Earth & Environmental Science Final Review Packet Name:______
Part 1 - Scientific Method (Chapter 1, Lesson 2)
1. Draw examples of the following types of graphs:
a. bar graph b. line graph c. pie chart
2. In what situations do you use each of the different types of graphs?
a. bar graph b. line graph c. pie chart
3. Larry was told that a certain muscle cream was the newest best thing on the market and claims to double a person’s muscle power when used as part of a muscle-building workout. Interested in this product, he buys the special muscle cream and recruits Patrick and SpongeBob to help him with an experiment. Larry develops a special marshmallow weight-lifting program for Patrick and SpongeBob. He meets with them once every day for a period of 2 weeks and keeps track of how many marshmallows they can lift. Before each session Patrick’s arms and back are lathered in the muscle cream, while Sponge Bob’s arms and back are lathered with the regular lotion.
Which person is in the control group?
What is the independent variable?
What is the dependent variable?
4. What are controlled variables (a.k.a. constants”)? Why are they important to maintain?
5. What is the purpose of a control group?
Part 2 - Atmosphere, Weather, and Climate (Chapters 11-14, Holt Chapter 7, Lessons 6-17)
1. Rank these gases in order from highest to lowest concentration of earth’s atmosphere: carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, argon
2. Circle the words that best complete the sentence: Molecules in a substance with a high temperature move (fast or slowly), while molecules in a substance with a low temperature move (fast or slowly).
3. What are the three types of heat transfer? Give an example of each!
4. What molecule is important because it blocks harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun?
5. Describe what happens to temperature as you travel higher into the troposphere.
6. Describe what happens to air pressure as you travel higher into the troposphere.
7. In which layer of the atmosphere is the ozone layer found?
8. What would be the long term effect if the ozone layer were destroyed? *Remember what ozone blocks!*
9. What are condensation nuclei, and why are they important for cloud formation?
10. Define and draw a picture of orographic lifting. Be sure to label the windward side of the mountains and the leeward side.
.
11. Which is more dense, warm air or cold air (circle one)?
12. Why does warm air rise at a front and cold air stays close to the ground?
13. Draw a convection cell. Label the high and low pressure arrows.
14. What is wind? What causes it?
15. The______Effect, where winds curve to their right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere, occurs due to the ______ of Earth.
16. Draw a low pressure system and a high pressure system. Compare the weather.
17. Describe cumulonimbus, stratus and cirrus clouds.
18. Which layer of the atmosphere is weather found in?
19. Circle the words that best complete the sentence: Air always moves from (high or low) pressure to (high or low) pressure.
20. Write the characteristics and full names of the air masses with the correct source region below.
Full Name / Symbol / Forms Over / Characteristics:Maritime polar / mP / Cold ocean / Cool and humid
21. What is a front?
22. Describe the four types of fronts
Warm Front / Cold Front / Stationary Front / Occluded FrontHow does it form
Associated Weather
Symbol
23. Which front will produce precipitation for the longer period of time?
24. Fill in the blanks using the following word blank
water vapor evaporation dew point latent Fahrenheit
temperature heat convection condensation coalesce
Heat and temperature are not the same______is a measure of how rapidly or slowly molecules move. In contrast, ______ is the transfer of energy that takes place because of temperature differences. Temperature can be measured in degrees Fahrenheit, degrees Celsius, or Kelvins. The most commonly used temperature scale in the United States is ______. The atmosphere’s temperature plays a role in the formation of rain. The first step in cloud formation is when liquid water on the earth’s surface under goes______and turns into a gas. Now in the atmosphere, ______ turns from a gas back into liquid cloud droplets through ______This process releases ______ heat. Those cloud droplets ______ together and eventually form drops big enough to fall from the sky as precipitation. The heat released goes on to fuel more______cells. ***Air must be saturated before condensation can occur. Saturation is the point at which the air holds as much water vapor as it possibly can. The
Use the diagram below to answer the following question.
