Science 10AcademicName______
Unit Test
Part A Selected Response: Select the correct answer for each question by CIRCLING only the correct LETTER. (10 points)
1.Which surface absorbs the most solar energy?
A) a snowy field B) a polar ice cap
C) a glacierD) a flowing river
2.If you burn your hand by touching the handle of a hot pot, what is the method of heat transfer?
A) conductionB) convection
C) radiationD) vaporization
3.Which type of radiant energy is not a component of solar energy?
A) infrared B) ultraviolet
C) microwavesD) visible light
4.Why does a body of water change temperature slowly in comparison to land?
A) Soil has a much lower heat of vaporization
B) Soil has a lower value of heat capacity (c) than water
C) Soil reflects more light than water
D)Soil conducts the warmth far below the surface
5.If the weather today is cold, with a clear blue sky and light breezes, what is the most likely explanation?
A) a high pressure systemB) a low pressure system
C) a cold frontD) a warm front
6.Which of the following latitudes will have the fastest surface speed due to Earth’s rotation?
A) North PoleB) Temperate zone
C) Tropic of CancerD) Equator
7.Which of the following describes a layer of featureless clouds that create rain?
A) altocumulusB) cumulostratus
C) cirronimbusD) nimbostratus
8.Which of the following clouds create thunderstorms?
A) altostratusB) cumulostratus
C) nimbocumulusD) stratus
9.The weather in Bridgewater on a particular day is very warm and humid, but the weather in Moncton , New Brunswick (to the West) is very cool and dry. What change should you expect within the next day or two?
A) No change because the weather in Moncton will not affect Bridgewater. B) A warm front is approaching so be prepared for a long period of steady rain.
C) A cold front is approaching so be prepared for a thunderstorm
D). A low pressure system is approaching so be prepared for strong winds.
Part B Selected Response: Write the correctletterin each blank to match the definition or description with the vocabulary term. (7 points)
10.Match the heat transfer definition by writing the letter next to the correct term. (4 pts)
a)Heat energy is passed by rising currents of gas or liquids. / __d___ absorptionb)The amount of energy needed to heat one gram of a pure substance by one degree Celsius = c. / __f___ conduction
c)Heat energy passes through empty space or clear materials as wave energy. / __a___ convection
d)Radiant energy does not pass through a material, but is “stopped” and converted to heat energy. / __h___ heat of fusion
e)Radiation does not pass through a material, but is turned back in the opposite direction. / __g___ heat of vaporization
f)Heat energy is passed from molecule to another by vibrations in solids. / __c____ radiation
g)The amount of energy absorbed in boiling one gram of a pure liquid. / __e___ reflection
h)The amount of energy released in freezing one gram of a pure liquid. / __b___specific heat capacity
11.Match the description by writing the correct letter next to the vocabulary term. (3 pts)
a)A factor that can change the density of water in oceans, creating surface currents. / __c___jet streamb)A factor that can change the direction of ocean currents / ___b__ shape of continents
c)A strong current of air (wind) high in the atmosphere / __a___salinity
d)An increase in the ocean’s water level due to a strong low pressure system. / _f____heat of condensation
e)A change in the direction of a current or air mass due to differences in the Earth’s speed of rotation at different latitudes. / ___d___storm surge
f)The source of energy for hurricanes / __e___Coriolis Effect
Part CConstructed Response: Answer in brief, complete sentences. Use diagrams where appropriate. (19 pts)
12.Explain how water’s high heat of vaporization prevents its temperature from changing easily. (1 pt)
When water warms, it loses a lot of heat to evaporation.
13.Describe how and when an onshore breeze is created. (2 pts)
Warm air rises over land during the day and cool air blows in from the ocean to replace it in a convection current.
14.What two factors are needed for a surface current to form? (2 pt)
Low density (warm or less saline) water and prevailing (constant) winds that blow in one direction.
15.Describe two of the three factors control the direction of ocean currents. (2 pts)
Ocean currents’ directions are controlled by the direction of prevailing winds, the Coriolis Effect (turns currents to the right in the north, to the left in the south), and the shape of continents (currents will follow the coastline).
16.Would you expect black asphalt or white sand to feel hotter on a sunny afternoon. Explain your answer. (2 pts)
Black asphalt would feel hotter. Black absorbs more energy than white sand, which would reflect the energy.
17.Why can someone die of dehydration in a desert but not in a rain forest at the same temperature? (2 pts)
Rainforest: many plants evaporate moisture (transpiration) into the air (saturated)- breath in nearly what you breath out.
Desert: air very dry. Breath out more water than you breath in (dehydration)
18.Describe three ways that a hurricane causes damage to coastal cities. (3 points)
Rising water due to storm surge cause flooding, and
Heavy rains and winds damage buildings and landscape.
