Unit 1
The graph on your study guide provides data on the number of sunspots each year for several years. Based on this information, which of the following is the most reasonable prediction for the next year in which there will be a peak in the number of sunspots?
2014
The picture on your study guide shows the ratio of subatomic particles that resulted from the Big Bang. What composition of hydrogen and helium best describes the current understanding of how these particles arranged themselves, resulting in helium being 8% of the universe by number of atoms, and 25% of the universe by mass?
1 helium atom for every 12 hydrogen atoms
What best describes where the youngest and oldest crustal rocks can be found on the Earth?
The oldest crustal rocks are found on continents and the youngest on the ocean floor.
Because so little can be found of the first rocks to form on Earth, the best evidence for the early formation of our planet comes from studying what?
Asteroids, lunar rocks, and other objects in our solar system
All the stars observed from Earth emit light that is shifted, to varying degrees, to longer wavelengths. How is this evidence used to support the big bang theory?
Emitted light from stars shifted to longer wavelengths provides support for the big bang theory because it shows that stars are moving away from Earth.
The graph on your study guide shows an approximation of the predicted life expectancy of a main sequence star based on its mass. Our sun is a main sequence star with a mass of approximately 1.9 x 1030 kilograms. Current estimates put its age at around 4 billion years. What is the most reasonable prediction of how many more years our sun will last?
6 million
Cosmic microwave background radiation is the term used for the microwave radiation observed everywhere in the universe. The existence of this radiation is used as evidence to support the big bang theory because, in our current understanding, this radiation is what?
energy left over from the rapid expansion of matter.
The data table on your study guide contains information about rock samples gathered from four separate locations around a mid-ocean ridge. Where do you think each sample was taken from, in the image on your study guide?
Y is in the white section, W is in the light grey section, X and Z are in the dark grey sections.
Mercury, Mars, and Earth’s moon all show evidence of heavy cratering from meteor impacts while Earth shows much less evidence of meteor impacts. The most reasonable conclusion to make from this data is that the early solar system had a much higher density of rocky material, but what is happening on Earth that is different from other planets?
Earth has been resurfaced by ongoing processes.
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) is the term used to describe the residual microwave radiation observed everywhere in the universe that seems to have no single source. How is the observation of CMBR used as evidence for the big bang theory?
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation is used as evidence of the big bang theory because it is believed to be radiation left over from the rapid expansion of matter.
The energy from the sun that reaches Earth is the result of what process, repeated many times in the core of the sun?
The nuclei of two atoms are combined to form a single atom with a larger nucleus.
What observations about hydrogen and helium provides the best evidence to support the big bang theory?
The composition of gases in stars and in the universe is ¾ hydrogen and ¼ helium.
Not all the crustal rock found on the earth is the same age. Some of it is younger than 200 million years old, while other crustal rock can be as old as 4 billion years. Which Earth processes are most responsible for the difference in ages?
Destruction and renewal of rock at tectonic plate boundaries
The oldest rocks studied by scientists from sources within our solar system are approximately 4.5 billion years old. The oldest rocks found on Earth are approximately 4.3 billion years old. These observations support the conclusion that Earth formed at more or less the same time as other objects in the solar system. What evidence would not fit this conclusion and require a revision of the theory?
Rocks found on Earth significantly older than 4.5 billion years old
Which process in the Sun's core is responsible for releasing energy in the form of radiation?
Nuclear fusion in the Sun's core is responsible for the production of energy in the form of sunlight and heat (radiation).
Solar flares may be used to predict what?
An increase in radiation from the sun reaching the earth
The diagram on your study guide shows the emission spectrum of sodium from three different galaxies as observed from Earth, along with the sodium spectrum as observed in laboratory conditions. The expected red shift that supports the idea of an expanding universe would predict that the order of these three galaxies, from closest to farthest, is what?
Galaxy 2, Galaxy 3, Galaxy 1
The table on your study guide provides information on the ages of samples of crustal rocks taken from different locations on Earth. What is the best prediction of where these rock samples were taken from?(Oceanic or Continental)
Samples 2 & 3 = Continental rock
Samples 1 & 4 = Ocean floor rock
Why are lunar rocks often a better source of data on the early formation of Earth than rocks found on Earth itself?
The lack of active volcanoes, tectonics and erosional agents on the Moon
Based on evidence from the masses and lifetimes of other stars, what is the approximate lifespan of the Sun?
The approximate lifespan of the Sun is 10 billion years.
What best describes the transfer of energy from the sun to Earth?
Electromagnetic waves travel in the absence of a medium.
The most commonly held theory of the origin of the universe claims that it formed as the result of a violent event that rapidly sent all matter in existence flying outward from a single point. This theory is supported by what observations?
All of the galaxies in the universe appear to be moving away from one another.
What observations can be explained by plate tectonics?
The difference in ages of crustal rock in different locations on the earth
Scientists depend on observations made of extraterrestrial sources to get information about the early history of Earth. Why is more information not available through studying rocks that formed at the formation of our planet?
Dynamic processes such as weathering, erosion, and volcanism constantly renew the surface of our planet.
What causes variations in the Sun's radiation?
Variations in the Sun's radiation are due to solar flares, sunspot cycles, and non-cyclic variations over centuries.