Earth and Space Flashcards
1
Q
What is the coriolis effect?
A
It explains the movement of air masses and water on Earth and creates currents. It is created by the east to west rotation of Earth.
2
Q
What is air moisture?
A
It is water vapor cooling that forms dew and rain
3
Q
Explain the tilt of the Earth
A
The tilt causes seasons
4
Q
Plate tectonics
A
Theory that explains the movement of plates below the Earth’s surface. It can cause earthquakes, mountains, volcanoes and trenches
5
Q
Igneous rock
A
Formed from cooled magma below the surface, granite is an example
6
Q
Role of air patterns
A
Air patterns are developed with Earth’s rotation and Sun’s heating which creates winds
7
Q
Explain geysers
A
Natural springs of hot water that breaks the surface
8
Q
Sedimentary rock
A
Rock of sediment cemented together by the pressure of layers of Earth over millions of years
9
Q
Metamorphic rock
A
Formed by heat and pressure below the surface.
10
Q
How do clouds form?
A
When water vapor cool in the atmosphere, condenses and clings to particles called aerosols, these come together and form clouds
11
Q
What is a weather front?
A
Boundary of two masses of different air temperatures.
12
Q
Warm fronts
A
They produce warm conditions
13
Q
Cold fronts
A
Can produce thunderstorms
14
Q
Cloud types
A
Cirrus: Feathery, can produce rain or snow. high in the atmosphere
Cumulonimbus; Vertical, Can produce thunderstorms
Cumulus: Puffy, calmer weather
Stratus: Low and gray. Light rain
15
Q
Planets in order
A
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
16
Q
What are asteroids?
A
Large rocks that orbit the Sun, made of rock and metal, there is an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
17
Q
What are moons?
A
Natural satellite.
18
Q
Earth Moon
A
It’s cycle is 27.3 days long, only one side is visible, it has 1/5 of the Earth’s gravity
19
Q
How many days for the Earth to revolve around the Sun?
A
365 1/4 days
20
Q
How long for Earth to rotate on its axis?
A
24h
21
Q
How does the Sun produce energy?
A
Through nuclear fusion. Heat and pressure help hydrogen fuse and combine
22
Q
Explain the lunar cycle
A
New Moon: Completely dark Waxing Crescent: Crescent of sunlight First Quarter: Right half illuminated Waxing Gibbous: More than half illuminated Full Moon: Completely illuminated Waning Gibbous: Small shadow Last Quarter: Opposite of first quarter Waning Crescent: Crescent on left side
23
Q
What is a mineral?
A
Naturally occurring, inorganic solids with a definite chemical composition and a crystal structure
24
Q
What is geology?
A
Study of planet Earth
25
What is intrusive?
Magma that solidifies at a depth, cools slowly and has coarse grain. Granite
26
What is extrusive?
Magma that solidifies at or near the surface and cools quickly. Basalt
27
Layers of the Earth
Crust: Cool, solid rock floating on a denser rock beneath
Mantle: Hot playdoh that moves slowly
Outer core: Super hot liquid rock
Inner core: Solid chunk of nickel and iron
28
What are contour lines?
Lines that help show elevations above the surface of the Earth and ocean floor
29
How is a mountain formed?
By folding, faulting, volcanic activity or erosion.
30
What is folding?
Layers of sedimentary rock are pressed together by plate movements. The Alps and Himalayas
31
What is faulting?
Created when tectonic plate movement produces tension that results in displacement.
32
Continental crust
Silicon, oxygen and aluminum
33
Oceanic crust
Silicon, oxygen and magnesium
34
Divergent boundary
Plates spreading apart and forming new crust
35
Convergent boundary
One plate gets under another
36
Transform plate boundary
Plates slide sideways past each other
37
Volcanic activity and divergent boundary
Plates spread apart and form a ridge
38
Volcanic activity and convergent boundary
Subduction process creates magma and when it rises to the surface, volcanoes can be formed
39
Types of volcanoes
Shield: Created by long term, gentle eruption
Cinder cone: Created by explosive eruptions
Composite: Combination of shield and cinder cone
40
Static deformation
Permanently displaces the ground
41
Dynamic deformation
Dynamic motion that take the form of seismic waves
42
Richter scale
Measures how much seismic energy was released by the earthquake
43
How do earthquakes happen?
Plates rub against each other, elastic energy builds up around the point of friction, eventually the elastic energy overcomes the friction and plates break free, releasing all their energy as an earthquake
44
What is erosion?
Wearing away of rock materials from the Earth's surface.
Can be natural or due to human activity
45
Mechanical weathering
Water and wind carry abrasive particles that weather rock. Solar energy and cooling can cause cracks.
46
Chemical weathering
Rain water becomes acidic and this wears down rock
47
Water cycle
Precipitation: Condensed water vapor fall to the Earth in the form of rain
Evaporation: Liquid water changes to gas
Condensation: Water vapor changes to liquid
48
What is deposition?
