Grade 8 Earth and Space Science Final Exam Study Guide

Grade 8 Earth and Space Science Final Exam Study Guide

COURSE INTRODUCTION TOPICS

Metric Measurements

ü  What are the instruments used to measure metric length, volume, and mass?

METRIC LENGTH / METRIC VOLUME / METRIC MASS
Metric Ruler
/ Graduated Cylinder
/ Balance

Scientific Investigations

Whether scientists do experiments, make models, or study natural processes by making observations, all scientists follow some similar steps in their investigations. Although all scientists use these steps, they do not all use them in the same order. For example, a scientist usually needs to learn what others know about a topic before they know what questions to ask. The steps scientists use include the following:

·  asking questions and making predictions {hypothesis}

·  learning about others’ work

·  planning investigations {Identifying Independent and Dependent Variables}

·  making observations and collecting data

·  developing and using models

·  Analyzing observations or data. {Used by scientists to infer, or make a guess based on evidence as to what happened during the investigation.}

·  drawing conclusions

·  describing work to others

ü  Which factor does a scientist change during an investigation? (Is it the dependent or independent variable?

ü  What is a scientific theory?

Lab Safety

Read Mr. Thackwray’s Lab Safety Rules on the link below.

http://nobel.scas.bcit.ca/debeck_pt/science/safety.htm

ü  Look over your copy of the NPSD Lab Safety Procedures that you received in September.

ü  Your teacher distributes a lab packet. What should you do prior to starting experimentation?

ü  What safety precaution must be taken whenever you experiment with fire and chemicals?

Basic Chemistry

ü  What are elements?

ü  What are compounds?

ü  How are mixtures different than compounds?

Sample Questions:

PROPERTIES OF SOME SUBSTANCES AND THEIR COMBINATIONS

Combination / Properties of
Substance # 1 / Properties of
Substance # 2 / What Happened When the
Substances Were Combined?
1 / gold metal / colorless liquid / The metal sank to the bottom of the liquid.
2 / black metal, reacts with water / blue liquid, can burn skin / A white solid forms.
3 / red solid / blue liquid / The solid floated in the liquid.
4 / colorless liquid / green liquid / The liquids bubbled and a blue gas formed.

Which two combinations most likely produce compounds?

A. 3 and 4 C. 1 and 3

B. 2 and 4 D. 1 and 2

SOME COMMON ELEMENTS AND COMPOUNDS

Substance / Element or Compound
Oxygen (O2) / Oxygen Gas
Sodium (Na) / Element
Table Sugar (C12H22O11) / Compound
Lithium Bromide (LiBr) / Compound

Which of the following substances is a compound?

A. solid silver (Ag) C. Oxygen gas (O2)

B. liquid sulfuric acid (H2SO4) D. liquid mercury (Hg)

CHAPTER # 2: MINERALS

Mineral Characteristics and Physical Properties: (P-H Pages # 47-49)

Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
1 – Talc
2 – Gypsum
3 – Calcite
4 – Fluorite
5 – Apatite
6 – Feldspar
7 – Quartz
8 – Topaz
9 – Corundum
10 – Diamond / The Field Scale of Mineral Hardness
1 – Soft, Flakes Off Onto Your Fingers
2 – Scratched By Your Fingernail
3 – Scratched By A Copper Penny
4 – Scratched Easily By A Nail
5 – Scratched By A Nail With Difficulty
6 – Scratches A Piece Of Glass
7 – Scratches A Steel File
8 – Scratches Quartz

Sample Question

A geologist found a white mineral. She tested the

mineral by rubbing it against fluorite and noticed

that the unknown mineral was scratched by the

fluorite. The geologist then tested the unknown

mineral by trying to scratch it with her fingernail.

She was unable to scratch the unknown mineral

with her fingernail.

Which mineral from the table did the geologist find?

A.  Talc

B.  Calcite

C.  Apatite

D.  Quartz

Density: (P-H Pages # 51 & 116)

*Use a balance to find the mass of the mineral sample (g) and displacement to determine its volume (mL or cm³). Use a calculator to divide the mass by the volume. Round you answer to the nearest tenth.

