Name: Latitude/ Longitude Stuff To Know Lat/ Long (notes p1) Latitude lines are f LAT, horizontal, parallel circles that go around the earth. They appear as lines on a flat map. Lat goes from 0 90 N and S of the equator which is 0. Latitude degrees can be broken down into minutes (every degree has 60 minutes) Altitude to Polaris = Latitude North of the Equator ( Polaris tells you where you are AT your L AT! ) Polaris is the star at the end if the handle of the Little Dipper and the star that the Pointer Stars (in the Big Dipper) point to. Longitude (notes p 2) Longitude lines are LONG LEGS, vertical lines that meet at the North and South Poles. Longitude goes from 0 180 East and West of the Prime Meridian which is 0. Longitude degrees can be broken down into minutes (every degree has 60 minutes) Every 15 longitude is one hour of time because the earth rotates 15 per hour. If you travel west, it gets earlier. If you travel east, it gets later. Polar Maps (notes p 3, 4, 5) Polar maps view the Earth from the North Pole or the South Pole. Latitude lines look like circles. The biggest circle is the equator. Longitude lines are lines radiating out the point in the center which is the North or South Pole. Reference Tables New York State Map (notes p 6) You need to be able to locate places in New York State using latitude and longitude (including minutes). The half way points between degrees is 30 minutes. New York is N of the equator and W of the Prime Meridian.
Name: Mapping Stuff To Know Fields (notes p1, 2) A field is anything that can be measured (temperature, elevation, air pressure ) A field map shows lines that connect points of equal value in the field.ie all of the 20s are connected This allows us to see what is going on in the field. Isolines are the lines connecting equal values. (Isotherms temperature, contour lines = elevation isobars = air pressure ) Topographic maps (notes p 2, 3) Topographic maps are contour maps showing elevation. Contour interval is what the contour lines go by. Is there a contour line every 10 meters? 20 meters? Often, every fifth contour line will be bold and labeled. (Index contour) Depression contour lines have little teeth on them or hachured marks. These marks indicate that the elevation is decreasing in the depression or crater. A solid line and a hachured line next to eachother will have the elevation and then elevations will decrease with the next hachured lines. As a contour line crosses a river or valley it will bend uphill. River water flows out of the bend of the contour line or downhill from higher elevation to lower. The closer together the lines are, the steeper it is. Topographic Map Skills (notes p 4-7) When drawing isolines, make sure to go by the interval. If the number is not there then it is hidden between numbers. Just keep going from one side of the map to the other. Lines will never just end. They will either reach the edge of the map or will connect as a ring. If there is a river, expect the line to bend as it crosses it. Profiles show what the land looks like from the side along the profile line. To draw a profile,.on the edge of a piece of paper lined up with the profile line, mark of the contour lines as the cross the profile line, label the lines with elevations, line up the piece of paper with the x axis of your graph..mark the elevations exactly above the marks on the paper. connect with a smooth curve.two elevations the same that are next to eachother represent a hilltop or a valley and the line will curve up or down between them. Gradient (notes p 7) Gradient is a number that represents slope or steepness. To calculate gradient, use the formula on the Reference Tables. Change in field value is difference between the values of the points (or letters) indicated. So, the gradient between C and D you would begin by subtracting the value at C and the value at D. Divide the change in field value by the distance between the points (or letters) indicated. Units are m/km or ft/mi or C/ft or mb/km
Name: Astronomy I Stuff to Know! Light year (notes page 1) We use Light Years (L.Y.) to measure distances between stars and galaxies. Light year is a distance the distance light travels in a year.10 trillion km! The Sun s light takes 8 minutes to get to us so when we see the Sun, we see it as it was 8 minutes ago. If a star explodes now, we won t see it explode until its light reaches us. For Vega 26 LY away it would take 26 years. Galaxies (notes page 1) Galaxies are groups of billions of stars that appear spiral, elliptical, or irregular shaped. There are billions of galaxies in the universe.each containing billions of stars! The Milky Way Galaxy is spiral shaped. There is a black hole in the center and the Sun and our Solar System are about 2/3 of the way out on one of the arms. Each arm is made of billions of stars, our Sun being only one! Age and size of the Universe (notes page 1) The universe is biggest and formed about 13 billion years ago The universe contains galaxies of different ages. Our Milky Way formed about 11 billion years ago. Not all stars in our Milky Way are the same age. Our Sun and Solar System (all planets and other objects) formed 4.6 billion years ago. Electromagnetic Energy (notes p 3, 4, 5) Sun gives off many wavelengths of energy (see Reference tables p 14) Be able to compare wavelengths. White light contains all colors of visible light (rainbow) and can be seen when looking through a spectroscope. Continuous spectrum is when you look at white light and see a rainbow all the colors smeared. Bright line spectrum is what you see through a spectroscope at a glowing gas. We saw H and He in class. You see certain bright lines. Every element has its own set of lines..like a fingerprint identifying the element. Dark line spectrum is the same as bright line but is what you see when looking at a star. The position of the lines compared with elements bright line spectrums helps identify elements in stars. Doppler Effect and Big Bang Theory (notes 5, 6, 7) When light moves towards us, it squishes (gets shorter) and looks bluer. (lines shift to blue side =blue shift)
