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WorksheetsES Midterm Review '24-25
Total questions: 136
Worksheet time: 2hrs 36mins
Distance from the equator is indicated with
latitude
longitude
When did the Big Bang occur?
thousands of years ago
millions of years ago
billions of years ago
trillions of years ago
Why couldn't elementary particles stick together at the very beginning of the universe?
too cold
too far away from each other
too slow moving
too hot
The most common element in the universe is
carbon
hydrogen
oxygen
helium
The second-most-common element in the universe is
carbon
hydrogen
oxygen
helium
What is a galaxy?
a group of planets
a cloud of only gas and dust
a cluster of moons
a group of stars, plus gas and dust
What shape is our galaxy?
elliptical
irregular
parabolic
spiral
What does au stand for?
Astro Umbilical
Astronomy University
Astronomical Unit
Amphibious Universe
Light exhibits properties of both a particle and a wave.
True
False
Challenge Q!
"Photons have mass."
True
False
Challenge Q!
The higher the frequency of a wave, the
higher the energy
lower the energy
shorter the wavelength
longer the wavelength
What type of EM radiation has the shortest wavelength?
microwaves
infrared
visible light
gamma rays
What type of EM radiation has the longest wavelength?
radio waves
visible light
ultraviolet
infrared
Which types of EM radiation are emitted by the Sun? Choose all that apply.
radio waves
infrared
microwaves
gamma rays
X-rays
Which of the following causes us to experience seasons?
Precession
Tilt of Earth's axis
Barycenter
Solstices
There are 4 equinoxes every year.
True
False
The longest day of the year is the
vernal (spring) equinox
summer solstice
autumnal equinox
winter solstice
When one celestial body orbits another, they are actually both orbiting around the middle point of their combined mass, which is called the
precession
equinox
barycenter
obliquity point
Which of the following types of EM radiation do not make it through the Earth's atmosphere? Choose all that apply.
radio waves
visible light
gamma rays
X-rays
The Earth is an exact sphere.
True
False
Distances in our solar system are measured most appropriately in what unit?
Astronomical Units (AU)
light years (ly)
kilometers (km)
miles (mi)
Which of the following has the longest wavelength?
visible light
X-rays
gamma rays
microwaves
Which of the following has the shortest wavelength?
radio waves
ultraviolet (UV)
infrared (IR)
visible light
Why don't we feel the Earth moving at 110,000 km per hour around the Sun?
Gravity
The speed is constant.
We evolved under these conditions, so we are accustomed to it.
That movement is cancelled out by the movement of the solar system around our galaxy.
Reorder the following types of EM radiation
from LONGEST wavelength on the left to SHORTEST on the right.
Infrared (IR)
Ultraviolet (UV)
Starting in January, in what order do we experience the following events in the Northern Hemisphere?
Vernal (Spring) Equinox
Summer Solstice
Autumnal Equinox
Winter Solstice
The amount of time it takes for the Earth to rotate on its axis a single time.
one hour
one day
one week
one month
one year
The amount of time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun once.
one hour
one day
one week
one month
one year
The eccentricity of a perfect circle is 0.
True
False
How many low tides are there every 24 hour period?
1
2
3
4
Tides occur at the same times in a given place every day.
True
False
The amount of time it takes for a planet to complete a single cycle around the Sun is called
orbital period
foci
ellipse
eccentricity
What is the shape of the pathway that planets orbit the Sun in?
quadratic
elliptical
parabolic
eccentric
Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion
Law of Equal Areas
Law of Harmonies
Law of Ellipses
How many foci are there in an ellipse?
2
3
4
5
Orbital periods are proportional to the planet's distance from the Sun.
Law of Equal Areas
Law of Harmonies
Law of Ellipses
The greater the eccentricity, the more elongated an ellipse is.
True
False
When the Sun and Moon pull on the Earth from the same direction, what occurs?
Spring Tides
Neap Tides
Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion
Law of Equal Areas
Law of Harmonies
Law of Ellipses
Which of the following symbols represents a warm front?
What percentage of our atmosphere is nitrogen?
2%
15%
21%
78%
90%
A front is
where warm air is cooling at earth's surface
a line where hot and cold air are separating
a line where two different air masses meet
where cold air is rising and forming rain clouds
What percentage of our atmosphere is oxygen?
2%
15%
21%
78%
90%
Where does the vast majority of our weather occur?
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Exosphere
Which of the following symbols represents an occluded front?
Low pressure areas tend to have what kind of weather? Select two answers.
rain
overcast
clear skies
windy
no wind
Which of the following symbols represents a stationary front?
