Semester 1 Exam Study Guide Key
Scientific Method:
1. Steps of the scientific method
State the question, collect info, form hypothesis, test, record
data, draw conclusion
2. Variables: identify controls, independent and dependent
Controls- do not change, ind-changed by the scientist, depchanges in response to independent variable
Measurement:
3. Identify science tools (meter stick/ruler, graduated
cylinder, balance)
Graduated Cylinder- Volume
Meter stick/ruler- length
Balance- mass
4. Identify units for each type of measurement
Length: Meters, cm, mm – Volume: Liters, mL – Mass:
Grams, kg, mg
5. Define/describe mass, volume, length, density
Mass- amount of material in an object. Volume-amount of
space object takes up. Length- the distance from one point to
another. Density- mass per unit volume.
Earth’s interior:
6. Identify the layers of the earth
Crust, Mantle, Core, Asthenosphere, Lithosphere
7. Compare and contrast oceanic and continental crust
Oceanic-basalt, more dense, thinner. Cont-granite, less
dense, thicker
8. Compare and contrast lithosphere and asthenosphere
Lith- rigid layer of Earth’s surface including crust and upper
mantle.
Asthn-flowing layer (hot rock) beneath lithosphere (contains
convection currents).
9. What is a seismic wave?
Energy released by an earthquake that travels through the
earth
10. What is a seismograph?
Tool used to measure the amount of energy released by an
earthquake
11. Explain how seismic waves tell us about Earth’s
interior
Speed up in more dense substances and slow down in less
dense. P waves can travel through the core, but they bend, S
waves are blocked by the liquid core. This creates a Shadow
Zone.
Earthquakes/Volcanoes:
12. Know the parts of an earthquake (fault, epicenter,
focus)
Fault-plane where the rock breaks. Epicenter-point above the
focus on Earth’s surface. Focus-point within earth where the
earthquake takes place
13. Identify the 3 types of seismic waves and how they
move
P-Waves move back and forth. S-Waves move at right angles
to direction. Surface Waves move in a side-to-side swaying
motion.
14. Which waves can go through liquids or solids?
P Waves
15. Explain what the Ring of Fire is?
Plate boundaries around the Pacific Ocean where there are
many volcanoes and earthquakes
16. What is a hot spot? Example
Hot spot is an area of the mantle which is hotter than the
surrounding areas, causes magma to rise up through crust –
Hawaii
Continental Drift:
17. Whose idea was it?
Wegener
18. What is the idea of continental drift?
Continents are moving across the Earth’s surface.
19. What are the main pieces of evidence?
Fossils, rock types, climate evidence
20. What was the name of the large landmass when
continents were joined together?
Pangaea
Plate Tectonics:
21. What does the theory explain?
How plates move
22. What are the convection currents?
Currents within the mantle which move around when heated
and cooled
23. Know where convection currents take place and which
layer of the Earth gives the heat in the mantle
(asthenosphere). Heat comes from core
24. Know that heat rises in the mantle because it is LESS
dense and sinks when it cools because it’s MORE dense
25. What do we call the large sections of the Earth’s crust?
Know that they are part of the lithosphere which
includes oceanic and continental crust.
26. What is a plate boundary? Know the 3 types
(convergent, divergent, transform)
Place where plates meet
27. Know how the plates move along the different
boundaries.
Convergent- coming together. Divergent- moving apart.
Transform-side by side
28. Know what geologic activities (mountains, earthquakes,
volcanoes, etc…) can occur along the plate boundaries.
Conv- mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, trenches Divvolcanoes/ mid-ocean ridge, rift valley, earthquakes Transformearthquakes
29. Be able to explain if lithosphere (crust) is created,
destroyed, or neither at the different boundaries
Conv- destroyed, neither. Divergent- created. Transform- neither.
Sea Floor Spreading:
30. Explain what happens during this process.
Plates move apart under the ocean floor
31. What type of boundary does it occur along? Why?
Divergent. Plates are moving apart due to convection
currents
32. Explain if crust is created, destroyed, or neither during
this process.
Created
33. Define subduction
At a convergent oceanic-continental boundary, the oceanic
plate sinks below the cont plate and melts back into the
mantle
34. Explain why oceanic crust sinks beneath continental
crust.
It is more dense
35. If plates are spreading apart, why doesn’t the Earth
continue to get larger and larger?
It is subducted/ destroyed on the other side of the Earth.
Natural Resources:
36. What is a natural resource?
Resources which are created naturally by the Earth.
37. Examples of natural resources
Coal, Oil and Natural Gas.
38. Explain why natural resources are important
Provide energy.
39. Difference between renewable and non-renewable
resources; examples of each
Renewable: Within a lifetime it can be recreated.