When light moves away from us, it stretches (gets longer) and looks redder. (lines shift to red side = red shift) Almost every galaxy is red-shifted which means that they are moving away from us and other galaxies. This is proof that the universe is expanding and that there was a Big Primeval Explosion from which the universe is expanding, called the Big Bang. Other proof of the Big Bang is Cosmic Background Radiation. Leftover energy from the Big Bang that can be detected and is 13 billion light years away (13 by old). Star Life Cycle (notes p 7, 8) Stars all began as nebulas. As nebula gets pulled together by gravity, it spins and heats up. (protostar) Once a star gets hot enough to begin nuclear fusion, it becomes a main sequence star. Nuclear fusion produces energy for the star by fusing small H atoms together to make He. If the main sequence star is smaller mass, it will begin to run out of H fuel, expand to a Red Giant and then shrink to a white dwarf when its H is used up. If the main sequence star is larger mass, it will expand to a Supergiant and then explode as a supernova. Supernovas may lead to neutron stars or black holes and leave material (nebulas) to begin new star formation. Use the Reference Tables p 15 to compare the temperatures and luminosities of stars.
Name: Astronomy II Stuff to Know! The Sun and Solar System (notes page 1) The Sun has different layers. The Sun has sunspots that are related to magnetic field levels on the Sun. The more magnetism, the more sunspots. Sunspots increase and decrease in number in cyclic pattern every 11 years. The solar system formed with the Sun 4.6 billion years ago. Planets formed from material that spun out in a disk from the Sun. This material came together by gravity forming planets. Extra material became asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. Comets are ice and dust and they have very eccentric orbits. When they face into the Sun, the solar wind blows vapor and dust behind the comet s head. The tail always points away from the Sun. Meteoroids are small rocks in space. They are called meteors when they burn up in the atmosphere ( shooting stars ) and called meteorites when the rock isn t burned up completely and hits the surface. Asteroids are larger rocks in the Solar System that orbit. Many orbit between Mars and Jupiter in the Asteroid Belt. Use Ref Tbl. P 15 to compare properties of the Sun, planets and our moon in the Solar System. Celestial Sphere and Orbits (notes page 2) Celestial sphere is the dome of the sky that we see when we look up at night or during the day. Celestial objects are things in space moon, Sun, stars, Terrestrial objects are what we see in our atmosphere or on the Earth s surface. Stars are located using azimuth direction and altitude (angle up from the horizon) The force of gravity is stronger the larger and closer together the objects are. Inertia keeps objects going straight, gravity pulls objects toward the planet. An orbit results. Rotation and star paths (notes page 2,3) The Earth rotates 360 in 24 hours so 15 /hour. Because the earth rotates, stars appear to move through the sky 15 /hour. The only star that does not is Polaris because it is aligned with the axis of rotation.
The paths that stars make are called star paths and can be seen it a camera s shutter is opened for hours. To find how much time has passed, measure the angle that the star path makes with Polaris and divide by 15 /hour. Kepler laws of planetary motion (notes p 4, 5) Kepler s first law: eccentricity (how out of round orbits are); the formula for eccentricity is on the Ref Tbls. Measure the distance between the focal points and divide by the length across the ellipse through the focal points (major axis). There are no units. Answer has three places past the decimal (thousandths) Eccentricity ranges from 0-1. A circle is 0 and a line is 1. The Ref Tables p 15 lists the eccentricities of the planets. Be able to compare them. The Sun is at a focal point for all of the planets orbits. There is only one object at a focal point. There is nothing at the other focal point. Kepler s Second Law: Orbiting objects sweep out equal areas in equal amounts of time. As an object gets close to what it is orbiting, it speeds up, gravity is stronger, and the orbited object appears larger (apparent diameter). Kepler s Third Law: The farther away a planet is from the Sun, the longer the orbit and period of revolution (time it takes to orbit). See Ref Tbls. P 15. Models of the Solar System (notes p 5, 6) The old, incorrect model of the Solar System (actually universe) was that everything revolved around us, the Earth! The geocentric model could not explain terrestrial observations like the Coriolis Effect and Foucault Pendulum because it was believed that the earth did not rotate! There was also a complicated explanation for why planets appear to change directions over months sometimes in the sky. (retrograde motion) The heliocentric model is correct and has the Sun in the center and the planets revolving around it. The earth also rotates, which explains the Coriolis Effect (wind and ocean currents move clockwise in the N hemisphere and counterclockwise in the S) and Foucault Pendulum (it moves back and forth in the same direction, but our rotation makes it look like it is changing direction). There is also a simple explanation of Retrograde Motion as planets pass each other in orbit, the planet being passed will appear to change direction in the sky only because it is being passed. Moon Phases and Eclipses (notes p 6,7) We see a set of moon phases every 29.5 days (a moon th) because as the moon orbits the Earth, we on Earth see different portions of the lit half. You must know the names and locations of all of the phases.