When Naomi the rascally kitten gets warmed up by lying in her heated cat bed, this transfer of heat is called
conduction
convection
radiation
When heat is transferred via warm matter rising and cold matter sinking in a continuous cycle, this is called
conduction
insolation
convection
radiation
If an air mass is sinking, it must be
cold and less dense
cold and more dense
warm and more dense
warm and less dense
Air masses are different in many ways. Which of these is NOT different?
moisture contents
ratio of oxygen/nitrogen
density
temperature
If I blew up a balloon in a 72°F classroom and then took it outside where it is 100°F, what would happen to the volume of air in the balloon?
It would shrink.
It wouldn't change size.
It would expand.
Which of the following symbols represents a cold front?
When a cold front or a warm front stays in place for several days without invading another front, it becomes a/n ______.
stationary front
cold front
occluded front
warm front
Winds are caused by differences in
precipitation
humidity
air pressure
turbulance
High pressure areas tend to have what kind of weather? Select two answers.
rain
overcast
clear skies
windy
no wind
Warm fronts tend to bring what kind of precipitation?
prolonged, light rain
short bursts of hard rain
Wind blows from where to where?
high pressure to low pressure
low pressure to high pressure
When water changes from a liquid to a gas, this is called
condensation
precipitation
evaporation
freezing
Which can hold MORE water vapor?
relatively cooler air
relatively warmer air
Why does high humidity make humans feel uncomfortable?
We first evolved in a dry climate.
Humidity is higher now than it ever used to be,
It makes it difficult for our sweat to evaporate.
We're just being whiny.
Heat Index takes into account which TWO factors?
(air) temperature
relative humidity
dew point
UV index
In order for water vapor to condense into liquid droplets, what is needed?
warm front
downdraft
stratus clouds
condensation nuclei
Why do water vapor molecules have a hard time sticking together on their own?
They're too heavy.
They're too fast.
They're too small.
They repel each other.
Which types of clouds are made of ice crystals?
stratus
cumulus
cirrus
Which types of clouds are at the highest altitudes?
stratus
cumulus
cirrus
Which types of clouds are heat neutral? (they reflect as much radiation as they absorb)
stratus
cumulus
cirrus
Clouds that are hazy, smooth, and low altitude are called . . .
stratus
cumulus
cirrus
Which types of clouds insulate the Earth by trapping outgoing radiation?
stratus
cumulus
cirrus
Which types of clouds are flat-bottomed and fluffy-looking?
stratus
cumulus
cirrus
Which types of clouds insulate the Earth by reflecting lots of incoming radiation?
stratus
cumulus
cirrus
What would be the effect on the particles in the animation if more heat is supplied to the system?
They would slow down.
They would stop moving completely.
They would speed up.
There would be no effect.
Which of the following best explains why the sand at the beach is hotter than the water?
Sand has a higher specific heat than water.
Sand has a lower specific heat than water.
There is more water than sand at the beach.
There is more sand than water at the beach.
the North Pole
the South Pole
the Equator
upwelling
Decreasing water temperature causes the density of the water to ______.
increase
stay the same
decrease
Increasing water salinity causes the density of the water to ______.
increase
stay the same
decrease
What causes deep ocean currents?
The Coriolis Effect
gyres
wind
density differences
What causes ocean currents in the Northern Hemisphere to rotate clockwise?
Great Ocean Conveyor Belt
upwelling
Nutrients are brought to the surface for phytoplankton to use at _______.
gyres
eddies
upwellings
the equator
________ and _______ affect the ocean's density and cause the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt to travel.
gravity and the Coriolis Effect
temperature and salinity
wind and climate
temperature and the Coriolis Effect
The more scientific name of the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt is _____.
halinethermal circulation
thermohaline circulation
thermodensity circulation
upwelling
What is the large, circular surface-current pattern found in each ocean called?
Great Ocean Conveyor Belt
ENSO stands for . . .
Extreme Nautical Surface Oscillations
El Niño Southern Oscillation Cycle
Equatorial Nuisance Sea Observations
El Niño Surface Observations
Winds across the equatorial Pacific normally blow . . .
from north to south
from south to north
from west to east
from east to west
During an El Niño event, trade winds are typically...
about average
stronger
weaker
When La Niña is occurring, ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific are _______ than normal.
higher
the same as
lower
The ENSO cycle is irregular, but it tends to reset every ________ years.
10-17
100-150
3-12
2-7
An El Niño or La Niña event usually lasts for _________ months.
1-2
3-7
9-12
24-36
El Niño MOST DIRECTLY affects what?
precipitation
sea surface temperature
evaporation
cloud formation
Which of the following is a negative health consequence connected to ENSO?
heart disease
cancer
malnutrition
diabetes
What does the word "mitigate" mean?
to make a problem even worse
to divide a problem into smaller problems
to make a problem less severe
to deny that a problem exists in the first place
What does "retention" mean?
to let something go
to borrow something
to change someone's mind
to keep possession of or maintain control of something
Match the following
nitrogen
78%
oxygen
21%
water vapor
0-4%
argon
~1%
carbon dioxide
<1%
What does albedo measure?
how much light is reflected by something
how much light it takes to heat something up by 1 degree F
how much light something can generate
the percent of the EM spectrum something can reflect
Albedo is a measurement that will always have a value between (a) and (b) .
