11. Oxygen in the atmosphere is the result of photosynthesis of early organisms like the stromatolites. (cyanobacteria) 12. Resources found in

Transcription

1 Post Test Review 1. The San Andreas Fault System in California is a Transform Fault Boundary. The Pacific Plate is sliding Northwest from the North American Plate. 2. Be able to identify the types of plate boundaries by a description or diagram. Divergent boundaries are mostly associated with divergent plate boundaries. Convergent boundaries are associated with subduction zones, island arcs, continental volcanic arcs. 3. The independent variable in an experiment is the factor being tested in the experiment. Can you name this in an example? 4. When measuring data during an experiment probe ware connected to a computer allows data to be recorded over time. 5. In the early 1960 s an unmanned probe (Ranger 4) was sent to the moon to study the moon s surface and help select a landing area for the later manned moon missions. 6. The Moh s Scale of hardness is used to assign minerals hardness values. Some common items also have been given hardness numbers. You should be able to use the Moh s Scale (given to you) to identify the hardness of a mineral. 7. Understand the evidence in support of the plate tectonic theory. This includes: the Earth is broken into many individual plates that move around the Earth s surface; evidence of plate boundaries like convergent, convergent, and transform. 8. Be able to identify sedimentary rocks as to what type of sedimentary rocks, they are. This includes: Organic (coal, coquina), Clastic (breccia, sandstone, shale), Chemical (limestone, dolostone, evaporites -like halite) 9. Understand the composition of the atmosphere has been affected by human activity by burning fossil fuels. This has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in today s atmosphere. 10. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere helps retain heat. Carbon dioxide is a Greenhouse gas- a gas that retains heat and helps keep the lower atmosphere warmer.

2 11. Oxygen in the atmosphere is the result of photosynthesis of early organisms like the stromatolites. (cyanobacteria) 12. Resources found in Virginia include: Limestone- used to make cement; Coal- used as a fuel, Zirconium- used to make artificial bones, and silicaused in electronic devices as semiconductors. 13. Alternative energy resources may have disadvantages as well as advantages. Solar energy is limited to sunny areas and daytime. Wind energy is limited to higher wind areas and the turbines may kill migrating birds that fly by. Hydro-electric dams may block the migratory patterns of fish. 14. Virginia has 5 main physiographic provinces. The Atlantic Coast plain is made of Cenozoic Era sediments. The Piedmont is a complex area of rocks of various ages. The Blue Ridge Mountains were mainly formed during the Paleozoic Era as Pangaea formed. The Valley and Ridge is mostly Paleozoic marine sedimentary rocks. The Appalachian Plateau is where most of the coal deposits are in Virginia. 15. The Valley and Ridge province of Virginia shows areas of Karst topography. This is due to the large amounts of Limestone bedrock, which is vulnerable to dissolving and producing the many caves of the valley area. This also causes the ph of the groundwater to become lower as carbonic acid forms. This caused a potential for groundwater pollution problems if not checked carefully. 16. Many areas in Virginia use groundwater. The water table is the top of the zone of saturation. This area is from the water table to the bottom of the aquifer. Beneath this is impermeable rock like shale. 17. The Coastal Plain area near the Virginia Beach area has been extracting water from wells. This overuse of the groundwater supply has caused many wells to be producing some brine (salty water). This is called saltwater intrusion. 18. The Chesapeake Bay is one of Virginia s past and present natural resources. The health of the health is important to many marine organisms. Fertilizers from farms and lawns can cause excessive amounts of Nitrogen to build up in the Chesapeake Bay waters. This will cause an outbreak of algae to form called an algae bloom. When these algae die, their decomposition will

3 consume a lot of oxygen in the water. This causes the oxygen levels to drop to dangerous levels, even causing organisms to die. 19. Fossils are most likely to be preserved in sedimentary rock. These rocks form when sediments accumulate and are not affected by the intense heat and/or pressure at depth like seen with igneous or metamorphic rocks. 20. The abundance of marine fossils in many areas of Virginia is evidence that during the past times, may areas of Virginia have been under the sea. 21. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources and cause air pollution when burned. They are used because of their ease of use, and lower cost. 22. Rivers in Virginia may empty into one of three major water bodies. Rivers like the James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac empty into the Chesapeake Bay. Rivers south of the James- like the Roanoke- empty into the North Carolina Sounds. Rivers in the Appalachian Plateau and southern Valley and Ridge empty into the Mississippi River- so eventually reach the Gulf of Mexico. 23. Understand the difference between a meteoroid (in space) a meteor (burning up in the atmosphere- usually called a shooting star) and a meteorite (which impacts the earth s surface) 24. Be able to locate a position marked on a map using latitude and longitude. Remember the equator is a latitude line- so any line going the same way is also latitude. These measures north/south. Longitude lines (like the Prime Meridian) measure east/west. The continental United States is located at North latitudes and West longitudes. Latitude should be listed first. 25. Be able to read a HR (Hertzsprung- Russel) diagram. Absolute magnitude measures the brightness of a star. The lower the value- the brighter the star. Luminosity measures the amount of energy the star produces. The temperature of a star is given in degrees Kelvin. The spectral class is given letter values. Most stars will fall in the main part of the graph and are known as main sequence stars. Our sun is a Main Sequence star- a G Spectral Class star.

