Earth Science Notes - New York Science...
Transcript of Earth Science Notes - New York Science...
EARTH SCIENCE NOTES
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
CONTENTS
UNIT I: COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH’S CRUST
UNIT II: THE DYNAMIC CRUST
UNIT III/A: SURFACE PROCESSES – WEATHERING AND EROSION
UNIT III/B: SURFACE PROCESSES – EROSIONAL-DEPOSITIONAL SYSTEMS
UNIT IV: LANDFORMS AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS
UNIT V: EARTH’S HISTORY
UNIT VI/A: METEOROLOGY – ATMOSPHERIC VARIABLES
UNIT VI/B: METEOROLOGY – WEATHER MAPS, ENERGY EXCHANGES, FORCASTS
UNIT VII: CLIMATE AND INSOLATION
UNIT VIII/A: THE EARTH IN SPACE – THE SOLAR SYSTEM
UNIT VIII/B: THE EARTH IN SPACE – STARS AND GALAXIES
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT I: COMPOSITION OFTHE EARTH’S CRUST
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT I: COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH’S CRUST
1. Identify the characteristics of matter.2. Explain the importance of chemical bonds.3. Identify the characteristics of minerals.4. Explain how minerals form.5. List the physical characteristics of minerals that are influenced by their crystalline structure.6. Identify rock-forming minerals by physical and chemical properties.7. List and describe different categories of minerals: silicates & carbonates.8. Compare renewable & nonrenewable resources.9. Determine the densities of known materials.10. Compare/contrast the density of continental/oceanic rock11. Explain the difference between a mineral and a rock.12. Differentiate among the three major types of rocks.13. Distinguish between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks and how they form.14. Explain the relationship between crystal size and cooling time.15. Understand “interlocking” crystals.16. Distinguish among the types of sedimentary rocks and how they form.17. Discuss features typical of sedimentary rocks.18. Explain the processes involved in the formation of metamorphic rocks.19. Differentiate among different kinds of metamorphic rocks.20. Learn how to use the ESRT chart for mineral and rock identification.21. Compare/contrast the processes in the rock cycle. (Use ESRT)
1. Identify thecharacteristics of matter.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Measurements have anumber and a unit.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Matter is anything thathas mass and volume.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Weight is a measure ofthe pull of gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Length- 1m=100cm;1cm=10mm (see ESRT p.1)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Mass (g) is the amountof matter in an object.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Volume (mL or cm3) isthe amount of space an
object takes up.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Density (g/mL or g/cm3)is the amount of mass in a
specific volume of asubstance (D=m/v… see
ESRT p.1)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Usually, heating asubstance makes it less
dense, and cooling itmakes it denser.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Increasing the pressureon a substance makes it
denser, and decreasing thepressure makes it less
dense.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Breaking a puresubstance into smaller
pieces will not change itsdensity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Most substances aremost dense as solids.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. Water is most dense as aliquid. At 3.98°C, the
density of water is exactly1g/mL (see ESRT p.1). Ice
is less dense than liquidwater.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Any measurement mustcontain some error (%
Deviation… see formula inESRT p.1)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Explain the importanceof chemical bonds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The internalarrangement of atoms
determines what asubstance is like. Salt is
cubic because of the shapeof its molecules.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Diamonds and graphiteare both made of carbon.In a diamond, the carbon
atoms have strongerbonds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Solids, liquids and gasesdiffer due to the speed that
the atoms are vibrating(temperature) and thestrength of the bonds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Identify thecharacteristics of minerals.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Natural- not man-made
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Inorganic- not alive, notfrom something alive, not
once alive
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Solid- not liquid, not gas
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Definite chemicalcomposition
(ex/halite=NaCl;galena=PbS)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Orderly atomicarrangement (crystalline)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Explain how mineralsform.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Magma is a “soup” ofmolten (melted) minerals
under ground. Aboveground, it is called lava.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. As magma cools, someminerals crystallize
(solidify) before others.This allows different
minerals to formseparately from each
other.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. List the physicalcharacteristics of mineralsthat are influenced by their
crystalline structure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Color
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Streak- color of mineralas a powder
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Luster- how a mineral’ssurface reflects light
(metallic or nonmetallic)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Hardness- Diamonds arehardest (10), talc is softest
(1)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Density
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Fracture- when a mineralbreaks irregularly.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Cleavage- the way amineral breaks alongplanes of weakness
creating flat surfaces
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Crystal form
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Others- bubbles withacid, magnetism, taste
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Identify rock-formingminerals by physical andchemical properties- see
your Earth ScienceReference Tables (p.16).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. List and describedifferent categories ofminerals: silicates &
carbonates.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Silicates- the mostcommon mineral group;
contain Si and O; ex/quartz, feldspar, mica
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Carbonates- containCaCO3; ex/ calcite,
dolomite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Oxides- metal combineswith oxygen; ex/ hematite,
magnetite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Sulfides- metalcombines with sulfur; ex/
pyrite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Compare renewable &nonrenewable resources.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Chemical compositionand physical propertiesdetermine how humans
use minerals.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The properties of rocksdetermine how they areused and also influenceland usage by humans.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Renewable resource- aresource that can be
replaced in nature at a rateclose to its rate of use
(oxygen, trees, food, solarenergy).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Nonrenewable resource-a resource that is used up
faster than it can bereplaced in nature (iron,aluminum, sand, coal, oil,
natural gas, uranium).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Determine the densitiesof known materials.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Mass- triple beambalance
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Mass of a liquid- findmass of container empty,
find mass of container withfluid, subtract mass of
container.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Volume of a regularobject- V = l x w x h
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Volume of an irregularobject- graduated cylinder(displacement of water)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Volume of a liquid- pourit into a graduated
cylinder.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. D=m/v
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Compare/contrast thedensity of
continental/oceanic rock
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Continental crust (morealuminum - felsic)=
2.7g/cm3
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Oceanic crust (more ironand magnesium - mafic)=
3.0 g/cm3
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11. Explain the differencebetween a mineral and a
rock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Minerals are the“building blocks of rocks.”
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Rocks are mixtures ofminerals. Rocks are usually
made of one or moreminerals.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
12. Differentiate amongthe three major types of
rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Rocks are classified onthe basis of their origin:igneous, sedimentary or
metamorphic.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Igneous rocks form bythe crystallization of
molten magma or lava.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Most sedimentary rocksform as a result of the
compression andcementing of sedimentsunder bodies of water.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Metamorphic rocks formas a result of crystal
growth without melting(recrystallization), usuallyunder conditions of high
temperature and pressure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
13. Distinguish betweenintrusive and extrusiveigneous rocks and how
they form.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Intrusive rocks havelarge (1mm or larger)
intergrown crystals. Ex/granite, dunite, gabbro,
pegmatite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Extrusive rocks havesmall (less than 1mm)intergrown crystals or
none at all (glassy). Somecooled so quickly that gasbubbles got trapped within
them (vesicular). Ex/pumice, obsidian, basalt,
scoriaThe Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
14. Explain the relationshipbetween crystal size and
cooling time.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Intrusive rocks formwhen magma cools slowlybeneath Earth’s surface,allowing enough time for
large crystals to grow. Ex/granite, dunite, gabbro,
pegmatite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Extrusive rocks formwhen lava cools quickly
above Earth’s surface, notallowing enough time for
large crystals to grow. Ex/pumice, obsidian, basalt,
scoria
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
15. Understand“interlocking” crystals-There is no cement or
matrix holding theindividual minerals crystals
together. They areintergrown.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Each crystal is touchinganother crystal, with
nothing between them.Interlocking crystals arefound in igneous rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
16. Distinguish among thetypes of sedimentary rocks
and how they form.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Inorganic land-derivedsedimentary rocks are
clastic (made of fragmentsof other rocks cemented
together).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Chemically formedsedimentary rocks arecrystalline and usually
form when waterevaporates, leaving
dissolved minerals behind.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Organically formedsedimentary rocks
(bioclastic) are the resultof living things. Coal ismade of plant remains.Limestone is made ofcemented seashells.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
17. Discuss features typicalof sedimentary rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Inorganic land-derivedsedimentary rocks arenamed by particle size.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Ex/ Shale is made of clay-sized particles cementedtogether. Sandstone is
made of sand sizedparticles cemented
together.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Conglomerates andbreccias are made of a
mixture of differentparticle sizes cemented
together.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Limestone has shellscemented together.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Fossils are found only insedimentary rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
18. Explain the processesinvolved in the formation
of metamorphic rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Metamorphism results inthe rearrangement of
atoms in existing mineralssubjected to conditions of
high temperature andpressure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Contact metamorphismoccurs when molten rock
comes in contact withsurrounding rocks.
Transition zones fromaltered to unaltered rocks
can be identified.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Regional metamorphismoccurs over large areas,
and is generally associatedwith mountain building.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The extreme pressuresassociated with the
collision of tectonic plates(mountain building) can
lead to the metamorphismof rock material.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
19. Differentiate amongdifferent kinds of
metamorphic rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Add pressure to clay(sediments), and shale (asedimentary rock) forms.
Add pressure to shale, andslate forms. Add pressure
to slate, and phyllite forms.Add pressure to phyllite,
and schist forms.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Add pressure to schist, andgneiss forms. These are
the events that turn a low-grade metamorphic rock
into a high-grademetamorphic rock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Metamorphic rocks oftenshow banding or mineralalignment (foliations).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Metamorphic rocks oftenhave distorted structures.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
20. Learn how to use theESRT chart for mineral and
rock identification- Seepages 6, 7 and 16.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
21. Compare/contrast theprocesses in the rock cycle.
(Use ESRT p.6)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Any one type of rock canbe changed into any other
type of rock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Many processes of therock cycle are the result of
plate motions.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. When one plate divesbeneath another, it melts.This leads to igneous rock
formation and contactmetamorphism.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. When plates collide,regional metamorphismoccurs due to the great
pressures exerted on largeareas.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Down-warping of thecrust leads to the creation
of major depositionalbasins.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT II: THE DYNAMICCRUST
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT II: THE DYNAMIC CRUST
1. List direct/indirect evidence of crustal movement2. Describe evidence of continental drift3. Define terms regarding earthquakes4. Explain measurement of earthquake energy5. Compare & contrast earthquake waves6. Interpret inferred properties of earth’s interior using earthquake time/travel chart7. Explain the cause of plate tectonics8. Describe the types and features of plate boundaries9. Locate and identify plate boundaries and tectonic features
1. List direct/indirectevidence of crustal
movement
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Sedimentary rocks athigh elevations suggestpast uplift of the crust.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Shallow-water marinefossils found today at both
high elevations and atgreat ocean depthsindicate changes in
elevation of the crust.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Tilted and folded rockstrata (sedimentary layers)
suggest past crustalmovement.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Rock faults, volcanoes,displaced strata, raisedbeaches, and changes in
bench mark elevations areall indications of crustalchange and movement.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Describe evidence ofcontinental drift
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Zones of frequentearthquakes and volcanicactivity can be located onthe Earth’s surface. ex/
Ring of Fire
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. In many places thezones of crustal activity
are associated with high,young mountain ranges
and deep ocean trenches.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Igneous rock near thecenter of the ocean ridges
is younger than theigneous rock farther from
the ridges.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Mid-ocean ridges, thesites of sea-floor spreading,
are found in all majoroceans and represent morethan 20 percent of Earth's
surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
These broad features arecharacterized by anelevated position,
extensive faulting, andvolcanic structures that
have developed on newlyformed oceanic crust.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Most of the geologicactivity associated withridges occurs along a
narrow region on the ridgecrest, called the rift zone,where magma from theasthenosphere movesupward to create new
slivers of oceanic crust.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The Earth’s magnetismseems to have reverseditself many times in the
past.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Strips of rock parallel tothe ocean ridges showpatterns of reversal ofmagnetic polarity that
match the reversals of theEarth’s magnetism.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The shapes of thecontinents, combined withcomparisons of rocks and
minerals, mountainformations, fossils, past
climates, and rockmagnetism, suggest that…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
… the continents wereattached at one time andhave since drifted apart.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Define terms regardingEarthquakes
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Earthquake- the shakingof Earth's crust caused by
a sudden release ofenergy.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Fault- a crack in thecrust along which
movement has occurred.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Focus- the point withinthe Earth where an
Earthquake originates
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Epicenter- the point onEarth’s surface directly
above the focus
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Explain measurement ofEarthquake energy
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Seismic wave- anEarthquake generated
wave
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Seismology- the study ofEarthquakes
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Seismologist- someonewho studies Earthquakes
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Seismic station-someplace where seismicactivity is being recorded
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Seismograph- aninstrument that detects
and records seismic waves
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Seismogram- therecording of an Earthquake
(on paper) made by aseismograph
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Richter scale- A scale,from 1 to 10, that
measures the amount ofenergy (magnitude)released during an
Earthquake on the basis ofthe amplitude (height of awave) of the highest peakrecorded on a seismogram.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
It is a logarithmic scale,which means that a Richter3 is 10 times greater than
a Richter 2, and a Richter 4is 100 times as great as a
Richter 2.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Each unit increase in theRichter scale represents a
10X increase in theamplitude recorded on the
seismogram and a 32Xincrease in energy released
by the Earthquake:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
1.0 = 30 poundsdynamite= Large Blast at a
Construction Site
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
1.5 = 320 poundsdynamite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2.0 = 1 ton dynamite=Large Quarry or Mine Blast
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2.5 = 4.6 tons dynamite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3.0 = 29 tons dynamite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3.5 = 73 tons dynamite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4.0 = 1,000 tonsdynamite= Small Nuclear
Weapon
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4.5 = 5,100 tonsdynamite= Average
Tornado (total energy)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5.0 = 32,000 tonsdynamite
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5.5 = 80,000 tonsdynamite= Little Skull Mtn.,
NV Quake, 1992
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6.0 = 1 million tonsdynamite= Double Spring
Flat, NV Quake, 1994
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6.5 = 5 million tonsdynamite= Northridge, CA
Quake, 1994
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7.0 = 32 million tonsdynamite= Japan Quake,
1995; Largest NuclearWeapon
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7.5 = 160 million tonsdynamite= Landers, CA
Quake, 1992
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8.0 = 1 billion tonsdynamite= San Francisco,
CA Quake, 1906
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8.5 = 5 billion tonsdynamite= Anchorage, AK
Quake, 1964
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9.0 = 32 billion tonsdynamite= Chilean Quake,
1960
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10.0 = 1 trillion tonsdynamite= (San-Andreastype fault circling Earth)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Mercalli scale- a scale,from I to XII (1 to 12), of
Earthquake intensity(damage).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale I= Not felt except bya very few
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale II= Felt only by afew persons on upper
floors
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale III = Felt indoors
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale IV = Hangingobjects swing
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale V= Felt outdoors
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale VI= Felt by all, manyfrightened & run outdoors
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale VII= Difficult tostand
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale VIII= Damage slightin specially designed
structures
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale IX= Damageconsiderable in specially
designed structures
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale X= Ground cracked,rails bent
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale XI= Bridgesdestroyed, broad fissures
in ground
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Scale XII= Damage total
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Earthquakes andvolcanoes present geologichazards to humans. Loss ofproperty, personal injury,
and loss of life can bereduced by effective
emergency preparedness.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Compare & contrastEarthquake waves
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. P waves- Primary, orcompressional, Earthquakewaves formed by alternate
compression andexpansion of rock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The vibration of theparticles is parallel to thedirection of travel of the
waves.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
P waves travel faster thanany other seismic waves,and can travel through
solids, liquids and gases(sound waves).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. S waves- Secondary, orshear, Earthquake waves,which can travel throughsolids, but not liquids or
gases. A seismic wave witha vibration that is
perpendicular to thedirection of wave travel.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
S waves travel slower thanP waves.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Interpret inferredproperties of Earth’s
interior using Earthquaketime/travel chart
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Differences in traveltimes of seismic waves canbe used to determine the
distance between a seismicstation and the epicenter
of an Earthquake.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Seismograms from atleast three seismic stations
are needed to find theexact location of an
epicenter.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The speed of a seismicwave varies with the
physical properties of thematerial through which the
wave is traveling. Ex/Waves travel faster
through denser rock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Analysis of seismic dataleads to the inference thatsolid zones (crust, mantle,
and inner core) and aliquid zone (outer core)exist within the Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The Mohorovicicdiscontinuity, or Moho, isthe boundary between the
crust and the mantle.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The average thickness ofthe continental crust is
greater than the averagethickness of the oceanic
crust.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The oceanic andcontinental crusts havedifferent compositions.
(Oceanic=mafic, basaltic,and high density;
Continental=felsic, granitic,and low density)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. The shadow zone is abelt around the Earthwhere neither P nor S
waves are received from aparticular Earthquake.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Seismic data suggestthat the Earth’s core iscomposed of iron and
nickel. Denser elementssank to Earth’s center.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. The density, temperature,and pressure of the Earth’s
interior increase withdepth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Explain the cause ofplate tectonics
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The theory of platetectonics states that thesolid lithosphere (crust
and rigid mantle) consistsof a series of plates that“float” on the partiallymolten asthenosphere
(plastic mantle).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Convection currentswithin the asthenosphereare thought to move the
plates.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Why is the Earth'sinterior hot?
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The radioactive decay ofUranium (U), Thorium (Th)
and Potassium (K)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Leftover heat from Earth’sformation and meteorite
impacts
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Plate friction
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Describe the types andfeatures of plate
boundaries
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Transform plateboundary- A boundary
between two lithosphericplates where the plates are
sliding horizontally pastone another. Ex/ San
Andreas Fault in California
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Divergent plateboundary- A boundarywhere two lithosphericplates move away from
each other. Ex/ Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Convergent plateboundary- A boundarywhere two lithospheric
plates are comingtogether:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Oceanic-ContinentalPlate Boundary (Ex/ Peru-
Chile Trench)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
ii. Oceanic-Oceanic PlateBoundary (Ex/ Aleutian
Trench)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
iii. Continental-ContinentalPlate Boundary (Ex/
Himalayan Mountains)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Subduction Zones existat convergent plate
boundaries when one platedives down beneath
another plate. This processcreates trenches, island
arcs, and volcanicmountain ranges.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Hot spots- a geologic'hot spot' is an area in themiddle of a crustal platewhere magma is rising.
