Science sol

• Inner Rocky Planets

  • Mercury
  • Venus
  • Earth
  • Mars
• Inner Rocky Planets have no rings
• Asteroid Belt

  Large rocks found between Mars and Jupiter
• Outer Gas Giant Planets

  • Jupiter
  • Saturn
  • Uranus
  • Neptune
• Outer Gas Giant Planets have many moons and rings
• Dwarf Planets

  Haven't yet cleared their orbit of debris
• Meteors

  Rocks that burn up in Earth's atmosphere
• Comets

  Chunks of ice and rock that orbit the Sun
• Gravity

  Force that keeps the planets in motion around the Sun
• Planets revolve around the Sun and rotate (spin) on their axis
• Earth's revolving around the Sun takes 365.25 days
• Earth's rotation on its axis takes 24 hours
• Phases of the moon

  Caused by its position between the Earth and sun
• Phases of the moon

  • Waxing (gaining light)
  • Waning (losing light)
  • Gibbous (more than half lit)
  • Crescent (less than half lit)
• Earth has magnetic fields that help protect from solar radiation
• Seasons

  Caused by Earth's tilt (23.5) on its axis and its revolution around the Sun
• Tides

  Caused by gravitational pull of the moon and sun on the surface waters of Earth
• Copernicus discovered that the Sun is the center of the solar system
• Tides

  • Spring tide/Strong tide (Sun & moon are aligned, new moon, full moon)
  • Neap Tide/Weak (First quarter, third quarter, right Angle)
• Ocean currents

  Distribute heat around earth
• Fresh water is 3%, salt water is 97%
• Greenhouse effect

  Gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere trap heat, which causes global warming
• Earth receives a small portion of the Sun's energy
• Incoming radiation is in balance with energy that leaves the atmosphere (Some reflected, some absorbed by Earth)
• The Sun is responsible for powering motion of atmosphere (wind currents, and ocean currents)
• Earth is heated unequally (more toward the equator)
• When air or water is heated

  Molecules move faster and farther, reducing their density and causing them to rise
• When air or water is cooled

  Molecules move slower and closer together, increasing the density and causing them to sink
• Cloud Formation

  1. Bodies of water absorb energy, causing the water to evaporate

  2. Warm water vapor rises

  3. Water vapor cools in the upper atmosphere

  4. Cool water vapor condenses to form tiny water droplets as clouds
• Thunderstorms form where the land or moist air is strongly heated
• Hurricanes form over warm water and are fed by the energy by it
• Types of clouds

  • Stratus Clouds (May bring steady rain/snow)
  • Cirrus Clouds (High and Thin, Made of Ice Crystals, Will NOT produce precipitation)
  • Cumulus Clouds (Puffy, Fair-weather clouds, Can become Cumulonimbus)
• Air is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), water, carbon dioxide, and argon
• Humidity

  Moisture in the air (psychrometer/hygrometer)
• Air pressure

  Force of air on objects (barometer)
• Thermosphere


  Lowest Air Pressure, Satellites orbit here
• Mesosphere


  Meteors burn up here
• Stratosphere


  Ozone layer here
• Troposphere


  Highest Air Pressure, All weather here
• Forest fires/volcanic eruption are two natural processes that affect Earth's atmosphere