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Earth and Planetary Science > 100 key concepts > Flashcards

100 key concepts Flashcards

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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
Q

What does the Theory of Plate Tectonics tell scientist?

A

The crust is broken into plates that move

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26
Q

3 types of plate boundaries are…

A

Divergent, convergent, and transform

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27
Q

The last supercontient was called…

A

Pangaea

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28
Q

How do plates move along divergent boundaries?

A

Away / apart

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29
Q

How do plates move along convergent boundaries?

A

Together

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30
Q

How to plates more along transform boundaries?

A

Slide past each other

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31
Q

The only plate boundary found in the US is found…

A

Along the Pacific Coast

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32
Q

The shaking and trembling that happens from the movement of Earth’s crust are called…

A

Earthquakes

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33
Q

Three types of volcanoes are…

A

Shield, cinder cone, composite

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34
Q

Three land forms created by rivers are…

A

V-shaped valleys, canyons, deltas, gorges, waterfalls, floodplains, bluffs

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35
Q

Three land forms created by glaciers are…

A

U-shaped valleys, kettle lakes, ridges, hills, moraines

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36
Q

Three land forms created by plate movement are…

A

Mountains, volcanoes, rifts, trenches, fault lines, island arcs

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37
Q

Three land forms created by waves are…

A

Beaches, cliffs, sea stacks, caves, peninsulas, straits, or spits

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38
Q

What do contours show on a topographic map?

A

Points of similar elevation

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39
Q

4 primary eras that make up the Earth’s past are…

A

Pre-Cambrian time, Paleozoic era, Mesozoic era, and Cenozoic era

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40
Q

Which era accounts for 90% of the Earth’s past?

A

Pre-Cambrian

41
Q

What does the law of Superposition tell scientists?

A

If rocks are formed in layers, the rock in upper layer is younger than the rocks in lower layers

42
Q

How can the exact age of a rock be measured?

A

By analyzing the amount of radioactive decay that has occurred in the rock

43
Q

Estimated age of the Earth is…

A

4.6 billion years old

44
Q

What event pushed dinosaurs towards extinction 65 billion years ago?

A

Large comet or asteroid hitting the Earth

45
Q

When the visible portion of the moon is increasing, it is…

A

Waxing

46
Q

When the visible portions of the moon is decreasing, it is…

A

Waning

47
Q

How long does it take to travel through an entire moon cycle?

A

Slightly less than a month

48
Q

What causes the twice daily rise and fall of the oceans?

A

Gravitational pull of the moon on the Earth

49
Q

Earth orbits the Sun in an oval shaped called…

A

An eclipse

50
Q

When is the Earth closest to the Sun?

A

January 1st

51
Q

When is the Earth farthest away from the Sun?

A

July 4th

52
Q

What causes changes in the season?

A

The tilt of the Earth as it orbits the Sun

53
Q

What is the day where all of the Earth has 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness?

A

The Equinox

54
Q

When is the angle of the noontime Sun highest in the sky?

A

First day of Summer

55
Q

When is the angle of the noontime the lowest in the sky>

A

First day of Winter

56
Q

In which direction does the Sun rise on the equinox?

A

East

57
Q

In which direction does the Sun set on the equinox?

A

West

58
Q

What are the areas on the surface of the Sun that are cooler than the rest of the Sun’s surface?

A

Sunspots

59
Q

How long is a year, and what does the Earth do in that time?

A

365 days, revolves around the Sun one time

60
Q

What does the Earth do in one day?

A

Rotates on axis once

61
Q

All the planets orbit the Earth in a plane called the…

A

Ecliptic

62
Q

What force keeps the planets in motions around the Sun?

A

Gravity

63
Q

The first four planets are called the…

A

Terrestrial planets

64
Q

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are called…

A

Gas Giants

65
Q

Terrestrial planets are…

A

Rocky, small, few moons

66
Q

Gas Giants are…

A

Gas with small cores, very large, many moons, rings

67
Q

What is a space rock that reaches Earth’s surface?

A

Meteorite

68
Q

What is made of bits of ice, rock, methane, and ammonia?

A

A comet

69
Q

Who first proposed the model of the Solar System that had the Sun at the center?

A

Copernicus

70
Q

What produces energy in stars?

A

Atoms fusing together to make different elements

71
Q

What does a star’s color tell astronomers?

A

How hot it is

72
Q

What can astronomers learn by looking at the spectrum of a star?

A

Composition - what it’s made up

73
Q

What will be the final fate of the Sun?

A

Will become a dwarf

74
Q

What is a black hole?

A

Final fate of a star, gravity is so intense not even light can escape it

75
Q

Star groups which form patterns are called…

A

Constellations

76
Q

Which star sits due north in the night sky

A

Polaris north star

77
Q

What is a light year?

A

The distance light travels in a year

78
Q

Earth is part of which galaxy?

A

The Milky Way

79
Q

Unequal heating of Earth and its atmosphere causes

A

Weather

80
Q

What do we call the extra energy needed to change the phase of a material without changing it’s temperature?

A

Latent heat

81
Q

What is created by differences in air pressure?

A

Wind

82
Q

Why does warm air rise?

A

Less dense than surrounding air

83
Q

Three main types of clouds…

A

Cirrus, stratus, cumulus

84
Q

A puffy cloud that might grow vertically is a…

A

Cumulus

85
Q

A layer cloud that covers the whole sky is a…

A

Stratus

86
Q

A thin, wispy cloud made up of ice crystals is a…

A

Cirrus

87
Q

In weather, what does a front seperate?

A

Different types of air

88
Q

What is the weather like in high pressure areas?

A

Cooler, less humid, clear skies

89
Q

What is the weather like in low pressure areas?

A

Cloudy, warmer, more humid, sometimes rainy / snowy

90
Q

What type of fronts bring a gradual change in weather and long periods of precipitation?

A

Warm front

91
Q

What type of fronts bring rapid changes in weather and possible large storms?

A

Cold front

92
Q

What scale is used to measure the strength of a tornado?

A

Fujita Scale

93
Q

The band of high speed winds in the atmosphere which steer storm systems are called…

A

Jet streams

94
Q

How can you tell how far away lightning strucl?

A

Every 5 seconds that pass is 1 mile

95
Q

Long -term averages in temperature and precipitation determine an area’s…

A

climate

96
Q

What is desalination?

A

Process of removing salt from water to obtain drinkable water

97
Q

In which two places are most of the Earth’s freshwater contained?

A

Glaciers and ice caps

98
Q

What is an underground layer of rocks that holds water?

A

An aquifer

99
Q

What is the water cycle?

A

Recycling process where water travels underground to the surface to the atmosphere

Earth and Planetary Science (1 decks)

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