Midterm Review: Science

Class 603

Topic: Branches of Earth Science

Essential Question: What are the main branches of earth science?
Earth Science is the study of the earth, its history, and the properties of the Earth.
There are four main branches of earth science.
Geology- the study of the solid earth
Oceanography- the study of the ocean. Since it is a very large branch of
science, it is broken down into special areas, such as physical, biological,
geological, and chemical oceanography.
Meteorology- the study of the entire atmosphere.
Astronomy- the study of all physical things beyond earth. (To not be confused
with astrology, the pseudo science behind the positions of the planets and the
sun and moon)
There are other branches of earth science, but they are usually sciences that
depend on other science.
These include:
- Ecology: biology, geology, chemistry, and climatology
- Geochemistry: geology and chemistry
- Environmental Science: biology, chemistry, physics, and geology
- Geography and Cartography: geology, biology, and physics
(Fast Fact: In oceanography, a spelunker is a person that explores caves)
Topic: Measurement
Essential Question: What is measurement and how is it used in earth science?

The Metric System is used in science. It is based on the number 10, and each
prefix added to the base unit represents 10 to a positive power or to a negative
power.
Kilo- 1000
Hecto- 100

Deka, or Deca- 10
[unit: meter, gram, Liter]- 1
Deci- .1, or 1/10
Centi- .01, or 1/100
Milli- .001, or 1/1000
Another name for this is the International System of Units, or SI Units.
The reason for the SI Units is to ensure the data shared between scientists are
understandable and the units used are known to every scientist.
Conversions in the metric system are very common. The acronym King Henry
doesnt usually
drink chocolate
milk can be used
to
convert.
King (Kilo-)
Henry (Hecto-)
Doesnt
(Deka-/Deca-)
Usually ([unit])
Drink (Deci-)
Chocolate (Centi-)
Milk (Milli-)
If you are
-Converting a smaller unit to a larger unit of measure, move the decimal as many
places as needed to the left. (eg: 7.7 mm to _____ m, you would move
the
decimal to the left 3 times, since the amount of spaces needed to move
the
7.7 mm to _____ m is 3 places, and 7.7 mm = .0077 m)
-Converting a larger unit to a smaller unit of measure, move the decimal as many
places as needed to the right. (eg 7.7 Km to _____ dm, you would move
the
decimal to the right 4 times, since the amount of spaces needed to move
the
7.7 Km to _____ dm is 4 places, and 7.7 Km = 77000 dm )

Topic: Scientific Method

Essential Question: What is the purpose of the scientific method and why do we use it?

The Scientific Method is a series of steps used to solve problems and answer questions.
There is no specific order of following these steps.
1. Ask a Question- Scientists develop questions from their observations.
2. Gather background information
3. Form a Hypothesis- When scientists want to
4. investigate a question, they form a hypothesis. The hypothesis is an educated
guess that is tested to confirm the validity of it.
5. Test the Hypothesis/Make Observations- Once a hypothesis is established, it
must be tested. They run experiments to test the hypothesis. They must conduct a
controlled experiment. A controlled experiment is one that that tests one variable at a
time. There are two types of Sometimes, observations are made rather than testing it.
6. Analyze the Results- Scientists must create tables and graphs to analyze their
data.
7. Draw Conclusions- After carefully analyzing the data, scientists must conclude
whether the results finish this
8. Repeat work to make sure it is correct and that,you didn't make any mistakes.

9. Communicate Results- After completing an investigation, scientists share

information in scientific journals and lectures at professional meetings.

Unit: Earths Physical Features

Essential Question: What distinguishes Earth out of all the planets?