Nonrenewable: Fossil Fuels, Renewable: Solar Energy
40. What is an ore, mineral, fossil fuel
Ore: Can be mined for a profit.
Mineral: Non-living, solid materials found in nature.
Fossil Fuel: From living things and can be used for energy.
41. 3 types of fossil fuels: Coal, Oil and Natural Gas.
Minerals:
42. Characteristics of a mineral (be able to define each)
Non-organic, solid, crystalline structure, hardness, luster,
transparency, color, streak, etc.
43. Physical and chemical properties of a mineral (be able
to define each)
Phy: Crystals, Cleavage/Fracture, color, Streak, luster,
hardness, transparency.
Chem: Fluorescence, reaction to acid, and ability to burn.
44. Different tests used to identify a mineral (be able to
explain each)
Streak Test, hardness test, reaction to acid, etc.
45. What is the Moh’s hardness scale
Determine hardness by scratching one mineral against
another.
Rocks:
46. 3 types of rock
Sedimentary, Metamorphic, and igneous.
47. 3 ways to classify a rock
What it’s made of, how it is formed, and crystal size.
48. How does igneous rock form? Examples
Cooling magma. Granite, Kimberlite, obsidian
49. Types of igneous rock (intrusive vs. extrusive)
Int: Forms inside the Earth. Ext: Forms outside of the Earth.
50. How does metamorphic rock form? Examples
Heat and Pressure. Gneiss, marble
51. Types of metamorphic rock (foliated vs. non-foliated)
Foliated: Bands Non: No bands, tiny crystals.
52. How does sedimentary rock form? Examples
Broken pieces compacted together. Conglomerate,
sandstone.
53. What is the rock cycle?
Shows how a rock can change from one type to another.
Fossils:
54. What is a fossil? Remains or traces of prehistoric
organisms.
55. Different types of fossils and how they form
Trace-footprint, cast- copy of shape, mold- cavity left,
permineralized/ petrified-water and minerals flowing
through mold, Preserved/ original remains- stuck in ice/
amber/ tar, carbon- stamp of carbon on rock.
56. What type of rock do most fossils form in?
Sedimentary
57. Which fossil leaves a thin layer of carbon behind?
Carbon fossil
58. Which fossil provides clues about the activities of an
organism?
Trace
59. Footprints are an example of what type of fossil?
Trace
60. A mold is the cavity. A cast is the copy of the shape of
the organism.
Adaptations
61.Give 4 examples of structural adaptations of animals.
Warning coloration, mimicry, protective coloration, and
body parts.
62.Give 4 examples of behavioral adaptations of animals.
Building a nest, building a dam, playing dead, and
migration.
63.How does natural selection lead to evolution?
The organisms that are better suited to the environment
will survive and reproduce.
64.What defines the members of a species?
Should be able to reproduce.
65.Marine fossils have been found in exposed rock layers
in South Carolina. What would be a good interpretation
of this discovery?
South Carolina must have been under water at some point.
66.The gradual change in a species over time is called
___evolution_.
67. A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce is
called a(n) _adaptation_.
68.What is the term that refers to the process by which
individuals that are better adapted to their environment
are more likely to survive and reproduce? _natural
selection__.
69. List 1 natural and one human cause of an extinction of
a species? ___climate change, natural disasters__
___deforestation, pollution, hunting_.
70. Geologic time periods are divided by: __mass
extinction, a major climate change, change in the fossil
record._
71. How are periods, eras, and epochs related? __Eras are
broken down to periods, and periods are broken down
to epochs.___
72. List 3 scientists who contributed to evolutionary
theory. _Wallace, Darwin and Lamarck.____
73. We currently live in which geological time period?
__Cenozoic Era_______
74. Give an example of an acquired trait in humans. Scars,
muscles, body fat, etc.
75. T/F: Mutations are always harmful. __F___ Explain:
_Sometimes they are helpful and sometimes they don’t
make a difference either way._
76. An organisms coloring or body parts are examples of
_structural_ adaptations.
77.A moth caterpillar looks like a snake to protect itself is
an example of __mimicry__ adaptations.
78. Learning is an example of this type of adaptation.
_behavioral_____
79. A snake showing it is poisonous by exhibiting bright
red and yellow coloring is an example of __warning
coloration___ adaptations.
80.A chameleon best exhibits _protective coloration_
adaptations.
81.Compare and contrast Darwin and Lamarck’s views on
evolution. Include a diagram for each showing how
they would explain a giraffes long neck.
Darwin:
A species has variations among its members. The member
with the variation best suited for the environment will
survive and reproduce offspring with the same genetic trait.
Lamarck:
Members of a species with unsuitable variations will acquire
the trait and pass on the acquired trait to its offspring.