Density = mass (g)

Volume (mL or cm³)

-OR-

Use the Cent-o-gram or Digital balance to determine the mass of the mineral sample. The mass of the mineral sample is indicated by the LCD display on the digital balance, or by the positions of the riders on the Cent-O-Gram balance. /
The principle of water displacement is used to determine the volume of the mineral sample.
1.  Note the initial water level (mL) in the graduated cylinder.
2.  Drop the mineral sample into the graduated cylinder.
3.  Note the final water level (mL) in the graduated cylinder.
4.  Subtract the initial water level from the final water level to find the volume of the mineral sample.

ü  Use the link below to determine the density of an unknown metal. Click on the image of the Density Virtual Laboratory.

http://www.karlyoder.com/flash.html

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources: (P-H Pages # 326--338)

Because energy can change form, people can use a variety of energy sources to meet their needs. One of the main uses of energy is to produce electricity. Like all resources, energy resources can be classified as either renewable or nonrenewable. Nonrenewable resources form very slowly and can not be replaced in a human lifetime. As a result, their supply is limited and can be used up. Renewable resources are either unlimited or can be replaced in a human lifetime. Because nonrenewable energy sources will run out one day, many people are looking for ways to increase our use of renewable and non-polluting energy resources. Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy resources that include coal, oil, and natural gas. Most electricity-generating power plants burn fossil fuels to turn turbines to drive generators that convert energy of motion into electricity. Unfortunately, burning fossil fuels adds large amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere which leads to the greenhouse effect, or global warming. Renewable resources include, nuclear fission, solar power, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power, Tidal Power, and wind power.

ü  Are minerals renewable or nonrenewable? Explain your answer.

ü  Identify three examples of renewable resources.

CHAPTER # 3: ROCKS

Formation of Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Rocks: (P-H Page # 77)

Identify which rocks in the diagram below are igneous (volcanic), which are sedimentary (composed of fragments of other rocks), and which are metamorphic (deformed / changed from heat and pressure).

Relative Ages: {P-H Pages # 293-297)

·  Relative Age – The relative age of a rock is its age compared to the ages of the other rocks.

·  Absolute Age – The absolute age of a rock is the number of years since the rock formed.

·  The Law of Superposition – This principle simply states that in horizontal sedimentary rock layers the oldest layer is at the bottom. Each higher layer is younger than the layers below it.

·  Extrusions – Lava that hardens on the Earth’s surface is called an extrusion. The rock layers below an extrusion are always older than the extrusion.

·  Intrusions – Magma sometimes pushes into bodies of rock beneath the Earth’s surface. These are called igneous intrusions. The rock layers surrounding an intrusion are always older than the intrusion itself.

·  Cross-Cutting Relationships – These principles state that rock layers that are off-set by faults or intruded by magma are older than the fault or magma that affected them.

Analyze the diagram above. Which event was the last to occur?

A. A limestone layer {1} was deposited. B. An unconformity {A} was created by erosion

C. A fault {B} offset existing rock layers D. Magma {3} intruded upon existing rock layers

E. Existing layers of rock were tilted as a result of compression

CHAPTER # 4: PLATE TECTONICS

Convection Currents in the Earth’s Mantle: (P-H Pages # 115-117)

Geologists believe that convection currents in the lower

mantle are responsible for moving the Earth’s plates of

lithosphere.

ü  Explain why convection currents occur in the Earth’s

lower mantle.

http://www.curriculumbits.com/prodimages/details/geography/geo0011.html

Plate Boundaries: Convergent, Divergent, and Transform (P-H Pages # 134-137)

ü  What type of boundary is represented by each letter?

1.  Boundary A =

2.  Boundary B =

3.  Boundary C =

ü  What type of stress is caused at each plate boundary?

1.  Boundary A =

2.  Boundary B =

3.  Boundary C =

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es0804/es0804page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization

http://www.iris.edu/gifs/animations/faults.htm

ü  What kinds of landforms form at the three different types of plate boundaries?

http://geobytesgcse.blogspot.com/2007/01/plate-boundaries.html

CHAPTER # 5: EARTHQUAKES

http://www.iris.edu/gifs/animations/faults.htm

Mountains Formed by Folding and Faulting:

Mountains Formed by Folding /
Mountains Formed by Faulting

Over millions of years, fault movement can change a flat plain into a towering ______range.

Fault-Block Mountains such as the ______Range near the border of Wyoming and

Idaho. Mountains can also form by the ______of rocks due to the force of compression.

Geologists use the terms anticlines and synclines to describe upward and downward folds in rock layers.

The ______Mountains are a series of anticlines and synclines.