Hot spots are stationary asthe plates move above
them.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Magma breaks through andproduces undersea
volcanoes. Some of thesevolcanoes build up to thesurface of the ocean and
become islands. Overmillions of years the platemay move across the 'hot
spot.'The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The original volcanobecomes extinct but a newvolcano will begin to form
in the area of the 'hotspot.' A hot spot can also
exist under the continentalcrust (Yellowstone
National Park innorthwestern Wyoming).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Hawaii’s Hot Spot- TheHawaiian islands get older
to the northwest,indicating that the Pacific
Plate is moving to thenorthwest.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor Seamounts chainextends some 6,000 kmfrom the "Big Island" ofHawaii to the Aleutian
Trench off Alaska.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
A sharp bend in the chainindicates that the motion
of the Pacific Plateabruptly changed about 43
million years ago, as ittook a more westerly turnfrom its earlier northerly
direction.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
On the seafloor to thesoutheast of Hawaii is anactive volcanic area withperiodic eruptions. This
area is called Loihi and willbe the site of the next
Hawaiian Island more than10,000 years from now.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Locate and identify plateboundaries and tectonic
features- (See pages 5, 9and 10 in your Earth
Science Reference Tables.)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Understand that platemotions have resulted in
global changes ingeography, climate, andthe patterns of organic
evolution.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Earth looks verydifferent today than it did
in the past
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Places near the equator(warm) today may have
been near the poles (cold)in the past, and vice versa.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. When the platesseparated, unique life
forms were able to evolveon each continent.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT III/A: SURFACEPROCESSES –
WEATHERING ANDEROSION
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT III/A: SURFACE PROCESSES – WEATHERING AND EROSION
1. Explain outgassing and the water cycle2. Explain the movement of water through the ground3. Compare and contrast methods of physical and chemical weathering4. List the end products of weathering5. Explain how different climates, particle sizes and composition & exposure affect weatheringprocesses6. Define and list the agents of erosion7. Understand the importance of gravity in erosional/depositional systems and give examples8. Explain the mechanism of wind erosion /deposition9. Explain the mechanism of erosion & deposition by ocean waves and currents10. Recognize features of erosional/depositional systems
1. Explain outgassing andthe water cycle
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Outgassing is therelease of gas (watervapor, carbon dioxide,nitrogen, and lesser
amounts of other gases)from cooling molten rock
or the interior of the Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Water vapor in theatmosphere condensed toform the oceans. Earth’s
oceans formed as a resultof precipitation over
millions of years.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The presence of an earlyocean is indicated bysedimentary rocks of
marine origin, dating backabout four billion years.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The water cycle is thecirculation of water fromthe surface of the Earthinto the atmosphere and
back again.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Precipitation mayinfiltrate the Earth’ssurface, run off, or
evaporate.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The release of water intothe atmosphere by plants
is called transpiration.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Earth has continuouslybeen recycling water since
the outgassing of waterearly in its history.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Explain the movement ofwater through the ground
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Less than 3 percent ofEarth’s water is fresh, andover two thirds of that isfrozen. Most usable fresh
water is underground.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Infiltration can occur ifthe surface is permeable
and unsaturated, and if theslope of the land is gentle
enough.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The rate of infiltration isdetermined by the porosity
and permeability of thesoil.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Porosity is thepercentage of open space
in a sample compared withits total volume.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Porosity is determinedby the shape of the
particles, how they arepacked, and whether or
not they are sorted by size.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Size does not affectporosity. A 1000mL
container full of largebeads, and a 1000mLcontainer full of small
beads both have the sameporosity!
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The permeability of amaterial is a measure ofthe rate at which water
can pass through it.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Permeability depends onpore size and on whether
or not the pores areinterconnected.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. The permeability of loosematerials increases with
increased pore size.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Surface runoff can occurwhen rainfall exceeds thepermeability rate, whenthe soil is saturated, orwhen the slope of thesurface is too great to
allow time for infiltration.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Water moves upwardinto tiny pore spaces by
capillary action.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. Zone of Saturation-Groundwater zone withinthe Earth's bedrock whereall available pores spacesare filled by water; foundbeneath the water table.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Zone of Aeration-Horizontal zone that
extends from the top of thewater table to the groundsurface; soil and rock porespaces in this zone are not
saturated with water.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
n. Water Table- Topsurface of groundwater;top of zone of saturation;
the depth of the watertable depends on theclimate, season, and
location.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
o. For a well to beproductive, it must extend
down below the watertable to the zone of
saturation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Compare and contrastmethods of physical and
chemical weathering
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Weathering is thephysical or chemicalbreakdown of rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Weathering occurs whenthe lithosphere (rocks) is
exposed to the atmosphere(air) and the hydrosphere
(water).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Physical weatheringcauses a rock to crack or
break into pieces.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Physical weathering mayoccur as the result ofalternate freezing andmelting of water (frost
action), when plant rootswiden cracks (plant action),
and when the pressure ofoverlying material isremoved (pressure
unloading/exfoliation).The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Chemical weatheringchanges the chemical
composition of theminerals in rocks, usually
weakening the rock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Chemical weatheringmay occur when minerals
react with oxygen(oxidation), carbonic acid(carbonation), and water
(hydrolysis).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. List the end products ofweathering
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Weathering breaks downrocks into particles of
many sizes (clay, silt, sand,pebbles, cobbles, boulders)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Soil is a mixture of rockand organic material
(humus).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Soils are the result ofweathering and biologicalactivity over long periods
of time.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. A mature soil profileshows three distinct
horizons. The A-horizon(topsoil) is dark and rich in
humus. The B-horizon(subsoil) is lighter in color,
has more clay, and lesshumus.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The C-horizon is made ofslightly weathered bedrock(rock fragments). Beneaththe three horizons is theunweathered bedrock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Soils may be residual(form from underlying
bedrock) or transported(form from sediments that
have been carried fromsome other place).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Explain how differentclimates, particle sizes and
composition & exposureaffect weathering
processes
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. At high latitudes andhigh altitudes, where it is
cold and humid, frostaction is the major form of
weathering.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. In warm and humidclimates chemical
weathering is mostimportant.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. In dry climates, verylittle weathering takes
place.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Local climatic conditions(winds, nearness to cities,etc.) can affect the rate of
weathering.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Small rock particles willweather faster than a
single large sample of thesame mass because moresurface area is exposed by
the small particles.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Rocks containing moreresistant minerals will
weather at a slower rate.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Rocks that are notexposed to the atmosphere
and hydrosphere willweather at the slowest
rate.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Define and list theagents of erosion
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Erosion is the movementof sediments from one
place to another.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Whatever is movingsediments is an agent of
erosion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Most sediments on Earthare transported (have been
moved).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Running water is by farthe most important agent
of erosion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Minor agents areglaciers, the wind, andwaves breaking against
the coast.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Gravity may act alone asan agent of erosion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Understand theimportance of gravity inerosional/depositional
systems and give examples
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Gravity is the maindriving force of erosion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Mass Movement-General term that
describes the downslopemovement of sediment,soil, and rock material.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Landslides- a generalterm for the downslopemovement of sedimentsunder the influence of
gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Slumping- thedownslope movement ofmaterial on a curved slip
surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Hillside creep- the slowmovement of sediments
downslope under theinfluence of gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Explain the mechanismof wind erosion
/deposition
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Erosion of sediments bywind is most common inarid climates and along
shorelines.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Wind-generatedfeatures include dunes and
sand-blasted bedrock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Wind can transportsediment the size of sand
or smaller.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Wind can create featureslike sand dunes in deserts
and on beaches. Sanddunes are steeper on the
leeward side.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Dunes migrate as sandfrom the windward side
blows over to the leewardside.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Sediments eroded bywind are often rounded,and under magnification,
have frosted surfaces.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Wind-depositedsediments usually consist
of well-sorted, smallparticles in layers that may
be tilted.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Cross-bedding maydevelop when sedimentsare deposited by the wind
in leaning positions onsand dunes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Explain the mechanismof erosion & deposition byocean waves and currents
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Wave action haserosional affects on
shoreline rocks and onbeaches.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Most waves result fromwinds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Swash- motion of waterup the beach
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Backwash- motion of thewater running back down
the beach
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Longshore current- acurrent that flows parallelto the shoreline, caused bywaves moving towards the
beach at an angle.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Longshore Drift- Themovement and deposition
of coastal sedimentsparallel to the beachbecause of longshore
currents.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Rip currents- strongsurface currents that flow
away from the beach.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Density currents resultwhen water in an area of
the ocean has becomedenser than the wateraround it. The denser
water moves beneath theless dense water forming a
current.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Sandbar- a bar of sandformed by ocean currentsdepositing sand near the
shore.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Spit- A long and narrowaccumulation of sand
and/or gravel that projectsinto a body of ocean water,attached at one end to the
beach.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Baymouth bar- a narrowdeposit of sand and/orgravel found across the
mouth of a bay.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. Hook- A spit with acurved end.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Barrier island- a narrow,sandy coastal island builtthrough wave action and
separated from themainland. Such islands
form a barrier that protectsthe shore from the open
sea.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
They are easily floodedduring storms or high
water, and are constantlyin the process of being
created, shifted, ordestroyed by wind and
waves.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Recognize features oferosional/depositional
systems.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. You should be able toidentify the agent of
erosion responsible for theformation of the featureslisted above (dunes, spits,
etc.).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. In certain erosionalsituations, loss of property,personal injury, and loss of
life can be reduced byeffective emergency
preparedness.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT III/B: SURFACEPROCESSES – EROSIONAL-DEPOSITIONAL SYSTEMS
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT III/B: SURFACE PROCESSES – EROSIONAL-DEPOSITIONAL SYSTEMS
1. Define and calculate gradient2. Explain the factors that affect stream velocity and particle transport3. Describe the stages of stream development4. Compare & contrast factors which affect rates of deposition such as density, shape, size andenergy loss5. Describe horizontal and vertical sorting6. Differentiate between deltas & alluvial fans7. Explain glacier formation8. Recognize types and parts of glaciers9. Describe glacial motion10. Understand the erosional & depositional effect of glaciation on landscapes11. Recognize glacial erosional/depositional features12. Explain the effect of the Ice Ages on NYS
1. Define and calculategradient
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Gradient- The steepnessof a slope.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Field Value- Informationmeasured at a specific
location (elevation,temperature, wind speed,
pressure, etc.)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Gradient can becalculated by dividing thechange in field value (ex/difference in elevation) bythe distance between the
two points where thevalues were measured.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Units such as m/kmmust be used.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Explain the factors thataffect stream velocity and
particle transport
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Every steam and itsbranches make up a singlesystem that collects all the
runoff within a definitearea called the drainage
basin of the system.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. A stream systemconsists of running water,the land surface it drains,the sediment it transports,
and the energy used todrive it.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. As the gradient (slope)of the stream bed
increases, the averagevelocity of the stream
increases.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. An increase in thedischarge (the volume of
water flowing past a givenpoint in a stream in a given
amount of time) of astream increases its
average velocity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Streams transportsediments in solution
(dissolved salt), insuspension (silt and clay),by bouncing (sand), and
rolling or sliding (pebbles,cobbles and boulders).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The size of the sedimentsthat a stream can transport
increases as the velocityincreases (see ESRT p.6).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The total amount ofsediment that a stream cantransport increases as its
discharge increases.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Sediments transportedby streams tend to become
rounded as a result ofabrasion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Describe the stages ofstream development
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Youthful streamscarrying sediments downsteep gradients can cutthrough solid bedrock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. When youthful, streamshave V-shaped valleys.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. In the stage of maturitythe valley of a stream
widens. The stream ceasesto cut through bedrock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. In old age, the streamdevelops a wide flood plain,across which it wanders in
a series of curves, ormeanders.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Erosion occurs on theouter curve of a meander,where the water is faster.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Deposition occurs on theinner curve of a meander,where the water is slower.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. A cutoff occurs when ameander has almost
formed a complete loop,and the narrow neck ofland is eroded in flood
conditions, allowing theriver to by-pass the bend.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Oxbow Lake- a crescent-shaped lake formed when
a river meander getscompletely cut off from the
river.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Compare & contrastfactors which affect rates
of deposition such asdensity, shape, size and
energy loss
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The processes by whichtransported materials areleft in new locations are
called deposition(sedimentation).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Rock particles that aretransported by erosional
processes are calledsediments.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. As the velocity of astream decreases,sediments will be
deposited.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. If all factors other thansize are equal, smallerparticles settle more
slowly in water than largerparticles.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Very small particles,such as clay, may remain
suspended in waterindefinitely.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. If all factors other thanshape are equal, flatter
particles settle moreslowly in water thanrounded particles.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. If all factors other thandensity are equal, particlesof higher density settle inwater faster than particles
of lower density.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Describe horizontal andvertical sorting
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Patterns of depositionresult from a loss ofenergy within the
transporting system andare influenced by the size,shape, and density of the
transported particles.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. When several events ofdeposition occur in quietwater, each involving amixture of sediments,
vertical sorting will takeplace and graded beds ofsediment will be formed.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. As a stream graduallyslows down, it deposits the
larger, rounder, denserparticles first, upstream.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Smaller sediments arecarried farther
downstream. The smallestparticles are carried the
farthest, eventually to theocean.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
This separation ofsediment sizes from
upstream to downstream iscalled horizontal sorting.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Differentiate betweendeltas & alluvial fans
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. A delta is a fan-shapeddeposit of sediment formed
where a stream or riverenters a quiet body ofwater, due a sudden
decrease in the velocity ofthe water.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. An alluvial fan is a fan-like accumulation of
sediment created where asteep stream slows down
rapidly as it reaches arelatively flat valley floor.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Explain glacierformation
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. A glacier is a large massof snow and ice that is
moving because of gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Glaciers occur where theamount of snowfall is
greater than the amountthat melts over many
years.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Glaciers are found onlyin polar regions and at
high altitudes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Recognize types andparts of glaciers
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Valley or alpine glaciersare found in mountain
areas where they usuallyfollow valleys that wereoriginally occupied by
streams.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Ice sheets or continentalglaciers exist on a much
larger scale, covering mostof Greenland and
Antarctica.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Front- The leading edgeof a glacier.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Crevasse- a crack in theglacial ice.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Tongue- At or near thecoast, some glaciers flow
directly into the ocean anddevelop floating
extensions, called "glaciertongues."
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Describe glacial motion
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Glaciers flow slowlydownhill and outward
under the force of gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Research suggests thatmelting ice on the bottom
of a glacier lubricatesmovement.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Glaciers move fastestnear the center, away from
the friction of the valleywalls.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Understand theerosional & depositional
effect of glaciation onlandscapes
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Glaciers leave behind U-shaped valleys.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Most glaciers push, carry,and drag great quantitiesof sediment known as till.The glaciers that shaped
New York State must havemoved huge amounts of
unsorted sediment.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Glacial deposits containmixed (unsorted) sizes of
sediments from clay tohuge boulders (erratics).The great sizes of some
erratics (like Indian Rockin Suffern) show thetremendous power of
moving ice.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Glacial ice erodes solidrock by abrasion as the icedrags rocks over exposed
bedrock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Glacial erosion of NewYork's highest mountainsshows that the ice was at
least a mile thick.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Erratics traceable tobedrock exposures in thenorth show the general
direction of ice flow. Somerock types are so distinctthat their origins can be
identified very confidently.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Many boulders in our areacome from the Adirondacks
and Canada.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Glacial erosion hasproduced characteristic
features throughout NewYork State such as north-south valleys, and thin,
rocky soils.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11. Recognize glacialerosional/depositional
features
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Esker- a long, windingridge formed when sand
and gravel were depositedin meltwater tunnels
beneath a glacier.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Moraines- sedimentsdeposited beneath, alongthe sides, and/or at the
end of a glacier.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Kettle- a depressioncreated by the melting of a
large chunk of ice leftburied in the ground by aretreating glacier. The iceprevents sediment fromcollecting; when the ice
melts a lake or swamp mayfill the depression.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Drumlin- a long, canoe-shaped hill made of
unsorted sediments andshaped by an advancing
glacier. Drumlins point inthe direction of glacier
movement. The steep sideof a drumlin faces in thedirection from which the
glacier came.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Glacial polish- a smoothpolish on bedrock created
when fine particlestransported at the base of
a glacier abrade thebedrock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Glacial striation- parallelgrooves and scratches in
bedrock that form as rocksare dragged along at the
base of a glacier.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Outwash plain- asmooth plain covered by
deposits from waterflowing from melting
glaciers.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Glacial Valley (Glacialtrough)- a U-shaped valleyformed by glacial erosion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Hanging valleys- asmaller valley that enters amain valley at an elevation
well above the mainvalley's floor. Hanging
valleys are often the sitesof spectacular waterfalls.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Cirque- a deep, steep-walled hollow on a
mountainside in which analpine glacier forms. The
walls and floor of thecirque are carved by glacialice to form a bowl shape.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Arête- a sharp narrowridge between neighboring
valleys.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. Horn- a sharp, pyramid-shaped mountain peakwhere three or more
cirques intersect near thesummit. The Matterhorn ofthe Swiss Alps was formed
in this manner.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Fiord (fjord)- a long,deep, narrow inlet of the
sea bounded by steepwalls, generally formed bysubmergence of a glacially
eroded valley.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
In the book "RoadsideGeology of New York" by
Bradford B. Van Diver, theauthor documents:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
"The Hudson River has cuta narrow, 15-mile long
gorge through the rangebetween Peekskill and
Newburgh that served as achannelway for ice erosion
during Pleistoceneglaciation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The gorge is a true fjord,like those of the
Norwegian coast, aglacially-gouged valley
now invaded by the sea,and through which daily
tides reach 160 milesinland to Troy!")
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
12. Explain the effect ofthe Ice Ages on NYS
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Layer upon layer ofweathered till show thatthere have been several
major periods of glaciationin recent geologic past.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
New York has beencovered by thick ice
repeatedly in thePleistocene Epoch (1.6mya). We live within a
period ofglacial/interglacial
alternations.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The Ice Ages resulted inmajor ecological changesand very different plant
and animal communities.The natural environment ofNew York State might have
looked like the tundra ofnorthern Canada, Alaska,
and Siberia.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Nearly all of New YorkState displays evidence ofglaciation. Soils covering
most of New York State arecomposed of weathered till.Only the Allegheny regionand southern Long Island
may have escapedcovering ice.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Fossil and geologicevidence indicates periodic
changes in sea levelcoinciding with the
advancing and retreatingice sheets.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Terrestrial fossils of thePleistocene Epoch have
been found on thecontinental shelf off Long
Island.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Modern glacierspreserve samples of the
atmosphere and dust fromthe distant past. Modern
studies of current glaciersare used to investigate
prehistoric conditions onour planet.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Air samples, pollen, dustand meteorites are
regularly collected fromthe surface and deepwithin (core samples)
major glaciers.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The Ice Ages left anabundance of sand and
gravel as a naturalresource. Sand and gravelare our most economically
important geologicalresource in New York
State.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The Finger Lakes wereformed by glaciation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT IV: LANDFORMS ANDTOPOGRAPHIC MAPS
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT IV: LANDFORMS AND TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS
1. Understand how landscapes are classified2. Identify NYS landscape regions3. Interpret and apply isolines on topographic maps4. Draw profiles of topographic maps, calculate gradient and draw isolines5. Define uplift and leveling events6. Compare/contrast bedrock structure for mountains, plateaus and plains7. Explain the effect of climate on landscape development8. Identify the main watersheds/drainage basins of NYS and the USA9. How does human population growth affect pollution10. Discuss efforts to restore the environment
1. Understand howlandscapes are classified
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Landscapes are areas ofland that are recognized by
their features (rugged,rolling, mountainous, flat,
high, low-lying, etc.).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Mountains (Highlands)-at least 300 meters above
the surrounding land.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Plateaus (Uplands)-large areas of flat land at
high elevation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Plains (Lowlands)- largeareas of flat land at low
elevations.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Landforms are the resultof the interaction of
tectonic forces and theprocesses of weathering,erosion, and deposition.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Identify NYS landscaperegions (see ESRT p.2)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Atlantic Coastal Plain-the low, wide plain alongthe east coast of North
America, including StatenIsland and Long Island in
New York…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
horizontal sedimentaryrocks; near sea level; Long
island consists of glacialdeposits; waves and oceancurrents have shaped the
shoreline.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Newark Lowlands(“DINOSAUR COUNTRY” -HOME OF EAST RAMAPO
CSD)- This region iscomposed of weak
sedimentary rocks datingfrom the Age of Dinosaurs
(Late Triassic-EarlyJurassic).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Footprints of Coelophysis,a meat-eating dinosaur
about three meters long,were found near Nyack in
Rockland County. Dinosaurfossils have not been found
in any other part of NewYork.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
A volcanic intrusion calledthe Palisades Sill borders
the Hudson River. Becauseof its greater resistance, itforms a cliff that ranges upto more than 150 meters
above sea level.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Hudson Highlands-eroded roots of ancient
Precambrian mountains;metamorphic rocks used tobe sedimentary; part of the
New England Highlands;northwestern Rockland
County.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Manhattan Prong- theregion underlain by
metamorphic rocks in theNew York City-
Westchester County area.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Taconic Mountains-Highlands in eastern New
York and western NewEngland; highly folded andfaulted metamorphic rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Hudson-MohawkLowlands- covers most ofHudson and Mohawk Rivervalleys; soft sedimentary
rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Alleghany Plateau-northern end of
Appalachian Plateau;uplifted horizontalsedimentary rocks
deposited in a warmshallow sea that coveredmuch of New York Stateduring the Late Silurian
and Devonian.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Erie-Ontario Lowlands-low, flat areas north and
west of the AlleghanyPlateau; horizontal
sedimentary rocks coveredby many glacial deposits.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Tug Hill Plateau-resistant horizontal
sedimentary rocks; one ofthe snowiest regions westof the Rocky Mountains;receives twenty feet of
snow annually.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Adirondack Mountains- acircular region that is partof the Grenville Province;Precambrian mountains
composed mostly ofmetamorphic rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. St. Lawrence andChamplain Lowlands- partof the Interior Lowlandsthat extend west throughthe Great Plains; mostlyhorizontal sedimentary
rock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. The Catskills- a deeplyeroded section of the
Alleghany Plateau; not truemountains.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Interpret and applyisolines on topographic
maps
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The latitude-longitudesystem is a coordinate
system using two sets oflines that make a grid
covering Earth’s surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Earth’s coordinatesystem of latitude and
longitude, with the equatorand prime meridian as
reference lines, is basedupon Earth’s rotation andour observation of the Sun
and stars.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The east-west lines areparallels of latitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The north-south linesare meridians of longitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Latitude is ameasurement of angular
distance north or south ofthe equator.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Longitude is ameasurement of angulardistance east or west of
the prime meridian.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. A topographic or contourmap is a map showing theelevations of a portion of
the Earth’s surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. The contour lines on acontour map pass throughpoints that have the same
elevation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Where contour lines areclosely spaced, the
gradient, or slope, of thesurface is steep.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Where contour lines arewidely spaced, the
gradient or slope is gradual(gentle).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. A perfectly flat area hasno contour lines at all.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. The contour interval isthe change in elevationbetween neighboring
contour lines.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Every contour lineencloses a definite area.
