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The ULTIMATE Review Sheet
For
Regents Earth Science
1.
The same substance always has the same
density, no matter what the size.
2.
As
pressure increases, density increases.
3.
As
temperature increases, density decreases.
4.
Water
expands when it freezes.
5.
Water
is densest at 4oC as a liquid.
6.
Most
changes in the environment are cyclic.
7.
The
true shape of the earth is an Oblate
Spheroid. It is flattened at
the poles and bulging at the equator.
8.
The
best model for the shape of the earth is a sphere.
9.
The
best evidence for the spherical shape of the earth are pictures from space.
10.
Positions
on earth are located using the coordinate system of latitude and longitude.
11.
Latitude
lines (parallels) are drawn from east to west and measured from north to south
(Equator)
12.
Longitude
lines (meridians) are drawn from North Pole to South Pole and are measure from
east to west (Prime Meridian).
13.
Latitude
is based on the altitude of Polaris, (the North Star).
14.
Longitude
is based on the observations of the sun (also a star).
15.
The
closer the isolines (isotherms, isobars, contour lines…), the steeper the
gradient (slope).
16.
Contour
lines bend upstream as they cross a stream or river.
17.
The
earth ROTATES on its axis from west
to east (counterclockwise).
18.
One
Earth rotation takes approximately 24 hours.
One hour equals 15o of rotation.
19.
The
earth REVOLVES around the sun counterclockwise.
20.
One
earth revolution takes 365.26 days in a slightly elliptical orbit.
21.
All
planets orbits are in the shape of an ellipse with the sun at 1 focus point.
(This includes moons, satellites, comets…).
22.
All celestial objects appear
to move from east to west.
23.
The
moon has phases because of the angle at which we view its surface.
24.
½
the moon is always lit by the sun (we can only ever see 1 side of the moon).
25.
The
moon phases are: (waxing) crescent-quarter-gibbous-full-
(waning) gibbous-quarter-crescent-new (sing
it loud!).
26.
The
moon waxes and wanes from right to left.
27.
The
moon’s phases take 29½ days to complete the cycle (about 1 month).
28.
The
planets appear to move backwards (retrograde motion) as the earth passes them it
its orbit.
29.
The
seasons are due to the tilt of the
earth’s axis, 23½ o.
30.
Summer
Solstice (“sun-stop”) June 21st
- longest day of the year in NYS – sunrise north of east.
Vertical ray located at Tropic of Cancer, 23½ o north
latitude.
31.
Winter
Solstice – December 21st – shortest day of the year in NYS –
sunrise south of east. Vertical ray
located at the Tropic of Capricorn 23½ o south latitude.
32.
Equinoxes
(equal night) - September 23rd – Autumnal, March 21st
– Vernal. Vertical ray located at
the equator. 12 hours of daylight
and 12 hours of darkness everywhere on earth.
33.
The
Equator always has 12 hours of daylight (everyday).
34.
The
lower the altitude of the sun the longer the shadow.
35.
At
noon in NYS a shadow will always point north.
36.
Evidence
for rotation is the Foucault Pendulum – appears to change direction, and the
Coriolis Effect – deflects winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere.
37.
Earth
is closer to the sun (perihelion) around January 3rd or 4th
(winter).
38.
The
closer the planet is to the sun, the faster it travels in its orbit.
Why?
39.
Geocentric
model – Earth centered, Ptolemy.
40.
Heliocentric
model – Sun centered, Copernicus.
41.
Temperature
is the average KE of the molecules in a substance.
42.
Black
(dark) absorbs, white (light) reflects, rough absorbs, smooth reflects.
43.
Conduction:
energy transfer through molecular collisions; solids in contact.
44.
Convection:
energy transfer through differences in density. Circulating currents of gasses and liquids.
(Occurs in the atmosphere and asthenosphere).
45.
Radiation:
energy transfer through space. How
light energy travels here from the sun and the stars.
46.
Energy
moves from the source (highest temp.) to the sink (lowest temp.).
47.
Kinetic Energy
(KE): energy of motion. As velocity
increases, KE also increases.
48.
Potential Energy
(PE): energy of position. As the position of an object increases away from the
center of the earth, PE increases.
