6th Grade Review Flashcards
1
Q
Name the planets in order starting with the one closest to the Sun.
A
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
2
Q
How can you remember the order of the planets?
A
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos.
3
Q
How are the 4 inner planets different from the 4 outer planets?
A
Inner planets are relatively small and rocky.
Outer planets are large and gaseous.
4
Q
Why isn’t Pluto included in the planets?
A
Pluto does not fit the profile of the outer planets; it is small and rocky and it cannot move other objects out of its orbital path.
5
Q
What is the largest planet?
A
The largest planet is Jupiter.
6
Q
What is the smallest planet?
A
The smallest planet is Mercury.
7
Q
What is found between Mars and Jupiter (it divides the inner and outer planets)?
A
Asteroid Belt
8
Q
What word describes the curved path the planets’ follow around the sun?
A
Elliptical
9
Q
What two things hold the planets in their orbits?
A
Inertia and Gravity
10
Q
What is it called when a planet or moon orbits around another object?
A
Revolution
11
Q
How long is the Earth’s revolution around the Sun?
A
About 1 year, (365 1/4 days)
12
Q
What is it called when a planet spins on its axis?
A
Rotation
13
Q
How long is the Earth’s rotation on it’s axis?
A
1 day, 24 hours
14
Q
What causes the seasons on Earth?
A
Tilt of Earth’s axis
15
Q
If a hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, what season is it?
A
Summer
16
Q
If a hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, What season is it?
A
Winter
17
Q
What causes the length of night and day to change during the year?
A
Changes within the seasons; tilt of Earth’s axis and the angle of the Sun.
18
Q
If the earth’s axis was not tilted, what would happen to the seasons?
A
There would be NO seasons.
19
Q
Does the distance that the Earth is away from the Sun effect the seasons?
A
No
20
Q
What causes day and night on Earth? (It also causes the Sun to appear to move across the sky during the day.)
A
Earth’s rotation on it’s axis.
21
Q
If the Sun appears directly overhead, what time of day is it?
A
Noon
22
Q
What causes the phases of the moon?
A
The revolution of the moon around the Earth and which part of the sunlight side of the moon we see.
23
Q
How long does it take for the moon to complete it’s phases?
A
About 1 month
24
Q
What are the four major phases of the moon?
A
New moon, 1st quarter, full moon, 3rd (last) quarter
25
What causes the tides on Earth?
Moon's gravity
26
If a beach area is directly aligned with the moon what type of tide will happen?
High tide
27
How often do the tides change each day?
Every 6 hours
28
How many high tides would you have each day? Low tides?
Two of each
29
Besides the moon, what object in our solar system could possibly increase the strength of the tides?
The Sun
30
What is it called when the moon blocks the sunlight from the Earth?
Solar eclipse
31
What is it called when the Earth blocks the sunlight from the moon?
Lunar eclipse
32
What determines the amount of gravitational pull for each planet?
Its mass
33
What are 3 major things that make Earth different than all of the other planets?
1. Protective atmosphere with oxygen
2. Large amount of water in all 3 states
3. Life
34
What are three things that all living organisms depend on?
1. Healthy environment
2. Clean air
3. Clean water
35
What do we call resources that are limited in supply (they will eventually run out)?
Nonrenewable resources
36
What are some nonrenewable resources?
coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power
37
What do we call resources that are not limited in supply (they can be replaces by nature)?
Renewable resources
38
What are some renewable resources?
water, sunlight, plant life, animal life
39
What is our top source of energy in the US and other industrialized countries?
Fossil fuels
40
Where do fossil fuels come from?
Long dead plants and animals
41
What is the major cause of pollution (causes acid rain)?
burning fossil fuels
42
what is the "wise and careful use of natural resources" called?
conservation
43
Who establishes regulations and programs to improve the quality of the air, water, and soil?
Government agencies
44
What are some things individuals can do to help conserve resources and protect the environment?
recycle, reduce/conserve
45
What is one of the biggest concerns with using nuclear power?
storing the harmful wastes
| **pollution prevention and waste management are much cheaper than cleanup.
46
What source of energy is responsible for the motion of the atmosphere, the oceans, and many processes at the Earth's surface like photosynthesis?
The Sun.
47
What is the transfer of energy from the Sun to the Earth's atmosphere called?
Radiation
48
What three types of light waves make up solar radiation?
1. Infrared
2. visible light
3. ultraviolet light (UV)
49
What distributes thermal energy in the atmosphere and oceans?
Convection currents (radiation heats the surface)
50
What greatly reduces the Sun's energy that reaches the Earth?
reflection and absorption of light
51
What is it called when gases in our atmosphere causes Earth to absorb more heat than it releases?
Greenhouse Effect
52
List the layers of the atmosphere starting with the one closest to Earth's surface and describe something about each.
1. troposphere - the air we breath, weather happens here.
2. stratosphere - ozone layer is here
3. mesosphere - protects against meteors
4. thermosphere - contains ionosphere; auroras are here.
5. exosphere - connects to outer space; satellites are here.
