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100 key concepts Flashcards

1
Q

What is studied in Earth and Planetary Science?

A

Geology, Astronomy, and Meteorology.

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2
Q

What is the Human population of the Earth?

A

7.75 billion

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3
Q

Formula for density?

A

Mass divided by volumes

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4
Q

A substance will float in a liquid if-

A

Its density is less than the density of the liquid

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5
Q

What tool is used to measure the mass of an object?

A

Balance or scale

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6
Q

The caves and sinkholes common in SE Minnesota is known as what type of topography?

A

Karst topography

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7
Q

What type of bedrock is common around Rochester?

A

Limestone and sandstone

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8
Q

What do the limestone and sandstone layers around Rochester tell geologists of this area’s past?

A

Area was once underwater for many thousands of years

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9
Q

What Native nation gave us constellations that include Wintermaker, Curly Tail, the Loon, and the Moose

A

Ojibwe

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10
Q

What natural disaster brought the Mayo brothers to Rochester in 1883?

A

Tornado

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11
Q

What are rocks made of?

A

Combination of materials

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12
Q

The idea that rocks continuously change from one kind to another is called

A

The rock cycle

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13
Q

3 classifications of rock

A

Sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic

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14
Q

How are igneous rocks formed?

A

Cooling and hardening from magma

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15
Q

How are sedimentary rocks formed?

A

Deposition and cementing of sediments

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16
Q

How are metaphoric rocks formed?

A

Changes in other rocks

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17
Q

Two main rocks in Earth ‘s crust are…

A

Granite and basalt

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18
Q

What is Moh’s hardness scale?

A

Rates minerals hardness on scale from 1-10

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19
Q

What is the hardest mineral known?

A

Diamond

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20
Q

The upper 8-12 inches of the ground is called the…

A

Topsoil

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21
Q

What is weathering?

A

Process of breaking down rocks

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22
Q

Process which moves soil from one place to another is…

A

Erosion

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23
Q

Two main ingredients in soil are…

A

Weathered rocks and organic matter

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24
Q

What do we call the part of Earth made up of the crust and upper mantle?