The plane that the moon orbits on is different than the plane that the Earth orbits on so it s orbit is inclined. This prevents eclipses from happening all the time. Occasionally, a Solar Eclipse happens in the New Moon phase when the moon blocks the Sun. Occasionally, a Lunar Eclipse happens in the Full Moon phase when the Earth s shadow blocks the Moon. Tides (notes p 7) Tides are a result of the gravitational pull of the Moon and to a lesser degree, the Sun. When the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned (New and Full Moon Phase) then there are very high and low times = Spring Tides. When the Sun, Moon, and Earth make a right angle (1 st and last quarter phases) then there are lower high tides and higher low tides = Neap Tides.
Name: Seasons and Insolation Stuff to Know! REVOLUTION (notes page 1) The earth revolves 360 in 365 days. This is approximately 1 per day. The earth is closest to the sun during our winter and farthest during our summer. We see different constellations from Earth depending on where we are in our orbit. We always see Polaris and any constellations close to Polaris like the Big and Little Dipper. REASONS FOR THE SEASONS (notes page 2) Important latitudes for the study of seasons include: The Equator (0 ), the Tropic of Cancer ( 23 ½ N) and Tropic of Capricorn (23 ½ S), the Arctic Circle (66 ½ N) and the Antarctic Circle ( 66 ½ S). The Tropics are from (23 ½ N to 23 ½ S) and the Temperate Regions are from 23 ½ N to 66 ½ N or the same in the Southern hemisphere. The Polar Regions are from 66 ½ N to 90 N or the same in the Southern hemisphere. The three reasons for the seasons are the revolution of the Earth around the Sun, the 23 ½ tilt of the axis of the Earth, and the parallelism of the axis. This causes different angles of light to hit the earth throughout the year which affects the heating of the earth. Summer in the N hemisphere is when the N Pole is tilting towards the sun. Winter, it s tilting away. FIRST DAYS OF EACH SEASON (notes page 3) The first day of summer is June 21 and is called the Summer Solstice. The first day of fall is Sept 23 and is called the Fall or Autumnal Equinox and the first day of Spring is Mar 21 and is called the Spring or Vernal Equinox. The first day of winter is December 21 and is called the Winter Solstice. Each season is represented by a quarter of the orbit around the Sun. The location of every month on the orbit can be determined. TIME OF DAY AND LENGTH OF DAY (Duration of Insolation) (notes page 3, 4) The side of the earth facing the Sun is always light and the side facing away is dark. Time of day is determined by where you are in relation to the twilight circle. The equator always gets 12 hours of light throughout the year. The north and south poles have 24 hrs light for half the year and 24 hours dark the other. New York City s latitude has about 15 hrs light on first day of summer, 12 hrs on each equinox day, and 9 hrs on first day of winter. Everywhere on earth gets 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark on the equinoxes and the sun rises due E and sets due W everywhere because the twilight circle passes through the poles. Everywhere on Earth has the same number of daylight hours over an entire year! The steeper the curve of the duration of insolation graph, the higher the latitude. A graph of the Southern hemisphere would be the same but flipped upside down.
