Intro to Earth Science

Question 1

List the 5 subjects that are part of Earth Science.

Answer 1

MA GOES!
Meteorology, Astronomy, Geology, Oceanography, and Environmental Science

Question 2

The study of the solid parts of Earth.

Answer 2

Geology

Question 3

The study of the universe and Earth’s place in it.

Answer 3

Astronomy

Question 4

The study of the waters of the Earth.

Answer 4

Oceanography

Question 5

The study of the interactions between living things and their surroundings.

Answer 5

Environmental Science

Question 6

The study of the atmosphere.

Answer 6

Meteorology

Question 7

This kind of scientist might study waves, tides, and currents.

Answer 7

Oceanographer

Question 8

This kind of scientist might study stars, planets, and galaxies.

Answer 8

Astronomer

Question 9

This kind of scientist might study rocks, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

Answer 9

Geologist

Question 10

This kind of scientist might study ecosystems and the organisms in them.

Answer 10

Environmental Scientist

Question 11

This kind of scientist might study weather, climate, and clouds.

Answer 11

Meteorologist

Question 12

A pseudoscience (a false science) that uses actual information about the stars and planets, but then makes claims without evidence about how the stars and planets influence our lives.

Answer 12

Astrology

Question 13

List the spheres that make up the Earth.

Answer 13

Four required spheres: Atmosphere, Biosphere, Geosphere, Hydrosphere.
Three bonus spheres: Cryosphere, Cosmosphere, Atmosphere.

Question 14

The entire solid part of the Earth, from the surface to the core.

Answer 14

Geosphere

Question 15

The part of the Earth made up of liquid water.

Answer 15

Hydrosphere

Question 16

The part of the Earth modified by people.

Answer 16

Anthrosphere

Question 17

The part of Earth made of gases surrounding the planet.

Answer 17

Atmosphere

Question 18

The part of Earth made up of living things.

Answer 18

Biosphere

Question 19

The part of Earth made of ice.

Answer 19

Cryosphere

Question 20

The universe beyond the sphere of the Earth.

Answer 20

Cosmosphere

Question 21

Lines across a globe that measure the angle above or below the equator.

Answer 21

Latitude

Question 22

Lines up and down a globe that measure the angle away from the prime meridian.

Answer 22

Longitude

Question 23

A line wrapping around the Earth from east to west - it is measured as zero degrees latitude.

Answer 23

Equator

Question 24

A north-south line passing through Greenwich, England that is measured as zero degrees of longitude.

Answer 24

Prime Meridian

Question 25

A line that is 23.5 degrees north of the equator, which separates tropical from temperate regions.

Answer 25

Tropic of Cancer

Question 26

A line that is 23.5 degrees south of the equator, which separates tropical from temperate regions.

Answer 26

Tropic of Capricorn

Question 27

A line that is 23.5 degrees south of the north pole, which separates polar from temperate regions (it is at 66.5 degrees of latitude).

Answer 27

Arctic Circle

Question 28

A line that is 23.5 degrees north of the south pole, which separates polar from temperate regions (it is at 66.5 degrees of latitude).

Answer 28

Antarctic Circle

Question 29

A line that is 180 degrees around the Earth from the prime meridian, where the calendar changes from one day to the next.

Answer 29

International Date Line

Question 30

What happens when you cross the International Date Line?

Answer 30

The calendar changes by one day - if you are traveling east, you go back to yesterday. If you are traveling west, you jump up to tomorrow! Time travel is real!

Question 31

The imaginary line that goes through the center of the Earth, from the North Pole to the South Pole. We rotate around this line daily.

Answer 31

Axis

Question 32

What is a unique feature of the Earth’s axis?

Answer 32

It is tilted 23.5 degrees.

Question 33

Why does the Earth have seasons?

Answer 33

The axis is tilted towards the Sun in the summer and away from the Sun in the winter.

Question 34

Why are all the major lines of latitude found at 23.5 degrees? (The major lines include the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, as well as the Arctic and Antarctic Circles)

Answer 34

Because these lines are defined by the tilt of the axis.

Question 35

Which part of the Earth is found between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, crossing the equator along the way?

Answer 35

The Tropical Zone

Question 36

Which part of the Earth if found either north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle?

Answer 36

The Polar Zones

Question 37

Which part of the Earth is found between the tropical zones and the polar zones (from the Tropic of Cancer to the Arctic Circle, or from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Antarctic Circle).

Answer 37

The Temperate Zones

Question 38

This is the only place on Earth where you can see the Midnight Sun in summer and the Noon Darkness in winter.

Answer 38

Polar Zones

Question 39

This is the only place on Earth where the Sun can be directly overhead.

Answer 39

Tropical Zones.

Question 40

The Sun would be directly overhead at these locations only one day of the year (on the Summer Solstice)

Answer 40

The Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn

Question 41

The Midnight Sun and the Noon Darkness are only visible on one day of the year at these locations.

Answer 41

The Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle

Question 42

Give the latitude and longitude of Lake Tahoe.

Answer 42

39 degrees north by 120 degrees west.

Question 43

What happens when a person makes a map of the Earth? Why?

Answer 43

The map is distorted because the mapmaker converted a 3-D sphere into a flat image.

Question 44

What parts of the Earth are the most distorted when making maps of the Earth?

Answer 44

The poles (think of how Greenland is often shown as the same size as South America, when in reality it is much smaller).