There are no loose or freeends dangling in mid-air.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
n. When you approach aclosed contour from theoutside, you are going
uphill.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
o. When you leave an areaenclosed by a contour line,
you are going downhill.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
p. A contour line nevercrosses itself or any othercontour lines. They may
appear to touch on avertical slope, cliff, or
overhang.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
q. Depressions in the landare shown by hachured
contour lines. The hachurelines point toward theinside of the hole. A
depression contour linealways has the same
elevation as the lower ofthe neighboring contour
lines.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
r. Contour lines pointupstream when they crossa stream or river. If the Vis sharp, the river valley
has steep walls.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Draw profiles oftopographic maps,
calculate gradient anddraw isolines
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. A profile shows thechanges in elevation (ups
and downs) of a line acrossany part of a contour map.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Place the edge of asheet of paper along the
line to be followed.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. At each point where theline crosses a contour,
make a mark on the edgeof the paper.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Record the height of thecontour next to its mark on
the paper.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. When all points aremarked, use the vertical
scale to raise each point toits proper height on the
graph or lined paper.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Finally, draw a smoothcurve connecting the
points.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Gradient (ESRT p. 1) canbe calculated by dividing
the difference in elevationby the distance betweenthe two points where the
elevations were measured.(Unit=m/km)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Contour lines (isolinesconnecting points of equalelevation) can be drawn on
a map by following thecontour line rules above
(3.g.-3.q.)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Define uplift andleveling events
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Leveling orDestructional Forces-forces of weathering,
erosion, and deposition,which are reducing slopes
and making the surfacehorizontal. These forcesare acting constantly tobring the land down to a
uniform, flat surface.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Uplifting orConstructional Forces-
forces, operating beneaththe surface, that undo the
work of leveling forces.Uplifting tends to increase
elevations and also toroughen, or increase the
relief of, the surface.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Ex/ volcanic activity,isostasy (the verticalreadjustment of the
surface of the Earth due tothe addition or removal of
weight; the lithospherefloats on the
asthenosphere as aniceberg floats on water), …
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
… Earthquakes, seafloorspreading and continental
drift.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. In a particular landscape,one of these forces may bedominant (occurring at a
faster rate).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. In some places, therates of uplift and leveling
may be approximatelyequal, and the landscape
will be in a state ofdynamic equilibrium…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Dynamic equilibrium is asituation in which changes
are occurring, but abalance among the
changes keeps the overallconditions the same.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Compare/contrastbedrock structure for
mountains, plateaus andplains
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Mountains usually havefolded or faulted rock
structure due to crustalmovements.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Plateaus usually havehorizontal rock structure
that was uplifted.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Plains are usuallyformed by the depositionof sediments in horizontal
layers at or below sealevel.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Explain the effect ofclimate on landscape
development
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Arid (dry) landscapes-steep slopes, sharp and
angular landscape features;little vegetation to hold
sediments in place.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Humid landscapes-smoother and morerounded landscape
features; sediments arebetter held in place by
vegetation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Identify the mainwatersheds/drainage
basins of NYS and the USA
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The land area whereprecipitation runs off intostreams, rivers, lakes, and
reservoirs is called awatershed, or drainage
basin.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Watersheds can beidentified by tracing a line
along the highestelevations between twoareas on a map, often a
ridge.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Drainage basins come in allsizes, from the size of a book
(think about a littledepression that collects waterafter a rain) to thousands ofsquare miles (the area into
which water that falls drainsinto the Mississippi River).The Mississippi River basin
covers 48% of mainlandUnited States.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Divide- The ridge thatseparates drainage basins.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Continental Divide- Animaginary boundary line
that runs north-southalong the crest of the
Rocky Mountains,separating river and
drainage basins that flowwest to the Pacific Oceanfrom those that flow east
to the Atlantic Ocean.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. New York has manywatersheds: Long IslandSound Basin, DelawareRiver Basin, Hudson-
Mohawk River Basin, LakeChamplain River Basin, St.Lawrence River Basin, Lake
Ontario Basin,
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
… Lake Ontario Basin, LakeErie/Niagara River Basin,Susquehanna-Chesapeake
River Basin, Allegheny-Ohio River Basin (part of
The Mississippi River Basin:Water from here
eventually flows to theGulf of Mexico!), etc.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Drainage Pattern- thegeometric pattern that astream's channels take in
the landscape. Thesepatterns are controlled by
factors such as slope,climate, vegetation, and
bedrock resistance toerosion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Dendritic DrainagePattern- resembles the
pattern of a branching tree;forms on horizontal strata.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Radial Drainage Pattern-a system of streams
running in all directionsaway from a central
elevated structure, such asa volcano.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Trellis Drainage Pattern-nearly parallel streamsoccupy valleys cut in
folded strata.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Rectangular DrainagePattern- numerous rightangle bends that develop
on faulted strata.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. How does humanpopulation growth affect
pollution
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Typically, higherpopulations result in more
pollution.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The results of humanactivities may be beneficialat first, but the long-termaffects are often harmful.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Excavation andagriculture often exposethe surface to agents oferosion and introduce
pollutants to theenvironment.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Highway constructioncan disrupt groundwater
flow and surface drainage.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Man-made chemicalscommonly pollute
groundwater and streams.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Discuss efforts torestore the environment
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Certain measures, likecontour farming (each crop
row is planted across,rather than up and down,the slope, following thecontours of the land)…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
crop rotation (alternating,every year, which crops
will grow in a certainarea)…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
terracing (shaping a slopewith a series of “steps”.
The steps allow forplanting on level areas and
reduce the potential forerosion across a steep
slope)…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
windbreaks (wind barriersof living trees and shrubs
planted to block wind flow,reducing soil erosion)…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
and strip cropping (a cropthat leaves bare ground
between rows is alternatedwith a crop that completely
covers the ground), helpminimize erosion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Wastewater treatmentfacilities can help reclaimor protect water quality.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Groundwater levels canbe maintained and surface
runoff controlled andconserved through the use
of such devices asrecharge basins, dams, and
stream bank protectors.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Sanitary landfillmethods can help reduce
the negative effects ofsolid-waste disposal, and
can be used to reclaimunusable areas for
recreational purposes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT V: EARTH’S HISTORY
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT V: EARTH’S HISTORY
1. Learn to sequence and correlate rocks using such rules as superposition, originalhorizontality, cross cutting relationships, included fragments, etc.2. Recognize unconformities, their formation and significance.3. Describe the processes of fossil formation.4. Understand how to interpret paleoclimate and environment from fossil evidence.5. Locate and interpret the fossil record and geologic history of New York State using theESRT.6. Understand that geologic time is determined by the fossil record.7. Understand that fossils reveal the process of evolution.8. Explain the significance of index fossils and volcanic ash in correlation.9. Understand that unconformities reveal an incomplete rock record.10. Understand that subsidence/ submergence leads to deposition; uplift/emergenceleads to erosion.11. Explain how radioactive decay causes heating in the earth’s interior.12. Using the ESRT, understand half-life as a tool for measuring actual age.13. Explain how the age of the earth has been determined.14. Know the evidence of past tectonic activity and interpret the sequence of platemotions using the ESRT.
1. Learn to sequence andcorrelate rocks using such
rules as superposition,original horizontality, cross
cutting relationships,included fragments, etc.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Relative dating is anattempt to put geologic
events or structures intoproper chronological order.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The Principal ofUniformitarianism states
that the geologic processesthat occurred in the pastare basically the same asthose that are occurring
now.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Original Horizontality-sedimentary rocksgenerally form in
horizontal layers, with newlayers forming on top of
existing layers.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The Principle ofSuperposition states that
the bottom layer of aseries of sedimentary
layers is oldest, unless theseries has been overturned
or has had older rockthrust over it.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Rock layers are olderthan igneous intrusionsthat cut through them or
igneous extrusions that areabove them.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Rocks are older thanfaults, joints, folds, or
veins that appear in them.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Fragments of unmeltedmaterial occurring within a
rock are older than therock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. In sedimentary rocks,the sediments are older
than the cements (matrix)that bind them and therock formation itself.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Correlation is the processof showing that rocks or
geologic events occurringat different locations are of
the same age.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. In correlation, rocklayers may be traced from
one location to anotherdirectly by “walking the
outcrop,” thus showing thecontinuity of layers.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Rocks may be correlatedon the basis of similarities
in appearance, composition,and position in relation to
other layers.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Recognizeunconformities, their
formation and significance.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. An unconformity is aburied erosional surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Where the surface hasbeen eroded away, there is
a gap, in the rock layer.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Describe the processesof fossil formation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Fossils are the remainsor impressions of ancient
plants and animals.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Petrification- theprocess of turning plantmaterial into stone byinfiltration with water
carrying mineral particleswithout changing theoriginal shape; ex/
petrified wood
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Carbonization- theweight of the sedimentssqueezes out the water
and gas from plant matterand leaves an imprint of
carbon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Impressions- molds; ex/indentations left behind in
mud
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Casts- a replica of anorganism created when
minerals use the organismas a mold to create thereplica. For example, ashell fills with minerals,the shell dissolves away
and the cast (inside of theshell) is left behind.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Preservation in amber- ahard, translucent, yellow,
orange, or brownish-yellow fossil resin.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Formed from hardened sap,resin, or gum from conifers(ex/pine trees); amber is a
valuable fossil record ofancient plants and animals- many species have been
found trapped insideamber chunks dating over
hundred of millions yrs old.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Tracks- ex/ footprints
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Burrows- tunnels orholes that small animals
dig in the ground; anexcellent last name.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Fossils are found insedimentary rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. The special conditionsthat favor preservation are
rapid burial and thepossession of hard partssuch as shells, bones, or
teeth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Understand how tointerpret paleoclimate and
environment from fossilevidence.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Fossils in rocks provideinformation about the
environment in which theyformed.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Animals and plants thatlive in the ocean are verydifferent from those thatlive on land. The same istrue for fossils of ancient
life forms.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The presence of marinefossils at high elevationsindicates that uplift has
occurred.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The presence of shallowwater marine fossils at
great depths indicates thatsubsidence has occurred.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The presence of fossilcoral indicates that there
was once a shallowtropical sea. Coral needs
warm, shallow, clear, saltywater to live (not too
salty).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Locate and interpret thefossil record and geologichistory of New York State
using the ESRT (pages2,3,8 and 9).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. You should be able todetermine the age the
rocks at any location in NY.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. You should be able todetermine where specific
fossils may be found in NY.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. You should be able todetermine when importantgeologic events occurred in
NY.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Understand thatgeologic time is
determined by the fossilrecord.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Long before geologistshad the means to
recognize and express timein numbers of years before
the present, theydeveloped the geologic
time scale.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Geologists have dividedthe Earth's history into
time units based upon thefossil record. These unitsof time often begin and
end with major extinctions.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The geologic time scaleis commonly presented inchart form, with the oldest
time and event at thebottom and the youngest
at the top.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Units of time, fromlargest to smallest: Eons,
Eras, Periods, Epochs.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The largest units of thegeologic time scale are calledeons. Together, the Archean
(Greek “ancient”) andProterozoic (Greek “earlier
life”) are commonly referredto as the Precambrian. ThePhanerozoic (Greek “visible
life") began about 544 millionyears ago.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The Phanerozoic eon isdivided into the followingeras: Paleozoic ("ancientlife"), Mesozoic ("middlelife" – Age of Reptiles),and Cenozoic ("recent
life").
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Periods:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Quaternary Period andTertiary Period- The
several geologic eras wereoriginally named Primary,Secondary, Tertiary, and
Quaternary.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The first two names are nolonger used. Tertiary and
Quaternary have beenretained but used as period
designations.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Neogene- An Age ofGrasses
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Paleogene- The Early Ageof Mammals
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Cretaceous- NewDinosaurs - Flowering
Plants - Derived from Latinword for chalk (creta) andfirst applied to extensivedeposits that form whitecliffs along the English
Channel.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Jurassic Period- TheTriumph of the Dinosaurs-
Named for the JuraMountains, located
between France andSwitzerland, where rocks
of this age were firststudied
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Triassic Period- Takenfrom the word “trias” inrecognition of the three
distinct layers within theserocks in Germany.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Permian Period- Namedafter the province of Perm,Russia, where these rocks
were first studied.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Carboniferous- means“coal bearing.” It is the
age of great forests.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Pennsylvanian Period-Named for the State of
Pennsylvania where theserocks have produced much
coal.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Mississippian Period-Named for the MississippiRiver Valley where theserocks are well exposed.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Devonian Period- "the ageof fishes" Named afterDevonshire, England,
where these rocks werefirst studied.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Silurian and OrdovicianPeriods- Named after Celtictribes, the Silures and the
Ordovices that lived inWales during the Roman
Conquest.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Cambrian Period- Takenfrom the Roman name forWales (Cambria) where
rocks containing theearliest evidence of
complex forms of life werefirst studied.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. If you pretend thatEarth’s history took place
in a single day, eachminute on this twenty-fourhour clock would represent
about 3 million years:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Midnight (4.6 billion yearsago) — Earth forms from
cosmic dust
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3:20 A.M. (3.96 billionyears ago) — age of oldest
rock ever found
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9:23 P.M. (500 millionyears ago) — first animals
with backbones
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11:00 P.M. (190 millionyears ago) — age of the
dinosaurs
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11:35 P.M. (80 millionyears ago) — Rocky
Mountains start to form
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11:58 P.M. (6 millionyears ago) — small stream
begins carving GrandCanyon
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11:59 P.M. and 26 sec.(1.8 million years ago) —earliest humans appear
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11:59 P.M. and 45 sec.(750 thousand years ago)— humans begin using fire
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11:59 P.M. and 59 sec. (20thousand years ago) — last
Ice Age
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. You should be able todate rocks based upon thefossils within them using
the ESRT.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Understand that fossilsreveal the process of
evolution.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. If we begin at thepresent and examine older
and older layers of rock,we will come to a level
where no fossils of humansare present.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. If we continuebackwards in time, we willsuccessively come to levels
where no fossils offlowering plants arepresent, no birds, no
mammals, no reptiles, nofour-footed vertebrates, noland plants, no fishes, noshells, and no animals.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Evolution- the processby which all forms of plant
and animal life changeslowly over time becauseof slight variations in the
genes that one generationpasses down to the next…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Living beings havechanged through time andolder species are ancestors
of younger ones.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The pattern of evolutionof life-forms on Earth is atleast partially preserved in
the rock record.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Fossil evidence indicatesthat a wide variety of life-forms has existed in the
past and that most of theseforms have become
extinct.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Human existence hasbeen very brief comparedto the expanse of geologic
time.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Explain the significanceof index fossils and
volcanic ash in correlation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Index fossils are theremains or imprints of
organisms that existed fora relatively short period of
time, but were widelydistributed over the Earth.They identify and date thelayers in which they are
found.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Layers of volcanic ash inrock can be useful in
correlation because theywere deposited over a
large area in a very shortperiod of time.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. An excess of the elementiridium, discovered in alayer of rocks formed at
the end of the Cretaceousperiod 65 million years ago,
suggests that an asteroidstruck the Earth at that
time.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The consequences of theimpact may have played a
role in the Cretaceousextinctions. This layer,
called the K-T Boundary,can be used to correlate
rock layers.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Understand thatunconformities reveal anincomplete rock record.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. If rock layers are erodedaway, there is a gap in the
rock record.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Information is missingwhere unconformities are
found.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Understand thatsubsidence/ submergence
leads to deposition;uplift/emergence leads to
erosion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. When land subsides(lowers) or submerges(drops under water),deposited sediments
usually begin to build up.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The presence ofsedimentary rocks
indicates that subsidenceor submergence hasoccurred in the past.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. When rocks are upliftedout of the water
(emergence), they areexposed to the agents ofweathering and erosion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The presence of erosionor an unconformity
indicates that the crustuplifted/emerged in the
past.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11. Explain howradioactive decay causes
heating in the Earth’sinterior.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Most of Earth’s internalheat is created by thedecay of radioactiveelements that were
trapped in the interiorwhen the Earth first
formed.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
These elements (forexample Uranium, Thorium,Cesium and many others)spontaneously split apartinto smaller elements andrelease energetic particlesin a nuclear process called
fission.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The energetic particlesreleased by fission collide
with other atoms andproduce heat.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The Earth can bethought of as a giantfission battery that is
slowly running down as ituses up its original chargeof radioactive elements.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Eventually (in a couple ofbillion years), the Earth’sinterior will cool and the
planet will becomegeologically dead - as the
Moon is today.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
12. Using the ESRT,understand half-life as atool for measuring actual
age. (see ESRT p.1)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Some rocks containelements with atomicnuclei that undergospontaneous decay
(decrease of a radioactivesubstance).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. An unstable radioactiveisotope, called the parent,will decay and form stable
daughter products.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The length of time forone-half of the nuclei of a
radioactive isotope todecay is called the half-life
of the isotope.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. If the half-life of theisotope is known, and theparent/daughter ratio canbe measured, the age of asample can be calculated.
A table of half-lives ofcommonly used
radioisotopes is in theReference Tables.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The absolute age of arock can be determined
from the relative amountsof a radioisotope and its
decay product.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Each radioactive isotopehas unique properties and
uses. Carbon-14, theradioactive isotope of
carbon that is absorbed byliving matter, is used to
date very recent events. Itcan only be used to date
thing that were once living,recently.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Other elements occur inigneous and metamorphic
rocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Since sedimentary rockscontain pieces of other
rocks, they are difficult todate radioactively.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
13. Explain how the age ofthe Earth has been
determined.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The oldest known rockson Earth have been dated
radiometrically at 3.96billion years, and the
oldest individual crystals at4.3 billion years.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Scientists believe thatthe Earth is older than this,
but that more ancientrocks did not survive themolten conditions that
prevailed after the planet'sbirth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The oldest Moon rockshave been dated at about4.5 billion years, and the
oldest meteorites at 4.5 to4.6 billion years.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. On the basis of theseresults, along with
calculations concerningradioisotopes in meteoritesand in the Earth, scientists
have concluded that theentire Solar System,
including Earth and all theother planets, formed
about 4.6 billion years ago.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
14. Know the evidence ofpast tectonic activity andinterpret the sequence ofplate motions using the
ESRT. (ESRT p.9)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VI/A: METEOROLOGY– ATMOSPHERIC
VARIABLES
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VI/A: METEOROLOGY – ATMOSPHERIC VARIABLES
1. Explain how outgassing formed the earth’s original atmosphere and how it evolved throughtime.2. Describe the various temperature zones of the atmosphere and be able to interpret theESRT chart/graph on the atmosphere.3. Understand and interpret the various temperature scales using the ESRT.4. Understand that the sun is the earth’s main energy source.5. Understand how a barometer measures air pressure.6. Describe how temperature, humidity and altitude affect air pressure.7. Explain the relationship between uneven heating, density differences and convection.8. Explain that winds blow from high to low pressure and how the earth’s rotation/corioliseffect affects the motion of winds.9. Explain how pressure gradient affects wind speed.10. Explain the function of an anemometer and a wind vane.11. Explain how evaporating water affects humidity.12. Use a sling psychrometer and the ESRT to determine relative humidity and dew point.13. Explain how changes in humidity affect air pressure.14. Define condensation and understand the concept of saturation.15. Explain the factors cloud formation.16. Compare and contrast the formation of clouds, fog, dew and frost.17. Construct and interpret isotherms, isobars and station models.
