Earth & Environmental Study Guide

Midterm/Semester Exam

The exam will have about 60 multiple choice questions. The purpose of this study guide is

not to simply give answers or list facts, but to be a guide as to what you should have

learned by the test and what you should be studying from now until then.

NAME: BLOCK:

Safety and the Scientific Method

1.  Define Earth Science.

2.  List the main areas studied in Earth Science

3.  What base units used to measure length/distance? volume/capacity? mass/weight?

4.  Density:

A.  A rock has a density of 5.5g/cm3. What is its volume if it weighs 3.5 g?

B.  A rock has a density of 3.1g/cm3. What is its mass if the volume is 2.5 cm3?

C.  A rock has a mass of 45g and a volume of 15 cm3. What is the density?

Work and Answers:

A.  B. C.

5.  Given something to measure, identify the best SI unit to use. Here are some examples:

a.  the length of your fingernail

b.  the mass of a feather

c.  the amount of gas a car’s fuel tank can hold

d.  driving distance from Denver to Houston

e.  the mass of your backpack when its full of books

f.  the volume of atmosphere (air) in the space shuttle

g.  What is density (define and give a formula)?

6.  What is difference between the geocentric and heliocentric model of the universe?

7.  What is retrograde motion?

8.  Describe contributions to astronomy of the following astronomers:

a.  Kepler

b.  Newton

9.  What is the shape of the planets orbits?

10. List and describe the 4 movements of the Earth.

11. Below are 4 pictures representing different barycenter locations between two objects of mass. With an “X” mark an approximate location for the barycenter

(1 & 2 have equal mass) (Slight difference in mass) (Major difference is mass) (Extreme difference in mass)

12. What are the different forms of electromagnetic radiation?

13. What is the function of a prism?

14. What information can a star’s spectrum provide?

15. What is the Doppler Effect? And what can it tell astronomers?

16. What are the 3 regions of the HR diagram, and where are they located?

17. As a star’s brightness increases on the diagram, what happens to its magnitude?

(Does the number become larger or more negative?)

18. What are the different layers of the sun? Describe each.

19. What is the composition of the sun?

20. What are the characteristics of sunspots?

21. What is the source of the sun’s energy?

22. What do light-years measure?

23. What characteristic of a star does magnitude describe?

24. Describe the difference between absolute and apparent magnitude.

25. Describe the Nebular Theory.

26. What force is needed to form a star?

27. What happens when a star dies?

28. Provide evidence for an expanding universe.

29. What is the “Big Bang” theory? What does it try to explain? What are two pieces of evidence for it?

Rocks, Soils, Mass Movements

In this section, be able to:

*use the charts and graphs in your book (pgs 67, 74, 79, 84, 133, 134, 138)

30. What are the three types of rock and how are each formed? (see rock cycle)

31. Give the two forces that drive the rock cycle and explain how they change rocks and

form new rocks.

32. Explain the interrelationships between the 3 different types of rock (how one rock may become another type of rock, including how a metamorphic rock may become a different

type of metamorphic rock, or sedimentary to sedimentary, etc.

33. What is the difference between an intrusive igneous rock and extrusive igneous rock?

34. List and explain the 4 textures of igneous rock.

35. What are the two major classifications of sedimentary rocks?

36. What are the three agents of metamorphism? Describe each.

37. What is the difference between foliated and non-foliated metamorphic rocks?

38. Describe the difference between chemical and mechanical/physical weathering.

39. Identify and describe the major types of mechanical/physical weathering

40. Identify and describe the major types of chemical weathering

41. Identify the 4 components of soil.

42. Describe how soils are categorized by texture.

43. What are the 5 factors of soil formation?

a. d.

b.

c.

e.

44. Which of these 5 is the most important? Why?

45. Identify & describe the parts of a soil horizon.

46. Soil Texture Diagram

a.  10% clay, 60% silt and 30% sand. ______

b.  50% clay, 10% silt and 40% sand. ______

c.  20% clay, 40% silt and 40% sand. ______

47. What is a mass movement?

48. Define the following types of mass movements:

1.  Creep

2.  Slump

3.  Earthflow

4.  Mudflow

5.  Which of these is the slowest?______fastest?______

49. Describe three ways to stabilize slopes to minimize erosion.

Plate Tectonics and Earth Quakes

In this section, be able to

*identify the types of boundaries seen given an unlabeled diagram similar to those on pgs 259, 261, and 262 (both diagrams) in your book.

50. Briefly describe Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis and the 4 pieces of evidence to support it.

51. How does the theory of continental drift differ from the theory of plate tectonics?

52. What is the lithosphere? What layers of the Earth make up the lithosphere?

53. What is a subduction zone and what features will be found there?

54. Identify & describe the 4 major forms of evidence for plate tectonics as given by your book.

55. Describe what causes plate motion according to the theory of plate tectonics.

56. List and describe the various types of plate boundaries.

Diagram What land formations or events are created?

Divergent
Boundary
Transform
Boundary
Convergent
Boundary / Ocean-Ocean
Ocean-Continent
Continent-Continent

57. Identify the stresses that cause earthquakes.

58. What is the difference between a focus and an epicenter?

label the diagram.

59. How can triangulation be used to find the focus of an earthquake?

(Includethe relationship between the speed of the P and S waves.)

60. Fill in the following:

Earthquake Wave How does it move? Where does it travel?

61. Define and apply each of the following vocabulary words dealing with earthquakes

1.  Epicenter

2.  Focus

3.  Fault

4.  Seismograph

5.  Seismogram

62. List and describe the 3 types of volcanoes (include the type of volcanic eruption expected for each).

Volcano Type How is it built? Physical Characteristic Famous Examples

65. Identify and label the volcano’s parts in the

diagram to the right

66. What is the ring of fire? Where is it?

Why does it occur there?

67. What is Pyroclastic flow?

68. Explain why volcanoes are known as the Earth’s cooling vents.

69. What are 3 characteristics of lava that affect the explosiveness of an eruption?

70. What combination of those factors produces the most explosive eruptions?

71. Which type of volcano generally has the most explosive eruptions?