Earth's Spheres
What are the 5 spheres on Earth?
Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, Cryosphere, Geosphere, and Biosphere
What are the 3 types of Heat Transfer?
Conduction, Convection, and Radiation
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is the short term changes of the atmosphere at a certain place and time.
Climate is the long-term weather patterns in one specific area.
What causes wind?
Unequal heating of Earth's surface causes differences in air pressure. The differences in air pressure then causes air to move, aka. wind!
Why is it important for scientists to share not only their results, but also their procedure with other scientists? (6.N.1.4)
a. Scientists don’t care about results, they only want to know the procedure.
b. So scientists can repeat the experiment and compare methods used, results obtained, and offer further explanations.
c. A scientist’s findings can only become a Law if it is repeated 10 times.
d. Other scientists can compare methods and then copy your data if you used the same method.
b. So scientists can repeat the experiment and compare methods used, results obtained, and offer further explanations.
What is the difference between Hydrosphere and Cryosphere?
Hydrosphere is liquid water like rivers and lakes. Cryosphere is frozen water like hail or glaciers.
What is a difference between conduction and radiation?
Conduction is the direct transfer of heat from one substance to another substance that is touching.
Radiation is the heat from the Sun and is transferred through electromagnetic waves.
What affects weather patterns? Give an example
Weather is affected by amount of thermal energy absorbed from the Sun and the amount of water in an area.
Ex: Cyclones forming in deep water where the amount of water in an area is high.
How does the Jet Stream affect weather?
The jet stream can move storms, clouds, precipitation, etc. It moves west to east.
Some students are creating a model of a sinkhole in science class. They are working in four groups. Each group follows this procedure:
Make a stack of sugar cubes.
Cover the cubes with clay.
Place a small weight on top of the weight.
Pour water on top of the weight.
Record observations.
When the students compared their results, they found that three groups had the same thing happen: The water soaked into the sugar and dissolved it, and the weight and the clay fell. One group had no changes occur after they set up their model. What should this group do next? (6.N.1.4)
a. They should discard their results.
b. They should review their procedure with the other groups.
c. They should take the results from another group.
d. They should do the experiment again following different procedures.
b. They should review their procedure with the other groups.
Give an example of an interaction between EACH pairing:
Cryo to Geo
Hydro to Atmo
Bio to Geo
Answers may vary
Cryo to Geo: Glaciers depositing sediment
Hydro to Atmo: Water being evaporated into the atmosphere
Bio to Geo: Animals using caves for shelter
What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect is when gasses get trapped in the atmosphere causing the temperature to rise.
How does the water cycle affect weather patterns?
The water cycle directly affects weather. The water cycle allows water to evaporate into the atmosphere and then condense into clouds. This eventually leads to weather patterns like rain, snow or hail. Without the water cycle, weather would not exist.
What causes the Coriolis Effect?
Earth's rotation on its axis
In some classes, students are not supposed to discuss their work with other students. What is one reason that science class, unlike other classes, might benefit from including discussions about the work? (6.N.1.4)
a. Discussion of an investigation allows students to select the best data and discard the rest.
b. Discussion of an investigation allows students to better understand methods and conclusions.
c. Discussion of an investigation allows students to find errors and change data.
d. Discussion of an investigation allows students to find errors and change results.
b. Discussion of an investigation allows students to better understand methods and conclusions.
What are 2 ways the atmosphere protects life on Earth?
Protects us from harmful UV radiation
Traps in gasses to make temperatures livable
Burns meteorites
Etc.
What type of heat transfer moves heat in the world's ocean?
Convection
What type of air mass holds more humidity (amount of water vapor in the atmosphere)?
Warm air masses hold more humidity than cold air masses.
What is the difference between Sea Breeze and Land Breeze?
Sea Breezes cool the coastal land during the day because the air masses above the ocean are cooler and flow inland, sending the warmer land air outward. Sea breezes keep the coastal temperatures cooler and more mild during the day compared to inland areas (not enough energy to travel inland).
Land Breezes warm the coastal land during the night because the air masses above the land are cooler and flow out to sea, sending the warmer sea air inward. Land breezes keep coastal temperatures warmer and more mild during the night compared to inland areas.
With new knowledge comes new technology. For example, since science has analyzed how light works, we have been able to manipulate light using technology such as high-powered telescopes. The high-powered telescopes have allowed us to discover more galaxies. Which statement best describes what scientists do with information obtained through the use of new technology?
a. If new information is discovered that conflicts with previous knowledge, scientists simply discard it.
b. As new knowledge is discovered, scientists take note of it but do not change any previously established ideas.
c. When new information is discovered, scientists accept and incorporate the new knowledge if it is determined to be factual.
d. Scientists do not seek new knowledge if there is a chance it may conflict with current ideas and understanding.
c. When new information is discovered, scientists accept and incorporate the new knowledge if it is determined to be factual.
Name 2 layers of the atmosphere and explain how they are beneficial to Earth.
Troposphere: Where most weather occurs
Stratosphere: Contains majority of the Ozone layer that protects us from harmful UV Radiation
Mesosphere: Meteors burn up here
Thermosphere: Temperatures are very high
Exosphere: Outer most layer that transitions into space
Explain the order of how all 3 types of heat transfer heat the Earth.
The Sun warms the Earth through radiation. Then, Earth's surface transfers the heat to air on the surface through conduction. Finally, the warm air rises and cold airs sinks through convection.
The Gulf Stream is a warm ocean current of the coast of Florida. How does this affect Florida's climate?
Due to the current being warm, there is more evaporation, therefore more humidity. The higher humidity brings more frequent precipitation patterns like storms.
Why do ocean currents and wind transfer heat through convection?
The differences in densities causes heat to be transferred. Density can be affected by temperature or salinity.
Until the 1500s, doctors thought diseases were caused spontaneously (happened for no reason). Scientists began proposing that diseases were caused by seed-like objects that could be passed among people. After the invention of the microscope, doctors came to know that many diseases were actually caused by microscopic living organisms, like bacteria. What does this suggest about the nature of scientific knowledge?
a. Scientific knowledge should not be considered valid because it changes over time.
b. Technology has improved enough that scientific knowledge can stop changing.
c. New discoveries and evidence are more important than repeatable results.
d. Scientific knowledge changes over time based on new evidence.
d. Scientific knowledge changes over time based on new evidence.