ROTATION AND PATH OF SUN (notes page 4) Because the earth rotates from W to E on a tilted axis, the sun appears as an arc in the sky rising somewhere in the E and setting somewhere in the W. The height of the arc and the arc s length vary with the seasons and position in revolution. The length of the arc indicates the amount of daylight received (duration of insolation) Solar noon is when the sun is at its highest point in its arc across the sky. In NYS (actually all mid-latitudes in the N hemisphere) the sun rises NE and sets NW on the first day of summer. The sun rises due E and sets due W on the first day of fall and spring. The sun rises SE and sets SW on the first day of winter. Everywhere in the N hemisphere looks S to see the solar noon position. The sun s path at the north and south pole is parallel to the horizon and for six months of the year makes a low circle in the sky. The sun s path at the equator is always nearly vertical and always nearly 12 hours in length. The Sun moves 15 per hour across the sky. ANGLE AND INTENSITY OF SUNLIGHT (notes page 5,6) With higher angles of sunlight, the intensity of the light is greater because it is more focused in a smaller area and the heating is more effective. High latitudes near the poles have lower angles of sunlight throughout the year than lower latitudes in the Tropics. The tropics are always hit with high angles, high intensity of light so they are hotter than polar regions. VERTICAL RAY (DIRECT, 90 ANGLE) (notes page 6) The vertical ray, direct ray, 90 ray of light from the sun always hits somewhere in the Tropics between 23 ½ N and 23 ½ S. The vertical ray hits the Tropic of Cancer on June 21, the equator on Mar 21 and Sept 23, and the Tropic of Capricorn on Dec 21. All other days it is hitting somewhere in between these latitudes. NYS never gets the vertical ray. (Actually nowhere out of the Tropics does!) Wherever the vertical ray hits will have the sun reach the zenith at solar noon on that day. NYS never has solar noon at the zenith. (Actually nowhere out of the Tropics does!) SHADOWS (notes page 7) A shadow always points the opposite direction of the Sun (light source) A high angle of light will leave a short shadow. A low angle of light will leave a long shadow and a high angle a short shadow. Shadows are longest in the morning and afternoon and shortest at solar noon. Shadows are longest in winter and shortest in summer.
Name: Energy Stuff to Know Insolation from the Sun (notes p 1) Energy that gets to Earth s atmosphere from Sun can be absorbed by clouds, gases in the air, or the earth s surface.reflected by clouds and air molecules..or scattered/ refracted by air molecules. Energy Transfer (notes p 1 and 2) Energy moves in three ways: Conduction: through solids (energy moves from molecule to molecule by collisions) Convection: through liquids or gases; (density differences cause a flow of energy: hot, less dense, rises and cold, more dense, sinks) and Radiation: energy travel in waves, no medium of transfer needed, can travel through a vacuum of space or solids, liquids, or gases. Temperature (notes p 2) Temperature is a measure of the movement of atoms (kinetic energy). If there is no movement then that is absolute zero. Factors that affect amount and rate of heating (notes p 3) Angle of Insolation (higher angle means more intense light and greater heating) Water heats and cools slower than land and other earth materials like metals. Duration of insolation (longer length of daylight means more heating) Dark absorbs and radiates better than light and shiny which reflect better Rough absorbs and radiates better than smooth which reflects better A good absorber is a good radiator of energy!!!!!! Specific Heat and Heat Capacity (notes p 3 and 4) The reference Tables have a chart that lists specific heats of earth substances. The higher the specific heat, that longer it takes to heat up and cool down. The higher the specific heat, the greater the heat capacity (ie water holds and gives off LOTS of heat whereas metals do not) Properties of Water (notes p 4 and 5) Melting/ Freezing and Evaporation/ Condensation (phase changes) occur along the flat parts of the graph. Temperature does not change during a phase change. The sloped parts of the graph are the phases heating up or cooling down S, L, G. Energy is absorbed as you go right on the graph and released as you go left. Amounts of energy involved in phase changes in Joules is on the Reference Tables. Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming (notes p 6) Visible light radiation is the wavelength that gets thru the atmosphere the most. X-rays, gamma, and ultraviolet (UV) are blocked by the atmosphere and ozone. Visible light can be absorbed, scattered, or reflected
During the day, light gets to the earth s surface and is absorbed. The energy gets re-radiated as infrared rays and gets trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases (CO 2, H 2 O and CH 4 ), heating up the earth. Short waves in Long waves out get trapped by greenhouse gases. Think of a greenhouse or car that heats up. Burning of fossil fuels and deforestation increase CO 2. Increased global warming will lead to melting ice caps, flooding, drought, migration of plants and animals changing, people migration. Solutions to global warming include: burning less fossil fuel (use alternate energy sources), plant more trees (end deforestation), walk, carpool, Hottest and Coldest Times of the Year and Day (notes p 7) The hottest time of the year occurs in late July and August, after the longest duration of insolation (June 21). The coldest time of the year occurs in late January and February, after the shortest duration of insolation (December 21) The hottest time of the day occurs at 3-4 PM, after the greatest intensity of insolation at solar noon. The coldest time of the day is right before sunrise. The earth radiated heat all night long causing the temperature to drop.