1. Explain how outgassingformed the Earth’s original
atmosphere and how itevolved through time.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Earth's primitiveatmosphere probably
consisted of such gases aswater vapor, carbon
dioxide, nitrogen, andseveral trace gases that
were released in volcanicemissions, a process called
outgassing.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The first life forms onEarth, probably anaerobicbacteria, did not require
oxygen.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. As life evolved, plants,through the process ofphotosynthesis, used
carbon dioxide and waterand released oxygen into
the atmosphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Once the available ironon Earth was oxidized
(combined with oxygen),substantial quantities of
oxygen accumulated in theatmosphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. About 4 billion yearsinto Earth's existence, the
fossil record revealsabundant ocean-dwellingorganisms that require
oxygen to live.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Describe the varioustemperature zones of the
atmosphere and be able tointerpret the ESRTchart/graph on the
atmosphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Weather is the state ofthe atmosphere at a
particular place for a shortperiod of time.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Climate, on the otherhand, is a generalization ofthe weather conditions of aplace over a long period of
time.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The most importantelements, those quantities
or properties that aremeasured regularly, of
weather and climate are…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
1) air temperature, 2)humidity, 3) type and
amount of cloudiness, 4)type and amount ofprecipitation, 5) air
pressure, and 6) the speedand direction of the wind.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. If water vapor, dust,ozone, and other variable
components of theatmosphere were removed,
clean, dry air would becomposed almost entirely
of nitrogen (N2), about 78%of the atmosphere by
volume, and oxygen (O2),about 21%.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Carbon dioxide (CO2),although present in minute
amounts (0.036%), isimportant because it hasthe ability to absorb heatradiated by Earth, thus
aiding atmosphericwarming.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Among the variablecomponents of air, watervapor is very important
because it is the source ofall clouds and precipitationand, like carbon dioxide, it
is also a heat absorber.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Ozone (O3), thetriatomic form of oxygen,is concentrated in the 10-to 50-kilometer altituderange (Stratosphere) ofthe atmosphere, and…
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
is important to life becauseof its ability to absorb
potentially harmfulultraviolet radiation from
the Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Because the atmospheregradually thins with
increasing altitude, it hasno sharp upper boundary
but simply blends intoouter space.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Based on temperature,the atmosphere is dividedvertically into four layers.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. The troposphere is thelowermost layer. In the
troposphere, temperatureusually decreases withincreasing altitude. The
rate is variable, butaverages about 6.5°C perkilometer (3.5°F per 1000
feet).The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Essentially all importantweather phenomena occur
in the troposphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Above the troposphereis the stratosphere, whichexhibits warming becauseof absorption of ultraviolet
radiation by ozone.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. In the mesosphere,temperatures again
decrease.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Upward from themesosphere is the
thermosphere, a layer withonly a minute fraction of
the atmosphere's mass andno well-defined upper
limit.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
n. The boundaries or zonesof transition between thelayers are the tropopause,
stratopause, andmesopause.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
o. You should be able todetermine the altitude,
temperature, atmosphericpressure, and water vaporconcentration within thelayers of the atmosphere
(ESRT p. 14).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Understand andinterpret the various
temperature scales usingthe ESRT (p.13).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Fahrenheit (°F)- Atemperature scale on
which water freezes at32ºF and water boils at
212ºF at sea level;
°F = (°C x 1.8) + 32
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Celsius (°C)- Atemperature scale havingthe freezing point of pure
water at 0°C and theboiling point at 100°C at
sea level
°C = (°F - 32) ÷ 1.8
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Kelvin (K)- Atemperature scale used in
science to measureextremely coldtemperatures.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Kelvin temperaturescale is just like the Celsius
scale except that thefreezing point of water,zero degrees Celsius, is
equal to 273 K.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Absolute zero, the coldestknown temperature, is
reached at 0 K. There is nodegree (°) symbol usedwith the Kelvin scale.
K = °C + 273
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Understand that the Sunis the Earth’s main energy
source.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Radiation from the Sunis the chief source of
energy for the atmosphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. When energy from theSun reaches Earth’s
surface, the energy isabsorbed, heating the
surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The Earth’s surface thenreradiates the energy intothe atmosphere, heating it.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The general drop intemperature with
increasing altitude in thetroposphere supports the
fact that the atmosphere isheated from the ground
up.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Understand how abarometer measures air
pressure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Barometric pressure isthe pressure exerted by
the atmosphere (weight ofthe atmosphere) at a given
point. Its measurementcan be expressed in
millibars (mb), or in inchesof mercury. Also known as
atmospheric pressure.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. A barometer is aninstrument used to
measure atmosphericpressure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. A standard mercurybarometer has a glass
column about 30 incheslong, closed at one end,
with a mercury-filledreservoir.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Mercury in the tube adjustsuntil the weight of the
mercury column balancesthe atmospheric force
exerted on the reservoir.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
High atmospheric pressureforces the mercury higher
in the column. Lowpressure allows the
mercury to drop to a lowerlevel in the column.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. An aneroid barometeruses a small, flexible metalbox called an aneroid cell.The box is tightly sealedafter some of the air isremoved, so that smallchanges in external air
pressure cause the cell toexpand or contract.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Decreasing air pressureoften brings warm and
unsettled or rainy weather.The movement of low
pressure into an area canbe associated with
overcast skies and possibleprecipitation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. If pressure is rising, theweather is clearing up.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Describe howtemperature, humidity andaltitude affect air pressure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. As air cools down, itcontracts. The air
molecules move closertogether, and the air
becomes denser. Therefore,cooler air is heavier and
causes higher air pressure.COLD AIR SINKS.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. As air heats up, itexpands. The air molecules
move farther apart, andthe air becomes less dense.
Therefore, warmer air islighter and causes lowerair pressure. WARM AIR
RISES.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Since moist air is lessdense (lighter) than dry air,
an increase in humiditygenerally results in lower
air pressure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
(A water molecule has anatomic mass of 18. An airmolecule has an atomic
mass of approximately 28.When a water molecule
replaces an air molecule,the air becomes lighter.)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. As you move higher intothe atmosphere, airpressure decreases.
Although the weight of theair pulls it down, the
pressure of theatmosphere is exerted in
all directions.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Explain the relationshipbetween uneven heating,density differences and
convection.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Dark and rough surfacesare excellent absorbers ofenergy, and heat up more
quickly than lighter,smoother surfaces that
reflect sunlight.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The land heats up andcools down much more
quickly than water.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Specific heat- theamount of heat (number ofcalories) required to raise
the temperature of onegram of substance one
degree Celsius (see ESRTp.1). A calorie is a unit of
heat energy.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
To raise the temperature ofone gram of water one
degree Celsius, one calorieof heat must be added tothe water. The unit for
specific heat is (calories /gram x C°).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Water gains energy duringmelting (+80
calories/gram) andevaporation (+540
calories/gram), andreleases energy during
freezing (-80calories/gram) andcondensation (-540
calories/gram).The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Water (as a liquid) has ahigher specific heat thanland. This means that it
takes more energy to raisethe temperature of water.
Water heats up slowly.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Air is heated mostly bythe surface beneath it.Most sunlight passes
through the air withoutchanging its temperature
much.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Air over the land willheat up faster during the
day, and cool faster duringthe night.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Air over the water willheat up slowly during the
day, and cool slowly atnight.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Warm (lower density)air rises. Cool (higher
density) air sinks. This isdue to the difference intheir densities. Oil floatson water since oil is less
dense.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Convection- the transferof heat through a liquid or
gas by the actualmovement of the liquid orgas; updrafts (warm airrising) and downdrafts
(cool air sinking) occur dueto convection in an
unstable atmosphere.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Explain that winds blowfrom high to low pressure
and how the Earth’srotation/coriolis effectaffects the motion of
winds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Wind is the horizontalmovement of air over
Earth’s surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Winds are named bywhere they are coming
from.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. If you poke a hole in anew bottle of soda, the soda
squirts out of the bottle,from an area of high
pressure (inside) to an areaof lower pressure (outside).Once the pressure inside the
bottle is equal to thepressure outside the bottle,
the soda stops squirting.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. If a window in a high-flying airplane is broken,
air rushes out of theairplane, from an area ofhigh pressure (inside) toan area of lower pressure
(outside).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Wind always blows fromregions of higher pressure
to regions of lowerpressure. “Winds blow
from high to low.”
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Coriolis Effect- the effectof the Earth's rotation onthe atmosphere and on all
objects on the Earth'ssurface including bodies of
water.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
In the northernhemisphere it causesmoving objects and
currents to be deflected tothe right; in the southern
hemisphere it causesdeflection to the left.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Example- Imagine aspinning disk (like a CD orDVD). If you scratched a
line from the center to theedge while the disk was
spinning, the resulting linewould be curved.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Example- A missile islaunched from the North
Pole. As it heads south, theEarth turns to the east,causing the missile to
appear to deflect to thewest as viewed by anEarthbound observer.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Explain how pressuregradient affects wind
speed.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Pressure gradient- thechange in atmosphericpressure between twopoints. The greater thechange (the larger thedifference) in pressure
between these two points,the stronger the pressuregradient and the stronger
the wind.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Strong pressuregradient: If city A has veryhigh pressure, and city B
has very low pressure, thewind will blow very quickly
from city A to city B.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Weak (gentle) pressuregradient: If the air
pressure at city A is just alittle greater than the air
pressure at city B, the windwill blow from city A to city
B slowly.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Explain the function ofan anemometer and a wind
vane.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Anemometer- Aninstrument used to
measure wind speed. Ananemometer usually hasfour cups placed at the
ends of two intersectingrods. As the wind blows,the cups catch the wind
and cause the cups to spin.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The faster the wind isblowing, the greater the
spinning of theanemometer. Wind speedis measured in miles perhour and knots (nautical
miles per hour).One knot equals 1.15mi/hr (ESRT p.13).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Wind vane- aninstrument that
determines the directionfrom which a wind is
blowing. The part of thevane that turns into the
wind is usually shaped likean arrow. The other end is
wide so it will catch thesmallest breeze.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The breeze turns the arrowuntil it catches both sidesof the wide end equally.The arrow always pointsinto the wind. The arrow
tells you the direction fromwhich the wind is coming.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11. Explain howevaporating water affects
humidity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Evaporation- liquidchanges to gas
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Condensation- gaschanges to liquid
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Melting- solid changes toliquid
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Freezing- liquid changesto solid
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Sublimation- solidchanges directly to gas
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Deposition (orsublimation)- gas changes
directly to solid
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Humidity is the generalterm used to describe theamount of water vapor in
the air.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Relative humidity- how“full” the air is with watervapor; the ratio (expressed
as a percent) of the air'swater vapor content to itswater vapor capacity at agiven temperature; the
most familiar term used todescribe humidity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. The water vapor capacity(how much it can hold) of
air depends ontemperature, with warm
air having a much greatercapacity than cold air.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Antarctica is the biggestdesert because the air is socold, and therefore, so dry.
If the air is hot, likedaytime in the Sahara
Desert, it CAN hold a lot ofmoisture, but may not be
holding much at all.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Relative humidity can bechanged in two ways. Oneis by adding (evaporation)
or subtracting(condensation) water
vapor to or from the air.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. The second is bychanging the air's
temperature. When air iscooled, its relativehumidity increases.
Cooling air often leads tocondensation, which
creates clouds and fog.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
This is why air conditionersdrip.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Heating air has theopposite effect. When air isheated, relative humiditydecreases. This is why theair can get so dry indoors
during the winter.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. Air is said to besaturated when it containsthe maximum quantity ofwater vapor that it can
hold at any giventemperature and pressure.
When air is saturated,relative humidity is 100%.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Dewpoint is thetemperature to which air
would have to be cooled inorder to reach saturation(100% relative humidity).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
12. Use a slingpsychrometer and the
ESRT to determine relativehumidity and dewpoint.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Sling psychrometer- aninstrument used to
measure the water vaporcontent of the atmosphere,in which wet and dry bulb
thermometers aremounted on a frame
connected to a handle atone end.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The psychrometer iswhirled by hand to providethe necessary ventilationto evaporate water from
the wet bulb.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Dry bulb- a normalthermometer that
measures air temperature.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Wet bulb- athermometer, with the
thermometer bulb wrappedin cloth, which is kept wet.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The evaporation of waterfrom the thermometer has
a cooling effect, so thetemperature indicated bythe wet bulb thermometer
is less than thetemperature indicated by a
dry-bulb thermometer.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The rate of evaporationfrom the wet-bulb
thermometer depends onthe humidity of the air -evaporation is slower
when the air is already fullof water vapor.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
For this reason, thedifference in the
temperatures indicated bythe two thermometers
gives a measure ofatmospheric humidity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. If the air is completelysaturated with water vapor(100% relative humidity),
no water will evaporatefrom the wet-bulb, and the
two temperatures (wet-and dry- bulb) will be the
same.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Don’t ignore the word“DIFFERENCE” on the
charts on page 12 in theESRT! These charts can beused to determine relative
humidity and dewpoint.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
To use the charts, find thedifference on top, and thedry-bulb temperature on
the left. Go down from thedifference and across fromthe dry-bulb temperature
to where the column meetsthe row. There should beONE number where they
meet.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
13. Explain the factorscloud formation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. For condensation tooccur, air must be
saturated.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Saturation takes placeeither when air is cooled toits dewpoint, which most
commonly happens, orwhen water vapor is added
to the air.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. There must also be asurface on which the water
vapor may condense. Incloud and fog formation,
tiny particles calledcondensation nuclei
(microscopic particles ofdust, smoke or salt) serve
this purpose.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The cooling of air as itrises and expands is the
basic cloud-formingprocess.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. If air rises high enough,it will cool sufficiently tocause condensation and
form a cloud.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The condensing watervapor releases heat,
thereby reducing the rateat which the air cools.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Four ways that cloudscan form from rising air:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Orographic lifting- occurswhen elevated terrains,
such as mountains, act asbarriers to the flow of air.As air blows up the side of
a mountain, it cools,reaching the dewpoint and
forming clouds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Frontal wedging- whencool air acts as a barrierover which warmer, less
dense air rises. A warm airmass always rises up and
over a cooler air mass. Thewarm air cools and reaches
the dewpoint, formingclouds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Convergence- when airflows together and a
general upward movementof air occurs. The rising air
cools to the dewpoint,forming clouds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Convection- when unequalsurface heating causes
localized pockets of air torise. The rising air cools to
the dewpoint, formingclouds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
14. Explain howprecipitation occurs.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. For precipitation to form,millions of cloud droplets
must somehow jointogether (coalesce) into
large drops.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. In clouds where thetemperatures are below
freezing, ice crystals formand fall as snowflakes. At
lower altitudes thesnowflakes melt and
become raindrops beforethey reach the ground.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Large droplets form inwarm clouds that containlarge condensation nuclei,such as salt particles. As
these big droplets descend,they collide and join withsmaller water droplets.
After many collisions thedroplets are large enough to
fall to the ground as rain.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Precipitation cleans theatmosphere by bringing
down condensation nucleiand other suspended
material.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Precipitation gauge- aninstrument used to
measure the amount ofrain that has fallen.
Measurement is often donein hundredths of inches
(0.01").
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Rain- Precipitation in theform of liquid water
droplets greater than 0.5mm.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Drizzle- Small, slowlyfalling water droplets, with
diameters less than 0.5mm.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Snow- precipitationfalling from clouds in the
form of ice crystals. Asnowflake forms first as a
very tiny crystal, thatgrows to become a larger
six-sided hexagonalcrystal.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Sleet- Raindrops thatfreeze into ice pellets
before reaching the ground.It forms when snow entersa warm layer of air abovethe surface and melts andthen enters a deep layer ofsub-freezing air near the
surface and refreezes.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Hail- falling ice inroughly round shapes. Hailcomes from thunderstorms
and is larger than sleet.Hailstones form when
upward moving air(updrafts) in a
thunderstorm keeps piecesof ice from falling.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Drops of supercooledwater hit and freeze to the
falling ice, causing it togrow.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
If the currents are strongenough, a hailstone willfall and rise many times,causing several layers ofice to build up until the
hailstone is heavy enoughto fall from the cloud.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
15. Compare and contrastthe formation of clouds,
fog, dew and frost.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Cloud- a visible group oftiny water and/or ice
particles in theatmosphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Fog- a cloud on theground. Fog is composedof billions of tiny water
droplets floating in the air.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Smog- air pollution by amixture of smoke and fog.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Dew- condensation inthe form of small water
drops that forms on grassand other small objects
near the ground when thetemperature has fallen tothe dewpoint, generally
during the nighttimehours.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Frost- Deposits of whiteice crystals or frozen dew
drops on objects on ornear the ground. Formed
when the surfacetemperature falls below
freezing (0°C).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
16. Construct and interpretisotherms, isobars and
station models.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Weather map- a mapshowing the weather at a
given time in a region.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Weather station- alocation wheremeteorological
observations aremeasured.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Station model- thelisting of many differentweather observations
around the location of aweather station on a
weather map (see ESRTp.13).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Isoline- a line on a mapconnecting points withequal value or common
characteristics (e.g.,rainfall intensity,
temperature, barometricpressure, etc.).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Isotherm- an isolineconnecting points of equal
air temperature on aweather map.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Isobar- an isolineconnecting points of equalair pressure on a weather
map.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Weather variables canbe represented in a varietyof formats including radar
and satellite images,weather maps (includingstation models, isobars,and fronts), atmospheric
cross-sections, andcomputer models.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VI/B: METEOROLOGY– WEATHER MAPS, ENERGY
EXCHANGES, FORCASTS
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VI/B: METEOROLOGY – WEATHER MAPS, ENERGY EXCHANGES, FORCASTS
1. Explain how source regions influence air mass characteristics.2. Identify air mass symbols on a weather map using the ESRT and explain how air masses move.3. Understand that fronts form where air masses meet.4. Compare and contrast the characteristics of cold, warm, stationary and occluded fronts.5. Compare and contrast movement of air in regions of high and low pressure.6. Recognize the patterns of isobars and isotherms in highs and lows.7. Describe the arrangement of fronts and air masses in a typical low pressure system.8. Describe the frontal weather and patterns of movement.9. Predict future weather for any location within a mid-latitude cyclone.10. Explain the seasonal nature of hurricane formation.11. Explain the role of condensation/latent heat in hurricane sustenance.12. Explain how hurricanes lose and gain energy.13. Understand storm tracks of hurricanes.14. Compare and contrast hurricanes and tornadoes.
