Human Impact
A city wants to reduce air pollution caused by human activities. Which action would have the most direct effect on air quality to reduce pollution caused by these activities?
Planting trees
Radiation from the Sun includes many types in the electromagnetic spectrum. Which property is used to differentiate among these types?
Wavelength
Draw Refraction
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What does the Law of Conservation of Energy state?
Energy cannot be created, nor destroyed, only transferred.
Describe the heat flow in a cup with juice and ice.
Heat will flow from the juice to the ice until they reach the same temperature.
The river in Florida has changed its course over several years due to human activities. What is one way humans could have impacted this?
Building Dams
What is the acronym that lists the colors in order form longest wavelength to shortest?
ROYGBIV
Felicia shines a flashlight at a smooth, shiny mirror at a 45° angle to the surface. What property of light will Felicia see?
Reflection
A student observes a car engine while it is running. The engine burns gasoline to make the car move, and the engine and exhaust become hot. According to The Law of Conservation of Energy, what happens to the energy in gasoline when it is used to fuel a car?
It is transformed into mechanical and thermal energy.
How does heat transfer inside a liquid or a gas?
Convection
Describe what desertification is and identify one human activity that can contribute to it.
Dry desert like conditions caused by human activities. Overgrazing, deforestation
White light is made of many colors. If you wanted to demonstrate this concept clearly, which tool would you use, and how would it help illustrate that white light is composed of many colors?
A prism
Consider a sunny day when you look down at a swimming pool. You may notice that the water seems to bend the light, causing the pool bottom to appear in a different position. This bending of light is known as refraction. What property of light is primarily responsible for this phenomenon?
Light's speed changes when it passes from air to water
A swing is released from rest at its highest point. Describe its potential and kinetic energy as it moves down.
Kinetic energy increases and potential energy decreases
What has more thermal energy, a swimming pool or a fire? Which has a higher temperature?
Swimming pool: more thermal energy
Fire: Higher temperature
Explain how changing the flow of a river (for example by building a dam) can affect erosion, plant and animal life, and downstream human communities.
Dams can effect organisms mating and migration. It can also cause a build up of sediments at the dam and effect the amount of water downstream communities
What is the wavelength from the sun that causes sunburns?
Ultraviolet (UV)
Sound waves travel at different speeds as they pass through different media. Correctly list the mediums through which sound waves travel from slowest to fastest.
gas, liquid, solid
A hand‑crank flashlight uses a handle that you turn to power an LED. Write an energy chain best describes the transformations from your hand to the glowing LED.
Mechanical → electrical → light
How do we know that heat transfer has stopped? Bonus points for the correct scientific term
Both objects are at the same temperature (thermal equilibrium)
A group of scientists conducts an experiment to test how pollution from urban areas affects freshwater ecosystems. Why should they repeat the experiment several times?
To confirm that their results are reliable.
The sun’s energy arrives to Earth as radiation. What is the type of energy we feel as HEAT?
Infrared
List the order of mediums that light waves travel through from fastest to slowest.
gas, liquid, solid
A tuning fork is struck and then held near a glass of water. Ripples appear on the water’s surface. Explain the energy transformations that cause the ripples?
Mechanical energy of the fork transforms into sound energy, which transfers energy to the water’s surface.
What type of heat transfer is happening when a pot is placed on the stove?
Conduction