Unit One

Question 1

What is astronomy?

Answer 1

The study of objects beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

Question 2

What is meteorology?

Answer 2

A branch of earth science that deals with Earth’s atmosphere.

Question 3

What is geology?

Answer 3

The study of materials that make up the Earth and the processes that form and change the materials.

Question 4

What is oceanography?

Answer 4

The study of Earth’s oceans.

Question 5

What is the difference between an observation and an inference?

Answer 5

Observations involve using the senses, while inferences are interpretations based on observation.

Question 6

What do measurements have?

Answer 6

A number and a unit.

Question 7

What is matter?

Answer 7

Anything that has mass and volume.

Question 8

What is mass? What units are used? How do you find it?

Answer 8

Mass is the amount of matter in an object. It is measured in grams, (g). You find it my multiplying density by volume, (m = D x V).

Question 9

What is weight?

Answer 9

Weight is a measure of the pull of gravity on an object.

Question 10

What is volume? What units are used? How do you find it?

Answer 10

Volume is the amount of space an object takes up. It is measured in either milliliters, (ml), or centimeters cubed, (cm³). You find it my dividing mass by density, (V = m/D).

Question 11

What is density? What units are used? How do you find it?

Answer 11

Density is the amount of mass in a specific volume of a substance. It is measured in either grams per milliliter, (g/ml), or in grams per centimeter cubed, (g/cm³). You find it by dividing mass by volume, (D = m/v).

Question 12

How do you make a substance more dense using temperature? Less?

Answer 12

Usually, heating a substance makes it less dense, and cooling it makes it denser.

Question 13

How do you make a substance more dense using pressure? Less?

Answer 13

Increasing the pressure on a substance makes it denser, and decreasing the pressure makes it less dense.

Question 14

How does breaking a pure substance into smaller pieces affect it’s density?

Answer 14

It does not change the substance’s density.

Question 15

What substances are most dense as solids?

Answer 15

All substances except water.

Question 16

Why is water special in the aspect of density?

Answer 16

Water is most dense as a liquid. At 4ºC (actually 3.98ºC), the density of water is exactly 1.00g/mL. Ice is less dense than liquid water.

Question 17

What happens when the environment changes?

Answer 17

Energy is lost by one part of the environment (the source), and gained by another (the sink).

Example: The winds of a hurricane (source of energy) are absorbed by trees and other structures (energy sink) causing damage or erosion.

Question 18

Where does the exchange of energy occur?

Answer 18

The exchange of energy occurs at an interference or boundary between the affected parts of the environment.

Question 19

What natural state is the environment in?

Answer 19

The environment is in a state of natural equilibrium. This equilibrium is frequently altered on a small scale, but is then restored by natural processes.

Question 20

What can graphing data reveal?

Answer 20

Patterns about the natural environment.

Question 21

What are changes that occur in definite patterns called?

Answer 21

Cyclic and predictable.

Question 22

What can relationships between variables be described using?

Answer 22

Simple line graphs.

Question 23

How do you find the rate of change?

Answer 23

Change in value over change in time.

Question 24

What is the shape of the earth?

Answer 24

An oblate spheroid.

Question 25

What happens to the Earth's shape at the equator?

Answer 25

It bulges slightly.

Question 26

What would any drawing of the earth have to be to be accurate?

Answer 26

A perfect sphere, because Earth is like a pool ball (round and smooth).

Question 27

Where is the force of gravity greater?

Answer 27

The poles.

Question 28

What does a ship appear to do over the horizon?

Answer 28

Disappear, because the earth is rounded.

Question 29

As you move north from the equator, what happens to the altitude of Polaris?

Answer 29

Increases from 0 to 90.

Question 30

What provides the best evidence for Earth's shape?

Answer 30

Pictures from space.

Question 31

How do latitude lines run?

Answer 31

Parallel from east to west across the earth.

Question 32

What are latitude lines also called?

Answer 32

Parallels.

Question 33

The equator is _º latitude.

Answer 33

0.

Question 34

Everything above the equator is _____ ________.

Answer 34

North latitude.

Question 35

Everything below the equator is _____ ________.

Answer 35

South latitude.

Question 36

What are longitude lines also called?

Answer 36

Meridians.

Question 37

Where do longitude lines converge?

Answer 37

At the North and South Poles.

Question 38

Where is the Prime Meridian?

Answer 38

Zero degrees and runs through Greenwich, England.

Question 39

What is considered to be the Western Hemisphere?

Answer 39

Everything to the west of the Prime Meridian.

Question 40

What is considered to be the Eastern Hemisphere?

Answer 40

Everything to the east of the Prime Meridian.

Question 41

How do you calculate time zone from longitude?

Answer 41

Earth rotates at 15 degrees/hour, so time zones are separated by roughly 15º.

Question 42

How can degrees of latitude be divided?

Answer 42

Into minutes ('), where 60' = 1 degree.

Question 43

What is the altitude of Polaris?

Answer 43

Latitude (in the Northern Hemisphere).