4 26. Be able to identify the main non-renewable resources in Virginia. These include: Coal, Petroleum, and Natural Gas. Coal is Virginia s most important non-renewable resource. 27. Be able to identify the soil horizons of a typical soil profile. The A horizon (topsoil), B horizon (subsoil), C horizon (weathered bedrock) and beneath the soil is the unweathered bedrock. There may be an O horizon at the surface. This would represent the organic material on the surface. 28. Where rivers near the Chesapeake Bay the freshwater starts to mix with the saltwater. The Chesapeake Bay is called an Estuary- an area where the freshwater mixes with the saltier water of the ocean. 29. Understand how to read a basic surface weather map and located the types of weather front and pressure systems. 30. Radioactive isotopes can be used to determine the age of some rocks and fossils. This is a type of absolute dating since the age can be determined. 31. Be able to use the relative dating techniques of superposition, crosscutting, inclusions to arrange the relative ages of rock. Also, be able to identify the type of unconformity that may be seen. 32. Understand the basic steps of the rock cycle. This includes the 3 rock types and the processes of weathering and erosion, lithification, metamorphism, heating /melting, and cooling/ solidification. 33. Convection currents are important to several Earth processes. The warmer material rising, cooler materials sinking help with plate tectonics, help form winds in the atmosphere, and help form ocean currents. 34. Energy from the sun travels by radiation in the form of electromagnetic radiation. Once this energy reaches the atmosphere and hits the surface, unequal heating of the various types of surfaces causes weather patterns that may produce storms. 35. Understand the causes of seasons. Seasons are due to the tilting of the Earth on its axis as it revolves around the sun. When the Northern Hemisphere has summer, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun; while in winter the N.H. is tilted away from the sun. Seasons are opposite between the N.H. and S.H.

5 36. Be able to understand the life cycle of a smaller star (like our sun) is different from the life cycle of a larger star. 37. Be able to place the planets in the correct order from the Sun outward. I suggest using the sentence: My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. This puts the nine (yes I still include the dwarf PLANET Pluto) planets in order from the sun outward. The pause (.) is the boundary between the inner planets and outer planets. This is where the asteroid belt is located. 38. Be able to name and identify the processes of the water cycle. The main processes include evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. 39. The process known as upwelling is where deeper ocean water is brought to the surface. This allows the nutrient rich deeper water to move to the surface where there is sunlight. Photosynthesis can then occur, creating a new food web. This is where the fishing is great. 40. Identify the processes of the scientific method. Know what a hypothesis, independent variable, dependent variable, and control are. 41. Identify the major climate areas. This includes the Polar, Tropical, and Temperate zones. 42. Be able to recognize the size of an igneous rock crystal is the key to identifying the rock as intrusive or extrusive. You may have to recognize the name of these rocks like: Intrusive name- granite, gabbro; Extrusive: rhyolite, basalt

6 43. The Earth s plate (lithosphere) are in motion due to the movement within the area of the mantle known as the asthenosphere. In this area rocks have the ability to flow under pressure. 44. Be able to determine the density of an unknow sample using data. The mass is often determined with an electronic scale and the volume using water displacement in a graduated cylinder. Density = Mass/ Volume 45. Recognize the major rock forming minerals here in Virginia. These include quartz, mica, feldspar (silicates) and calcite (carbonate) 46. The universe is thought to be 14.5 billion years old. The best explanation to explain this is the Big Bang Theory. 47. The galaxy we live in is called the Milky Way and is a spiral type galaxy. 48. Our solar system formed about 5 billion years ago from a cloud of dust and gas. Most of this matter came to the center and forms the Sun (over 99% of the mass of our solar system is in the Sun) Other swirls slowly came together and formed the planets. This is referred to as the Solar Nebular Hypothesis.