A

Lithosphere

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25
What does the Theory of Plate Tectonics tell scientist?
The crust is broken into plates that move
26
3 types of plate boundaries are...
Divergent, convergent, and transform
27
The last supercontient was called...
Pangaea
28
How do plates move along divergent boundaries?
Away / apart
29
How do plates move along convergent boundaries?
Together
30
How to plates more along transform boundaries?
Slide past each other
31
The only plate boundary found in the US is found...
Along the Pacific Coast
32
The shaking and trembling that happens from the movement of Earth's crust are called...
Earthquakes
33
Three types of volcanoes are...
Shield, cinder cone, composite
34
Three land forms created by rivers are...
V-shaped valleys, canyons, deltas, gorges, waterfalls, floodplains, bluffs
35
Three land forms created by glaciers are...
U-shaped valleys, kettle lakes, ridges, hills, moraines
36
Three land forms created by plate movement are...
Mountains, volcanoes, rifts, trenches, fault lines, island arcs
37
Three land forms created by waves are...
Beaches, cliffs, sea stacks, caves, peninsulas, straits, or spits
38
What do contours show on a topographic map?
Points of similar elevation
39
4 primary eras that make up the Earth's past are...
Pre-Cambrian time, Paleozoic era, Mesozoic era, and Cenozoic era
40
Which era accounts for 90% of the Earth's past?
Pre-Cambrian
41
What does the law of Superposition tell scientists?
If rocks are formed in layers, the rock in upper layer is younger than the rocks in lower layers
42
How can the exact age of a rock be measured?
By analyzing the amount of radioactive decay that has occurred in the rock
43
Estimated age of the Earth is...
4.6 billion years old
44
What event pushed dinosaurs towards extinction 65 billion years ago?
Large comet or asteroid hitting the Earth
45
When the visible portion of the moon is increasing, it is...
Waxing
46
When the visible portions of the moon is decreasing, it is...
Waning
47
How long does it take to travel through an entire moon cycle?
Slightly less than a month
48
What causes the twice daily rise and fall of the oceans?
Gravitational pull of the moon on the Earth
49
Earth orbits the Sun in an oval shaped called...
An eclipse
50
When is the Earth closest to the Sun?
January 1st
51
When is the Earth farthest away from the Sun?
July 4th
52
What causes changes in the season?
The tilt of the Earth as it orbits the Sun
53
What is the day where all of the Earth has 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness?
The Equinox
54
When is the angle of the noontime Sun highest in the sky?
First day of Summer
55
When is the angle of the noontime the lowest in the sky>
First day of Winter
56
In which direction does the Sun rise on the equinox?
East
57
In which direction does the Sun set on the equinox?
West
58
What are the areas on the surface of the Sun that are cooler than the rest of the Sun's surface?
Sunspots
59
How long is a year, and what does the Earth do in that time?
365 days, revolves around the Sun one time
60
What does the Earth do in one day?
Rotates on axis once
61
All the planets orbit the Earth in a plane called the...
Ecliptic
62
What force keeps the planets in motions around the Sun?
Gravity
63
The first four planets are called the...
Terrestrial planets
64
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are called...
Gas Giants
65
Terrestrial planets are...
Rocky, small, few moons
66
Gas Giants are...
Gas with small cores, very large, many moons, rings
67
What is a space rock that reaches Earth's surface?
Meteorite
68
What is made of bits of ice, rock, methane, and ammonia?
A comet
69
Who first proposed the model of the Solar System that had the Sun at the center?
Copernicus
70
What produces energy in stars?
Atoms fusing together to make different elements
71
What does a star's color tell astronomers?
How hot it is
72
What can astronomers learn by looking at the spectrum of a star?
Composition - what it's made up
73
What will be the final fate of the Sun?
Will become a dwarf
74
What is a black hole?
Final fate of a star, gravity is so intense not even light can escape it
75
Star groups which form patterns are called...
Constellations
76
Which star sits due north in the night sky
Polaris north star
77
What is a light year?
The distance light travels in a year
78
Earth is part of which galaxy?
The Milky Way
79
Unequal heating of Earth and its atmosphere causes
Weather
80
What do we call the extra energy needed to change the phase of a material without changing it's temperature?
Latent heat
81
What is created by differences in air pressure?
Wind
82
Why does warm air rise?
Less dense than surrounding air
83
Three main types of clouds...
Cirrus, stratus, cumulus
84
A puffy cloud that might grow vertically is a...
Cumulus
85
A layer cloud that covers the whole sky is a...
Stratus
86
A thin, wispy cloud made up of ice crystals is a...
Cirrus
87
In weather, what does a front seperate?
Different types of air
88
What is the weather like in high pressure areas?
Cooler, less humid, clear skies
89
What is the weather like in low pressure areas?
Cloudy, warmer, more humid, sometimes rainy / snowy
90
What type of fronts bring a gradual change in weather and long periods of precipitation?
Warm front
91
What type of fronts bring rapid changes in weather and possible large storms?
Cold front
92
What scale is used to measure the strength of a tornado?
Fujita Scale
93
The band of high speed winds in the atmosphere which steer storm systems are called...
Jet streams
94
How can you tell how far away lightning strucl?
Every 5 seconds that pass is 1 mile
95
Long -term averages in temperature and precipitation determine an area's...
climate
96
What is desalination?
Process of removing salt from water to obtain drinkable water
97
In which two places are most of the Earth's freshwater contained?
Glaciers and ice caps
98
What is an underground layer of rocks that holds water?
An aquifer
99
What is the water cycle?
Recycling process where water travels underground to the surface to the atmosphere

Earth and Planetary Science (1 decks)

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