A black hole would have an albedo of . . .
0
0.5
1
A mirror would have an albedo of . . .
0
0.5
1
Which of the following is happening due to human-caused climate change?
The earth's surface is becoming more reflective.
Ice caps, glaciers, and snow cover are melting.
Oceans are receding, revealing more land area.
Ice and snow have a relatively (a) albedo, which means they reflect (b) light.
What is happening as an effect of less ice and snow cover? Select TWO answers.
Heat retention in the troposphere is decreasing.
Heat retention in the troposphere is increasing.
More light is being reflected into space.
Less light is being reflected into space.
A positive feedback loop is one where the response to a stimulus . . .
adds to the change
subtracts from the change
maintains the level of change
makes the situation better
A negative feedback loop means the response to a stimulus is
shifting things farther away from equilibrium
shifting things closer to equilibrium
not having an effect at all
making the situation worse
The ice-albedo feedback loop is an example of a (a) feedback loop.
A friend of yours is anxious lately, so they aren't sleeping well. Then they are tired in class and can't stay awake, which causes their grade to drop. Their low grade makes them anxious, and they have trouble sleeping. This is an example of what?
positive feedback loop
negative feedback loop
The human body cooling itself down with sweat is an example of a
positive feedback loop
negative feedback loop
Which of the following are greenhouse gases? Select all that apply.
nitrogen
oxygen
water vapor
carbon dioxide
Which of the following are greenhouse gases? Select all that apply.
(These are not the same gases from the previous Q!)
methane
CFCs
argon
ozone
Which of the following gasses is only present in the atmosphere because of human activity?
carbon dioxide
methane
CFCs
Where do heat islands tend to occur?
in rural areas
in cities
over lakes
over forests
Which of the following tactics could help mitigate the heat island effect?
Planting more trees
Making buildings taller
Making surfaces darker
Increasing the use of air conditioners
Why are cities more likely to become heat islands? Select all that apply.
They have few trees and green spaces.
Many buildings are close together.
Many surfaces have a low albedo.
The combined body heat of all the people
Surface water (rivers, lakes, etc) is abundant.
Why does sweat help cool down the human body? Select all that apply.
Water can hold a lot of energy.
The sweat acts like a buffer between the skin and warm air.
Evaporation "takes" energy away.
Sweating means there is less matter in your body, so there's less overall energy.
Water is a universal solvent because it . . .
can be found anywhere
freezes when it gets cold
dissolves most substances
The fact that ice floats on liquid water is due to the fact that water's solid form is ___________ than it's liquid form.
What property of water allows for water to act as a temperature regulator for the world?
cohesive behavior
expansion upon freezing
high specific heat
universal solvent
Sweating is an example of what property of water?
cohesive behavior
expansion upon freezing
ability to moderate temperature
universal solvent
Why does water move from the roots to the leaves of plants?
Water is pushed by temperature changes
Water is pulled by gravity
Plants pump the water like a heart pumps blood
Capillary action pulls the water molecules like a chain
Water has an unusually high specific heat. What does this mean?
At its boiling point, water changes from liquid to vapor.
A large amount of heat is required to raise the temperature of water.
Ice floats in liquid water.
Salt water freezes at a lower temperature than pure water.
Floating ice can insulate bodies of water.
What is the name of the current that carries warm water from the east coast of The United States to the West coast of Europe?
The US-UK Current
The Gulf Stream Current
The Calgary-London Current
The Equator Express Current
The Northern Atlantic Current
Select all that apply: Ocean currents are affected by . . .
The Coriolis Effect
wind
density differences from changes in temperature and salinity
tides
deep sea hydrothermal vents
What is the correct order of convection cells - moving away from the poles and towards the equator?
Hadley, Polar, Mid-latitude
Polar, Mid-latitude, Hadley
Mid-latitude, Polar, Hadley
Trade winds, westerlies
Winds that blow mainly from west to east are . . .
Easterlies
Southerlies
Westerlies
Northerlies
Where are the trade winds located?
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
At the equator
Where is the Intertropical Convergence Zone located?
(Also called the doldrums.)
North and South Poles
60 degrees North and 60 degrees South
30 degrees North and 30 degrees South
At the equator
Most of Earth's largest deserts are located at...
0 degrees latitude
30 degrees latitude
60 degrees latitude
90 degrees latitude