Process in which previously eroded material is added to a land form
49
Radioactive dating
Process that compares the amount of radioactive material in a rock to the amount that has decayed
50
Extinction events of Earth
```
Ordovician-Silurian
Permian-Triassic
Late Devonian
Triassic-Jurassic
Cretaceous-Tertiary
```
51
Uniformitarianism
The present is key to the past and slow processes have shaped the Earth
52
Catastrophism
Earth was shaped by sudden, short-term events
53
Superposition
Underground layers closer to the Earth's surface were deposited recently
54
What is stratigraphy?
Study of rock layers and layering
55
What are fossils?
Preservations of plants, animals or remains or their traces that date back 10,000 years ago.
56
Atmospheric layers
Troposphere: Where weather occurs
Stratosphere: Ozone is found here, Jet streams
Mesosphere: Coldest temperature. Protection from meteroids
Thermosphere: Air very thin and high temperature
Exosphere: Outermost layer
57
What is the hydrosphere?
Layer of water that covers the Earth
58
Paleozoic era
Supercontinent Pannotia started to break up, by the end of the era, Pangaea had formed.
59
How did the Earth form?
Its development began after a supernova exploded, this led to the formation of the Sun out of hydrogen gas and interstellar dust, the same elements swirled around and formed the planets.
60
Cenozoic era
The present, Pangea continued to drift and the continents took their current position
61
Mesozoic era
Era of the dinosaurs and their extinction
62
What is a tsunami?
Series of waves with long wavelength and period
63
What is the Beaufort Wind Scale?
Assigns a numerical value to wind conditions and the appearance at sea
64
What causes tides?
The gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon
65
What is a black smoker?
A type of hydrothermal vent formed when superheated water from below the Earth's crust emerges from the ocean floor
66
What is the carbon cycle?
It begins with photosynthesis, plants take CO2 and convert it into energy, other organisms then eat it and bacteria later releases it back into the atmosphere but the organism could also be buried and eventually become a fossil fuel or the carbon can become part of sedimentary rock that then is spewed out by a volcano
67
What is El Niño?
It is a climate pattern that last 6-18 months and causes weather different to the expected seasonal patterns and variations. They cause events such as droughts, heavy rain and flooding.
68
What is meteorology?
Study of the atmosphere, forecasting weather and its processes
69
Measurements of atmospheric conditions
Temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, pressure, wind speed and direction.
70
What is latitude?
Distance from the equator
71
High latitude ecosystems
Tundra and taiga
72
Mid latitude ecosystem
Grassland, temperate forest, chaparral
73
Tilt of the Earth
23.5º on its axis
74
What are breezes?
Result of different capacities for absorbing heat of the ocean and the land
75
What is wind?
Result of air moving by convection
76
What are thunderstorms?
They form when there is moisture to form rain clouds, unstable air and lift. Thunder is a sonic shock wave caused by the rapid expansion of air around lightning
77
What are cyclones?
Large air masses rotating in the same direction as Earth
78
What is a cold front?
Mass of cold air that moves into a warm air front, producing clouds, rain, thunder and lightning
79
What is a stationary front?
When a warm and cold front meet but neither is strong enough to move the other.
80
What is an occluded front?
When a cold front pushes into a warm front, the warm air rises and the two masses of cool air join.
81
Symbols for each front
Cold front: blue line with triangles pointing in the direction of movement
Warm front: Red line with semicircles pointing in the direction of movement
Stationary front: Blue line with red semicircles and triangles pointing in opposite directions
Occluded front: Purple line with alternating semicircles and triangles
82
What is astronomy?
Study of celestial objects and their positions, movements and structures
83
How was the universe created?
Big Bang, huge explosion that spread the matter into space, the universe is still expanding
84
What is an AU?
Astronomical Unit. 1 AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun
85
What is a light year?
1 light year is the distance that light travel in a vacuum in one year
86
Star life cycle
There are two paths for a star
Stellar nebula - Red Giant - Planetary Nebula - White Dwarf
Stellar nebula - Red Supergiant - Supernova - Neutron Star
87
What is a protostar?
Developing star not hot enough to do nuclear fusion. If it doesn't get hot enough, it'll become a brown giant
88
What is a nebula?
Cloud of dust and gas composed primarily of hydrogen and helium
89
Spectral classification
Hottest to coolest: Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me
O: Blue
A: White
G: Yellow
M: Red
90
Parts of the sun
Photosphere: Surface
Chromosphere: Red layer
Corona: Outer layer
91
How is the Sun's energy created?
Through nuclear fusion. Hydrogen is converted to helium and gamma rays
92
What is the Kuiper Belt?
Belt of small, icy objects beyond Neptune's orbit
93
What is a comet?
Small icy body with a tail of gas
94
What is a meteroid?
Small piece of rock.
95
What is an asteroid?
Minor planet made of metal and rock
96
What is a dwarf?
Object big enough to have a gravitational force but not big enough to clear the space around it
97
What is an equinox?
The length of day and night is roughly equal
98
What is a solstice?
Days with most or least amount of sunlight
