Chapter 1. The Water Planet

Which circle of latitude or longitude has the smallest circumference?

80°S

The most probable (original) sources of the water in Earth's ocean are ______. (Mark all that apply.)

Earth's mantle, some of which is brought to the surface through volcanic activity continual addition of water from outer space

The largest of the world's oceans is the Ocean.

Pacific

Identify all of the planets that are rich in ices of water, ammonia, and methane.

Saturn Uranus Jupiter Neptune

What is the primary force that causes Earth to have a greater equatorial radius than the polar radius?

The force of rotation causes Earth to have a greater equatorial radius than the polar radius.

Our solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy.

True

The most widely accepted age of Earth is between 4.5 and 4.6 years.

billion

An error in time of 2 minutes in determining longitude from local time and Greenwich Mean Time will cause a ____ error in longitude.

0.50 degree

Approximately ______ years ago, the Big Bang initiated the formation of the universe.

13.8 billion

The Arctic and Antarctic Circles are displaced ____ degrees from their respective poles.

23½

The hypsographic curve indicates that only ______ percent of Earth's surface is above sea level.

29

Which of the following is the scientifically accepted age of Earth?

4.5 to 4.6 billion years

Roughly what percentage of matter in the universe is identical to the type of matter that comprises the planets and stars?

5%

If a clock set to Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Time is moved to a location where noon, according to the Sun, occurs at 4:30 P.M. clock time, what is the longitude of the clock?

67.5°W

Approximately what percentage of water on Earth is contained within the oceans?

97%

The ____ Ocean is the smallest.

Arctic

Free oxygen was a common constituent of the Earth's early atmosphere.

False

GPS stands for

Global Positioning System

The image depicts the cycle.____

Hydrologic

Most of the world's landmasses are located in the ______ Hemisphere.

Northern

Which ocean basin is the largest?

Pacific

The length of time that a given water molecule spends in any one of Earth's water reservoirs is called its ____ ____.

Residence Time

Which of the following of Earth's radii is greater?

The equatorial radius is greater than the polar radius.

If Earth's axis were not tilted, what would happen to the seasons?

There would be no perceived seasons on Earth and global day lengths and temperatures would be uniform.

At what latitude is the Sun directly overhead on the June Solstice?

Tropic of Cancer

During the winter solstice for the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun is directly overhead at which of the following locations?

Tropic of Capricorn

Radiometric dating is based on the rate at which a radioactive isotope decays.

True

The Southern Hemisphere is sometimes called the ____ hemisphere because it contains so much more than the Northern Hemisphere.

Water

Residence time is the average length of time that ____.

a water molecule spends in any one reservoir

Approximately 13.8 ____ years ago, the Big Bang initiated the formation of the universe.

billion

Geologic time is divided into four major ____: the Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic.

eons

A cluster rarely contains more than 10 galaxies.

false

If the axial rotation of Earth slowed, the day-to-night temperature variation on Earth's surface would decrease.

false

The residence time of water in the atmosphere is equal to the residence time of water in the oceans.

false

The Milky Way is a(n) ____ composed of about 200 billion stars.

galaxy

The Milky Way is our

galaxy

A(n) ____ is composed of clumps of stars, and one example is the Milky Way.

galaxy or galaxies

The four eons: the Hadean, the Archean, the Proterozoic, and the Phanerozoic, collectively make up what scientists refer to as ______ time.

geologic

A great circle can be described as ______.

having its center at Earth's center and being the shortest path between two points on Earth's surface

If a(n) _______ is supported consistently, it may be advanced to the level of a theory.

hypothesis

GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation is widely used because ______.

it is worldwide now and extremely accurate

To determine your line of ____, you would need to know the angle your location (line) makes with the equatorial plane at Earth's center.

latitude

Because lines of ____ rotate with Earth, 360 degrees in twenty-four hours, it is necessary to know the time of day and the position of the Sun or the stars relative to one's line.

longitude

A rotating interstellar cloud of gas and dust is referred to as a

nebula

The origin of our solar system is attributed to the collapse of a single, rotating interstellar cloud of gas and dust known as a(n) ____.

nebula or solar nebula

The evolution of photosynthetic organisms on the early Earth resulted in an increase in the levels of the gas ____ in its free or "pure" form.

oxygen

Lines of latitude, also known as , are referenced to the equator.

parallels

The process of ____ involves organisms converting carbon dioxide and water into organic matter and free oxygen.

photosynthesis

Old maps are accurate in their north and south depictions of Earth's surface, but many are badly distorted by their east and west dimensions of geographic forms. This is because ____.

sailors have been able to calculate latitude since ancient times

Earth's tilt of 23.5 degrees as it orbits the Sun is responsible for the ____, which occur in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at opposite times of the solar year. (Hint: The answer is just one word.)

seasons

The three states of water: ____ , ____ , and ____, are possible on Earth's surface because Earth's mean surface temperature is about 61°F.

solid or ice gas, vapor, steam, or gaseous liquid or fluid

The Sun is directly over the two tropics, Cancer and Capricorn, at two times during the solar year. These two dates are called ______.

solstices

A galaxy is composed of clumps of

stars

The major changes in the state of the universe that occurred immediately after the Big Bang were in ______ and ______.

temperature; size

It is necessary to know the time of day and the position of the Sun or the stars relative to one's longitude line because ____.

the longitude line rotates with Earth, 360 degrees in twenty-four hours

The Sun stands directly above the equator ______.

twice each year

The Big Bang is the currently accepted theory about the origin of the

universe

Because Earth's mean surface temperature is about 61°F____, is able to exist as a gas, a liquid, and a solid.

water

Two potential sources of the ____ on Earth include the mantle and continual addition from outer space by icy comets.

water or oceans

The hydrologic cycle is the movement of ______.

water through the reservoirs

The ____ is the time required by Earth to complete one orbit about the Sun.

year

Latitude can be calculated by measuring _____.

your angle in reference to the bright star, Polaris

If a clock is set to Greenwich Mean Time and the Sun is observed to reach its zenith at 10:00 A.M., what is the longitude?

30°E

The hypsographic curve compares which of the following?

Land and water elevation relationships

Identify all of the planets that are rich in metals and rocky materials.

Mercury Venus Earth Mars

Which of the following time periods is based upon the lunar cycle?

Month The month or "moonth" is 29.5 days, which is the time required for the Moon to go through its phases as seen from Earth.