Name: ______
6th Grade Review
1. a. Name the planets in order starting with the one closest to the Sun.
1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth
4. Mars
5. Jupiter
6. Saturn
7. Uranus
8. Venus
*b. How can you remember the order of the planets?
My very educated mother just served us nachos.
* c. How are the 4 inner planets different from the 4 outer planets?
Inner planets-relatively small and rocky
Outer planets -large and gaseous
* d. Why isn’t Pluto included?
Doesn’t fit the profile of the outer planets; it is small and rocky and it cannot move other objects out of its orbital path
2. The largest planet is __Jupiter_.
3. The smallest planet is _Mercury_.
4. What is found between Mars and Jupiter (it divides the inner and outer planets)? Asteroid belt
5. What word describes the curved path the planets’ follow around the sun? elliptical
6. What two things hold the planets in their orbits? Inertia and gravity
7 a. What is it called when a planet or moon orbits around another object?
Revolution; revolving
b. How long is the Earth’s?
about 1 yr (365 ¼ days)
8 a. What is it called when a planet spins on its axis? rotation
b. How long is the Earth’s? 1 day or 24 hrs
9. What causes the seasons on Earth?
Tilt of earth’s axis
10. If a hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun what season is it? summer
11. If a hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun what season is it? winter
12. What causes the length of night and day to change during the year?
Changes with the seasons; tilt of earth’s axis and the angle of the sun
13. If the Earth’s axis was not tilted what would happen to the seasons?
No seasons
14. Does the distance that the Earth is away from the Sun effect the seasons? No
15. What causes night and day on Earth? (It causes the Sun to appear to move across the sky during the day.) Earth’s rotation on its axis
16. If the Sun appears directly overhead what time of day is it?
12 noon
17. What causes the phases of the moon? The revolution of the moon around the Earth and which part of the sunlight side of the moon we see
18. How long does it take for the moon to complete its phases? About 1 month
19. What are the four major phases of the moon?
New moon, 1st quarter, full moon, 3rd (last) quarter
20. What causes the tides on Earth?
Moon’s gravity
21. If a beach area is directly aligned with the moon what type of tide will happen? high
22. How often do the tides change each day? Every 6 hours
* How many high tides would you have each day? Low tides? Two of each
23. Besides the moon, what object in our solar system could possibly increase the strength of the tides?
The sun
24. What is it called when the moon blocks the sunlight from the Earth?
Solar eclipse
25. What is it called when the Earth blocks the sunlight from the moon?
Lunar eclipse
26. What determines the amount of gravitational pull for each planet?
Its mass (size)
27. What are 3 major things that make Earth different than all of the other planets?
Protective atmosphere with oxygen, large amounts of water in all 3 states,
life
28. The invention of what instrument allowed scientists to learn more about our solar system? telescope
29. The moon orbits the _Earth__ and it orbits the __Sun__.
30. Identify each of the following.
*a. Yuri Gagarin –Russian , 1st person in space
*b. Sputnik –Russian, 1st satellite in space
*c. Alan Shepherd - 1st American in space
*d. John Glenn – 1st American to complete an orbit
*e. Neil Armstrong – 1st person to walk on the moon
*f. Apollo 11 –1st mission to the moon
*g. Ptolemy/Aristotle- thought earth was the center of the solar system (geocentric)
*h. Copernicus/Galileo- concluded the sun was the center of the solar system (heliocentric)
31. Quick Planet Fact:
*a. Coldest Planet – Neptune
*b. The Red Planet – Mars
*c. Earth’s Twin – Venus
*d. Warmest Planet – Mercury
*e. Planet with most visible rings – Saturn
f. Most moons – Saturn
g. Giant Red Spot – Jupiter
6.9 - Resources
1. What are three things that all living organisms depend on?
Healthy environment, clean air, and clean water
2a. What do we call resources that are limited in supply (they will eventually run out)? Nonrenewable resources
2b. List some examples.
Coal, oil, natural gas, & nuclear power
3a. What do we call resources that are not limited in supply (they can be replaced by nature)? Renewable resources
3b. List some examples.
Water, sunlight, plant life, animal life
4a. What is our top source of energy in the US and other industrialized countries? Fossil fuels
4b. Where did this energy come from?
Dead plants and animals
5. What is the major cause of pollution (causes acid rain)?
Burning fossil fuels
6. What is the wise and careful use of natural resources called?
conservation
7. Who establishes regulations and programs to improve the quality of the air, water, and soil? Government agencies
8. What are some things individuals can do to help conserve resources and protect the environment?
Recycle, reduce/conserve
9. What is one of the biggest concerns with using nuclear power?
Storing the harmful wastes
*Pollution prevention and waste management are much cheaper than
cleanup.
