SCI 210

Exam Study Guide

Open-season Material (I will test you on these topics).  However, if we didn't cover the subject (like Geologic History of N.A.) in class this semester, I will not test you on it.

Unifying themes:

1. Geologic time and rate of geologic processes

2. Cycles and interconnections:

3. Dynamic equilibrium:

4. Energy exchanges, esp. convection.  How do we move this energy around

INSS themes:

1. Energy

2. Evolution

3. The Environment

Introduction:

1. The scientific method.  What is it?  How does it work?

2. The four spheres of planet Earth: atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and solid Earth

3. Sources of energy for the Earth

4. What is the largest source of energy for the Earth?

5. Earth's early history: Iron Catastrophe, out-gassing of

volcanoes forms atmosphere

The Universe and Solar System

1.  The Big Bang c. 14 billion years ago

2. Doppler effect and red shift, stellar parallax

3. Early history of the Universe

4. Stellar evolution

5. Supernova explosion, c. 10 billion years ago, generates most of the elements on the periodic table

6. Early history of our solar system c. 4.6 billion years ago

7. Our solar system: the Sun, terrestrial planets.

What do they have in common with Earth?  What is different?

8. Why is Earth the "just right" planet?

Plate Tectonics

1. Geological activity is not random

2. Relationship of lithosphere, asthenosphere

3. Major concepts of plate tectonics: Relationship of earthquakes/volcanism to plate tectonics

4. Different plate boundaries

5. Proving plate tectonics:

6. Wegener and continental drift

7. Sea floor spreading

8. Earthquake patterns

9. Age and shape of sea floor

10. Age and depth of sedimentary ooze

11. Hot spots

12. Magnetic field reversals

13.  Satellite measurements from 1990s confirm plate motion

14. Driving mechanism: asthenospheric convection currents

Geologic Time and Geologic History

1. Age of earth, solar system and universe.

2. Principles of relative dating and unconformities: horizontality, superposition, cross-cutting, inclusions, tying things in with fossils, correlation

3. Radiometric dating, half-lives

4. How do we know that the Earth is 4.5-4.6 by old?

5. Most of elements on Earth formed in a supernova c. 10 bya

Oceans

1. The water/hydrologic cycle.  WHERE is the Earth's water?

2. Where does the salt in the ocean come from?

3. Layering of the ocean

4.  Relationship of ocean basin features and plate tectonics

5.. Dynamic nature of coasts, beaches, barrier islands

6. Energy source of waves, why do waves break?

7. Long shore current and the role in transporting and depositing sand

8. Problems with beach replenishment

9. What makes the tides?

10. Sea level has been rising for the past 10,000 yrs

11. Surface currents and the coriolis effect

12. Vertical water movement

13. Deep water circulation is driven by gravity

14. Various types of currents work together to form a large system of world-wide circulation and mixing.  Transfers heat.

15. El Nino

Groundwater

1.  Groundwater recharge and flow.  Recharged by precipitation.

2. Groundwater flows much more slowly than streams

3. In some places, we are "mining" groundwater that was "deposited" thousands of years ago.

4. The water table

5. Depleting groundwater

6. Threats to groundwater safety

Glaciers

1.  Glacial ice is different than regular ice

2.  Glacial ice flows

3. The edge of the glacier may advance or retreat.  Why?

4. The geologic work of glaciers and some glacial landforms

5. When glaciers are large, sea level is low, land bridges

6. Glaciers in Ohio

Natural Resources

1. Uneven distribution and use of natural resources, ratio of U.S. population to U.S. resource use

2. Renewable vs. nonrenewable resources

3. Nature and origin of petroleum

4. Nature and origin of coal

The Atmosphere

1.  Composition of air: gases, dust, water vapor and ozone

2. Temp. and pressure vs. altitude in the atmosphere

3. Why do we have seasons?

4. Incoming solar radiation is short wavelength: atmosphere is transparent to this

5. Earth reradiates long wavelength heat that gets trapped in the atmosphere by the greenhouse effect

6. Transfer of heat in the atmosphere: convection

7. Global circulation: convection cells that move heat around the globe

8.  Why do we have rainforests at the equator?  Why are many of the world's largest deserts located in the subtropical regions? 

9. What is the jetstream and how does it move weather  systems around?

10. How do continents change the idealized circulation and precipitation

11. Physics of moisture in the atmosphere

12. What is humidity?  What is relative humidity?

13. Why do we get dew at night?

14. Adiabatic processing, what's the air doing?

15. Wind moves from high to low pressure

16.  Coriolis effect

Weather

1. What is an air mass?  How do we name them?

2.  Two types of air masses that affect most of N.A. (east of the Rockies) are cP and mT.

3.  Where do they come from?  What do they do?

4.  Fronts are boundaries that separate air masses

5. Warm fronts and cold fronts

6. Cyclones:  low pressure, winds converge, rising air, precipitation

7. Anticyclones: high pressure, winds diverge, descending air, fair weather

8. Be able to recognize symbols on a weather map and infer weather from them

 Climate and Carbon Cycle

1. Global warming: what is it and what are the issues?

2. The carbon cycle: what is it? Different modes of storage and transport of carbon

Environmental Issues: what are these?  What are some of the problems?  What might be some solutions?

1. Global warming

2. Acid rain

3.Ozone depletion

4. Alternative energy resources

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