53
Which mixture of gases make up the air we breathe?
Nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and argon (plus water)
54
What is the moisture in our air called?
Humidity
55
Temperature and air pressure _____________ as altitude increases.
decrease
56
What measurement tool is used for each of the following;
1. air pressure -
2. humidity -
3. air temperature -
4. wind speed -
1. air pressure - barometer
2. humidity - hygrometer
3. air temperature - thermometer
4. wind speed - anemometer
57
What is formed when bodies of water absorb heat and water evaporates?
clouds
58
What are the three main types of clouds?
1. cirrus - wispy; sign of a change in weather
2. stratus - flat; sign of rain/snow
3. cumulus - puffy; sign of fair weather
59
What can form when lad is strongly heated?
thunderstorms
60
What can form when warm tropical water is strongly heated?
hurricanes
61
What is formed by a strong rotating column of air usually during a severe (super-cell) thunderstorm?
tornado
62
What type of weather is associated with the following systems;
1. low pressure
2. high pressure
3. cold front
4. warm front
1. low pressure - precipitation
2. high pressure - fair weather
3. cold front - stormy weather
4. warm front - gentle precipitation followed by mild conditions
63
What three things have the most effect on the weather conditions?
1. thermal energy
2. air pressure
3. water vapor
64
Why is water a unique compound?
Water can exist as a sold, liquid, and gas.
65
Why do water molecules "stick together" (cohesion) like magnets?
one side is positive and the other side is negative
66
Because water can dissolve so many things, it is often called _____________________.
Universal solvent
67
The climate near large bodies of water is often milder compared to other areas. Why?
They absorb heat during the summer and release it slowly during the winter
68
What happens to water when it freezes?
It expands (an exception to the thermal expansion rule)
69
Why does ice float in liquid water?
Ice has a density that is less than that of liquid water.
70
What is the freezing point of water on the Celsius scale?
0 C
71
What is the boiling point of water on the Celsius scale?
100 C
72
The breaking up of rock is called _________.
weathering
73
What are three examples of physical weathering by water?
Rain, ice, and snow wearing down rocks.
74
What is an example of chemical weathering by water?
Acid rain
75
What percent of the water on the Earth is salt water?
about 97%
76
What percent of the water on the Earth is non-frozen, freshwater?
Less than 1%
77
what is the rock layers beneath the Earth's surface that contain water called?
Aquifers
78
where else do we find a large amount of water stored besides oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, and aquifers?
Inside the bodies of organisms
79
Where were the first human settlements established?
Near bodies of water.
80
Water is essential for agriculture. What type of system is designed to provide water to crops?
Irrigation systems
81
What type of power is generated by the flow of water through a power plant (like the Hoover Dam)?
Hydroelectric power
82
What is one disadvantage of using hydroelectric power?
Must have a large water supply
83
What caused many of the disease outbreaks before the 1800's?
contamination of water by human waste/open sewers
84
What is the name for a living community and the nonliving factors that affect it?
ecosystems
85
What is the health of an ecosystem directly related to?
Quality of water.
86
What are some ways water quality is measured?
Temperature, salinity, pH, % dissolved oxygen, cloudiness (turbidity), and presence of macroinvertibrates
87
What is the name for the land that water travels across as it moves to a stream or lake?
watershed
88
Where do the watersheds in Virginia lead to?
Gulf of Mexico, North Carolina Sounds, or the Chesapeake Bay
89
Rivers and streams generally have wide, flat, border areas onto which water spills out at times of high flow. What are these border areas called?
Flood plains
90
What are areas between dry land and bodies of water called (they're usually saturated with water)?
Wetlands
91
What are areas called where freshwater and saltwater meet and are mixed by the tides?
Estuaries
92
Estuaries provide habitats for many organisms while serving as resting and nesting areas for many others. Where is the United States' largest estuary?
Chesapeake Bay
93
What kind of human activity can cause an increase of decrease erosion due to water?
plowing fields increase erosion vs. planting trees decrease erosion
94
What is the relationship between the speed of water and the size of sediment it can carry?
The faster the water flows, the bigger sediment it can carry.
95
The invention of what instrument allowed scientists to learn more about our solar system?
Telescope
96
The moon orbits the _________________ and it orbits the _____________.
Earth, Sun
97
Yuri Gagarin
Russian, 1st person in space
98
Sputnik
Russian, 1st satellite in space
99
Alan Shepard
1st American in space
100
John Glenn
1st American to complete an orbit of the Earth
101
Neil Armstrong
1st person walk on the moon
102
Apollo 11
1st mission to the moon
103
Ptolemy/Aristotle
they thought earth was the center of the solar system (geocentric)
104
Copernicus/Galileo
Concluded that the Sun was the center of the solar system (heliocentric)
105
Coldest planet
Neptune
106
Red planet
Mars
107
Earth's twin
Venus
108
Warmest planet
Mercury
109
Planet with the most visible rings
Saturn
110
Planet with the most moons
Saturn
111
Giant red spot
Jupiter