1. Explain how sourceregions influence air mass
characteristics.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. An air mass is a largebody of air, usually 1600
kilometers (1000 miles) ormore across, which is
characterized by asameness of temperatureand moisture at any given
altitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. When this air moves outof its region of origin,
called the source region, itwill carry these
temperatures and moistureconditions elsewhere,
perhaps eventuallyaffecting a large portion of
a continent.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Air masses are classifiedaccording to:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
1) the nature of thesurface (water or land) in
the source region.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2) the latitude of thesource region.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Continental (c)designates an air mass ofland origin, with the air
likely to be dry; whereas amaritime (m) air mass
originates over water, andtherefore will be relatively
humid.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Tropical (T) air massesform in low latitudes andare warm. Polar (P) air
masses originate in highlatitudes and are cold.Arctic (A) air massesoriginate in the Polar
Regions and are very cold.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. According to thisclassification scheme, the
five basic types of airmasses are continentalpolar (cP), continentalarctic (cA), continentaltropical (cT), maritime
polar (mP), and maritimetropical (mT).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Continental polar (cP)air masses from Canada,
and maritime tropical (mT)air masses from the Gulf of
Mexico influence theweather of North America
most.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Maritime tropical air isthe source of much, if notmost, of the precipitationreceived in the easterntwo-thirds of the United
States.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. You should be able toidentify air mass symbolson a weather map (ESRT
p.13).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Arctic and polar airmasses usually move
southeast over America.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Tropical air massesusually move northeast
over America.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. Air masses move in thedirection of the planetary
winds and jet streams(ESRT p.14).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Jetstream- An area ofstrong winds that are
concentrated in a relativelynarrow belt in the upper
troposphere of theNorthern and Southern
Hemispheres.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Jetstreams flow in a bandaround the globe from
west to east. Jetstreamsform the dividing lines
between warm tropical airmasses and cold polar airmasses, and they steer
global weather systems.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Understand that frontsform where air masses
meet.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Front- the leading edgeof an advancing air mass.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. When a cold air mass(cP, cA, or mP) moves
towards a warm air mass(mT or cT), the warm air
mass is forced to rise.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. When a warm air massmoves towards a cold air
mass, the warm air mass isforced to rise up and over
the cold air mass.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Cold air is denser, so thewarm air mass is always
the one forced up and overcolder air.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Compare and contrastthe characteristics of cold,
warm, stationary andoccluded fronts (ESRT
p.13).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Cold front- The leadingedge of a quickly
(averaging 30 mph)advancing cold air mass
that is moving under, anddisplacing, the warmer air
in its path.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Generally, with thepassage of a cold front, thetemperature and humidity
decrease. Showers,thunderstorms, and
sometimes hail generallyoccur at and/or behind the
front.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Squall line- a line ofsudden, sometimes violent
thunderstorms thatdevelop along the leadingedge of a cold front, often
hundreds of kilometerslong.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Warm front- the leadingedge of a slowly
(averaging 15 mph)advancing warm air mass
that is rising up and over aretreating relatively colder
air mass.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Generally, with thepassage of a warm front,
the temperature andhumidity increase.
Precipitation, in the formof light rain, snow, or
drizzle, is generally foundahead of the front, andmay last for one to two
days.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Stationary front- theboundary between two air
masses that are notmoving (moving less than
6 mph).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Also: two air masses aresliding past each other, in
parallel paths, and theboundary between them isnot moving. May last for
several days.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Occluded front: when acold front catches up witha warm front. It developswhen three different air
masses come together: Awarm air mass is pinchedbetween a cold and a cool
air mass. The warm airmass is lifted completely
off of the ground.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Thunderstorms arecaused by the upward
movement of warm, moist,unstable air, associated
with frontal lifting.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Often, with the passageof a front, the pressure will
decrease then increase,and there will be a sharp
change in the winddirection.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Compare and contrastmovement of air in regionsof high and low pressure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. High pressure: cool,sinking air, diverging
(moving away from thecenter) at Earth’s surface,rotating clockwise north of
the equator.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Low pressure: warm,rising air, converging(moving towards the
center) at Earth’s surface,rotating counterclockwise.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Recognize the patternsof isobars and isotherms.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Isobar values increasetowards the center of a
high. Pressure is greatestat the center of a high.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Isobar values decreasetowards the center of a low.
Pressure is lowest at thecenter of a low.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Isotherms generallyincrease in value towardslower latitudes. Earth is
warmest near the equator.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Isotherms generallydecrease in value towardshigher latitudes. Earth iscoldest near the poles.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Describe thearrangement of fronts andair masses in a typical low
pressure system.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The primary weatherproducers in the middle
latitudes are large centersof low pressure that
generally travel from westto east, called middle-
latitude cyclones.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. These bearers of stormyweather, which last from afew days to a week, have a
counterclockwisecirculation pattern in the
Northern Hemisphere, withan inward flow of airtoward their centers.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Most middle-latitudecyclones have a cold frontextending to the south anda warm front extending tothe east from the central
area of low pressure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. As the cold front catchesup with the warm front, an
occluded front forms.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. A typical low pressuresystem has a cold air massmoving eastward towards
a warm air mass. Thewarm air mass typically
moves northward towardsa cooler air mass.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The warm air mass getspinched between the cold
and cool air masses, and isforced aloft.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Predict future weatherfor any location within a
mid-latitude cyclone.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Since most mid-latitudecyclones move from westto east, locations east ofthe cyclone will usually
experience stormy weatherin the future.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. As the different frontsapproach an area, theweather will change
accordingly (see 4a-f).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Locations near the frontsexperience the stormiest
weather.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Weather patternsbecome apparent whenweather variables are
observed, measured, andrecorded.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
These variables include airtemperature, air pressure,moisture (relative humidity
and dewpoint),precipitation (rain, snow,
hail, sleet, etc.), windspeed and direction, and
cloud cover.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Atmospheric moisture,temperature and pressuredistributions; jet streams,
wind; air masses andfrontal boundaries; and the
movement of cyclonicsystems and associated
tornadoes, thunderstorms,and hurricanes occur in
observable patterns.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Loss of property,personal injury, and loss of
life can be reduced byeffective emergency
preparedness.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Describe hurricanes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Hurricanes, the greateststorms on Earth, are
tropical cyclones with windspeeds in excess of 119
kilometers (74 miles) perhour.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. They have diameters of250 to 500 miles, and a
calm central “eye” whereair is sinking.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. These complex tropicaldisturbances develop overtropical ocean waters and
are fueled by the heatreleased when huge
quantities of water vaporcondense.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Hurricanes form mostoften in late summer when
ocean-surfacetemperatures reach 27°C(80°F) or higher and thus
are able to provide thenecessary heat andmoisture to the air.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Hurricanes diminish inintensity whenever they
move over cool oceanwater that cannot supply
adequate heat andmoisture, or move onto
land.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Hurricanes usually causethe most damage where
they first move over land.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Hurricane damage is ofthree types:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
1) storm surge (the domeof water that builds up as a
hurricane moves overwater. As this water comesashore with the storm, itcauses flooding that isusually a hurricane's
biggest killer
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2) wind damage, and
3) inland flooding.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Understand storm tracksof hurricanes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The hurricanes thataffect us originate in theeastern tropical AtlanticOcean near the shores of
Africa.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. They are drivenwestward towards the
Caribbean Islands, south ofAmerica, by easterly trade
winds in the tropics.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Eventually, these stormsturn northwestward and
migrate into higherlatitudes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. As a result, the Gulf ofMexico and East Coast ofthe United States are atrisk to experience one or
more hurricanes each year.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Describe tornadoes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Tornadoes, destructive,local storms of shortduration, are violent
windstorms associatedwith severe thunderstorms
that take the form of arotating funnel of air thatextends downward from a
storm cloud.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Tornadoes most oftenoccur during the spring
months.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. They are most frequentin the United States, in thearea between the Rockies
and the Appalachians. ColdCanadian air moves
southward, and meetswarm Gulf air moving
northward. The warm air isforced to rise very rapidly,
causing tornadoes.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Hail is commonlyproduced by tornadoes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VII: CLIMATE ANDINSOLATION
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VII: CLIMATE AND INSOLATION
1. Define climate.2. Understand that global wind circulation is the result of uneven heating, densitydifferences and the coriolis effect.3. Identify convergent and divergent belts and planetary winds using the ESRT.4. Define specific heat and explain the moderating effect of a nearby large body of water.5. Explain how land breezes, sea breezes and monsoons affect climate.6. Understand that density differences, wind and the coriolis effect cause ocean currents.7. Explain the climate affects of warm/cold currents (El Nino, Gulf Stream).8. Compare/contrast climate changes with altitude and latitude.9. Explain the differences between windward and leeward climate.10. Compare/contrast inland and coastal climates at the same latitude.11. Define insolation and explain how its intensity and duration affects temperature.12. Describe how daily/seasonal temperature cycles are affected by insolational variations.13. Understand that insolation variations change with latitude.14. Compare/contrast conduction, convection and radiation.15. Explain why cloudy days are cool and cloudy nights are warm.16. Compare/ contrast surfaces that absorb or reflect insolation.17. Understand that good absorbers are good radiators.18. Interpret the electromagnetic spectrum in the ESRT/19. Understand that visible light is the most intense form of energy radiated by the sun.20. List the greenhouse gases and explain their affect on global warming.21. Understand the greenhouse affect of the absorption, conversion and reflection ofinsolation.
1. Define climate.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Climate- the averageweather (usually taken
over a 30-year time period)for a particular region and
time period.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Climate is not the sameas weather, but rather, it is
the average pattern ofweather for a particular
region. (Weather describesthe short-term state of the
atmosphere.)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Climates are oftendescribed by amounts of
precipitation andtemperature. A location’sclimate is influenced by
latitude, proximity to largebodies of water, ocean
currents, prevailing winds,vegetative cover, elevation,
and mountain ranges.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Temperature andprecipitation patterns are
altered by:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
natural events such as ElNiño and volcanic
eruptions
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
human influencesincluding deforestation,urbanization, and the
production of greenhousegases such as carbondioxide and methane.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Understand that globalwind circulation is the
result of uneven heating,density differences and the
Coriolis effect.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Within the troposphereare six major convectioncells (ESRT p.14) located
at latitudes between:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
0° and 30° (one north andone south)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
30° and 60° (one northand one south)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
60° and 90° (one northand one south)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Warm (low density) airat the equator rises to the
top of the troposphere.This creates a band of lowair pressure, centered onthe equator. As the risingair cools to the dewpoint,clouds and precipitation
form. This is why thetropics have so much rain.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. At a height of about 14km, the air begins to movehorizontally to the northand south, away from the
equator.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Eventually, this cooled airsinks at 30° north andsouth of the equator,
creating two bands of highpressure. The sinking air
heats up, creating very dryconditions. Most majordeserts are located at
these latitudes.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. When this sinking airreaches the surface, it
travels in two directions,towards the equator or
towards 60° latitude. TheCoriolis effect causes thesesurface winds to curve to
the right (north of equator)or to the left (south of the
equator).The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. When sinking (cold anddense) air at the polesreaches the surface, it
moves away from the poles,towards 60° latitude, alsocurving due to the Coriolis
effect.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. At 60° latitude, surfacewinds from the poles and
from 30° latitude converge.They are forced to rise,
creating two more bandsof low pressure with wet
climates.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Identify convergent anddivergent belts and
planetary winds using theESRT (p.14).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Zones of convergenceexist on the surface at theequator and 60°. Here, thewinds are coming together.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Zones of divergenceexist on the surface at thepoles and 30°. Here, thewinds are moving apart.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Remember:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
North of the equator,surface winds curve to theright. If they are blowing
north, they will curve east.If they are blowing south,
they will curve west.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
South of the equator,surface winds curve to the
left. If they are blowingnorth, they will curve to
the west. If they areblowing south, they will
curve to the east.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Define specific heat andexplain the moderatingeffect of a nearby large
body of water.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The land heats up andcools down much more
quickly than water.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Specific heat- theamount of heat (number ofcalories) required to raise
the temperature of onegram of substance one
degree Celsius (see ESRTp.1).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Water (as a liquid) has ahigher specific heat thanland. This means that it
takes more energy to raisethe temperature of water.
Water heats up slowly.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Throughout the year, thetemperature of the oceandoes not change as muchas the temperature of the
land.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Locations near largebodies of water usually
have cooler summers andwarmer winters.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Locations far from largebodies of water are usuallyhotter during the summer
and colder during thewinter.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Explain how landbreezes, sea breezes andmonsoons affect climate.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Air is heated mostly bythe surface beneath it.Most Sunlight passes
through the air withoutchanging its temperature
much.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Air over the water willheat up slowly during the
day, and cool slowly atnight.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Air over the land willheat up faster during the
day, and cool faster duringthe night.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Warm (low density) airrises. Cold (dense) air
sinks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Convection- the transferof heat energy within the
atmosphere, thehydrosphere, and Earth’s
interior results in theformation of regions of
different densities. Thesedensity differences result
in motion.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Sea breeze- a local windblowing from the sea to
the shore. Cooler air fromover the sea flows onto theshore to replace the warm
air rising over the land.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
On Sunny days the landheats up more quickly thanthe sea. The air in contactwith the land warms andrises causing convection.
During the day, cloudsoften form over the land
where the warm air isrising and cooling to the
dew point.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Land breeze- a localwind blowing from the land
to the sea, opposite of asea breeze.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
During the night, the sea iswarmer than the land. Coolerair from over the land flows
out to sea to replace thewarm air rising over thewater. During the night,
clouds often form over thesea where the warm air is
rising and cooling to the dewpoint.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Monsoons are caused bya seasonal change in winddirection. Winds usuallyblow from land to sea in
winter, while in thesummer this reverses,
bringing heavyprecipitation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
During the winter, the landcools down quickly,
causing a large area ofhigh pressure. During thesummer, the land heats up
quickly, causing a largearea of low pressure.
Winds always blow fromhigh to low pressure.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Monsoons are mosttypical in India and
southern Asia.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
For Arizona, the monsoonresults in westerly windsshifting to southerly or
southeasterly (winds arenamed by where they come
from); this shift bringsconsiderable moisture intothe state from the Gulf ofCalifornia and the Gulf of
Mexico.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Understand that densitydifferences, wind and the
Coriolis effect cause oceancurrents.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Ocean currents arebasically rivers in the
ocean. They move around4 miles an hour.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Surface ocean currentsare parts of huge, slowly
moving, circular whirls, orgyres (pronounced “jires,”like tires), that begin nearthe equator in each ocean.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Currents moving awayfrom the equator are warm.
Currents moving awayfrom the poles are cold.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Wind is the driving forcefor the ocean's surface
currents. Where wind is incontact with the ocean, it
passes energy to the waterthrough friction and causesthe surface layer to move.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The most significant factorother than wind that
influences the movement ofsurface ocean currents is theCoriolis Effect, which causeswind (and therefore oceancurrents) to be deflected to
the right in the NorthernHemisphere and to the left in
the Southern Hemisphere.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Because of the CoriolisEffect, surface currentsflow clockwise in the
Northern Hemisphere andcounterclockwise in theSouthern Hemisphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The world's oceans alsohave significant currents
that flow beneath thesurface. In contrast tosurface currents, deep-
ocean circulation iscontrolled by gravity and
driven by densitydifferences.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Cold water is very dense,and sinks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Cold, dense water nearAntarctica sinks and
travels along the seafloortowards the equator,
where it will eventually(500 to 2000 years) return
to the sea surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Salty water is very dense,and sinks. Both the
evaporation and freezingof sea water leave behind
salt, increasing salinitylevels and water density.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. In the summer theMediterranean Sea loses
more water by evaporationthan it gets back as rain.
The salinity and density ofthe Mediterranean Sea
increase.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
As a result, deep currentsof dense water flow alongthe sea bottom from theMediterranean into theAtlantic Ocean. At the
same time, the less saltywater of the Atlantic Ocean
flows into theMediterranean at the
water's surface.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Explain the climateaffects of warm/cold
currents (El Niño, GulfStream).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Ocean currents areimportant in navigationand travel and for the
effect that they have onclimates.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Cold currents, like theLabrador, California, and
Falkland Currents,decrease air temperaturesof nearby land and cause
increased fog.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Warm currents, like theGulf Stream, the North
Atlantic, and the KuroshioCurrent, warm the climates
of nearby land.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. El Niño- The term ElNiño refers to a warm
ocean current thattypically appears aroundlate December and lastsfor several months, butmay persist into May or
June.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Starting up an El Niñoevent: The western PacificOcean warms and cools incycles. Normally, east-to-west winds pile up warm
water in the westernPacific, while cold waterfrom deep in the ocean
rises to the surface alongthe South American Coast.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Every few years, the tradewinds change, allowing the
pool of warm water tomove to the east where it
blocks the rising coldwater. These changes helptrigger the global weatherchanges associated with El
Niño.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
A strong El Niño has verynoticeable effects on theUSA's weather, which can
range from a stormywinter along the West
Coast, a wet winter acrossthe South, and a warmer-than average winter for
parts of the North.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. La Niña- conditionopposite of an El Niño. In aLa Niña, the tropical Pacifictrade winds become verystrong and an abnormal
accumulation of cold wateroccurs in the central and
eastern Pacific Ocean.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
During a La Niña year,winter temperatures are
warmer than normal in theSoutheast and cooler thannormal in the Northwest.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. El Niño and La Niñaevents tend to alternate
about every three to sevenyears. However, the time
from one event to the nextcan vary from one to ten
years.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Compare/contrastclimate changes withaltitude and latitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Places at low latitudes(near the equator) arewarm due to the high
angle of insolation(incoming solar radiation).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Places at high latitudes(near the poles) are colddue to the low angle of
insolation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Locations at highaltitudes are cool. Quito,
Ecuador, is a city near theequator. It has a very cool
climate because it islocated high in the Andes
Mountains.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Locations at lowaltitudes are warm. DeathValley, California, and theDead Sea, between Israeland Jordan, are extremelyhot and dry since they are
both below sea level.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Explain the differencesbetween windward and
leeward climate.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The windward side of amountain is the side that
the wind is blowingagainst.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The leeward side of amountain is the side facing
away from the wind,opposite from the
windward side.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. When wind blowstowards mountains, such
as the WashingtonCascades, it is forced to
rise.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. When the rising airexpands and cools,
condensation occurs, and itrains on locations situatedon the windward slopes,like Seattle, Washington.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. When the wind blowsdown the leeward side of
the mountain, like atSpokane, Washington, it iscompressed, warming and
drying it out.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. This sinking, contracting,dry air produces a rainshadow, or area in theleeward of a mountain
with less rain and cloudcover.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Define insolation andexplain how its intensity
and duration affectstemperature.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Insolation- “IN”-coming“SOL”-ar radi-“ATION”
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The higher the Sun is inthe sky, the stronger(more intense) the
sunlight is.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Places near the equatorreceive the most intense
insolation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. At places near the poles,the Sun never rises high inthe sky, so the sunlight isalways weak. The Polar
Regions receive the leastintense insolation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. During the summermonths, the duration,angle, and intensity ofinsolation are greatest.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Day= hot; Night= cold(no insolation)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Summer= hot; Winter=cold
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11. Compare/contrastconduction, convection and
radiation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Conduction- the transferof heat from one substance
to another by directcontact (touching); thetransfer is always from
warmer to coldersubstances.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Convection- the transferof heat in a fluid (such as
air, water, or magma),where a warm current
rises into a cool area, anda cool current descends to
take its place.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Convection is driven bygravity -- warm fluids are
usually lighter than densercold fluids, and gravity
drags the densest materialto the bottom.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Radiation- the transferof energy in the form ofelectromagnetic waves
that can travel through thevacuum of empty space, or
through anything that istransparent (air, glass,
water, etc.).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
electromagnetic waves:radio, microwave, infrared
(heat), visible orultraviolet, x rays or
gamma rays
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The transfer of heatenergy within theatmosphere, the
hydrosphere, and Earth’ssurface occurs as the
result of radiation,convection, and
conduction.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Heating of Earth’ssurface and atmosphere bythe Sun drives convectionwithin the atmosphere andoceans, producing winds
and ocean currents.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
12. Explain why cloudydays are cool and cloudy
nights are warm.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Clouds block theSunlight. Much of the solarradiation hitting the cloudis reflected back to space.When this happens, less
solar radiation reaches theEarth. This makes the
Earth cooler thanexpected.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
When the daily hightemperature is lower than
forecasted, unexpectedlow thick clouds may have
been the result.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Clear skies allow moresolar radiation to reach thesurface. This is why desertclimates are so hot during
the day. The lack ofmoisture results in the lack
of clouds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. On a cloudy night, theclouds will absorb most ofthe infrared radiation thatthe surface is attempting
to reradiate back intospace.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
They will then radiate asignificant amount of this
energy back to the surface.The heat is trapped in thelower atmosphere, making
it warmer.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. On clear nights there arefew clouds to absorb and
reradiate radiation back tothe surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Infrared energy (heat)escapes very quickly fromthe atmosphere with the
lack of cloud coverresulting in a cool night.
