Mini Test - Earth And Space Science

Question 1

What are fossil fuels?

Answer 1

Substances such as oil, coal and natural gas have formed from the remains of organisms. They are used as fuel when they are burnt in order to produce heat. Eg. Coal generates electricity. Natural gas, crude oil.

Question 2

Biofuels

Answer 2

Fuels manufactured from plant or animal materials. Eg. Biogas (methane + carbon dioxide) and ethanol (E10 is a blend of petrol and methane).

Question 3

Biomass

Answer 3

Material produced by living organisms.

Question 4

Fractional Distillation

Answer 4

Distillation of a mixture of substances with different boiling points. The heavier hydrocarbons have higher melting points and condense to a liquid at the lowest part of the cooling column.

Question 5

Plastics

Answer 5

Synthetic substances,capable of being moulded. Eg. Plastics make everything including PVC pipes used for water drainage (light, rigid, doesn’t corrode).

Question 6

Polymers

Answer 6

Plastics made up of monomers joined together in a long chain. Polyethylene (disposable plastics) and nylon.

Question 7

Chemiluminescence

Answer 7

Light produced from chemical reactions. Eg. Glow sticks

Bioluminescence (fireflies have luciferases which cause a chemical reaction to make them glow)

Question 8

What is the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram?

Answer 8

Absolute brightness plotted against it’s surface temperature (deduced from its colour) so that when these figures are plotted, most fall into the “main sequence”.

Question 9

Apparent Magnitude

Answer 9

Measure of how bright a star will appear from Earth (depends on the amount of light the star emits and its distance from Earth).

Question 10

Absolute Magnitude

Answer 10

Measure of how much light an object emits (how bright a star would appear to us if the star was 10 parsecs/310 trillion km from Earth).

Question 11

Doppler Effect

Answer 11

Observed change in the frequency of a wave when the wave source and observer are moving in relation to each other.

Question 12

How can the Electromagnetic Spectrum determine when stars are moving?

Answer 12

By identifying the wavelengths of the colours from the electromagnetic spectrum, astronomers can find out which elements are present in the stars.

Question 13

Red Shift

Answer 13

A shift to a lower, redder frequency. Results from a star’s movement away from the Earth.

Question 14

Blue Shift

Answer 14

A shift the a higher, bluer frequency. Results from a star’s movement towards the Earth.

Question 15

Constellations

Answer 15

Groups of stars that were given a particular name because of the shape they seem to form when observed from Earth.

Question 16

Nebulae

Answer 16

Clouds of dust that may be pulled together by gravity and heat up to form a star.

Question 17

Galaxies

Answer 17

Very large groups of dust and gas held together by gravity.

Question 18

Parallax

Answer 18

Apparent movement of close stars against the background of distant stars when viewed from different positions around the Earth’s orbit.

Question 19

How does a supernova formate and destruct?

Answer 19

Stars that are over eight times larger in mass than the sun come to a very violent end. They swell to be larger that red giants and become supergiants. They then blow up, creating a supernova. The matter making up the star is hurled into space along with huge amounts of energy. Supernovas are seen every 200-300 years. They release iron and lead. The next is expected in 2022.

Question 20

Hubble’s Law

Answer 20

The further away the galaxy is, the greater its red shift (it moves away from us faster).

Question 21

Big Bang Theory

Answer 21

A theory which states that the universe began about 15 billion years ago with the explosive expansion of a singularity.

Question 22

Planet

Answer 22

Large object that orbits a star. Planets do not produce their own light.

Question 23

Hydrosphere

Answer 23

The waters. Includes water and dissolved carbon dioxide.

Question 24

Atmosphere

Answer 24

The air. Includes oxygen, methane, carbon dioxide and ozone.

Question 25

Lithosphere

Answer 25

The soil. Includes hummus in the soil, rocks, limestone, coal and oil.

Question 26

Biota

Answer 26

The living things. Includes carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and organic compounds.

Question 27

Biosphere

Answer 27

Earth’s life support system.