General Facts About Earth's

The Earth is the 3rd planet from the sun.
The Earth is not a perfect sphere but an Oblate Spheroid or it is slightly bulging
out at the equator.
The Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago
The circumference from the North pole to the south pole is 40,007
kilometers(km).
The circumference around the equator is 40,074 kilometer(km)
The Earth is made up of mostly rock. 71% of it is covered by the global ocean, a
large mass of water consisting of all the Oceans.
The distance between the highest mountain and lowest trench is about 20 km
which is fairly small considering the size of the planet.
Layers Of The Earth
The Earth is made up of 3 major layers which are Core, Mantle, and Crust.
The Earth can also be separately into 5 more specific layers which are the
lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, and inner core.
The Core is the innermost layer,most dense layer and makes 33% of Earths
mass. It is split into 2 sections, inner and outer.
The Inner Core is solid and the Outer Core is liquid.
The core consists of mostly Iron, with some Nickel,Sulfur, and Oxygen.
The Mantle is the middle layer of Earth, made of extremely hot liquid magma,
which makes up 67% of Earths mass.The mantle is split 2 sections.
Mesosphere is the larger section of the Mantle and contains more liquid than the
Asthenosphere.
The Asthenosphere is found closest to the crust and crustal plates move along
the Asthenosphere.
The crust is the outermost layer of a planet.
The crust of the Earth is composed of a great variety of igneous, metamorphic,
and sedimentary rocks. It is less than 1% of the Earths mass.
The continental crust is mostly made of granite and the oceanic is made mostly
of basalt.
The continental crust is thicker but less dense than the oceanic crust.
Plate Tectonics Theory
Plate tectonics sit on top of the asthenosphere.
The current continental and oceanic plates include: the Eurasian plate,
Australian-Indian plate, Philippine plate, Pacific plate, Juan de Fuca plate, Nazca plate,
Cocos plate, North American plate, Caribbean plate, South American plate, African plate,
Arabian plate, the Antarctic plate, and the Scotia plate. These plates consist of smaller
sub-plates.

 Seafloor spreading is the movement of two oceanic plates away from each other
(at a divergent plate boundary), which results in the formation of new oceanic crust (from
magma that comes from within the Earth's mantle) along a mid-ocean ridge. Where the
oceanic plates are moving away from each other is called a zone of divergence.
When two plates collide (at a convergent plate boundary), some crust is
destroyed in the impact and the plates become smaller. The results differ, depending
upon what types of plates are involved.
Oceanic Plate and Continental Plate - When a thin, dense oceanic plate
collides with a relatively light, thick continental plate, the oceanic plate is forced under
the continental plate; this phenomenon is called subduction.
Two Oceanic Plates - When two oceanic plates collide, one may be pushed
under the other and magma from the mantle rises, forming volcanoes in the vicinity.
Two Continental Plates - When two continental plates collide, mountain ranges
are created as the colliding crust is compressed and pushed upwards.
3 driving forces are convection currents, slab pull, and ridge push
The 3 types of boundaries are convergent- plates colliding forming mountains,
divergent-plates moving apart and transform or strike slip-plates sliding past each other.
Scientists use the GPS or Global Positioning System to measure the rate of
tectonic plate movement.
The movement of tectonic plates is based on the density of the layer.
Alfred Wegener and His Theory
In 1915, the German geologist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener (1880-1930)
first proposed the theory of continental drift, which states that parts of the Earth's crust
slowly drift atop a liquid core. The fossil record supports and gives credence to the
theories of continental drift and plate tectonics.
Wegener hypothesized that there was an original, gigantic supercontinent 200
million years ago, which he named Pangaea, meaning "All-earth".
Pangaea was a supercontinent consisting of all of Earth's land masses. It existed
from the Permian through Jurassic periods.
It began breaking up during the Jurassic period, forming continents
Gondwanaland and Laurasia, separated by the Tethys Sea.
The one ocean is called Panthalassa.
His theory was supported by 5 different evidence: fossils, mountain ranges, rock
types, and glacial grooves.