(This is why desert nightsare often very cold.)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
13. Compare/ contrastsurfaces that absorb or
reflect insolation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Dark and rough surfacesare excellent absorbers of
insolation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Light and smoothsurfaces reflect more
Sunlight.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Clouds and snow canreflect much Sunlight.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Albedo- the amount oflight reflected from a
surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
14. Understand that goodabsorbers are good
radiators.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Anything that heats upquickly cools down quickly.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Anything that heats upslowly cools down slowly.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
15. Interpret theelectromagnetic spectrum
in the ESRT (p.14).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. ElectromagneticSpectrum- the entire range
of wavelengths ofelectromagnetic radiation
extending from shortgamma rays to the longestradio waves and including
visible light.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Wavelength- thedistance between twocrests (high points) or
troughs (low points) of awave.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Short wavelength = Highenergy = Dangerous
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. All forms ofelectromagnetic energy
radiate at the same speed,the speed of light: 300,000km/s (186,000 miles persecond). At the speed of
light, an object could travelaround the Earth almost
eight times in one second.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Types ofelectromagnetic energy:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Gamma rays- a form ofelectromagnetic radiation
with a large amount ofenergy. They have a large
penetrating anddestructive power.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
X rays- wavelengthsbetween ultraviolet andgamma rays; X-radiation
can go through human skintissue but is stopped by
dense bones. This propertymakes X-rays valuable in
medicine.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Ultraviolet- a wavelengthjust too small to see; light
that is so blue humanscan’t see it; A band of theelectromagnetic spectrumbetween the visible and
the X-ray; known todamage eyes and cause
skin cancer.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Visible light- visible lightis the most intense form ofenergy radiated by the Sun.
It is electromagneticradiation at wavelengthsthat the human eye cansee. We perceive thisradiation as colors.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Sun emits most of itsradiation as visible light,
which is probably why oureyes can see it. From
longest to shortest: red,orange, yellow, green, blue,indigo, violet (ROY G. BIV)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Infrared- heat energy; awavelength just too long to
see; light that is so redhumans can’t see it; a band
of the electromagneticspectrum between the
visible and the microwave.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Microwaves- wavelengthbetween radio waves and
infrared radiation; very shortradio waves. A microwave
oven uses microwaves to heatfood. They are absorbed bywater, fats and sugars, and
converted directly into atomicmotion – high temperatures.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Radio waves- longestwavelength (lowest energy)electromagnetic radiation;
used on Earth tocommunicate over large
distances.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
16. List the greenhousegases and explain their
affect on global warming.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Some greenhouse gasesoccur naturally in the
atmosphere, while othersresult from human
activities.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Naturally occurringgreenhouse gases include
water vapor, carbondioxide, methane, nitrous
oxide, and ozone.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Certain human activities,however, add to the levelsof most of these naturally
occurring gases:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Carbon dioxide is releasedto the atmosphere when
solid waste, fossil fuels (oil,natural gas, and coal), andwood and wood products
are burned.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Methane is emitted duringthe production and
transport of coal, naturalgas, and oil. Methane
emissions also result fromthe decomposition of
organic wastes inmunicipal solid waste
landfills, and the raising oflivestock.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Nitrous oxide is emittedduring agricultural and
industrial activities, as wellas during combustion of
solid waste and fossilfuels.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Very powerful greenhousegases that are not
naturally occurring includehydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
perfluorocarbons (PFCs),and sulfur hexafluoride
(SF6), which are generatedin a variety of industrial
processes.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Each greenhouse gasdiffers in its ability to
absorb heat in theatmosphere. HFCs and
PFCs are the most heat-absorbent.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Methane traps over 21times more heat per
molecule than carbondioxide, and nitrous oxideabsorbs 270 times moreheat per molecule than
carbon dioxide.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
17. Understand thegreenhouse affect of the
absorption, conversion andreflection of insolation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The solar energy,primarily in the form of the
shorter wavelengths(visible light), which
penetrates through theatmosphere, is ultimately
absorbed at Earth'ssurface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Earth releases theabsorbed radiation
(reradiation) in the form oflong-wave radiation(infrared radiation).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The atmosphericabsorption of this long-
wave terrestrial radiationby greenhouse gases
(primarily by water vaporand carbon dioxide) is
responsible for heating theatmosphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. This very importantphenomenon has beentermed the greenhouse
effect.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VIII/A: THE EARTHIN SPACE – THE SOLAR
SYSTEM
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VIII/A: THE EARTH IN SPACE – THE SOLAR SYSTEM
1. Identify the seasonal changes in the Sun’s noon altitude, positions of sunrise/sunset, andamount of daylight.2. Recognize the path of the sun during each season at different latitudes.3. Explain the annual migration of the sun’s vertical ray as a result of revolution, tilt, andparallelism.4. Compare and contrast the evidences of revolution and rotation.5. Relate Earth’s rate of rotation to time keeping and longitude.6. Locate zenith, horizon, and compass directions on a celestial sphere model.7. Locate Polaris using the Big Dipper.8. Use the angle of Polaris to determine the observer’s latitude at different locations.9. Explain how Polaris is used as a navigational tool.10. Explain how the Moon’s rotation and revolution affects its appearance.11. Describe the changing phases of the moon.12. Explain why eclipses are rare events.13. Compare and contrast solar and lunar eclipses.14. Describe how the Moon and the Sun cause the tides.15. Understand the size, scale, and arrangement of the members of the solar system.16. Compare/contrast the geocentric and heliocentric models.17. Compare/contrast terrestrial and Jovian planets.18. Explain Newton’s Law of Gravitation with respect to mass and distance.19. Explain how distance from the Sun affects a planet’s orbital velocity (Kepler’s Laws).20. Diagram elliptical orbits and analyze their eccentricities (Kepler’s Laws).21. Understand that the apparent size of the Sun changes seasonally due to the Earth’selliptical orbit.22. Describe meteors, their origin, and cratering as an early geologic activity.23. Describe comets, the eccentricity of their orbits, and the Oort cloud.24. Describe the location of the asteroids and their past influence on the Earth.25. Describe other planetary satellites/rings
1. Identify the seasonalchanges in the Sun’s noon
altitude, positions ofSunrise/Sunset, andamount of daylight.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Most objects in the solarsystem are in regular and
predictable motion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. These motions explainsuch phenomena as theday, the year, seasons,
phases of the moon,eclipses, and tides.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Gravity influences themotions of celestial objects.
The force of gravitybetween two objects in theuniverse depends on theirmasses and the distance
between them.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The two principalmotions of Earth are:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Rotation- the spinning ofEarth about its axis, whichproduces the daily cycle of
daylight and darkness.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Revolution- the movementof Earth in its orbit around
the Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Several factors acttogether to cause the
seasons (The seasons ARENOT caused by the
distance between the Earthand the Sun!!!):
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Earth revolves around theSun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Earth's axis is tilted 23.5°degrees (from the
perpendicular to the planeof its orbit around the
Sun).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Parallelism- The axisremains pointed in the
same direction (toward theNorth Star) as Earth
journeys around the Sun.The axis is parallel to itselfat any position in Earth’s
orbit.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. As a result, Earth'sorientation to the Suncontinually changes.
Sometime the North Pole istilted toward the Sun, and
sometimes it is tilted away.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The yearly changes inthe angle of the Sun and
length of daylight broughtabout by Earth's changing
orientation to the Suncause seasons.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Summer Solstice- June 20or 21. The Earth’s axis is
tilted at its most towards theSun, and marks the longest
day and the beginning ofsummer (in the southern
hemisphere this is the wintersolstice). The Sun is directly
overhead at the Tropic ofCancer (23.5°N) at noon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Winter Solstice- December21 or 22. The planet's axis istilted at its most away from
the Sun, and marks theshortest day and the
beginning of winter (in thesouthern hemisphere this isthe summer solstice). TheSun is directly overhead at
the Tropic of Capricorn(23.5°S) at noon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Spring (Vernal) Equinox-March 20 or 21. The first
day of spring (in thesouthern hemisphere this
is the first day of fall.)There are 12 hours of
daylight and 12 hours ofdarkness. The Sun is
directly overhead at theEquator (0°N) at noon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Fall (Autumnal)Equinox- September 22 or23. The first day of fall (inthe southern hemisphere
this is the first day ofspring.) There are 12 hoursof daylight and 12 hours of
darkness. The Sun isdirectly overhead at theEquator (0°N) at noon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. Seasonal changes can beexplained using concepts of
density and heat energy.These changes include the
shifting of global temperaturezones, the shifting of
planetary wind and oceancurrent patterns, the
occurrence of monsoons,hurricanes, flooding, and
severe weather.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Recognize the path ofthe Sun during eachseason at different
latitudes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Insolation (incomingsolar radiation) heatsEarth’s surface and
atmosphere unequally dueto variations in:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The intensity caused bydifferences in atmospherictransparency and the angle
of insolation, which varywith time of day, latitude,
and season.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Characteristics of thematerials absorbing the
energy such as color,texture, transparency,
state of matter, andspecific heat.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Duration, which varieswith seasons and latitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The Sun’s apparent paththrough the sky varies
with latitude and season.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. North of the equator, theSun always rises in the
east, travels through thesouthern sky, and sets inthe west. (South of the
equator, it rises in the east,travels through the
northern sky, and sets inthe west.)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Altitude (ALT)- numberof degrees above horizon.
Straight up is 90°. Thehorizon is 0°.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Azimuth (AZ)- A way ofusing degrees to state a
compass direction:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
North = 0°
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
East = 90°
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
South = 180°
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
West = 270°
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The path of the Sun atSpring Valley, New York
(41°N latitude):
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Summer Solstice- the Sunrises in the northeast
(AZ=58°), travels highestin the sky (ALT=72.5°),
and sets in the northwest(AZ=302°).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Winter Solstice- the Sunrises in the southeast
(AZ=121°), travels lowestin the sky (ALT=25.5°),
and sets in the southwest(AZ=239°).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Both Equinoxes- the Sunrises exactly in the east(AZ=90°), rises to its
average height (ALT=49°),and sets exactly in the
west (AZ=270°).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. At the Equator: day andnight are each always 12
hours long. The Sun alwaystravels in a path
perpendicular (at a 90°angle) to the plane of the
horizon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Only on the equinoxes, theSun rises exactly east and
sets exactly west, travelingdirectly overhead, through
the zenith at noon. Thenoon Sun is never lower
than 66.5° altitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. At the Poles: on theequinoxes, the Sun movesalong the horizon, neverquite rising or setting. Atthe North Pole the Sun
“rises” on March 21st and“sets” on September 22.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The situation is reversed forthe South Pole. During the
summer, the Sun never sets.During the winter, the Sun
never rises. The Sun, when up,always travels in a circle
through the sky, parallel tothe horizon. The Sun never
rises more than 23.5° abovethe horizon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. The Sun can only bedirectly overhead, at the
zenith, at locationsbetween the Tropics ofCancer (23.5°N) and
Capricorn (23.5°S). TheSun is NEVER at the zenith
in New York!
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Explain the annualmigration of the Sun’s
vertical ray as a result ofrevolution, tilt, and
parallelism.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The Sun’s rays arevertical when the Sunlight
is hitting Earth at a 90°angle.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Dates and locations ofSun’s vertical rays:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Summer solstice – Tropicof Cancer
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Fall equinox - Equator
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Winter solstice – Tropic ofCapricorn
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Spring equinox – Equator
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Throughout the courseof one year, the Sun’s
vertical rays migrate backand forth between theTropics of Cancer and
Capricorn.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Compare and contrastthe evidences of revolution
and rotation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Two pieces of evidencefor Earth's Rotation:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Foucault Pendulum- Eachhour the pendulum shiftsapproximately 11 degrees
in a clockwise directionknocking over all the pinsthat surround it. The shift
is caused by Earth'srotation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
If the Earth did not rotateonly 2 pins (in a straightline from each other) willbe knocked down. At thenorth pole the apparentrotation would be a full
circle of 360° each 24-hourday, or about 15° per hour.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The further south you go,the slower the apparentrotation gets, and at the
equator there is norotation at all. Below the
equator the apparentrotation begins again, butin the opposite direction.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Coriolis Effect- Earth’srotation causes winds andany other freely movingobjects to curve in their
paths.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. 2 pieces of evidence forEarth's Revolution:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Parallax Effect- Theapparent shift in a star's
position that occursbecause Earth has movedin its orbit. Parallax refersto the apparent shifting ofan object when viewed at
different angles.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
If you view the same objectfrom two different angles, theperspective will change. Hold
your thumb out in front ofyou at arm's length and view
it first with your right eye(left eye closed), and then
with your left eye (right eyeclosed). Your thumb appears
to move.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Astronomers view starsfrom one side of the
Earth's orbit and then fromthe other side to attempt
to detect parallax.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Seasonal changes inconstellations- During the
summer, certainconstellations are visible in
the nighttime sky. During thewinter, when the Earth is onthe opposite side of the Sun,the nighttime sky faces the
opposite side of the universe,so we see different
constellations.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Computing the speed ofEarth's rotation (at the
equator):
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Circumference of Earth =40,000 kilometers
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Time for one rotation = 24hours
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Speed of rotation =Distance/Time = 40,000
km / 24 hr = 1,670 km/hr(1,038 mi/hr)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Computing the speed ofEarth's rotation (at the
Spring Valley, NY):
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Circumference of Earth at41°N latitude = 30,289
kilometers
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Time for one rotation = 24hours
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Speed of rotation =Distance/Time = 30,289
km / 24 hr = 1,262 km/hr(784 mi/hr)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Every second, the Earth'srotational motion carriesyou 351 meters, or about1,150 feet, through space.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Computing the speed ofEarth's revolution around
the Sun:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Circumference of Earth'sorbit = 940,000,000
kilometers
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Time for one revolution =365 1/4 days = 8766 hours
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Speed of revolution =Distance/Time =
940,000,000 km / 8766 hr= 107,000 km/hr = 30km/sec (66,490 mi/hr)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Every second, the Earth'sorbital motion carries you30 kilometers, or about 18
miles, through space.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Relate Earth’s rate ofrotation to time keeping
and longitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Earth rotates 360° every24 hours.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Earth rotates 15° perhour. (360°/24hr=15°/hr)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Earth is divided intotwenty-four time zones,
each 15° wide.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. If you move 15° west,your time decreases by one
hour.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. If you move 15° east,your time increases by one
hour.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Greenwich Mean Time(GMT)- The time at the
Prime Meridian (0°longitude).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Chronometer- a veryaccurate clock that can
keep time in all weather;used in navigation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Longitude may bedetermined by calculating thetime difference between thelocation a person is in and
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).So if the time zone a person is
in is three hours ahead ofGMT then that person is at 45°longitude (3 hours x 15° per
hour = 45°).The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
In order to perform thiscalculation, however, aperson needs to have achronometer set to GMTand needs to determine
local time by solarobservation or
astronomical observation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. California is three hoursearlier than New York. Its
longitude must be 45°west of New York.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. London, England is fivehours later than New York.Its longitude must be 75°
east of New York.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. If you are on a ship,your local time is 2pm, and
your chronometer reads8pm, your longitude mustbe 60°W. [(8-2)x15=60]
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. If you are on a ship, yourlocal time is 11am, andyour chronometer reads9am, you longitude must
be 30°E. [(11-9)x15=30]
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. International Date Line-imaginary line on the Earth'ssurface, generally following
the 180° meridian oflongitude, where, by
international agreement,travelers change dates.
Traveling eastward across theline, one subtracts onecalendar day; traveling
westward, one adds a day.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Locate zenith, horizon,and compass directions ona celestial sphere model.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Zenith- the point on thecelestial sphere directly
above the observer.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Horizon- where the skymeets the Earth in the
distance.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Looking at a map withnorth at the top, south isdown, east is right, and
west is left.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Locate Polaris using theBig Dipper.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Polaris, or the NorthStar, is located at the end
of the handle of the LITTLEDIPPER.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. To find Polaris, use theBig Dipper. The two stars
on the side of the cupopposite the handle are
called the “pointer stars.”Draw an arrow from thebottom star through the
top star, and it will point toPolaris.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Use the angle of Polaristo determine the
observer’s latitude atdifferent locations.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The altitude of Polaris =latitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. An astrolabe (sextant) isan ancient scientific
instrument that the Greeksused in the second century
B.C. to determine thelatitude at which they were
located.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The astrolabe, whichallows the user to measurevertical angles, was very
important to sailors inancient times.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Determining the anglebetween your position on
Earth and Polarisdetermines your latitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. A person standing at theNorth Pole will find Polarisstraight overhead (90°),
which is her latitude.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. A person standing at theequator will find Polaris atthe horizon (0°), also her
latitude. Polaris is notvisible below the Equator.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. To build an astrolabe:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
You need these materials:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Protractor
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Tape
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Straw
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
12" of string
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
A weight (such as awasher, nut, or paper clip)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Directions:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Turn your protractorupside down so the
rounded part is facing theground
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Tape the string on thecenter of the straight edge.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Tie the weight on the endof the string.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Tape the straw on thestraight edge of the
protractor.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. To use your astrolabe,look at an object (Polaris)
through the straw, thesight, letting the string
hang down the front of theprotractor.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
When the object is in thecenter of the sight, holdthe string tightly againstthe protractor. While youare still holding the stringagainst the protractor look
at the measure of theangle. This angle is your
latitude!The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Explain how Polaris isused as a navigational tool.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Traveling north, Polarisrises in the sky.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Traveling south, Polarislowers in the sky.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Traveling east or west,the altitude of Polaris stays
the same.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Explain how the Moon’srotation and revolutionaffects its appearance.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Earth is orbited by onemoon and many artificial
satellites.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. When we watch theMoon during the course ofa month, it looks like it ischanging shape. What we
are really seeing isSunlight reflected from themoon’s surface as it moves
around the Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The Sun always shineson half of the moon, but
we cannot always see theentire half that is lit up.
The phases are the parts ofthe lit half that we can see.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. It takes about onemonth (moonth) for theMoon to complete one
cycle of phases.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The shape varies from afull Moon (when the Earth
is between the Sun and themoon) to a new Moon
(when the Moon isbetween the Sun and the
Earth).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The phases of the Moonin order: new, waxingcrescent, first quarter,waxing gibbous, full,
waning gibbous, last (third)quarter, waning crescent,
new, etc.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Waxing= gettingbrighter
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Waning= getting darker
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Crescent= banana shape
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Gibbous= more than halflit, less than full.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. When the Right side is lit,it is getting Rounder.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. When the Left side is lit,it is in its Last phases.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Looking at the shapesof the phases in order, canyou see the word, “DOC”?