Flooding and erosion result from water damage and winds damage building.
19.Sketch a cold front (as seen from the side) including cloud formation, and explain the typical pattern of weather (temperature and precipitation) you would experience as a cold front passes over you. (3 points)
As the front moves over you, there would be a short period of heavy rain, thunderstorm or snow. After the front passes, the weather will be much cooler.
20.How do oxygen and ozone protect us? (2 pts)
Oxygen and ozone absorb UV, protecting cells from the damage that causes cancer.
21.What gases prevent the Earth from quickly losing most heat to space as infrared radiation? (1 pt)
Greenhouse gases (water, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide) prevent the Earth from quickly losing most heat to space as infrared radiation. ****Water is most important.
22.What are jet streams AND where are they found? (2 pts)
Ribbons of extremely fast moving air near the top of the troposphere.
23.What is the relationship between ocean currents and solar energy? (1 pt)
Water absorbs a lot of solar energy and distributes (spreads) the energy over the Earth.
24.What two factors affect the density of sea water (causing it to rise or sink)? (2 pts)
Sea water is more dense if it is very cold or very salty (saline)
25.What two things are transported through the ocean on the “great ocean conveyor belt”? (2 pts)
Heat and Nutrients are distributed through the ocean
Part EScience Literacy –Read the article carefully BEFORE answering! Answer in brief, complete sentences. (8 points)Arctic Melt
Jan.9,2008
Earth's North and South Poles are famous for being cold and icy. Last year, however, the amount of ice in the Arctic Ocean fell to a record low.
Normally, ice builds in Arctic waters around the North Pole each winter and shrinks during the summer. But for many years, the amount of ice left by the end of summer has been declining.
Since 1979, each decade has seen an 11.4 percent drop in end-of-summer ice cover. Between 1981 and 2000, ice in the Arctic lost 22 percent of its thickness—becoming 1.13 meters (3.7 feet) thinner.
Last summer, Arctic sea ice reached its skimpiest levels yet. By the end of summer 2007, the ice had shrunk to cover just 4.2 million square kilometers. That's 38 percent less area than the average cover at that time of year. And it's a whopping 23 percent below the previous record low, which was set just 2 years ago. This continuing trend has scientists concerned.
There may be several reasons for the ice melt, says Jinlun Zhang, an oceanographer at the University of Washington in Seattle. Unusually strong winds blew through the Arctic last summer. The winds pushed much of the ice out of the central Arctic, leaving a large area of thin ice and open water.
Scientists also suspect (but haven't yet documented) that fewer clouds cover the Arctic now than in the past. Clearer skies allow more sunlight to reach the ocean. The extra heat warms both the water and the atmosphere.
Water in the area is definitely getting warmer. In parts of the Arctic Ocean last year, surface temperatures were 3.5° Celsius warmer than average and 1.5°C warmer than the previous record high.
With both air and water getting warmer, the ice is melting from both above and below. In some parts of the Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska and western Canada, ice that measured 3.3 m thick at the beginning of the summer measured just 50 centimeters by season's end.
The new measurements suggest that melting is far more severe than scientists have seen by just looking at ice cover from above, says Donald K. Perovich, a geophysicist at the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, N.H.
"There's a lot less ice there than we think," he says. "And the farther we go down this path, the harder it is to get back."
As more ice melts each summer, it takes longer for seawater to freeze each winter. Some scientists fear that the Arctic is stuck in a warming trend from which it may never recover.—Emily Sohn
Emily Sohn, “Artic Melt”, Science News for Kids, January 9, 2008
Accessed April 19, 2009,
Understanding (Information directly from the article): (3 pts)
- What is the normal pattern during a single year of the thickness or amount of Arctic ice?
Normally, the ice thins in the summer are forms again in the winter.
- What is happening to Arctic ice over time?
Over time the ice is disappearing.
- What are two of the three reasons for the increased amount of melting?
The melting is caused by: strong winds blowing the ice way
Warmer water temperatures
Fewer clouds allowing more sunlight
Connections (Things we should know from class): (5 points)
- Describe one of the two reasons why the winter season allows more ice to form.
During winter, the sun’s rays are less intense (lower angle) and the days are shorter (less daylight)
- What method of heat transfer is affected by cloud cover?
Cloud cover prevents solar radiation from reaching the surface.
- Describe one of the two factors that are necessary for clouds to form.
Clouds require a lot of humidity and condensation nuclei (dust particles)
- Why would less ice in the summer create a “warming trend”?
Ice reflects heat, so if the ice is not present, every summer will result in increased warming. (Even more heat is absorbed by liquid water)
- Describe one way that less Artic ice might influence weather in other parts of the world.
Any reasonable description of : surface or deep currents, air masses, the jet stream…
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