Magnetic Reversals And Sea-Floor Spreading

Geographic north doesnt change only magnetic north changes.
Magnetic reversals supports the idea of seafloor spreading. Sea-floor

spreading is the process of plate tectonics. New oceanic crust is created as large
slabs of the Earth's crust split apart from each other and magma wells up to fill the
gap. The large slabs of rock that make up the Earths crust are called tectonic
plates. As they slowly move away from each other beneath the ocean floor, hot
magma from the Earths mantle bubbles to the surface. Scientists discovered that
the rock that makes up the ocean floor lies in a pattern of magnetized stripes.

Sea-floor spreading happens at mid ocean ridges - example mid atlantic

ridge
Folding And Faulting

Deformation of rock involves changes in the shape and/or volume of these

substances. Changes in shape and volume occur when stress and strain causes
rock to buckle and fracture or crumple into folds. A fold can be defined as a bend in
rock that is the response to compressional forces. Folds are most visible in rocks
that contain layering.
Examples of folding: anticline and syncline and monocline

Anticline is the tip of

Syncline is the
Monocline is a step
There are 3 types of

a hill
bottom
faults: normal faults-causes the hanging wall to

move down, reverse faults-causes the hanging wall to move up, and strike slip
faults-opposing forces cause rocks to break and move horizontally
Mountains

Tectonic plates are responsible for creating mountains

There are 2 types of mountains: folded mountains- mountains that are

squeezed together and pushed upward and volcanic mountains- form when molten
rock erupts onto the earths surface
Vocabulary
crust-the thin, outermost layer of the Earth, or the uppermost part of the lithosphere
mantle-the layer of the earth between the crust and the core
core-the central, spherical part of the Earth below the mantle
lithosphere-the outermost, rigid layer of the Earth that consists of the crust and the rigid
upper part of the mantle
asthenosphere-the soft layer of the mantle on which pieces of the lithosphere move
mesosphere- literally the middle sphere- the strong, lower part of the mantle of the mantle
between the asthenosphere and the outer core
outer core-the liquid layer of the Earths core that lies beneath the mantle and surrounds
the inner core
inner core-the solid, dense center
tectonic plates-a piece of the lithosphere that moves around on top of the asthenosphere
continental drift-the theory that continental can drift apart from one another and have
done so in the past
sea-floor spreading-the process by which new oceanic lithosphere is created at mid
ocean ridges as older materials are pulled away from the ridge
plate tectonics-the theory that the Earths lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that

move around on top of the asthenosphere

convergent boundaries-the boundary between two colliding tectonic plates
subduction zone-the region where an oceanic plate sinks down into the asthenosphere at
a convergent boundary, usually between continental and oceanic plates
divergent boundary-the boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from
each other
transform boundary-the boundary between two tectonic plates that are sliding past each
other horizontally
stress- the amount of force per unit area that is put on a given material
compression-the type of stress that occurs when an object is squeezed
tension-the type of stress that occurs when forces act to stretch an object
folding-the bending of rock layers due to stress in the Earths crust
fault-a break in the Earths crust along which blocks of the crust slide relative to one
another due to tectonic forces
normal fault-a fault in which the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall
reverse fault-a fault in which the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall
strike-slip fault-a fault in which the two fault blocks move past each other horizontally

Reading Topographic Maps

Contour Lines- On a map, contour lines show elevation. Contour lines are lines that
connect points of equal elevation
Contour Intervals- The difference in elevation between one contour line and the next is
called a contour interval.
-

A mapmaker chooses a contour interval based on the areas relief.

Relief is the difference in elevation between the highest and lowest points of

the area being mapped.

Important things to remember about contour lines

1. Contour lines never cross. All points along a contour line represents a single
elevation.
2. The spacing of contour lines depends on slope characteristics. Closely
spaced contour lines represent a steep slope Widely spaced contour lines represent
a gentle slope.
3. Contour line that cross a valley or stream are V-shaped. The V points toward
the area of higher elevation. If a stream or river flows through the stream, the V
points upstream.
4. Contour lines form closed circles around the tops of hills, mountains, and
depressions. One way to tell hills and depressions apart is that depressions are
marked with short, straight lines inside the circle, pointing downslope toward the
center of the depression.