Seismic Waves {P Waves, S Waves, and Surface Waves}: (P-H Pages # 154-156)

http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~rmellors/lab8/l8maineq.htm#swave

The Focus and Epicenter of Earthquakes (P-H Pages # 154-156)

http://cavern.uark.edu/~pjansma/intro_pdf/geol1113_24_earthquakes_07.pdf

ü  How do geologists determine the distance to an earthquake’s epicenter?

Location of an Epicenter Example of a Seismogram

A ______ is a geophysicist that study’s earthquakes. In order to locate

the ______of an earthquake, a seismologist needs to examine ______ recorded

by ______different seismograph stations. On each of these seismograms, seismologists have

to measure the S - P time interval (in ______or minutes). The S - P time interval is the amount of time

that passes between the arrival of the P wave and the subsequent S wave. This interval will then be used to

determine the ______the waves have traveled from the origin to that station. This interval

determines the distance the waves have traveled, but gives no indication of the ______from

which they came. The seismologist only knows that the earthquake took place somewhere along a circle

having a radius equal to the distance indicated. That is why information from three different seismograph

stations is necessary to locate the earthquake’s ______.

/ If the difference in arrival time is 4 minutes, what is the distance to the epicenter?
A.  2200 km.
B.  2300 km.
C.  2600 km.
D.  2800 km.

CHAPTER # 6: VOLCANOES

Types of Volcanoes {Shield, Composite, and Cinder Cones}: (P-H Pages # 193-195)

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/volcano1.htm

ü  Which type of magma creates an explosive eruption?

ü  Which type of volcanic cone forms from continued eruptions of fluid, runny lava flows?

Hawaiian Island Chain

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es0904/es0904page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization

ü  How did the Hawaiian Island Chain form?

CHAPTER # 15: THE ATMOSPHERE

Atmospheric Density and Altitude (P-H Pages # 512-514)

Air pressure is the result of the weight of a column of air pushing down on an area. The Earth’s gravity draws the atmosphere toward the Earth’s surface. For this reason, the Earth’s atmosphere is the densest at the earth’s surface (D) and becomes less dense as altitude increases (A).

{A Column of the Earth’s Atmosphere}

ü  Where is the atmosphere denser, at letter “A” or letter “D?”

ü  How does atmospheric pressure change as altitude increases?

The Layers of Our Atmosphere: (P-H Pages # 515-520)

Atmospheric Layer / Some Characteristics of Each Layer
Thermosphere / The thermosphere extends from 80Km above the Earth’s surface outward into space. It has no definite outer limit. The lower portion of the thermosphere is referred to as the ionosphere. Ions in the ionosphere reflect radio waves back to Earth. The aurora borealis occurs in the ionosphere. The upper portion of the thermosphere is referred to as the exosphere. Phone calls and television signals often reach you by way of communication satellites that orbit the Earth in the exosphere.
Mesosphere / Meso means “middle,” so the mesosphere is the middle layer in the earth’s atmosphere. The mesosphere is the coldest layer of the atmosphere. Most meteoroids burn up in the mesosphere, producing meteor trails.
Stratosphere / Strato is similar to stratum, which means “layer” of “spreading out.” The upper stratosphere contains a layer of ozone, the three-atom form of oxygen. The ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet radiation.
Troposphere / The inner or lowest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere. Tropo means “turning” or “changing.” The conditions in the troposphere are more variable than in other layers of the atmosphere. The troposphere is where the Earth’s clouds form and weather occurs.

http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/diagrams/atmosphere/

ü  In which layer of the atmosphere do we live? This is the only layer of the atmosphere that experiences weather.

http://forces.si.edu/atmosphere/04_00_01.html

CHAPTER # 16: WEATHER FACTORS

Heat Transfer {Radiation, Conduction, and Convection}: (P-H Pages # 532-535)

ü  How is heat transferred from the campfire to the pot?

ü  Explain how heat is transferred throughout the water in the pot by convection.

ü  In what two ways can the holder of the pot burn their hand? Explain both.

http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/SCE304/SCE304.swf

Winds: (P-H Pages # 536-544)

·  Wind Measurements: Winds are horizontal movements of air from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.

Anemometer

An anemometer measures wind speed in miles per hour (MPH) or kilometers per hour (KPH). / Wind Vane

A wind vane measures wind direction. The wind vane points to the direction from which the wind is coming since that is how winds are named. For example: A “west wind” comes from the west and moves towards the east.

ü  How does an anemometer work?