49.
There
is NO temperature change during a
phase change.
50.
Earth
absorbs short waves (visible light).
51.
Earth
radiates long waves (infrared energy).
52.
Carbon
Dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water vapor are good
absorbers of infrared energy. (Causes
the Greenhouse Effect).
53.
A
good absorber of electromagnetic energy (EME) is also a good radiator
of EME.
54.
Hottest
days of the year are usually 1-month after the day of maximum insolation, June
21st , “seasonal temperature lag”.
55.
Hottest
time of any 24-hour period is usually 1 - 2 hours after noon (max insolation),
“daily temperature lag”.
56.
Summer
Solstice in the northern hemisphere is 21 June.
Duration of insolation is the longest.
Intensity of insolation strongest.
24 hours of daylight at 90o North.
57.
Winter
Solstice in the northern hemisphere is 21 December.
Duration of insolation is the
shortest. Intensity of insolation
is the least. 24
hours of daylight at 90o South.
58.
The
equatorial region always has approximately 12 hours of daylight all year.
59.
As
temperature increases, air pressure decreases.
60.
As
humidity (moisture content of the air) increases, air pressure decreases.
61.
As
altitude/elevation increases, air pressure decreases.
62.
High Pressure
= sinking air currents, dry conditions, little to no clouds.
63.
Low Pressure
= rising air currents, moist conditions, increase in cloud development.
64.
Wind
occurs due to differences in air pressure.
65.
Wind
always moves from regions of high pressure to regions of low pressure
perpendicular to the isobars.
Isobars close together = steep pressure
gradient = high wind speeds.
66.
Wind
is named by the direction it is coming from.
67.
Surface
High Pressure (anticyclones) = Clockwise and divergent winds.
68.
Surface
Low Pressure (cyclones) = Counterclockwise and convergent winds.
69.
The
closer the dew point temperature gets to the air temperature the greater the
chance for precipitation.
Dew point = Air temp
>
brings 100% humidity!!
70.
In
the middle latitudes (U.S.), weather moves from the west to the east
(northeast). Prevailing Westerlies.
71.
Precipitation
occurs when: warm, moist air rises,
cools
adiabatically
(due to expansion),
reaches the dew point temp.,
condensation occurs (on
condensation nuclei),
the droplets collect in masses (cloud
formation)
when the drops are large enough = precipitation.
72.
Air
cools adiabatically as it rises due to expansion from the higher
atmospheric pressure at low elevations to the lower atmospheric pressures at
higher elevations.
73.
Air
warms adiabatically as it sinks due to compression by the heavier atmospheric
pressure at lower elevations.
74.
Air
masses are characterized by their TEMPERATURE and MOISTURE characteristics.
75.
The
leading edge of the air mass is called the FRONT.
76.
See
a : Cold
Front
Warm Front
Stationary Front
Occluded Front
77.
Mountains force air up the windward (
cool/moist) side and down the leeward (warm/dry) side (the Orographic Effect).
78.
Large bodies of water moderate coastal
climates, (warmer
winters, cooler summers).
79.
Porosity (percentage of empty space)
does NOT depend on particle size.
80.
Permeability, the ability to flow
through ground material, pores must be connected.
As particle size increases, permeability also increases.
81.
Capillarity, Upward movement of water
through the ground depends on surface area.
As Particle size decreases, capillarity increases.
82. Gravity is the main FORCE behind all erosion.
weathering is the breakdown of rock into sediments
erosion is the transporting of
those sediments
83.
RUNNING
WATER (streams, rivers) is the number 1 AGENT
of erosion in NYS.
84.
Water and wind create sorted deposits of
sediments. Gravity and Glaciers
form unsorted deposits of sediments.
85.
A common glacial deposit is called a
moraine. Glacial deposits are unsorted.
86.
Stream velocity depends on SLOPE and DISCHARGE (the
amount of water moving through the stream at any one time).
87.
In a meander, velocity is greater
(therefore erosion is greater also) on the OUTSIDE
of the curve.
88.
Streams and rivers carve a V-shaped valley.
Glaciers carve a U-shaped valley.
89.
Heavy-Dense (large) particles settle to
the bottom of a calm body of water faster.
90.
