Name ________________
Period ________
Date ______________
Study Guide – Lessons 1-3 - Catastrophic Events – Storms
In the large blank, write the word or phrase which best fits in each sentence below. (1 pt. for each blank)
_________________________1. This gas makes up the largest percentage of the earth’s atmosphere
________________________ 2. Which heats and cools faster, soil or water?
________________________ 3. Which retains heat longer, soil or water?
_________________________4. Carbon dioxide and water vapor are the two largest _______ that absorb solar
energy and keep the planet’s atmosphere warm and livable.
________________________ 5. Which absorbs more of the sun’s energy, ice or a forest?
_________________________6. The main source of heat energy for weather on Earth is the ____.
_________________________7. The force of _________, holds the atmosphere in place.
Types of Scientists
_____________________
1. Scientist who studies volcanoes
_____________________
2. Scientist who studies weather patterns
_____________________
3. Scientist who studies earthquakes
4. Scientist who studies the history and
structure of the earth
_____________________
Inquiry Vocab
_____________________
5. The thing that is being studied and measured
_____________________
6. The variables that are being held constant
7. An educated guess; frequently written as an
if…then statement
8. The variable that is being changed
9. The standard which everything is compared
to in an experiment
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
10. How does the sun’s energy reach the earth?
11. What is a vortex?
12. What is a tornado watch?
13. What is a tornado warning?
Name ________________
Period ________
Date ______________
Which type of storm does the statement apply to? Write T (Tornado), H (Hurricane) or T/H(both)
_______14. This type of storm occurs more in the United States than anywhere else in the world.
_______15. This type of storm is also called a cyclone and a typhoon.
_______16. This type of storm forms over warm tropical waters.
_______17. This type of storm forms when moist warm air from the South hits cold dry air from the North head on
_______18. This type of storm has a vortex of spinning air at its center.
_______19. What three things cause a vortex to form?
1. ______________________2. _______________________3. ___________________________
20. What causes the seasons?
21. What are the weather patterns that are characteristic of a region or place called?
22. What are three things that can happen to the sun’s energy when it reaches the earth and its atmosphere?
2. ______________________2. _______________________3. ___________________________
Match the layers of the atmosphere with their descriptions.
A. The second layer, protects the earth from the sun’s radiation,
_____23. Mesosphere
contains most of the ozone
_____24. Thermosphere
B. Third layer, coldest region, meteors burn up here
_____25. Stratosphere
C. Bottom layer, where most of the weather takes place
_____26. Troposphere
D. Temperature increases drastically in this layer
SpongeBob believes that fish that eat food exposed to microwaves will become smarter and would be
able to swim through a maze faster. He decides to perform an experiment by placing fish food in
a microwave for 20 seconds. He chooses 20 of the same type of fish, all the same age and the same size. He has
the fish swim through a maze and records the time it takes for each one to make it to the end. He feeds the
special food to 10 fish and gives regular food to 10 others, giving both groups the same amount. After 1 week,
he has the fish swim through the maze again and records the times for each.
27. What is their investigative control? ____________________________
28. What is their manipulated variable? __________________________
29. What is one controlled variable?______________________________
30. What is their responding variable? _______________________
Name ________________
Period ________
Date ______________