Earth Space Final
How many potential exoplanets has NASA's Kepler space telescope spotted as of today?
1,200
How long does a star remain a main sequence?
10,000,000,000 years
How much water does it take to float an average sized car?
12 in
The sun can continue to exist in its present stable state for about another...
5.5 billion years
What is the latitude range of Polar zone?
60-90 degrees
How much of Earth's surface is covered by water?
70%
Which of the following is NOT a Jovian planet
Earth
In the Ptolemaic model of the universe....
Earth was the center of the universe
Which surface listed has the highest albedo?
fresh snow/ice
The boundary that separates different air masses is called a...
front
The universe itself emits this type of radiation...however it can also be used by doctors to see inside your body
gamma
Which type of EM radiation has the greatest energy
gamma
Where is the majority of Earth's fresh water stored?
glaciers and ice caps
The heating of the lower layer of the atmosphere from radiation absorbed by certain heat-absorbing gases is called....
greenhouse effect
What is the defining characteristic of a water cycle?
has the same starting and ending point
Main product of nuclear fusion
helium
What are the main sequence stars made up of
helium and hydrogen
Which of the following best describes the general air temperature on a cloudy night?
higher than on a clear night
A cT air mass is....
hot and dry
Transpiration
how water is carried through the plants from the roots
The sun's surface is made up mostly of....
hydrogen
These contain trapped bubbles of ancient air that can tell us about the ancient atmosphere on earth
ice cores
In space, this type of radiation helps us to see the dust in between stars. Night vision goggles also use it to pick up the heat that radiates from our skin
infrared
What is the heaviest element that can be formed inside of a star, before a supernova explosion?
iron
The proton-proton chain...
is a three step process which converts some mass to energy as helium nuclei are formed
As the solar nebula collapsed under its own gravity....
it heated and spun faster
Global warming is increasing the temperature of our lower atmosphere. How will this affect the amount of moisture in the air?
it will increase moisture
Which is true about land and water
land heats more rapidly and land reaches higher temperature than water
For most stars, higher temperature tends to go with a higher....
luminosity
What kind of star is the sun
main sequence
Stages the sun goes through in its lifetime in order...
main sequence, red giant, white dwarf
The small particles that produce a streak of light upon entering Earth's atmosphere are called....
meteors
What is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere
nitrogen
Source of the sun's energy is...
nuclear fusion
Sublimation
occurs when snow/ice (considered the solid form of water) changes directly into vapor (dry ice)
Condensation
opposite of evaporation; gas to liquid
Earth's orbit is a nearly circular ellipse with the sun at one focus. How would its orbit change if Earth were twice as massive?
orbit would not change
What percentage of climate scientists agree that this rapid change is caused by human activity?
over 95%
The layer of the sun that radiates most of the light that reaches earth is the...
photosphere
Put in order of smallest to largest
planet, star, solar system, galaxy, cluster of galaxies
Runoff
precipitation travels over soil surface to nearest stream channel
Which of these phases of a star's life cycle are in proper order?
protostar, main sequence, red giant
What factors could cause location E to have the greatest annual rainfall?
proximity to water
Earth receives energy from the sun through what method of heat transfer
radiation
Second layer of the sun is the....
radiative zone
Which type of EM radiation has the least energy
radio
Which of the following is NOT one of the three major climate zones?
rainforest
Many clouds have a high albedo and therefore tend to...
reflect sunlight
The ratio of air's water-vapor content to its capacity to hold water vapor at the same temperature is the....
relative humidity
Why are sunspots dark?
relatively cool
By what three ways can we tell that there may be an El Nino
sea surface warms in eastern equatorial pacific, trade winds weaken, upwelling decreases
Which of the following is proportionally more abundant on terrestrial planets than on Jovian planets?
silicate materials
What is the ultimate energy source for most wind?
solar radiation
This layer of atmosphere contains the jet streams and is where airplanes typically fly
stratosphere
Which climate covers the largest portion of the earth?
temperate
What two properties characterize an air mass?
temperature and moisture
Which law states that each planet revolves so that an imaginary line connecting it to the sun sweeps over equal areas in equal time intervals?
the 2nd law of planetary motion
What is an astronomical unit
the Earth-sun distance
The planets in our solar system are thought to have come form...
the same cloud of gas and dust in which the sun formed
All of the following are evidence for the Big Bang Theory EXCEPT
the speed of light
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the Jovian planets?
thin atmosphere
Comets with short orbital periods are located in what region?
