Climate
How are surface ocean currents created?
By wind
What are the three main waves that pass through the Earth's atmosphere?
Infrared, Visible Light, Ultraviolet
What is a star?
a giant ball of superheated plasma composed of largely hydrogen and helium
What is the difference between rotation and revolution?
Rotation - an object spinning on its axis
Revolution - an object going around another object
What is the relationship between the moon and the tide?
The moons gravitational pull creates a bulge in the ocean water, resulting in "high tide"
How is wind created?
The movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
Gases in the atmosphere (namely CO2 and CH4) trap heat near the earth's surface
What is a constellation? What culture do the names of the constellations come from?
A pattern or group of stars that people imagine represents a figure, animal, or object, often named after Greco-Roman culture
What is an axis?
The imaginary line that runs through the center of an object around which it rotates
What is the difference between a planet and a moon?
A planet is an object that revolves around a star, has enough gravity to become spherical, and has cleared its area of orbit; a moon is an object that revolves around a planet
What are the names of the three wind belts and two calm areas that encircle the globe?
Wind Belts: Trade Winds (Tropical Easterlies), Prevailing Westerlies, Polar Easterlies
Calm Areas: Doldrums and Horse Latitudes
List and explain the three methods of heat transfer
Conduction: The transfer of heat between two solid substances that are in direct contact.
Convection: The transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid
Radiation: The transfer of heat by electromagnetic waves
What is a comet?
A cold mixture of dust and ice that forms a tail of gases as it is near the sun
What is the shape of Earth's orbit?
An ellipse
What is the difference between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse?
Solar - the moon blocks the sunlight from reaching earth
Lunar - the Earth blocks the sunlight from reaching the moon
latitude, altitude, distance from large bodies of water, ocean currents, and global prevailing winds
What is the name for the energy that comes from the sun?
Electromagnetic Waves
What is the difference between the geocentric model of the solar system and the heliocentric model?
Geocentric = Earth is at the center and the sun goes around the Earth
Heliocentric = the Sun is at the center and the Earth goes around the Sun.
What two forces keep the Earth in orbit around the Sun?
Gravity and Inertia
What is the cause of the lunar phases?
The revolution of the Moon around the Earth and the extent to which we see the lit portion of the Sun from our position on Earth.
What are the six major climate regions?
Tropical, Dry, Temperate Marine, Temperate Continental, Polar, Highland
What are the four layers of the Earth's atmosphere (that the book describes) in order from the innermost to the outermost?
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere
What is the difference between a meteoroid, a meteor, and a meteorite?
Meteoroid refers to the small rock in space; a meteor is the streak of light created when a meteoroid burns up in the atmosphere; it is called a meteorite if/when it hits the earth
What is the difference between a solstice and an equinox? When do the solstices and equinoxes occur?
Solstice: the points in the Earth's revolution where either the north pole (June) or south pole (December) is tilted toward the Sun, resulting in the longest day of the year or the shortest day of the year, depending on the hemisphere.
Equinoxes: the points in the Earth's revolution where the tilt of the Earth is parallel to the Sun, resulting in days and nights that are each 12 hours in length. The two equinoxes are in March and September
What are the 8 phases of the moon in order?
New moon, waxing crescent, 1st quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, 3rd quarter, waning crescent