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| Scientific inquiry via Observation -> Hypothesis -> Testing -> Theory |
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| A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, logical inferences, and tested hypotheses, but can always change. |
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| The eight major planets that revolve around the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. |
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| A cloud of dust and gases. |
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| (A). A huge cloud of dust and gases (a nebula) contracts. (B). Most of the material is gravitationally swept toward the center, producing the Sun, while the remainder flattens into a disk. (C). Small eddies are created by the circular motion. (D). In time, most of the remaining debris forms the planets and their moons. |
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| Oceanography/Marine Science |
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| The study of the ocean, its ecosystems, and life forms. |
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| The time required for one-half of the atoms in a sample to decay to other atoms |
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| Manufacture their own food supply. |
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| The process of plant cells capturing light energy and storing it as sugars. |
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| How much of the Earth’s surface is covered with water and how much of that water is contained in the oceans? |
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Definition
| 71% covered in water, and 97.2% of the water is contained in the oceans. |
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| Distinguish between the four principal oceans (plus the Southern or Antarctic Ocean) in terms of location, size, and depth: |
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Definition
Pacific Ocean – (1st Largest) the world’s largest ocean, covering more than half of the ocean surface area on Earth it is also the deepest ocean (getting smaller).
Atlantic Ocean – (2nd Largest) is about half the size of the Pacific Ocean and is not as deep (but is second deepest ocean), it separates the Old World from the New World (getting bigger).
Indian Ocean – (3rd Largest) is slightly smaller than the Atlantic Ocean and has about the same average depth, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere (20% of the ocean surface (getting larger).
Arctic Ocean – is about 7% the size of the Pacific Ocean and is only a little more than one-quarter as deep as the rest of the oceans (it is the smallest and shallowest ocean). It is in the northern hemisphere (surrounds the North Pole).
Southern Ocean or Antarctic Ocean – Oceanographers recognize an additional ocean near the continent of Antarctica in the Southern Hemisphere (below 50 S latitude). |
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| Who were the first people (other than the Native Americans) to arrive on the North American continent? |
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| Distinguish between an ocean and a sea. |
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| Seas are smaller, shallower, somewhat enclosed by land (however all seas do connect to oceans). |
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| Explain the process of the scientific method. |
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Definition
- Ovservation – Collection of scientific facts.
- Hypothesis – A tentative, testable statement about the natural world used to build more complex inferences and explanations.
- Testing – Development of observations, experiments, and models to test the hypothesis
- Theory – In science, a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, logical inferences, and tested hypotheses. |
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| Discuss the nebular hypothesis. |
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Definition
| (A). A huge cloud of dust and gases (a nebula) contracts. (B). Most of the material is gravitationally swept toward the center, producing the Sun, while the remainder flattens into a disk. (C). Small eddies are created by the circular motion. (D). In time, most of the remaining debris forms the planets and their moons. |
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| Classify the layers of the Earth’s interior based on chemical composition and physical properties (be able to distinguish between each layer based on classification and properties). |
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Definition
Chemical Composition
- Crust – Composed of relatively low-density rock, consisting mostly of various silicate minerals (common rock-forming minerals with silicon and oxygen). There are two types of crust – oceanic (5 miles thick 180 million years old) and continental (25-45 miles thick).
- Mantle – It occupies the largest volume of the three layers and extends to a depth of about 1800 miles. It is com posed of relatively high density iron and magnesium silicate rock.
- Core – Forms a large mass from 1800 miles to the center of Earth at 3960 miles. The core is composed of even higher-density metal (mostly iron and nickel).
Physical Properties
- Lithosphere – The Earth’s cool, rigid, outermost layer. Extends from the surface to an average depth of about 62 miles. It is brittle and it is the Plate Tectonics that move.
- Asthenosphere – is plastic, meaning that it will flow when a gradual force is applied to it (high viscosity). It extends from about 62 miles to 430 miles below the surface, which is the base of the upper mantle.
- Mesosphere (lower mantle) – extends to a depth of about 1800 miles, which corresponds to the middle and lower mantle. It is rigid most likely due to the increased pressure at these depths.