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
D = first quarter
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
O = full moon
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
C = waning crescent
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
n. At the time of the newmoon, the Moon rises atabout the same time theSun rises, and it sets atabout the same time the
Sun sets.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
As the days go by (as itwaxes to become a crescent
moon, a half moon, and agibbous moon, on the way toa full moon), the Moon risesduring the daytime (after theSun rises), rising later eachday, and it sets at nighttime,setting later and later each
night.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
o. At the full moon, thetimes of moonrise and
moonset have advanced sothat the Moon rises about
the same time the Sun sets,and the Moon sets at about
the same time the Sunrises.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
As the Moon wanes(becoming a half Moon and
a crescent moon, on theway to a new moon), the
Moon rises during thenight, after sunset, risinglater each night. It then
sets in the daytime, afterthe Sun rises.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Eventually, the Moon risesso late at night that it'sactually rising around
sunrise, and it's settingaround sunset. That's
when it's a new Moon onceagain.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11. Explain why eclipsesare rare events.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. During a new moon,when the Moon is betweenthe Earth and the Sun, theMoon usually doesn’t block
the Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. During a full moon,when the Earth is betweenthe Sun and the moon, the
Earth’s shadow usuallydoesn’t fall on the moon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The Moon's orbit istipped by 5 degrees with
respect to the Earth's orbit.Therefore, eclipses do not
occur every month.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The three objects (Sun,Moon, Earth) are rarely
lined up perfectly.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
12. Compare and contrastsolar and lunar eclipses.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Eclipses, be they solar orlunar, occur when the
Earth, Sun and Moon are ina line.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. If the Moon is inbetween the Earth and theSun, it blocks the view of
the Sun from some parts ofthe Earth, and this
produces a solar eclipse.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. If the Earth is inbetween the Sun and Moon,
then the Earth will blockthe light from the Sunbefore it can get to the
Moon. Since moonlight isjust the light the Moon
reflects from the Sun, thiswill darken the Moon, and
we get a lunar eclipse.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Whether it is the Moonbetween the Earth and Sun,
or the other way around,the phenomenon is
basically the same: thebody in the middle casts acone of shadow, and if the
outer body happens tomove into this cone, we
have an eclipse.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. It is important to noticethat the shadow is morecomplicated than just a
cone: it actually consists ofa darker cone, or umbra,
where no Sunlight reaches,and a lighter region, thepenumbra, where onlysome of the Sunlight is
blocked.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Whether you will be able toobserve a total or partial
eclipse will depend onwhich of the two regions
you are located in.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
13. Describe how the Moonand the Sun cause the
tides.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Tides- The rise and fallof the surface of oceans,seas, bays, rivers, and
other water bodies causedby the gravitational
attraction of the Moon andSun occurring unequally ondifferent parts of the Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Approximately 70percent of Earth’s surfaceis covered by a relativelythin layer of water, which
responds to thegravitational attraction of
the moon and the Sun witha daily cycle of high and
low tides.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The moon’s gravity pullson the Earth, and pulls the
water towards it. Thewater moves up into a
slight bulge on the side ofthe Earth that faces the
moon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. At the same time, thereis a force pulling water outin the opposite direction ofthe moon. To understand
this force, you need topicture the Earth and the
Moon as one unit.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Picture two unequal balls onthe ends of a stick. If youspin this stick around, you
can imagine the force that aparticle might feel if it wereon the far end of either theMoon or the Earth. It wouldfeel a force outward, awayfrom the center of the spin.This is called the centrifugal
force.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The water on the far end ofthe Earth, away from the
Moon, is always beingpulled out from the centerof the spinning Earth-moon
unit, like a person beingwhirled around on a
carnival ride.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. In one rotation (one day),a point on Earth travels froman area of high tide (where
there is a force pulling wateroutward), through an area oflow tide, through an area ofhigh tide again (the oppositepull), and through anotherarea of low tide, before it
returns to the point of originat high tide.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
This results in two hightides and two low tides in a
day (called semidiurnaltides).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The tides are causedmainly by the gravitationalattraction of the Moon andthe Earth, but there is alsoa gravitational attraction
between the Earth and theSun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The effect of the Sun uponthe tides is not as significant
as the moon’s effects.Basically, the Sun’s pull canheighten the moon’s effects
or counteract them,depending on where the
Moon is in relation to the Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Spring tides- especiallyhigh high tides and low lowtides that occur during fulland new moons, when theSun and the Moon are lined
up with the Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Neap tides- especiallylow high tides and high low
tides that occur duringquarter moons, when thegravitational forces of the
Moon and the Sun areperpendicular to one
another with respect to theEarth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
14. Understand the size,scale, and arrangement ofthe members of the Solar
System (ESRT p.15).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The Solar System consistsof the Sun (our star), the nine
planets, more than 130satellites (moons) of the
planets, and a large numberof small bodies (the cometsand asteroids). (There areprobably also many more
planetary satellites that havenot yet been discovered.)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The inner Solar Systemcontains the Sun, Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The asteroid belt liesbetween the orbits of Marsand Jupiter, separating the
inner planets from theouter planets.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The planets of the outerSolar System are Jupiter,Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
and Pluto.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The Solar System ismostly empty space. The
planets are very smallcompared to the space
between them.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The Sun contains 99.85%of all the matter in the
Solar System.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The planets contain only0.135% of the mass of the
Solar System.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Jupiter contains morethan twice the matter of all
the other planetscombined.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Satellites of the planets,comets, asteroids,
meteoroids, and theinterplanetary medium
constitute the remaining0.015%.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. If the Sun had anequatorial diameter of
25cm (ESRT p.1 and 15),the planets would be this
big:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
25 cm / 1,392,000 km =? cm / (actual planet
diameter) km
***CROSS MULTIPLY!
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Mercury - 0.8mm
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Venus - 2.1mm
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Earth - 2.2mm
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Mars - 1.2mm
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Jupiter - 25mm (2.5cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Saturn - 20.9mm (2.1cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Uranus - 8.4mm
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Neptune - 8.1mm
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Pluto - 0.4mm
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. If the distance from theSun to Pluto is 25cm, thedistance from the planets
to the Sun would be:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
25 cm / 5,900,000,000 km= ? cm / (actual planet
distance) km
***CROSS MULTIPLY!
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Mercury - 2mm (0.2cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Venus - 4mm (0.4cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Earth - 6mm (0.6cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Mars - 9mm (0.9cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Jupiter - 32mm (3.2cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Saturn - 60mm (6cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Uranus - 121mm (12.1cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Neptune - 190mm (19cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Pluto - 250mm (25cm)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
15. Compare/contrast thegeocentric and heliocentric
models.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Geocentric model- modelof the universe with the
Earth at the center and allother objects moving
around it.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Heliocentric model-model of the universe withthe Sun at the center andall other objects moving
around it.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The following is asummary of majorachievements in
astronomy.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Among the first peopleknown to have kept
astronomical records werethe Akkadians who livedsome 4,500 years ago innorthern Babylonia. The
Babylonians accumulatedrecords of astronomicalobservations for many
centuries.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The records enabled themto see repeated patterns inthe motions of the celestial
objects. They used thepatterns to predict the
positions of the Moon andplanets.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The first record of aneclipse of the Sun was
made in China (2136 B.C.).The first calendars were
made in China (1300 B.C.).The Chinese recorded
sightings of many comets,including Halley’s comet
(466 B.C.)The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Mayans built manymonuments and buildings,which were aligned to the
position of Sunrise andSunset at the equinoxes and
solstices. Their calendarskept track of the Sun, Moonand Venus, as well as solarand lunar eclipses (1000-
2000 years ago).The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Early Greeks held thegeocentric ("Earth-
centered") view of theuniverse, believing thatEarth was a sphere thatstayed motionless at the
center of the universe
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Orbiting Earth were the sevenwanderers (planetai in Greek),which included the Moon, Sun,
and the known planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter,
and Saturn. To the earlyGreeks, the stars traveled
daily around Earth on atransparent, hollow spherecalled the celestial sphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
In A.D. 141, ClaudiusPtolemy presented the
geocentric outlook of theGreeks in its most
complicated form in a modelthat became known as the
Ptolemaic system. ThePtolemaic model had theplanets moving in circularorbits around a motionless
Earth.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
To explain the retrogrademotion of planets (theapparent westward, or
opposite motion planetsexhibit for a period of time asEarth overtakes and passes
them) Ptolemy proposed thatthe planets orbited in smallcircles (epicycles), revolving
along large circles(deferents).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
In the fifth century B.C.,the Greek Anaxagoras
reasoned that the Moonshines by reflected
Sunlight, and because it isa sphere, only half is
illuminated at one time.Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)concluded that Earth is
spherical.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The first Greek toacknowledge a Sun-
centered, or heliocentric,universe was Aristarchus(312-230 B.C.). The first
successful attempt toestablish the size of Earthis credited to Eratosthenes
(276-194 B.C.).The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The greatest of the earlyGreek astronomers was
Hipparchus (secondcentury B.C.), best known
for his star catalog.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Modern astronomyevolved through the work
of many dedicatedindividuals during the
1500s and 1600s.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Nicolaus Copernicus(1473-1543) reconstructedthe Solar System with theSun at the center and theplanets orbiting around it,but mistakenly continuedto use circles to represent
the orbits of planets.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Tycho Brahe's (1546-1601)observations were farmore precise than any
made previously.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) ushered in the newastronomy with his threelaws of planetary motion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
After constructing his owntelescope, Galileo Galilei(1564-1642) made many
important discoveries thatsupported the Copernican
view of a Sun-centeredSolar System.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) was the first to
formulate and test the law ofuniversal gravitation, developthe laws of motion, and prove
that the force of gravity,combined with the tendency
of an object to move in astraight line (inertia), results
in the elliptical orbitsdiscovered by Kepler.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
16. Compare/contrastterrestrial and Jovian
planets.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The terrestrial planets arethe four innermost planets inthe Solar System, Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars. Theyare called terrestrial becausethey have a compact, rockysurface like the Earth's. Theplanets, Venus, Earth, and
Mars have significantatmospheres while Mercury
has almost none.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,and Neptune are known as
the Jovian (Jupiter-like)planets, because they are all
gigantic compared with Earth,and they have a gaseousnature like Jupiter's. TheJovian planets are also
referred to as the gas giants,although some or all of themmight have small solid cores.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Mercury is a small,dense planet that has noatmosphere and exhibitsthe greatest temperature
extremes of any planet. Itssurface is covered by
craters, like our Moon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Venus, the brightestplanet in the sky, has a
thick, heavy atmospherecomposed of 97 percentcarbon dioxide, a surface
of relatively subduedplains and inactive volcanic
features, …
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
… a surface atmosphericpressure ninety times that
of Earth's, and surfacetemperatures of 475°C
(900°F) due to a runawaygreenhouse effect.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Mars, the "Red Planet," hasa carbon dioxide atmosphere
only 1 percent as dense asEarth's, extensive dust
storms, numerous inactivevolcanoes, many large
canyons, and several valleysof debatable origin exhibitingdrainage patterns similar to
stream valleys on Earth.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Mars is red due to thepresence of iron oxide(rust) on the surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Jupiter, the largest planet,rotates rapidly, has a bandedappearance caused by huge
convection currents driven bythe planet's interior heat, aGreat Red Spot (bigger thanEarth) that varies in size, a
thin ring system, and at leastsixteen moons (one of themoons, Io, is a volcanically
active body).The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Saturn is best known forits system of rings. It alsohas a dynamic atmospherewith winds up to 930 miles
per hour and "storms"similar to Jupiter's Great
Red Spot.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Uranus and Neptune areoften called "the twins"
because of similarstructure and composition.A unique feature of Uranus
is the fact that it rotates"on its side."
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Neptune has thin, white,wispy clouds above itsmain cloud deck and anEarth-sized Great DarkSpot, assumed to be alarge rotating storm
similar to Jupiter's GreatRed Spot.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Pluto, a small frozenworld with one Moon
(Charon), may have oncebeen a satellite of Neptune.
Pluto's noticeablyelongated orbit causes it tooccasionally travel insidethe orbit of Neptune, but
with no chance of collision.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
17. Explain Newton’s Lawof Gravitation with respect
to mass and distance.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The more mass an objecthas, the more gravity it
has.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. All objects are attractedto each other by gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The closer two objectsare to each other, the
greater the gravitationalattraction between them.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
18. Explain how distancefrom the Sun affects a
planet’s orbital velocity(Kepler’s Laws).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The closer a planet is tothe Sun, the faster it
moves.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Mercury is the fastestplanet.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Pluto is the slowestplanet.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The orbits of all planetsare NOT perfect circles.
When a planet is closest tothe Sun, it moves fastest.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Earth moves fastestduring the winter, when it
is closest to the Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. A line connecting aplanet to the Sun will
sweep out equal areas inequal times.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
19. Diagram ellipticalorbits and analyze theireccentricities (Kepler’s
Laws).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The orbits of all planetsare ellipses, with the Sun
at one focus.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Ellipse- A closed curveresembling a flattened
circle (oval).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Focus- one of twospecial points along themajor (long) axis of anellipse. A focus is not atthe center of an ellipse
unless the ellipse isperfectly circular. Plural =
foci (“foe-sigh”).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Eccentricity- Eccentricityis a measure of howcircular an ellipse is.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. For a perfectly circularorbit the eccentricity is
zero; elliptical orbits haveeccentricities between zero
and one. The higher theeccentricity, the more
"squashed" the orbit is. Aline segment has aneccentricity of one.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Eccentricity of an ellipse(ESRT p.1) = the distancebetween the foci divided
by the length of the majoraxis.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The sum of the distancesfrom any point on the
curve to the two foci is aconstant (always the
same).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Here’s how to draw aperfect ellipse. You'll need:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
A flat board, made of anymaterial into which pins ornails can easily be pushed
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Two pins or nails
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
A loop of thread or string
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
A pen or pencil
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Paper
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Place a piece of paper on theboard, and stick in the two
pins (not too close together).Loop the thread around thepins and pull tight with the
tip of the pen. Now move thepen around, always keepingthe loop of thread tight. Asthe pen rotates around thetwo pins it will trace out an
ellipse.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. If you move the pinscloser together, the ellipse
becomes more circular(eccentricity decreases).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. If you move the pinsfarther apart, the ellipse
becomes less circular(eccentricity increases).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. If you leave the pins inthe same place, but use alonger piece of string, theellipse will become morecircular (less eccentric).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. If you leave the pins inthe same place, but use
shorter string, the ellipsewill become less circular
(more eccentric).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
20. Understand that theapparent size of the Sun
changes seasonally due tothe Earth’s elliptical orbit.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. During the winter, whenEarth is closest to the Sun,the Sun appears largest in
the sky.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. During the summer, theSun appears smallest.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
21. Describe meteors, theirorigin, and cratering as an
early geologic activity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Meteoroid- a rock inspace.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Meteor- a meteoroidthat has entered Earth’s
atmosphere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Meteorite- a meteor thathas landed on Earth’s
surface.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. A meteor occurs when ameteoroid enters the
Earth's atmosphere andvaporizes, heating itself
and atmospheric gases sothat they glow. Most
meteoroids are no morethan 1 cm in diameter.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. High meteor rates occurduring meteor showers,
when the Earth runs into aswarm of meteoroids.
Showers take place on orclose to the same date
each year, when the Earthcrosses the common orbit
of the meteoroids.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The number of recoveredmeteorites has risendramatically with the
discovery that Antarctic icefields collect and preservemeteorites for millions of
years.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Meteorites are classed asstones, irons, and stony-irons.Stones resemble Earth rocks
and are the most commonmeteorites. Carbonaceous
chondrites are a type of stonymeteorite and may representunaltered material from early
in the history of the SolarSystem.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Iron meteorites contain ofiron and nickel and stony-
iron meteorites aremixtures of stone and
metal.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. The radioactiveelements in meteoritesshow that most of themsolidified at almost thesame time as the oldestMoon rocks, about 4.6
billion years ago (the ageof the Solar System).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. The large number ofcraters on the Moon and
other Solar System objectsindicates that they
experienced an earlyperiod of intensebombardment.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. Impact craters can beidentified in Earth’s crust.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
22. Describe comets, theeccentricity of their orbits,
and the Oort cloud.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Comets are chunks of iceand dust. When they comeclose to the Sun, however,
the nucleus is warmedenough by Sunlight torelease gas and dust.
These flow away from thenucleus to produce the tailof the comet, which alwayspoints away from the Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The Sun is surroundedby the Oort cloud, a swarmof comets beyond the orbitof Pluto. There may be asmany as 1 trillion comets
in the Oort cloud.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Passing stars alter theorbits of Oort cloud comets,
causing some of them toenter the planetary systemand become visible as newcomets. Other comets arethought to come from the
Kuiper belt, a disk ofcomets just beyond the
orbit of Neptune.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. A comet loses icy materialeach time it passes the Sun.Eventually, the ice is entirelyeroded. The dust particles left
behind form meteoroidswarms that produce meteorshowers. Some comet nuclei
may have rock cores thatbecome asteroids once the
surrounding ice is gone.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. If a large meteoroid orcomet struck the Earth,there would be serious
local and globalconsequences. The global
consequences mightinclude darkness for weeksor months, very acidic rain,and temporary heating of
the atmosphere.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
23. Describe the location ofthe asteroids and theirpast influence on the
Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Most of the knownasteroids orbit in a belt
located between the orbitsof Mars and Jupiter. Theseasteroids are very widely
spread out.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Many asteroids are notfound in the asteroid belt.The Trojan asteroids, forexample, either follow or
go before Jupiter in itsorbit around the Sun. Inaddition, the asteroids
Hidalgo and Chiron haveorbits larger than Jupiter's.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Many asteroids haveorbits that carry theminside the orbit of theEarth. Within tens of
millions of years, theseasteroids are likely to bedestroyed by striking the
Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Many asteroids arefragments of largerasteroids that were
shattered by impacts. Mostof the small asteroids arethe eroded cores of much
larger bodies.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. An excess of the elementiridium, discovered in rocks
formed at the end of theCretaceous period 65 millionyears ago, suggests that anasteroid struck the Earth atthat time. The consequences
of the impact may haveplayed a role in the
Cretaceous extinctions.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
24. Describe otherplanetary satellites/rings
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Our Moon's surface iscovered with craters fromimpacts with meteoroids.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The rotation period ofthe Moon is the same as
the period of its revolutionabout the Earth. This
arrangement keeps thesame face of the Moon
turned toward the Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Phobos and Deimos, thesatellites of Mars, are
believed to be capturedasteroids.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The intense tidal heatingof Jupiter’s moon, Io,
makes it the mostvolcanically active body inthe Solar System. Volcanic
material is deposited sorapidly on Io's surface that
all evidence of impactcratering has been covered
up.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Jupiter’s moon, Europa,has a very smooth, icy
surface even though it ismade mostly of rock. Europa's
surface has been smoothedby glacier-like flows and,
probably, by flows of waterfrom the interior. A thickocean of water probablyexists below its icy crust.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Saturn's largest satelliteis Titan. Its atmospherecontains mostly nitrogenand is thicker than theEarth's. Titan is cold
enough that atmosphericethane can condense to
liquid form. In fact, Titanmay have ethane rain andlakes or oceans of ethane.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Triton orbits Neptune ina retrograde direction andis slowly spiraling inward.
