Earth Systems
What is the water cycle?
The process by which water moves from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back again.
What is matter?
Anything that has mass and takes up space.
What is a hurricane?
A large, powerful storm that forms over warm ocean waters and can cause severe damage when it reaches land.
What is the term for the continuous movement of water through the environment called?
The water cycle.
What is a tropical storm that has winds of at least 39 mph called?
A tropical storm.
Name one way humans can impact the environment.
Pollution, deforestation, or overfishing.
What are the three states of matter?
Solid, liquid, and gas.
What scale is used to measure the strength of a hurricane?
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
What process describes the movement of water from the ground to the atmosphere?
What is it called when a liquid turns into a gas?
Evaporation
Evaporation
What are the three main ingredients needed to form a hurricane?
Warm ocean water, moisture in the air, and light winds.
What is a natural resource?
A material or substance found in nature that can be used by humans, such as water, minerals, and forests.
What is the term for a change in matter that does not change its chemical composition and give an example.
What is the process called when a solid turns into a liquid?
A Physical change;Melting ice or boiling water.
Melting
What are the typical wind speeds of a hurricane?
Wind speeds must reach at least 74 miles per hour to be classified as a hurricane.
What is the term for water that falls from clouds in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail?
Precipitation
What term describes the area where a hurricane causes severe weather, including heavy rain and strong winds?
A hurricane's rain band
Describe the difference between weather and climate.
Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere, while climate is the average weather conditions over a long period.
What is the law of conservation of mass?
In which state of matter do particles move freely and are far apart?
Matter cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction; it can only change forms.
Gas
Name one effect hurricanes can have on ecosystems.
Hurricanes can cause flooding, which can destroy habitats and affect wildlife.
In the water cycle, what is the process called when water vapor cools and turns back into liquid water?
Condensation
What is the difference between abiotic and biotic factors? Give two examples of each.
Abiotic factors are non-living, while biotic factors are living organisms.
Water and sunlight. Abiotic
Plants and animals. Biotic
Explain what a habitat is.
A natural environment where an organism lives and can find food, shelter, and mates.
Describe what an atom is.
The smallest unit of matter that retains the properties of an element.
What is the eye of a hurricane?
The calm center of a hurricane, surrounded by the eye wall, where the strongest winds are found.
Name the part of the water cycle where plants release water vapor into the air.
Transpiration
What is a food chain?
What is a food web?
What is the difference between a herbivore and a carnivore in a food web?
A sequence that shows how energy and nutrients flow from one organism to another.
A complex network of interconnected food chains.
Herbivores eat plants, while carnivores eat other animals.