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Study Questions from Chapters 1 and 2 and The Nature of Science

The test on ____________ will may contain multiple choice, diagrams, short answer or matching. These questions will give you an idea of what type of things you need to study.

  1. What did the universe start out as?

    2. The solar system began as a 10 billion Km wide cloud of gas and dust
  2. Is the outer core solid, liquid, or gas?

    3. The outer core is liquid iron and nickel.
  3. Into what layer have we been able to drill down to?

    4. Only into the crust, no further.
  4. What shape is our Earth? What is the reason for this shape?

    5. An oblate spheroid due to the rotation of earth on its axis
  5. What 3 pieces of evidence are there that the Earth is spherical?
  1. The shadow of earth on the moon during a lunar eclipse is spherical
  2. The position of the stars rotate slowly during the course of the night
  3. The mast of a ship will appear first over the horizon when a ship is traveling towards you.
    4.
  1. How does temperature change as you go below 20 meters? What about above 20 meters?

    2. Below 20 meters depth temperature will rise 1 degree C for every 40 meter you travel down. Above 20 meters the temperature will cool as you go down.
  2. What is a hypothesis?

    3. An educated guess
  3. Draw and label a cross-section model of the structure of Earth.

    4. See page 10 in your book.
  4. Does an object weigh the same at every point on the surface of Earth?

    5. No, because of the shape of the earth. At the poles a person is closer to the ceter of gravity, therefore, weighs more. At the equator a person is further from the center of gravity, therefore, weighing less.
  5. What is differentiation? What role did it play in the origin of Earth?

    6. The separation of items into groups of a common attribute. Earth’s layers are differentiated or layered due to different densities.
  6. What role did volcanoes play in the formation of the ocean?

    7. Volcanoes gave out gases which condensed and fell as rain.
  7. What are the two most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust?

    8. Silicon and oxygen
  8. What is the current hypothesis for the origin of the solar system?

    9. Know the Proto-Planet Hypothesis – all of it!
  9. What is the evidence behind the current hypothesis for the origin of the solar system?
  1. All planets revolve around the sun in the same direction
  2. Most planets revolve around the sun on the same axis
  3. There is still left over material in the solar system (meteors and comets)
    4.
  1. What is density and how would you test an objects density?

    2. Density is how much matter is packed into a given amount of space. Density = mass/volume
  2. Who was the first scientist to calculate the Earth’s circumference?

    3. Erastosthenes
  3. What are the two measurements you would need to make in order to calculate the circumference of Earth?

    4. Distance between 2 points and the angle between the 2 points
  4. Briefly explain how our current atmosphere developed.

    5. Gasses entered the air due to volcanoes and fissures in the earth. These gases condensed and carbon dioxide was introduced. Green plants began to grow and with the help of the sunlight and photosynthesis, free oxygen was introduced. These gases built up to what they are today.
  5. What two ways is the Earth not a perfect sphere?

    6. Poles are flattened and the equator bulges out.
  6. By what 3 methods is knowledge acquired in science?

    7. Observation, measurement and inference
  7. Which method is the most objective and why?

    8. Measurement – comparison to agreed upon standard. Not subject to interpretation.

  8. What are the 8 steps in the Scientific Method?
  1. Identify problem
  2. Research
  3. Form a hypothesis
  4. Test the hypothesis
  5. Collect data
  6. Come to a conclusion
  7. Publish
  8. Verify