Environmental Impact
True or False: a mineral is an example of a nonrenewable resource.
True
True or False: the Sun directly contributes to Earth's geothermal energy
False. Earth's hot interior creates geothermal energy. Earth's interior is hot because of radioactive decay, and residual heat from the collisions that resulted in Earth's formation 4.5 billion years ago!
True or False: adhesion is the property that causes water molecules to stick together.
False! Cohesion causes water molecules to stick together. Adhesion causes them to stick to other surfaces. (For funzies: capillary action is the result of cohesion, adhesion, AND surface tension!)
True or False: all the outer planets have moons
True! Jupiter has 95 known moons, Saturn has 274 moons, Uranus has 28 known moons, and Neptune has 16 known moons.
Name the three subatomic particles in an atom.
Proton, neutron, electron
True or False: natural resources are unlimited
False (natural resources encompass both renewable and nonrenewable resources. For funzies, are renewable resources unlimited?)
True or False: Earth's Energy Budget tracks how much solar energy enters and exits the Earth's atmosphere.
True! (Smaller energy sources, such as Earth's internal heat, are taken into consideration, but make a tiny contribution compared to solar energy. For funzies... does the energy budget also take into account how energy moves through the climate system?)
This substance is known as the universal solvent:
Water! (Water dissolves many substances due to its polar structure.)
True or False: dwarf plants are classified as dwarf planets because they are too small to be planets.
False: while they are small, they are massive enough for their gravity to have shaped them into nearly round forms, which is big enough! For funzies, WHY are they not classified as full planets??
What element has 6 protons and is essential for life?
Carbon
What is an example of a renewable resource?
water, plants, air, soil, animal life...
What is an example of a greenhouse gas?
Carbon Dioxide (biggest total impact)
Methane (traps 80 times more heat than CO2 but breaks down in ~12 years)
Sulfur Hexafluoride (per molecule, traps 23,500 times more heat than carbon dioxide and lasts over 1000 years!)
Others: Nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs)..
Water exists in the following three states of matter:
Solid, liquid, gas (vapor)
These rocky, irregularly shaped celestial bodies are mostly found in the Asteroid Belt
Asteroids!
What are 4 of the 6 most common elements in living matter?
CHNOPS: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur
What is an advantage and disadvantage of nuclear energy?
Advantages: minimal to no air pollution, high energy output
Disadvantages: radioactive waste, accidents can be catastrophic
What is an example of a chemical energy transformation?
Plants capture solar energy and store it as biomass via photosynthesis
Burning fossil fuels
Digestion is both physical and chemical: enzymes and acids are the primary agents in this transformation, creating molecules small enough for the body to absorb.
How does acid rain affect limestone and concrete?
Chemical weathering, erosion, weakening of structures made from them.
These celestial bodies, made of ice, dust and rock, form a glowing tail near the Sun:
Comets (they originate from the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud)
What are the three most abundant elements in solid Earth?
Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminum (for funzies, are any of them ever found in pure form in Earth's crust?)
Explain what sustainable development means.
Using resources to maximize community benefit over time, while minimizing environmental damage.
Or
Using resources to meet current needs while preserving them for the future.
According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, in a closed system, what can happen to energy? What cannot happen to energy?
Energy can be transferred (conduction, convection, radiation) or transformed (chemical, thermal, mechanical, etc). It cannot be created or destroyed.
Compare winter temperatures: Central Virginia vs. Chesapeake Bay coast. Why are they different?
Water's moderating effect causes the coast to be warmer in the winter because it retains much more heat energy than air, releasing it slowly over the winter months.
Explain the difference between a meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite.
Meteor – Streak of light when entering atmosphere
Meteoroid – Rock in space
Meteorite – Rock that reaches Earth’s surface
Explain what happens to atoms during a chemical reaction.
In a chemical reaction, atoms are neither created nor destroyed; the atoms in the reactants are rearranged as bonds break and new bonds form, producing products, substances with new properties. (For funzies, what reaction can create and/or destroy atoms?)