25. Which is the process of water vapor changing to a liquid?
a. Condensation
b. Convection
c. Radiation
d. Transpiration
26. What is the main energy source behind the water cycle?
a. Earth’s internal core energy
b. Sun’s radiation
c. Moon’s gravitational attraction
d. Radioactive decay of elements
27. Describe the formation of a thunderstorm. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate vocabulary words. No word will be used twice.
Vocabulary:
Lift Updrafts Coalesce Downdrafts
Cooled Condenses Moisture Latent
Precipitation Convection Cell Warmer cools
In order for a thunderstorm to form, there must be abundant ______in the lower atmosphere, a mechanism to ______ the air, and the portion of the atmosphere through which the cloud grows must be______. Air can only rise if it is ______ than the air around it. During the first stage of thunderstorm development, air rises vertically creating ______Moisture ______ into cloud droplets, releasing______heat. Those cloud droplets ______and eventually form precipitation. During the mature stage, ______ falls and cools the air around it. Cool air sinks creating ______. Updrafts and downdrafts form a ______. During the final stage, downdrafts eventually ______the area where the warm air was fueling the storm. Updrafts stop, and the storm rains out the rest of its precipitation.
28. Describe the formation of a tropical cyclone (hurricane). Fill in the blanks with the appropriate vocabulary words. No word will be used twice.
Vocabulary:
Coalesce Coriolis Effect
Trade wind cells Condenses
Dry land Warm
Precipitation Convection Cell
Low Latent Heat
Tropical cyclones form near the equator over ______ocean water. Air is forced up due to disturbances that take place where the air from two ______converges. Water vapor gas in the air ______into liquid water releasing energy in the form of latent heat. Air that has been warmed by the release of latent heat rises creating
______pressure at the ocean surface. More air moves in to fill its place. As the air rises it cools. Water droplets in the air ______(come together). Bigger water drops fall from the sky as ______. Cool air falls back down to the warm ocean surface. This whole cycle of energy transfer through the heating and cooling of air is called a ______.
Because the Earth is spinning on its axis, the ______causes the air of a tropical cyclone to rotate. Condensation releases more ______, fueling the rotation of the cyclone faster and faster. The storm loses energy when it moves over either ______or cold water because it is cut off from its fuel source of warm water.
29. What is the calm center of a hurricane called?
30. Where are the strongest winds in a hurricane located?
31. Different parts of the Earth receive more or less solar radiation. Fill in the latitudes for each of the following climate zones on the Earth.
3
Tropics =
Temperate =
Polar =
3
32. Climates are classified based on average monthly______and ______
33. What is the difference between weather and climate?
34. How does Earth’s orbit affect our climate?
35. Earth’s tropical regions receive more of the Sun’s energy than polar regions because they
a. contain a greater percentage of dry land.
b. have more vegetation to absorb the Sun’s energy.
c. have a thinner atmosphere than the polar regions.
d. receive a greater concentration of the Sun’s rays.
36. According to the map, which 2 climates are found closest to the poles?
a. Tropical wet and dry
b. Highlands and uplands
c. Semiarid and arid
d. Tundra and icecap
37. According to the map, what type of a climate do we have here in North Carolina?
a. Tropical wet c. Dry- Arid
b. Mild – Humid Subtropical d. Continental – Cool Summer
38. In what climate zone would we find the lowest human population density?
a. Tropical wet c. Arid
b. Humid subtropical d. Semiarid
39. What length of time is used to make climate normals (temperature and precipitation) for an area?
40. Biomes are areas on Earth with similar ______, ______, and ______.
41. Match the following biomes with the climate they are found in. Draw a line linking the matching terms.
Biome: Climate:
Tundra Continental
Desert Tropical
Grassland Polar
Tropical Rainforest Mild
Deciduous Forest Dry
42. What natural event can block solar radiation and have a short-term effect on climate?
43. Throughout geologic time, Earth’s climate has been:
a. Warmer than the present c. the same as the present
b. Cooler than the present d. both A & B
44. Using the climatogram to the left, which month has the lowest precipitation in Wilmington, NC?
45. Approximately what temperature °F is the warmest average shown for this location?
46. Which is the independent variable in this climatogram?
47. Explain the natural greenhouse effect.
48. What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
49. How could planting trees help reduce global GHG concentration?
50. List 4 common greenhouse gases. Which two greenhouse gases are most abundant in the atmosphere?
51. Describe what has happened to levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past 200 years.
52. Describe what has happened to global
average temperatures over the past 200 years.
