to wear
their shirts untucked for one full week before and during the test. During this time period and during the test,
Team 6A and Team 6C had to continue wearing tucked-in shirts. For this problem, formulate an appropriate
hypothesis:
a. If Team 6B is allowed to have untucked shirts for one week and during the test, then they will get better test
grades.
and identify the following:
b. Independent (Manipulated) Variable Shirt “Tuckage”
c. Dependent ( Responding) Variable
Tests Grades
d. Control Group Team 6A and 6B who have to keep their shirts tucked
e. Variable plotted on the x-axis Shirt “Tuckage”
f. Variable plotted on the y-axis Test Grades
2. Describe the difference between a Scientific Fact and a Scientific Theory.
Scientific Fact: This is a statement that is generally accepted to be true and universal.
Scientific Theory: a well-tested concept that explains a wide range of phenomenon
3. Identify and define the five steps of the scientific method.
a. Purpose (Big Question):What an experimenter is curious about
b. Materials and Procedure:The steps to conducting your experiment
c. Hypothesis:What an experimenter thinks will happen during the experiment
d. Analysis and Observations: Recording data and making observations
e. Conclusion: Summary of your results and refers to the hypothesis
4. In case of a fire, a chemical spill, or an injury, what is a student’s first course of action?
Tell the teacher
5. How do geologists classify rocks?
How they are formed
6. Name 5 examples of each of the following rock classifications:
a. Metamorphic Quartzite, Schist, Marble, Gneiss, Slate,
b. Sedimentary Sandstone, Limestone, Shale, Conglomerate, Brecchia
c. Igneous
Basalt, Pumice, Granite, Obsidian, Diorite, Scoria, Gabbro
7. For the igneous rocks above, circle those that are intrusive.
8. In order, identify and name the steps that lead to a sedimentary rock.
a. Weathering – wind, water and ice break down rocks chemically or mechanically
b. Erosion – transport of sediment by wind, water, or ice.
c. Deposition – sediments are deposited in lake and ocean beds and at river mouths
d. Lithification – compaction and cementation of sediments
9. Name three catastrophic events that are caused by tectonic plate movement.
Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis
10. Draw a diagram of the Rock Cycle including the rock classifications and the processes that creates each one.
SEE THE PROMETHEAN BOARD.
11. What four pieces of evidence are used to support Alfred Wegener’ Theory of Plate Tectonics?
a. Fossil evidence
b.
Rock Formation
c. Climate
d.
Continents fit like a puzzle
12. Draw the positions of the Sun , moon, and Earth during Solar and Lunar Eclipses and name the moon phase
during each.
See the Promethean Board.
13. Why does the apparent shape of the moon change over the course of a 28 day period?
Because the moon revolves around the Earth.
14. In order, draw and label the eight phases of the moon. Make sure that the part of the moon that we cannot see
is shaded.
See the Promethean Board.
15. If a new moon occurred on January 1, on what dates would you expect to see a first quarter moon Jan 8 , a
full moon Jan 15, a third (last) quarter moon Jan 22, and the next new moon Jan 29
16. Explain the Theory of Continental Drift.
?
Continents move due to convection currents in the
Asthenosphere
17. What phenomena creates the “Ring of Fire” and what geological events occur there?
It is defined by the
convergent plate boundaries around the Pacific Ocean that cause Island Arcs, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and
Deep Ocean Trenches.
18. How are the convection currents that set up in the asthenosphere similar to the convection currents that we set
up by heating water in a beaker over a candle?
As substances heat up, the molecules spread apart, the
substance becomes less dense, and it rises. As the substance cools, the molecules get closer together, the
substance becomes more dense, and it sinks.
19. What do the convection currents in the asthenosphere cause on the Earth’s surface?
Tectonic Plate
movement that causes earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, island arcs, deep sea trenches, mid-ocean
ridges, and rift valleys.
20. Explain the term magnetic reversal, where it is located, and the relative age of rocks at this location.
Magnetic Reversal is where the molecules in ferro-magnetic rocks align themselves with Earth’s magnetic
field as they solidify from lava at the mid-ocean ridges The closer the rocks are to the mid-ocean ridge, the
newer they are.
21. Draw a convergent boundary, a divergent boundary, a transform boundary, and a subduction zone.
See the Promethean Board
22. Draw a cross section of the Earth showing each of the following: SEE THE PROMETHEAN BOARD
Crust
Solid Rock
Mantle
Molten Rock
Outer Core
Liquid Iron & Nickel
Inner Core
Solid Iron & Nickel
Lithosphere
Solid Rock
Asthenosphere
Fluid Rock
Moho Boundary
23. In the blank space after each of the layers listed above state the composition and weather it is molten or solid.
24. How do temperature, density, and pressure change with depth?
They all increase.
25. Explain difference between rotation and revolution and how long is each for the moon and the Earth.
Rotation is the spinning motion of an object about an axis. For Earth it is 24 hours. For the moon it is about
28 days. Revolution is the motion of one object around another. For the Earth it is 365.25 days. For the
moon it is about 28 days.
26. What would happen if the speed of revolution increased or decreased and if the speed of rotation increased or
decreased?
If the speed of Earth’s revolution increased, the year would get shorter. If it decreased, the
year would get longer. If the speed of the Earth’s rotation increased, the day would get shorter. If it
decreased, the day would get longer.
27. Draw a picture of the Earth’s orbit around the sun showing the inertial and gravitational forces. Explain how
these two forces work together to keep Earth in its elliptical orbit.
SEE PROMETHEAN BOARD The force of gravity and the centripetal force due to inertia are balanced to keep
the Earth in its orbit around the sun.
28. What is the relationship between mass, distance, and gravity?
The closer the mass the greater the
gravitational force. The larger the mass the greater the gravitational force Fg = G (m1 x m2)/d2
29. Explain the difference between asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. Asteroids are metallic or rocky objects that
orbit the sun in the Asteroid belt. Meteoroids are metallic or rocky objects that originate from Asteroids or
comets and do not have regular orbits. Comets are “dirty snowballs” that have highly elliptical orbits around
the sun.
30. What is the progression of a meteoroid as it falls to Earth?meteoroid, meteor, meteorite
31. Explain the differences between the inner and outer planets. Inner Planets are rocky, Outer Planets are
Gaseous. Inner planets are small compared to Outer Planets. Inner planets are warmer compared to Outer
Planets.
32. Describe the sequence of events that make up the formation of our Universe and our solar system.
Big
Bang: Tiny entity of energy that exploded creating matter that expanded to create all celestial bodies. It is still
expanding. The solar System started as a spinning nebula that created the sun and planets.
33. Define the two predominate theories that describe the position of bodies in our solar system and the names of
the astronomers that supported each.
a. Geocentric – Earth Centered Brahe and Ptolemy
b. Heliocentric – Sun centered Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton
34. What does a light year measure?
Distances in Space outside of our Solar System