The Dynamic Earth

Review Guide for the Chapter Test and the Final ExamThe Dynamic Earth Into what four parts do scientists divide the Earth?The geosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the biosphere

The solid part of the Earth. Most is located in the Earths interior.The geosphereThe average radius of the Earth is _______.6,372 km

The _________ is the mixture of gases that makes up the air that we breath.Atmosphere

Nearly all of the atmosphere may be found in the first ____ km above the surface.30The _______ makes up all of the water on or near the Earths surface.Hydrosphere

97% of the water on the Earth is located in the _______.Oceans.

The _______ is the part of the Earth where life exists.Biosphere By what method do scientists study the interior of the Earth?Scientists study seismic waves.

What are the three layers into which scientists divide the earths interior?The crust, mantle, and core

The lightest, thinnest layer of the Earth is the ______.crustThis layer of the Earth is composed of the densest materials.The core

For 19 years, the Russians drilled a hole to a depth of 12 km on the Kola Peninsula. How old were the oldest rocks that they discovered?2.7 billion years old

The Earths lithosphere (part of the crust) is divided into pieces called _______________.Tectonic platesAlfred Wegener developed the theory of continental drift and proposed that all of the continents were once joined to a landmass called _________.Pangaea

Most of the Earths geologic activity at the surface is located at the boundaries between the _______________.Tectonic platesThe forces produced at the boundaries of tectonic plates can causeMountains to form, earthquakes to shake the crust, and volcanoes to erupt.

A break in the Earths crust along which blocks of the crust slide relative to one another.A fault

A scale used by scientists to quantify the amount of energy released by an earthquake.The Richter scaleEach increase of magnitude by one whole number indicates a release of how much energy?31.7 times

Concentric oceanic waves created by oceanic volcanic eruptions or undersea landslides.Tsunamis

A mountain built from magma.A volcanoWhat is the significance of the Ring of Fire?It is a region that contains 75% of the worlds active volcanoes.

What evidence do scientists have that points to volcanic eruptions as the cause of the Dark Ages?Tree ring and ice core data point to an eruption of a volcano called Krakatau in Indonesia that sent vapor and ash into the stratosphere causing global cooling. (agricultural failures and the bubonic plague killed millions during this time) The removal and transport of surface material.Erosion

What gas makes up most of the atmosphere?Nitrogen (78%)

What percentage of the atmosphere is oxygen?21%

What purpose does the atmosphere serve for the planet? Keeps the temperature stable. Insulates. Why does air pressure decrease as you go higher up in the atmosphere?Gravity pulls gas molecules in the atmosphere downward. As a result, there are more gas molecules at the surface than higher up. As you go up there are fewer particles per cubic meter.

Why must airplane cabins be pressurized?There is a lack of oxygen higher up in the atmosphere.What are the three methods by which the energy from the sun is transferred to the atmosphere?Conduction, radiation, and convection

The transfer of heat by air currents.Convection

The transfer of heat across space.Radiation

The transfer of heat by direct contact.ConductionAir that is constantly moving upward, downward, or sideways caused by energy from the sun causes Earths _________.Weather

As air rises in the atmosphere it _______.Cools

The process in which gases trap heat near the Earth is known as the ________________.Greenhouse effectThe continuous movement of water into the air, onto land, and then back to water sources is known as the ____________.Water cycle

The process by which water is heated by the sun and rises into the atmosphere as vapor.Evaporation

In this process, water forms droplets on dust particles.condensationLarge droplets of water that collects in clouds and falls down in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail.Precipitation

The deepest point on the Ocean Floor is in the Pacific and is called _____________.Challenger Deep

Openings in the ocean floor where super-hot, mineral rich waters stream into the ocean.Hydrothermal ventsThe concentration of the dissolved salts in the ocean water is called __________.Salinity

How does the absorption and release of heat by the ocean differ from the absorption and release of heat by land and air?The world ocean absorbs over half of the solar radiation that reaches the planets surface. As a result, the temperature of the atmosphere changes slower than it would if there were no oceans on Earth. The temperature of land changes rapidly in comparison. A network of streams that drains an area of land.River system

Smaller streams that flow into larger ones.Tributaries

A rock layer that stores and allows the flow of groundwater.An aquifer

The surface of the land where water enters an aquifer.Recharge zone

The ozone layer is located in the ____________.Stratosphere

All of the organisms living together in an area with their physical environment.Ecosystem

What are the basic components necessary for an ecosystem to survive?Energy, nutrients, carbon dioxide, water, oxygen, living organismsThe living and once living parts of an ecosystem.Biotic factors

The nonliving parts of an ecosystem.Abiotic factor

An individual living thing.An organism

A group of organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring. speciesAll of the members of the same species that live in the same place at the same time.Population

A variety of species that live in the same area and interact with each other.Community

The place an organism lives.habitatAn English Naturalist who in 1859 observed that organisms in a population differ slightly from each other in form, function, and behavior.Charles Darwin

Traits passed from parent to offspring.Hereditary

A concept that explains how some individuals, because of their traits, are more likely to survive and reproduce than other individuals.Natural SelectionA change in the genetic characteristics of a population from one generation to the next.Evolution

An inherited trait that increases an organisms chance of survival and reproduction in a certain environment.Adaptation

The selective breeding of organisms by humans for specific characteristics.Artificial SelectionThe ability of one or more organisms to tolerate a particular chemical designed to kill it.Resistance

Energy from the sun enters an ecosystem when a plant uses sunlight to make sugar molecules in a process called _________________.Photosynthesis

What are the reactants for photosynthesis?Carbon Dioxide and water

What are the products of photosynthesis?Sugar and Oxygen (you could say carbohydrates in place of sugar)

An organism that makes its own food.Producer

An organism that gets its energy by eating other organisms.ConsumerA consumer that gets its food by breaking down dead organisms.Decomposer

The chemical process by which animals break down food to obtain energy.Cellular Respiration

Silent Spring was a book written to educate the population about the potential overuse of chemical pesticides like ______.DDTA sequence in which energy is transferred from organism to the next as each organism eats another organism. Food chain

A graphic organizer that shows the many feeding relationships that are possible in an ecosystem.Food web

Each step through which energy is transferred in a food chain.Trophic level

__________ form the base of an energy pyramid.Producers

When we burn fossil fuels, ________ is released into the atmosphere.Carbon

A gradual process of change in an ecosystem.Succession

The first species to colonize any newly available area.Pioneer speciesWhat converts nitrogen in the air into a form plants can use?Bacteria