53. Describe at least 3 negative impacts of climate change.
54. What countries are most responsible for global increase in GHG emissions? Why?
55. As the ocean water gets warmer, what do you think will happen to the intensity and frequency of hurricanes? Why? (Think about the source of energy for hurricanes).
Part 3 - Hydrosphere Review (Chapters 9-10, 15-16, Holt Chapter 5, Lessons 18-23)
1. Water has a ______specific heat - (its ability to conduct heat or cold compared to dry air). This causes it to heat up and cool down ______.
2. How are coastal climates moderated by water (due to its high specific heat) compared to inland climates?
3. What is salinity? Describe its relationship to density.
4. What are processes that add salt to seawater? What are processes that remove salt from seawater?
5. What causes surface ocean currents?
6. What is the closest ocean current to us in North Carolina?
7. Use each term just one to complete the passage:
cold nutrients offshore trade-wind upwelling vertically
In addition to moving horizontally, ocean water moves ______ The upward motion of ocean water is called ______ Upwelling waters originate from the bottom of the ocean and are ______. Areas of upwelling exist mainly off the western coasts of continents in the ______belts. The trade winds blow surface water ______, and the surface water is replaced by upwelling deep water. Upwelling waters are rich in ______, which support abundant marine biodiversity.
8. Explain how barrier islands like the outer banks form.
9. Label the picture with the following terms: infiltration, precipitation, evaporation, condensation, transpiration, runoff
10. What happens to water in urban areas when it flows down storm drains?
11. Define point source pollution. Give at least 1 example.
12. Define nonpoint source pollution. Give at least 1 example.
13. What is an abiotic factor? Give 2 examples of abiotic factors of water quality.
14. What is a biotic factor? Give an example of a biotic factor of water quality.
15. How is water quality measured in streams?
Biotic Indexes - Monitors ______species that act as environmental “smoke detectors”. Mayflies cannot tolerate pollution. Leeches can survive in polluted water.
Test for Dissolved Oxygen - Greater the DO = better environment for life.
Factors that affect DO:
Ø Temperature – cold water has ______ dissolved oxygen.
Ø Flow – faster moving water has ______ dissolved oxygen.
Ø Aquatic Plants – release oxygen through ______, so plants are the main source of dissolved oxygen in water.
Ø Suspended Solids – describes stuff dissolved in water, ______ suspended solids the more dissolved oxygen
Measures of turbidity - Water clarity (cloudiness). Lower turbidity = better quality water
16. Explain how man-made eutrophication works, step by step. What causes it and how can it lead to “dead zones?”
17. Where does our drinking water here in Onslow come from?
18. Does the total amount of water on earth ever change? Why or why not?
19. What % of all the water on the globe is fresh water? Is it all available for human use? If not, why not?
20. What is a watershed? What watershed are we a part of?
21. What are 3 reasons wetlands are vitally important?
22. Define and label the zone of groundwater
Surface Layer
______
23. Water is stored underground in ______ and can be tapped and brought to the surface using ______. Natural places where groundwater comes to the surface are called zones of ______.
24. How do humans and their water use habits influence freshwater availability and water quality?
______: When wells are over-used it lowers the water level, It can cause shallow wells to dry up.
______: When too much groundwater is pumped out of aquifer and the land starts to sink down.
______ - Over-pumping groundwater can cause underground salt water to rise & contaminate wells, Occurs near coasts
______ - Pollution discharged from a single source, it usually comes from Factories (pipes), sewage treatment plants etc. It is easy to regulate because you can tell where it comes from. It can have harmful effects on drinking water supplies, recreation, fisheries & wildlife, if not well regulated.