- Outer core – is liquid and capable of flowing (iron 2270 km thick).
- Inner core – is rigid and does not flow (1216 km thick). |
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| What is the Chemical Composition of Earth |
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Definition
- Crust – Composed of relatively low-density rock, consisting mostly of various silicate minerals (common rock-forming minerals with silicon and oxygen). There are two types of crust – oceanic (5 miles thick 180 million years old) and continental (25-45 miles thick).
- Mantle – It occupies the largest volume of the three layers and extends to a depth of about 1800 miles. It is com posed of relatively high density iron and magnesium silicate rock.
- Core – Forms a large mass from 1800 miles to the center of Earth at 3960 miles. The core is composed of even higher-density metal (mostly iron and nickel). |
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| What are the Physical Properties of Earth |
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Definition
- Lithosphere – The Earth’s cool, rigid, outermost layer. Extends from the surface to an average depth of about 62 miles. It is brittle and it is the Plate Tectonics that move.
- Asthenosphere – is plastic, meaning that it will flow when a gradual force is applied to it (high viscosity). It extends from about 62 miles to 430 miles below the surface, which is the base of the upper mantle.
- Mesosphere (lower mantle) – extends to a depth of about 1800 miles, which corresponds to the middle and lower mantle. It is rigid most likely due to the increased pressure at these depths.
- Outer core – is liquid and capable of flowing (iron 2270 km thick).
- Inner core – is rigid and does not flow (1216 km thick). |
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| Distinguish between oceanic crust and continental crust in terms of composition, density, and location. |
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Definition
- Oceanic Crust – Underlies the ocean basins and is composed of the igneous rock basalt, which has relatively high density of about 3.0 grams per cubic centimeter. The average thickness is about 5 miles.
- Continental Crust – Composed mostly of the lower-density granite. Density is about 2.7 grams per cubic centimeter. The average thickness is about 22 miles but may reach a maximum of 37 miles beneath the highest mountain ranges. Most granite beneath the surface is molten magma that cools and hardens within Earth’s crust. |
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Definition
| Underlies the ocean basins and is composed of the igneous rock basalt, which has relatively high density of about 3.0 grams per cubic centimeter. The average thickness is about 5 miles. |
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| Composed mostly of the lower-density granite. Density is about 2.7 grams per cubic centimeter. The average thickness is about 22 miles but may reach a maximum of 37 miles beneath the highest mountain ranges. Most granite beneath the surface is molten magma that cools and hardens within Earth’s crust. |
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| Discuss the evolution of the Earth’s Atmosphere |
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Definition
| Earths initial atmosphere consisted of leftover gases from the nebula, but those were blown away by the Sun’s solar wind. The second atmosphere was most likely expelled from inside Earth by outgassing. During the period of density stratification, the lowest-density material contained w/in Earth was composed of various gases. These gases rose to the surface and were expelled to form Earth’s early atmosphere. The composition of the atmosphere changed over time because of the influence of life. Photosynthetic organisms transformed the planet by capturing the energy of the Sun to make food and releasing oxygen as a waste product. It made Earth oxygen rich (about 21%). |
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| Discuss the evolution of the Earth’s Oceans |
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Definition
| Because outgassing releases mostly water vapor, this was the primary source of water on Earth, when the Earth cooled, the water vapor released to the atmosphere, fell to Earth and accumulated in low areas. Research also shows that comets, being about half water, provided some water to the early oceans. |
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| Explain the importance of Stanley Miller’s work. |
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Definition
| He demonstrated that vast amounts of organic molecules could have been produced in Earth’s early oceans. |
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| Explain radiometric dating. |
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Definition
| Most rocks on Earth contain small amounts of radioactive materials. These radioactive materials spontaneously break apart or decay into atoms of other elements. Radioactive materials have a characteristic half-life. The older the rock is the more radioactive material will have been converted to decay product. Analytical instruments can accurately measure the amount of radioactive material and the amount of resulting decay product in rocks. By comparing these two quantities, the age of the rock can thus be determined. |
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