Colloids (clay-sized particles) remain
suspended in bodies of water for long periods of time.
91.
In graded bedding (vertical sorting) the
largest sediments are on the bottom.
92.
Sedimentary rocks (strata) form (flat)
horizontal layers.
93.
Igneous rock (fire-formed) are
classified by texture (grain size). Coarse
(large) grains = Intrusive - (cooled slowly below surface). Fine (small) grains = Extrusive (cooled quickly).
Glassy (no visible crystals) = Extrusive.
94.
Metamorphic Rock – changed by heat
and/or pressure. Shows
banding/foliation (stripes) and distorted structure.
Higher density, very resistant rock.
95.
The formation of igneous rock causes
contact metamorphism. Extrusion –
bottom only affected, Intrusion – top and bottom affected.
96.
All minerals
properties are due to the internal
arrangement of the atoms.
97.
Silicon and oxygen form earth’s basic
mineralogical structural unit – the tetrahedron.
98.
Subsidence – the sinking of the crust
99.
Uplift – the lifting of the crust
(forms mountains...)
100.
Earth’s plates move due to convection
currents in the upper-mantle (asthenosphere)
101.
At the Mid-Ocean ridges (spreading center) new
crust is created, age of the rock increases as distance from the ridge
increases. Divergent Plate Boundary
102.
Ocean trenches (subduction zone) where
old crust is destroyed. Convergent Plate Boundary
103.
P-waves travel faster than S-waves.
104.
P-waves travel through solids and
liquids.
105.
S-waves travel through solids only
(can’t go through the outer core).
106. Need a minimum of three (3) seismograph stations to determine the location of an epicenter.
107.
Undisturbed rock – oldest layer is on the bottom (superposition).
108.
Intrusions and faults are younger than
the rock they cut through.
109.
Unconformity: buried erosional surface
– a gap in the rock record.
110.
Carbon
14 (14C) – dates recent organic (once living) remains up to 50,000years
old.
*Radioisotope decay is constant and
unaffected by environmental changes.
111.
Landscapes
are dependant on bedrock structure and climate.
112.
Arid
landscapes – steep slopes, angular features.
113.
Humid
Landscapes – smooth, rounded slopes and features.
114.
The
Catskills ARE NOT mountains (dissected plateau – horizontal bedrock).
115.
The
Age of the earth is 4.6x109 years old, 4.6 billion years old, 4,600
million years.
Earth Science
Facts you MUST know:
1.
When you cut an object into pieces, you
don’t change its density.
2.
The
Altitude of Polaris is equal to the latitude of the observer.
3.
The
Coriolis force deflects currents to the right in the northern hemisphere.
4.
Condensation
= phase change from gas to liquid – remove heat energy.
No temperature
change.
5.
Freezing
= phase change from liquid to solid – remove heat energy.
No temperature
change.
6.
Boiling
(vaporization) = liquid to gas – add heat – needs the most energy.
No temperature
change.
7.
There
is no temperature change during a
phase change (se 4, 5, and 6).
8.
Low
Pressure = lousy, cloudy, humid weather, rising air currents, counterclockwise and
convergent circulation.
9.
High
Pressure = happy, cloudless, dry weather, sinking air currents, clockwise and
divergent circulation.
10.
Weather
moves from west to east (northeast trend) in the United States.
11.
Porosity
is not affected by particle size.
12.
Potential
Evapotranspiration (Ep) depends on TEMPERATURE ONLY!
13.
Minerals
have different properties due to their internal arrangement of atoms.
14.
Marine
fossils (seashells…) on mountain tops indicate that the land has been
uplifted.
15.
The
Equatorial regions receive 12 hours of daylight EVERYDAY.
16.
Always
remember: “when it doubt, take it out -------your Reference Tables
(that
is)!!!”
Additional Review Sites
http://regentsprep.org/Regents/earthsci/earthsci.cfm
http://science-math-technology.com/es_sam00_free.html
http://207.10.97.102/earthzone/review.htm
http://www.ardsleyschools.k12.ny.us/AHSL_WEB/FIXLER/fixler.htm
http://www.wnye.nycenet.edu/regents/
http://www.ccsd.edu/south/science/esci/escivw.htm