Earth science test 1 – Flashcards
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Nicholas Copernicus believed that a _____ system could easily explain retrograde motion, and the planets revolved around the Sun in ____ orbits.
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Heliocentric, circular
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Our sun ____ a hydrogen burning star, and ____ classified as being a main sequence star.
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is, is
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The best estimate as to the age of the universe using cosmic background radiation data is about ____ years
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13.7 billion
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______ was a danish astronomer who was skeptical of the heliocentric hypothesis of Copernicus, and collected the most accurate planetary data of the time from an astronomical observatory that was built in the year 1572 on the Danish island of Hven.
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Tycho Brahe
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The expansion of the universe has been execrating. .What is the cause of this?
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Dark energy
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What process formed heavy elements, such as iron, found in your body?
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They formed during supernovae of ancient stars
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The aftermath of a supernova has a VERY strong magnetic field and can spin at 1000 times a second, and is called a ____
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neutron star
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Energy in the core of the Sun is primarily transferred by _______. While in the upper 200,000 km of the Sun, energy is mostly transferred by _____/
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radiation, convection
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According to Hubble's Law other galaxies are _____ Earth, and more distant galaxies are doing so _____
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moving away from, faster
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You are transported back to about 200,000 years after the Big Bang. It would be
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Dark with no atom
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Black holes are formed from the collapse of ____ stars, and _____ be directly viewed through telescopes.
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very large, cannot
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The Sun contains ______ % of the mass of the solar system, and primarily consists of the element _____.
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98, hydrogen
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Our sun is powered by
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Fusion
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____ are explosives ejections of particles that last about an hour and head solar gas to tens of millions of degrees Celsius. These particles approach the speed of light and when the reach the Earth they can disrupt radio communications.
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Solar flares
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What is the current theory for the formation of our Solar System?
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the Sun and planets condensed from a cloud of gas and dust
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Mercury has almost ____ atmosphere, and _____.
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no, great temperature extremes
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Which of the four Galilean moons is the most volcanically active object in the Solar System, erupting sulfur- rich lava?
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Io
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the 2006 Cassini space probe confirmed that Saturns rings are compromised of frozen _____ molecules
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water
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The atmosphere of Uranus contains a small amount of ___ which gives it its blue- green color
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methane
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Which of the following is though to have been created from impact?
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All of the above clockwise rotation of venus, tilt of earths axis, the earths moon
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What is the dominant character of the four outer planets
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they are all large and gas rich
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Which of the following are unusual about Uranus?
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its axis of rotation, orientation of rings, and orbits of its moons are perpendicular to those of every other planet in the Solar System.
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What was the main technique used to study the solid surface of Venus?
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radar images
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Which of the following are present on Earth but not any other planet>?
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none of the above
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What is the largest moon in our solar system?
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Ganymede, moon of Jupiter
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What is the name of the ring of ice bodies that lies just beyond Neptunes orbit
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Kuiper Belt
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The first person to orbit the Earth was
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Uri Gagarin
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The first person on the moon was
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Neil Armstrong
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Suppose you were tasked to evaluate the damage risk posed by a comet that was headed toward earth. Based on what you know about the average properties of comets, how would you evaluate the risk variables of density and speed for such a comet
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low risk due to density, high risk due to average speed
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Think about the orbits of the Kuiper belt comets, Oort cloud comets and asteroids. Place them in order from longest to shortest average amount of time required for each of them to orbit the sun
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Asteroid, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud
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Why do scientists develop a hypothesis before conduction research?
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it helps predict outcomes and define the parameters of the research
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a geologist finds a sandstone. He comes up with a variety of different explanations as to how the sandstone formed. Once is that it formed on a beach. two it formed in a rive and three it formed in a desert. these are each considered to be theories: T or F
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False
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Which of the following is the last step in using the scientific method
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formulate law or principle
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What is the best definition of the term "theory" as it is used in science
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A theory is a comprehensive set of ideas explaining a phenomenon in nature
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why have different scientists interpreted air temperature data differently
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different scientists analyze the data differently
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In _____, Alfred Wegener introduced a hypothesis called ______
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1912, continental drift
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which of the following evidence was not used by Wegener and Suess to show that continents had moved?
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Paleomagnetic evidence
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There were many arguments against both the continental drift and seafloor spreading hypotheses. only important criticism was that the shorelines of the continents do not fit together perfectly. What information was discovered that made this criticism no longer a problem
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Exploration of the ocean floors revealed that continents extend into the ocean for some distance and actually end at the edge of the continental shelf.
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____ generally form when carbonate mineral leach from the upper layer of the soil and accumulate in the next layer, at depths approximately three to 10 feet under the surface
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caliche
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ventifacts are ____ features produced by ____
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erosional, abrasion
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_____ organisms live on the bottom of in bottom sediments
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Benthis
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the organisms living around hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean get their energy from ________
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chemosynthesis: creating energy from sulfur-bearing chemicals
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this major density zone for seawater is where temperature decreases rapidly with depth, reaching a maximum depth of about 1500 km.
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thermocline
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the coriolis effect causes
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air to move in a curved path
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El Nino is a condition that brings increases precipitation to eastern Pacific Ocean basin when:
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when strengthening of an ocean current results in warmer sea temperatures in the eastern Pacific
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Water off the coast of Greenland is cold and ____, because freshwater has been removed from it by the formation of sea ice. this water is therefore dense, so it ____ to form a large mass of water called the North Atlantic deep water.
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salty, sinks
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The heat-holding capacity of seawater is ____, so that sea surface temperature ____an important effect on weather and climate.
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high, has an
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What causes gyres
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winds
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if we cannot see the ocean floor from an airplane, we cannot see it from space either. so how does a satellite measure the depth of ocean water to determine the topography of the ocean floor?
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the satellites can detect very minute captaincies in gravity which are reflected in the topography of the ocean floor.
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Photosphere
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surface layer of the sun
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Corono
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thick layer of gas on the sun
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How does Venus spin
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in reverse of earth
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Sputnik
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1st thing to orbit in space
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Yuri Gagrin
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first man in space
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project mercury
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first manned flight
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Gemin
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bridge to the moon
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Light color on the moon
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the highlands
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mare
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dark spots on moon
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Olympus Mon
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largest mountain in solar system. found on mars
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Moons of Jupiter
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Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
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Io
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eruptions
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Europa
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Icy belts
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Ganymede
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LARGEST IN SOLAR SYSTEM, icy belts
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Callisto
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heavily cratered
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Jupiter has rings like saturn but:
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much fainter
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Saturns rings:
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has icy chunks the size of sand pebbles
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Saturn moon, (TITAN)
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larger than mercury
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Uranus color is because of
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methane
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Uranus rotates:
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perpendicular to every other planet. 3rd largest
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Meptune is
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blue from methane; icy with two halfs. eruptions & geysers
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Dawn:
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space probe
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How salty is the water
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3.5%
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Halocline:
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rapid chang in salinity with depth
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Temps are highest when
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solar energy is high
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The density of water ____ with ___ temp
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decreases, increases
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Warm water is ____ _than cold water
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less dense
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ThermoclineL
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depth zone where temp decreases rapidly
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Pynocline
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rapid increase in density
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Coriolis effect
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atomspheric and ocean circulation defected to deff hemispheres
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Gulf stream carries:
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high salinity, warms water
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Global conveyor belt
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integrated system of surface & deep ocean currents
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Upwelling:
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brings up cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface
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El Nino
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West winds deminish, warm water stays in pacific, reduces upwelling
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La nino
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cold, droughts in SA, sever weather in west Pacific
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Photic zone
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has light
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aphotic
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photosynthesis doesnt take place