Kuiper belt
What effects climate?
Latitude
Which planet shows evidence of water erosion?
Mars
Which planet, when viewed through a telescope, appears as a reddish ball interrupted by some permanent dark regions that change intensity
Mars
Smallest planet is....
Mercury
The planet with the greatest temperature extremes is
Mercury
The scientist credited with discovering the law of gravity was...
Newton
Which surface has the lowest albedo
asphalt
A comet's tail always points...
away from the sun
What factor caused location F to have a colder yearly climate than any other location
elevation
What is the shape of a planet's orbit?
elliptical
This is where the space shuttle and other manmade satellites orbit the earth
exosphere
What characteristic distinguishes Neptune from the other planets?
extremely windy
What human activity uses the most water worldwide?
Agriculture
Which of the following is a characteristic of Jupiter?
All; huge rotating storms, dense atmosphere, thin ring system
The first early astronomer to propose a sun-centered solar system was
Copernicus
The first accurate measurement of the size of Earth was made by
Eratosthenes
When are hurricanes and tropical storms most likely to happen?
June 1--Nov. 30
Which of the following is NOT a terrestrial planet?
Jupiter
Which planet has greater mass than the combined mass of all remaining planets and their moons
Jupiter
What are some differences between El Nino and La Nina?
In La Nina, trade winds strengthen, and in El Nino they slacken/reverse; the warm pod is shifted to the west during La Nina
Their layer gets warmer as it goes higher. Explain why this occurs
It contains o-zone which absorbs energy from the sun to heat the air
Using Tycho Brahe's data, which scientist proposed three laws of planetary motion?
Kepler
Which planet might best be described as a large, dirty iceball
Pluto
What is the nearest star and how far away is it?
Proxima Centauri; 4.2 light years away
Which ancient astronomer developed a geocentric model of the universe explaining the observable motions of the planets?
Ptolemy
Which life cycle will our sun enter next?
Red Giant
One of the planets known to have rings is...
Uranus
Which planet has a dense carbon dioxide atmosphere and high surface temperatures
Venus
If Earth did not rotate, how would air at the equator move?
air would rise and move toward the poles
The outer planets are mostly large and gaseous because....
beyond frost-line, gravity of large, ice-rich planetesimals captured the abundant light gases
What is the average star lifespan?
billions of years
Which type of air mass originates in northern Canada?
cP
Which part of the sun lies directly above the visible "surface" of the sun?
chromosphere
In the southern hemisphere, winds associated with a low pressure system blow...
clockwise toward center
The glowing head of a comet is known as the....
coma
Most meteor showers are associate with the orbits of....
comets
What is true about warm, saturated air?
contains more water vapor than cold air
List the parts of the sun in order
core, radiative zone, convective zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona, sunspot, granules, prominence
Which of the following techniques are commonly used by planet hunters to detect extrasolar planets?
detecting dips in a star's brightness that occurs when planets cross its face and noticing wobbles in a star's motion caused by the tugs of orbiting planets
Which of the following refers to the temperature to which air would have to be cooled to reach saturation?
dew point
According to the third law of planetary motion, the period of revolution of a planet is related to the planet's....
distance to the sun
Until 2006, Pluto was considered to be one of the nine planets. Now Pluto is considered to be a(n)....
dwarf planet
Which climate has the heaviest precipitation?
tropical
The most important weather phenomena occur in the...
troposphere
This is the layer in which hot air balloons fly
troposphere
Atmosphere layers in order (lowest to highest)
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere
Which layer is closest to Earth's surface?
troposphere; warmest because water vapor cannot go higher because it changes to ice and is trapped
Stars, fireflies, and lightbulbs all emit this type of light
visible
An mT air mass is best described as...
warm and wet
Along a front, which type of air is always forced upwards?
warmer, less dense air
The two most important heat-absorbing gases in the lower atmosphere are...
water vapor and carbon dioxide
The force that gravity exerts on an object is called....
weight
How do white dwarfs compare with supergiants, in terms of temperature and luminosity?
white dwarfs are warmer and have lower luminosity than supergiants
Variations in air pressure from place to place are the principal cause of....
wind
The Coriolis effect influences....
wind direction
Hot gases in the universe emit this type of radiation. Can also be used by a dentist to image your teeth, or airport security to see through your bags
x-ray
