Notes for Test Review
December 12, 2006
Fill in the Blanks
1. Global Warming is the gradual rise in the surface Temperature of the Earth.
2. “Average Weather” in a location over a long period of time is referred to as
climate.
3. Coral reefs could die out from warmer temperatures in the ocean
4. Acid rain is a wet pollutant which damages the environment.
5. A Greenhouse is a building especially constructed for growing plants when the
weather outside is cold.
6. Without greenhouse gases our Earth would be about Sixty degrees Fahrenheit
colder.
7. Engine cars, buses, trucks, trains, and planes use a combustion engine.
8. Greenhouse gases are gases in our atmosphere that trap heat.
9. Forest Fires are a natural occurrence that pollutes the air.
10. Carbon Dioxide is an example of a greenhouse gas.
11. Weather is referred to a condition or air or atmosphere at a particular place and
time
12. Melting of the polar ice caps will cause the sea level to rise.
13. Burning fossil fuels cause pollution
14. One way to prevent global warming is to plant lots of trees. This is because they
inhale carbon dioxide from the air and exhale oxygen. This process is essential
for life on earth.
15. A comet is an extraterrestrial body made up of ice, gas and dust.
16. A meteoroid is a small rocky extraterrestrial body present in space. If it enters
earths atmosphere it is then called a meteor. If this doesn’t burn up and hits
earth’s surface, this rocky material is then called a meteorite.
17. Kuiper Belt is the theorized location of short period comets present in the solar
system.
18. Oord Cloud is the theorized location of long period comets present in the solar
system.
19. Comets have an elliptical orbit around the sun.
20. The head of a comet is composed of the nucleus and the coma.
21. GPS is referred to as Global Positioning System
22. The moon and the sun affect earth’s tides. It does this by their gravitational
attraction to the Earth.
23. The Kyoto Protocol was a treaty signed by numerous nations in order to reduce
the emissions of greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere.
24. Star mass is expressed in terms of solar mass. Our sun is a one solar mass star.
25. Luminosity is a measure of the total amount of energy a star radiates per second.
26. Fusion is the transformation of hydrogen into helium.
27. Our sun is an example of a main sequence star. The time necessary for a star to
complete this stage and move on to the next stage of a star’s life depends on its
mass.
True or False questions. If false, explain why the answer is false.
1. Only Earth has gravity. False All things have gravity
2. Gravity can only attract, never repel. True
3. A planet’s gravity is caused by its spin. False A planets gravity is caused by its
mass.
4. Fusion is the process that powers the Sun and other Stars. True
5. A black hole is the beginning stage of every massive star. False. A black hole is
the ending stage of a massive star.
6. A nebula is a vast cloud of gas or dust. True.
7. When particles from the sun collide with air molecules in the upper atmosphere
around the poles, they produce the aurora borealis or northern lights. True
8. The Bay of Fundy has the largest tides in the world. True
9. In most places around the world, there are four high tides and four low tides
present each day. False – Two high tides and two low tides each day
10. A shooting star is often a star that passes through our atmosphere. False A
shooting star is not a star. It is really a meteor.
11. The space between the stars is referred to as the inter-stellar medium. True
12. Planting trees is important for helping global warming because they absorb
oxygen from our planet. False Trees absorb carbon dioxide from our planet.
13. The name of the popular comet that hit Jupiter in 1994 was called the horseshoemaker comet. False Name of the comet was the Shoemaker-levy comet.
14. Asteroids are commonly referred to as “dirty snowballs” False A comet is
commonly referred to as a “dirty snowball”
15. High-energy sub-atomic particles flying in space as a result from explosions on
the sun’s surface is referred to as the solar wind. True
The following describe the possible formation of the solar system. Place the correct
numbers beside each statement in their appropriate order.
(a) The rotation rate of the cloud increases. (2)
(b) In Orbit around the center of the gas and dust sphere, small accumulations of gas
and dust start increasing in mass. (4)
(c) The star “turns on.” (7)
(d) The nebula flattens as material along the axis collapses into the center of the
object. (3)
(e) The temperature at the core of the contracting, rotating cloud increases. (5)
(f) A rotating cloud of gas and dust begins contracting. (1)
(g) The temperature at the core of the gas and dust sphere reaches 10 000 000 degrees
Celsius. (6)
Short Answer
1. Draw a picture of the Earth, sun and an orbiting comet. Draw the comet large enough
so you can label its 4 parts of anatomy. Also show what the comets path around our sun
would look like. What causes the cometery debris path? Hint: All comets have this type
of orbit.
2. Explain the difference between the terms: Meteoroid, Meteor and Meteorite.
3. What are 5 things that cause the release of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere? What
are 3 ways we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere?