Science 4th Quarter Exam

• Sun


  Medium sized star, center of the solar system
• Sun


  • Diameter: 1,400,000 km
  • Distance from Earth: 149,600,000 km
  • Temperature at center: 15,000,000 °C
• Composition of the Sun


  • Hydrogen 75%
  • Helium 24%
  • Other (oxygen, carbon, neon, iron) 1%
• Layers of the Sun

  • Core
  • Radiative zone
  • Convection zone
  • Photosphere
  • Chromosphere
  • Corona
• Sunspots


  Dark areas on the photosphere that are cooler than the rest
• Solar Flares


  Intense bursts of energy that stream off the Sun
• Solar Prominences


  Large bright features extending outward from the Sun
• Earth

  4.54 billion years old, third planet from the Sun, average distance of 150 million km
• Layers of the Earth

  • Inner Core
  • Outer Core
  • Mantle
  • Crust
• Inner Core


  • Solid, hot, dense ball of mostly iron, radius 1220 km, temperature 5200 °C, pressure 3.6 million atmospheres
• Outer Core


  • Mostly composed of liquid iron and nickel, thickness 2200-2250 km, temperature 4500-5500 °C
• Mantle


  • Layer of molten rock between the solid crust and the hot dense core, thickness 2900 km, temperature 1000-3700 °C
• Crust


  • Outermost layer, 1% of Earth's mass, made up of solid rocks and minerals, Continental Crust 10-75 km thick, Oceanic Crust 5-7 km thick
• Mohorovicic Discontinuity


  Boundary between the crust and mantle
• Gutenberg Discontinuity


  Boundary between the core and mantle
• Earth is habitable because it is at the right distance from the Sun, has a protective magnetic field, and has the right chemical ingredients for life including water and carbon
• Formation of the Moon

  Thought to have formed from debris after a massive object collided with Earth (Giant Impact Theory)
• Moon


  • Solid, rocky surface, cratered and pitted, thin negligible atmosphere, temperature range -173°C to 127°C
• Lunar Regolith


  Charcoal-gray, powdery dust and debris covering the Moon's surface
• Maria/Mare


  Dark features on the Moon's surface, impact basins filled with lava between 4.2 and 1.2 billion years ago
• Layers of the Moon


  • Crust
  • Mantle
  • Core
• Earth's Rotation


  Spinning motion about its own axis, gives rise to day and night
• Earth's Revolution


  Movement of the Earth around the Sun in a fixed path, one complete revolution takes 365.24 days
• Earth's axis of rotation is tilted by 23.45 degrees, causing the different seasons
• Seasons


  • Vernal Equinox
  • Summer Solstice
  • Autumnal Equinox
  • Winter Solstice
• Latitude


  Distance measured in degrees north and south of the equator
• Climate Zones


  • Tropical Rainforest
  • Savanna
  • Desert
  • Grasslands
  • Deciduous Forest
  • Taiga
  • Tundra
  • Alpine
• Tropical Rainforest


  • Annual rainfall 100 inches, average temperature 18°C, located between 10°S and 25°N
• Savanna


  • Annual rainfall 25 cm, average temperature 16°C, located between 15°-25°N and S latitudes
• Desert


  • Annual rainfall 0.25 cm, average temperature 16°C, located between 15-25° N and S latitudes
• Grasslands


  • Annual rainfall 81 cm, average temperature 31°C, located between 30-55° N and S latitudes
• Deciduous Forest


  • Annual rainfall 81 cm, average temperature 31°C, located between 30-55° N and S latitudes
• Taiga


  • Annual rainfall 31 cm, average temperature -25° to -16°C, located between 50-70° N and S latitudes
• Tundra


  • Annual rainfall 20 cm, average temperature -22 to -6°C, located between 60 to 75° N and S latitudes
• Alpine


  • Annual rainfall 23 cm, average temperature -18 to -10°C, found in areas of high elevation
• Layers of the Atmosphere


  • Troposphere
  • Stratosphere
  • Mesosphere
  • Thermosphere
  • Exosphere
• Troposphere


  Lowest layer (14-18 km), contains water vapor and weather
• Tropopause


  Boundary zone between troposphere and stratosphere
• Stratosphere

  Second layer (50 km), contains the ozone layer that shields the Earth from harmful UV radiation
• Mesosphere


  Third layer (90 km), coldest region where meteors burn up