Triton probably formedelsewhere and was
captured into a retrogradeorbit.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. The rings of Jupiter,Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune are very thin andconsist of many
individually orbitingparticles (rock and ice).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. The 32 Largest Objects inSolar System
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Rank Object DiameterYear of Discovery
Comment
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
1 Sun 1,392,000 kmStar
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2 Jupiter 142,800 kmPlanet
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3 Saturn 120,000 kmPlanet
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4 Uranus 51,800 km1781 Planet
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5 Neptune 49,500 km1846 Planet
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6 Earth 12,756 kmPlanet
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7 Venus 12,104 km Planet
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8 Mars 6,787 km Planet
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9 Ganymede 5,260 km1610 Moon of Jupiter
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10 Titan 5,150 km1655 Moon of Saturn
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11 Mercury 4,880 km Planet
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
12 Callisto 4,800 km1610 Moon of Jupiter
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
13 Io 3,630 km 1610Moon of Jupiter
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
14 Moon 3,476 kmMoon of Earth
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
15 Europa 3,140 km1610 Moon of Jupiter
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
16 Triton 2,700 km1846 Moon of
Neptune
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
17 Pluto 2,300 km1930 Planet?
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
18 Sedna 1,700 km2003 Inner Oort
Cloud
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
19 2004DW1,600 km2004 Kuiper Belt
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
20 Titania 1,580 km1787 Moon of Uranus
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
21 Rhea 1,530 km1672 Moon of Saturn
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
22 Oberon 1,520 km1787 Moon of Uranus
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
23 Iapetus 1,440 km1671 Moon of Saturn
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
24 Quaoar 1,300 km2002 Kuiper Belt
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
25 Charon 1,200 km1978 Moon of Pluto
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
26 Umbriel 1,170 km1851 Moon of Uranus
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
27 Ariel 1,160 km1851 Moon of Uranus
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
28 Dione 1,120 km1684 Moon of Saturn
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
29 Tethys 1,050 km1684 Moon of Saturn
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
30 Ixion 1,055 km2001 Kuiper Belt
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
31 Ceres 910 km 1801Asteroid
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
32 Varuna 900 km 2000Kuiper Belt
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VIII/B: THE EARTHIN SPACE – STARS AND
GALAXIES
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
UNIT VIII/B: THE EARTH IN SPACE – STARS AND GALAXIES
1. Define and describe “galaxy”.2. Locate the sun’s position in the Milky Way Galaxy3. Understand why light years are used to measure distances in space.4. Explain the composition of the sun and other stars and the process of fusion.5. Explain the equilibrium between the inward pull of gravity and the outward pull of fusion.6. Describe the structure, color and temperature of the sun and other stars.7. Compare/contrast the temperature, color, mass and luminosity of the sun to other stars.8. Explain the how stars are plotted on the Temperature/ Luminosity Diagram (H-R Diagram).9. Locate the position and give characteristics of the Sun on the Temperature/ LuminosityDiagram.10. Describe the evolution of the Sun and different kinds of stars.11. Explain why larger/hotter stars burn their fuel faster and live shorter lives than the Sun.12. Explain why stars are considered to be “factories” which create elements needed forfuture stellar generation.13. Explain the importance of the electromagnetic spectrum in identifying some objects in theuniverse.14. Describe the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.15. Explain how red-shift (the Doppler Effect) and background radiation are evidence for anexpanding universe.16. Understand that scientists are searching for invisible mass that will explain continuedexpansion, implosion (Big Crunch), or oscillation of the universe.17. Describe how the Sun/solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gas and dust(nebula) left behind by a previous star’s supernova.18. Explain how the planets were formed by accretion.19. Explain the theories of the origin of the moon.20. Explain why astronomers say, “we are made of star dust.”
1. Define and describe“galaxy”.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. A galaxy is a very largecluster of stars (tens of
millions to trillions of stars)gravitationally bound
together.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. There are billions ofgalaxies in the observable
universe.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The various types ofgalaxies include:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Spiral galaxies, which aretypically disk-shaped with
a somewhat greaterconcentration of stars near
their centers, oftencontaining arms of stars
extending from theircentral nucleus
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Barred spiral galaxies, atype of spiral galaxy thathas the stars arranged inthe shape of a bar, whichrotates as a rigid system
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Elliptical galaxies, themost abundant type, which
have an elliptical shapethat ranges to nearly
spherical, and lack spiralarms
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Irregular galaxies, whichlack symmetry and accountfor only 10 percent of the
known galaxies.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Galaxies are notrandomly distributed
throughout the universe.They are grouped in
galactic clusters, somecontaining thousands ofgalaxies. Our own, calledthe Local Group, contains
at least 28 galaxies.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
2. Locate the Sun’sposition in the Milky Way
Galaxy.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The Sun is one of the200 billion stars that makeup the Milky Way galaxy.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The Milky Way galaxy isa large, disk-shaped, spiral
galaxy about 100,000light-years wide and about10,000 light-years thick at
the center (central“bulge”).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. There are three distinctspiral arms of stars.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The Sun is positioned inone of these arms about
two-thirds of the way fromthe galactic center, at a
distance of about 30,000light-years.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Scientists suspect that asuper massive black hole –an immensely dense area
of space that sucks upmatter and light – lies at
the galaxy’s center
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. It takes about 200million years for the Sun torevolve around the galactic
center.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Surrounding the galacticdisk is a nearly spherical
halo made of gas andnumerous globular clusters(nearly spherically shapedgroups of densely packed
stars).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. We see the Milky Way asa bright band of stars
across the sky. It looks likespilled milk!
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Most of the points oflight in the night sky arestars in the Milky Way
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
3. Understand why lightyears are used to measure
distances in space.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. A light-year is a unit ofdistance (NOT TIME!!!). Itis the distance that lightcan travel in one year.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Light moves at a velocityof about 300,000 km eachsecond (in a vacuum). Soin one year, it can travel
about 10 trillion km. Moreprecisely, one light-year is
equal to9,460,500,000,000
kilometers(5,880,000,000,000 miles).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Why would you wantsuch a big unit of distance?
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
In the Universe, thekilometer is just too smallto be useful. For example,the distance to the nextnearest big galaxy, the
Andromeda Galaxy, is 21quintillion km. That is
21,000,000,000,000,000,000
km.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
This is a number so largethat it becomes hard to
write and hard to interpret.So astronomers use other
units of distance.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. In our solar system, wetend to describe distances
in terms of theAstronomical Unit (AU).The AU is defined as the
average distance betweenthe Earth and the Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
It is approximately 150million km (93 million
miles). Mercury can be saidto be about 1/3 of an AUfrom the Sun and Pluto
averages about 40 AU fromthe Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The AU, however, is not bigenough of a unit when we
start talking aboutdistances to objects
outside our solar system.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. For distances to otherparts of the Milky Way
Galaxy (or even further),astronomers use the light-year. Using the light-year,
we can say that:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Milky Way Galaxy isabout 150,000 light-years
across.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The Andromeda Galaxy(one of our nearest
neighboring galaxies) is2.3 million light-years
away.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Proxima Centauri, theclosest star, is 4.24 light
years away.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Sirius the “dog star” (thebrightest star in the sky) is
8.6 light years away.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Center of the galaxy isapproximately 30,000 light
years away.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The most distant galaxiesobserved are more than 12
billion light years away.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Light minute- thedistance light travels in a
vacuum in one minute,approximately 18 millionkilometers. The Sun is 8.3
light-minutes away.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Light second- thedistance light travels in a
vacuum in one second,approximately 300,000kilometers. The Moon isabout 1.3 light-seconds
away.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. When we look up, wesee the Moon and sun, not
as they are now, but asthey were 1.3 seconds and
8.3 minutes ago.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Since it takes light timeto reach us, the further out
we look into space, thefarther back we see into
time.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
4. Explain the compositionof the Sun and other starsand the process of fusion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The Sun is actually astar of about medium size.It appears larger than theother stars because it is
closer to the earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. By mass, the Sun is 73%hydrogen and 25% helium.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The Sun can be dividedinto four parts 1) the solar
interior, 2) thephotosphere (visiblesurface), and the two
layers of its atmosphere, 3)the chromosphere and 4)
corona.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The photosphere radiatesmost of the light we see.Unlike most surfaces, it
consists of a layer ofglowing gas less than 500
kilometers (300 miles) thickwith a grainy texture
consisting of numerous,relatively small, bright
markings called granules.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Just above thephotosphere lies the
chromosphere, a relativelythin layer of hot, glowing
gases a few thousandkilometers thick.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. At the edge of theuppermost portion of thesolar atmosphere, called
the corona, gases (mostlyprotons and electrons;
plasma) escape thegravitational pull of theSun and stream toward
Earth at high speedsproducing the solar wind.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Numerous features havebeen identified on the
active Sun. Sunspots aredark blemishes with a
black center, the umbra,which is rimmed by a
lighter region, thepenumbra.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The number of sunspotsobservable on the solar
disk varies in an 11-yearcycle. Sunspots are darkbecause they are cooler
than the surroundingareas.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Prominences, hugecloudlike structures best
observed when they are onthe edge, or limb, of the
Sun, are produced bygases trapped by magnetic
fields that extend fromregions of intense solar
activity.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. The most explosiveevents associated with
sunspots are solar flares.Flares are brief outbursts
that release enormousquantities of energy that
appear as a suddenbrightening of the regionabove sunspot clusters.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
During the event, radiationand fast-moving atomic
particles are ejected, causingthe solar wind to intensify.When the ejected particlesreach Earth and disturb the
atmosphere, radiocommunication is disruptedand the auroras, also calledthe northern and southern
lights, occur.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. The source of the Sun'senergy is nuclear fusion.
Deep in the solar interior, ata temperature of 15 millionK, nuclear fusion convertsfour hydrogen atoms into
one helium atom. During thereaction some of the matteris converted to the energy
of the Sun.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The weight of fourhydrogen atoms is slightlygreater than the weight of
one helium atom. This“missing weight” is
converted to energy,making the Sun shine!
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. A star the size of theSun can exist in its presentstable state for 10 billion
years. Since the Sun isalready 4.6 billion yearsold, it is a "middle-aged"
star.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
5. Explain the how starsare plotted on the
Temperature/ LuminosityDiagram (H-R Diagram).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. This diagram (ESRT p.15)is a graph of stars plottedwith luminosity and massalong the vertical axis andtemperature (decreasing)
and color along thehorizontal axis.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Its real name is the H-R(Hertzsprung-Russell)
Diagram.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The stars differ fromeach other in size,
temperature, and age.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Luminosity = Brightness
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. The Sun has a luminosityof 1. A star with a
luminosity of 100 is 100times brighter than the
Sun, etc.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. More massive stars areusually brighter.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. Hot stars are blue. Coolstars are red.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. Typically, as a star getshotter, it gets brighter.
These stars are the MainSequence stars.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. A Red Giant is a cool star,but it is bright because it is
so big.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. A White Dwarf is a hotstar, but it is dim because
it is small.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. The Sun is an averagesize star. It is located nearthe center of the graph. Itssurface is 5,500°C, which
makes it yellow.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. Plotting stars on thisgraph causes certain typesand ages of stars to cluster
together.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
6. Describe the evolutionof the Sun and different
kinds of stars.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. A typical star (one likethe Sun) lives (producesnuclear energy) for about
10 billion years. Thisincredible length of time is
greater than 100 millionhuman lifetimes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. A cloud of dust in space(a nebula) begins to
contract due to gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. As it contracts, pressureand temperature increase
inside this “protostar.”
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. When the temperaturegets hot enough, fusion
begins, and a mainsequence star is born.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. A star loses mass duringfusion as energy is
released. This decreasesthe star’s gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. A star will expand,becoming a red giant,
when the outward force offusion is greater than theinward force of gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. As fuel runs out in a star,fusion slows down. When
the outward force of fusionis less than the inward
force of gravity, the starwill shrink in size,
becoming a white dwarf.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. A star like the Sun willrun out of fuel, and die,becoming a black dwarf.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
i. Supernova- An explosionthat marks the end of a verymassive star's life. When itoccurs, the exploding star
can outshine all of the otherstars in the galaxy in totalfor several days and may
leave behind only a crushedcore (perhaps a neutron star
or black hole).The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
All of the heavy elements(heavier than iron) were
created in supernovaexplosions.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
j. A larger, more massivestar will collapse violently,becoming a neutron star.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
k. Neutron star- animploded core of an
exploded star made upalmost entirely of neutrons.
A teaspoonful of theirmaterial would weigh morethan all the automobiles in
the United States puttogether.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
l. The largest stars collapseso violently that theybecome black holes.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
m. Black hole- the remainsof the death and collapseof an extremely massive
star. The gravitational pullof a black hole is so strong
that light itself cannotescape.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
7. Explain whylarger/hotter stars burntheir fuel faster and live
shorter lives than the Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Large, more massivestars have much moregravity than the sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The great internalpressures, due to the
higher gravity, cause thefusion reaction to occur
more quickly.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. This causes the largeststars to burn their fuel,and eventually run out,
much more quickly.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Larger stars live shorterlives.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Bigger stars are brighterand hotter due to the rapid
rate of fusion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
8. Explain why stars areconsidered to be “factories”
which create elementsneeded for future stellar
generation.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Stars of all massesspend the majority of their
lives their lives fusinghydrogen into helium: wecall this stage the main
sequence.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. When all of thehydrogen in the central
regions of a star isconverted into helium, thestar will begin to "burn"
helium into carbon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. However, the helium inthe stellar core will
eventually run out as well;so in order to survive, a
star must be hot enough tofuse increasingly heavierelements, as the lighter
ones become used up oneby one.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Stars heavier than about5 times the mass of theSun can do this with no
problem: they burnhydrogen, and then helium,and then carbon, oxygen,silicon, and so on... until
they attempt to fuse iron.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Iron is special in that itis the lightest element in
the periodic table thatdoesn't release energy
when you attempt to fuseit together. In fact, insteadof giving you energy, youend up with less energythan you started with!
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
This means that instead ofgenerating additional
pressure to hold up thenow extended outer layersof the aging star, the iron
fusion actually takesthermal energy from the
stellar core.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Thus, there is nothing leftto combat the ever-presentforce of gravity from these
outer layers. The result:
collapse!
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The lack of outwardpressure generated by theiron-fusing core causes theouter layers to fall towardsthe center of the star. Thisimplosion happens very,
very quickly: it takes about15 seconds to complete.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
During the collapse, thenuclei in the outer parts ofthe star are pushed veryclose together, so close
that elements heavier thaniron are formed.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
9. Explain the importanceof the electromagneticspectrum in identifying
some objects in theuniverse.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. We have only recentlybeen able to look at theUniverse over the entire
electromagnetic spectrum.Our Universe contains
objects that produce a vastrange of radiation withwavelengths either tooshort or too long for our
eyes to see.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Some astronomicalobjects emit mostly infrared
radiation, others mostlyvisible light, and still othersmostly ultraviolet radiation.Temperature determines the
type of electromagneticradiation emitted byastronomical objects.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Type of radiationradiated by objects and
typical sources:
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Gamma-rays: accretiondisks around black holes
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
X-rays: gas in clusters ofgalaxies; supernova
remnants; stellar corona
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Ultraviolet: supernovaremnants; very hot stars
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Visible: planets, stars,some satellites
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Infrared: cool clouds ofdust and gas; planets
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Microwaves: Sun, comets,planets, molecular clouds,galaxies, quasars and the
cosmic backgroundradiation
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Radio: radio emissionproduced by electrons
moving in magnetic fields
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
10. Describe the Big Bangtheory of the origin of the
universe.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The Big Bang Theory isthe leading scientific
theory about the origin ofthe universe.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. According to the BigBang, the universe was
created around 15 billionyears ago from a cosmic
explosion that hurledmatter and energy in all
directions.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. The universe wasoriginally a single tiny
dense sphere of hydrogenthat exploded into a
gigantic expanding cloudthat eventually condensed
into separate galaxies.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. After the Big Bang,matter, energy, space and
time came into being.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. By "running the filmbackward'' (theorizing the
galaxies' motionsbackward in time)
astronomers can estimatewhen the universe was
born.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
11. Explain how red shift(the Doppler Effect) andbackground radiation areevidence for an expanding
universe.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The Big Bang wasinitially suggested because
it explains why distantgalaxies are traveling away
from us at great speeds.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. Red shift- thelengthening (or
"stretching") of lightwaves coming from a
source moving away fromus.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. If a source of light ismoving toward us, the
opposite effect — called a"Blue Shift'' — takes place.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Light from ALL galaxiesoutside our Local Group is"red-shifted,'' indicating
that they are moving awayfrom us (and from each
other).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Actually, it is the spacethat is expanding, carryingthe galaxies along with it!This phenomenon is called
the "expansion of theuniverse.''
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. Spectral lines are red-shifted from distant
galaxies, indicating thatthe galaxies are movingaway from us due to the
expansion of the Universe.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The Big Bang Theoryalso predicts the existence
of cosmic backgroundradiation (the glow leftover from the explosion
itself).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
h. The Big Bang Theoryreceived its strongest
confirmation when ArnoPenzias and Robert Wilson,
who later won the NobelPrize for this discovery,
discovered this radiation in1964.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
They detected backgroundnoise using a special low
noise antenna. The strangething about the noise wasthat it was coming from
every direction and did notseem to vary in intensity
much at all.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
If this static were fromsomething on our world,like radio transmissionsfrom a nearby airport
control tower, it wouldonly come from one
direction, not everywhere.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
The scientists soonrealized they had
discovered the cosmicmicrowave background
radiation. This radiation,which fills the entire
Universe, is believed to bea clue to it's beginning:
The Big Bang.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
12. Understand thatscientists are searching for
invisible mass that willexplain continued
expansion, implosion (BigCrunch), or oscillation of
the universe.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The fate of the universedepends upon the balancebetween the outward force
of expansion, and theinward pull of gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The inward pull ofgravity depends on the
total amount of matter inthe universe. More matter
has more mass and greatergravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. If there is not enoughmatter in the universe, theoutward force of expansion
will be greater, and theuniverse will expand
forever. It will get colderand darker.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The “Big Crunch,” theopposite of a big bang, will
occur if there is enoughmatter (and therefore
gravity) in the Universe toslow down and reverse its
present expansion.Everything will come back
together again.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Dark matter is materialthat is believed to make up
more than 90% of themass of the universe, but
is not readily visiblebecause it neither emits
nor reflectselectromagnetic radiation,
such as light or radiosignals.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
Its composition isunknown. It can be
detected by itsgravitational effect on
objects in space.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. If we can determine theamount of matter in theuniverse, we can predict
its future.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The universe mayoscillate. This means that
it may go through cycles ofBig Bangs and Big
Crunches, over and overagain (almost like the
universe is breathing!).
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
13. Describe how theSun/Solar System formed4.6 billion years ago fromthe gas and dust (nebula)left behind by a previous
star’s supernova.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The nebular hypothesisdescribes the formation of
the solar system.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The planets and Sunbegan forming about 4.6billion years ago from alarge cloud of dust and
gases composed ofhydrogen and helium, withonly a small percentage of
all the other heavierelements.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. As the cloud contracted,it began to rotate andassume a disk shape.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Material that wasgravitationally pulled
toward the center becamethe protosun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. Within the rotating disk,small centers, called
protoplanets, swept upmore and more of the
cloud's debris.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The characteristics of theplanets of the solar system
are affected by eachplanet’s location in
relationship to the Sun.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. The inner planets aredenser. The lighter
elements were blown, bythe solar wind, to the outerplanets, making them lessdense. Heavier substances
like metals, oxides andsilicates stayed near theSun, forming the inner
planets.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
14. Explain how theplanets were formed by
accretion.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The concept of planetarydevelopment by accretion is a
theory that cosmic dustlumped together (gravity) to
form particles, particlesbecame gravel, gravel
became small balls, then bigballs, then tiny planets, orplanetesimals, and, finally,dust became the size of the
moon.The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. As the planetesimalsbecame larger, their
numbers decreased, andthe number of collisions
between planetesimals, ormeteorites, decreased.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Fewer items available foraccretion meant that it took along time to build up a large
planet. One calculationsuggests that about 100million years would pass
between the formation of anobject measuring 10
kilometers in diameter and anobject the size of the Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
15. Explain the theories ofthe origin of the moon.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. Most scientists believethat the Moon was formedfrom the ejected material
after the Earth collidedwith a Mars-sized object.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. This ejected materialclumped together to formthe moon, orbiting around
the Earth.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. This catastrophiccollision occurred about
4.3 billion years ago. Theage of the Moon isdetermined by the
radioactive dating of Moonrocks.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. Another theory is thatthe Moon was captured by
Earth’s gravity.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
16. Explain whyastronomers say, “we are
made of star dust.”
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
a. The atoms that make upyour body come from the
Earth itself. (You are whatyou eat!)
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
b. The atoms that make upthe Earth came from thecloud of dust (nebula) in
space that formed ourSolar System.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
c. Where did this cloudcome from?
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
d. The fact that there aremany heavy elements hereon Earth is evidence that asupernova occurred in the
past. (Remember: anyelements heavier than iron
can only form during asupernova, when a
massive star explodes.)The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
e. This indicates that adifferent star once existedthat ended its life with a
bang (supernova) leavingbehind a cloud of dust in
space.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
f. The dust, from a starthat exploded in the past,is where the atoms in your
body came from.
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows
g. YOU ARE MADE OF STARDUST!
The Physical Setting: Earth Science by Charles A. Burrows