6.6 – The Atmosphere
1. What source of energy is responsible for the motion of the atmosphere, the oceans, and many processes at the Earth’s surface like photosynthesis? The sun
2. What is the transfer of energy from the Sun to the Earth’s atmosphere called? radiation
3. What three types of light waves make up solar radiation? Infrared, visible light, & ultraviolet light (UV)
4. What distributes thermal energy in the atmosphere and oceans?
Convection currents (radiation heats the surface)
Example:
5. What greatly reduces the Sun’s energy that reaches the Earth? Reflection and absorption of light; some light is scattered
6. What are two natural processes that affect Earth’s atmosphere?
Forests fires and volcanic eruptions
7. What is it called when gases in our atmosphere causes Earth to absorb more heat than it releases? Greenhouse Effect
Example:
8. Label/describe the layers of the atmosphere.
9. Which mixture of gases make up the air we breathe? ***Nitrogen, Carbon dioxide, oxygen, and argon plus water
10. What is the moisture in our air called? humidity
11. Temperature and air pressure both __decrease__ as altitude increases in the lowest layer.
12. What three things have the most effect on the weather conditions? thermal energy, air pressure, and water vapor
13. What measurement tool is used for each of the following:
*a. air pressure- barometer
*b. humidity- hygrometer
*c. air temperature- thermometer
*d. wind speed- anemometer
14. What is formed when bodies of water absorb heat and water evaporates? clouds
15. What are the three main types
of clouds?
*a. cirrus- wispy; change in weather
*b. stratus – flat; rain/snow
*c. cumulus- puffy; fair weather
16. *a. What can form when land is strongly heated? thunderstorms
*b. What can form when warm tropical water is strongly heated?
hurricanes
*c. What is formed by a strong rotating column of air usually during a severe (super-cell) thunderstorm?
Tornado
Basic Weather Map Symbols
17. What type of weather is associated with the following systems?
* a. low pressure- precipitation
*b. high pressure- fair weather
*c. cold front- stormy weather
*d. warm front- gentle precipitation
followed by mild conditions
*e. occluded front- results when a cold front catches up to a warm front and pushes the warm air upward
*f. stationary front- when two air masses meet and stay in the same position for a long time/move very slowly
6.5- Water Resources
1. Water is an unique compound because it can exist as a – solid, liquid, and gas
2. Why do water molecules to “stick together” (cohesion) like magnets? One side is positive and the other side is negative (polar molecule)
3. Because water can dissolve so many things it is often called-
Universal solvent
4. The climate near large bodies of water is often milder compared to other areas. Why? They absorb heat during the summer and release it slowly during the winter
5. What happens to water when it freezes? It expands (exception to the thermal expansion rule)
6. Why does ice float in liquid water?
Ice has a density that is less than that of liquid water
7. What is the freezing point of water on the Celsius scale? 0 oC
8. What is the boiling point of water on the Celsius scale? 100 oC
9. The breaking up of rock is called weathering.
*a. What are three examples of physical weathering by water? Rain, ice, and snow wear down rocks
*b. What is an example of chemical weathering by water? Acid rain
10. What percent of the water on the Earth is salt water? About 97%
11. What percent of the water on the Earth is non-frozen, freshwater?
Less than 1%
12. What are the rock layers beneath the Earth’s surface that contain water called? aquifers
13. Where else do we find a large amount of water stored besides oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, and aquifers? Inside the bodies of organisms
14. Where were the first human settlements established? Near bodies of water
15. Water is essential for agriculture. What type of system is designed to provide water to crops? Irrigation systems
16. What type of power is generated by the flow of water through power plants like the Hoover Dam?
Hydroelectric power
17. What is one disadvantage of using hydroelectric power? Must have a large water supply
18. What caused many of the disease outbreaks before the 1800’s?
contamination of water by human waste/open sewers
6.7- Watersheds
1. What is the name for a living community and the nonliving factors that affect it? ecosystems
2. What is the health of an ecosystem directly related to? Quality of water
3. What are some ways water quality is measured? Temperature, salinity, pH, % dissolved oxygen, cloudiness (turbidity), & presence of macroinvertebrates
4. *a. What is the name for the land that water travels across is it moves to a stream or lake? watershed
*b. Where do the regional watersheds in Virginia lead? Gulf of Mexico, North Carolina sounds, or the Chesapeake Bay
5. Rivers and streams generally have wide, flat, border areas onto which water spills out at times of high flow. What are these border areas called?
Flood plains
6. What are areas between dry land and bodies of water called (they’re usually saturated with water)?
wetlands
7. What are areas called where freshwater and saltwater meet and are mixed by the tides?
estuaries
8. Estuaries provide habitats for many organisms while serving as resting and nesting areas for many others. Where is the United States’ largest estuary? Chesapeake Bay
9. What kind of human activity can cause an increase or decrease erosion due to water? Plowing fields increase erosion vs. planting trees decrease erosion
10. What is the relationship between the speed of water and the size of sediment carried? The faster the water flows the bigger the sediment it can carry