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44 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is the largest of the inner planets?
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Earth
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What is the equator?
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An imaginary line on the earth that divides the earth into two hemispheres
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Where are the two hemispheres? (north & south or east & west)
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north & south
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How much of the earth is covered with water?
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70%
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What are the three main features of the earth?
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land, water, & air
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What is the lithosphere?
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All the land of the earth ("rock sphere")
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What is the hydrosphere?
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The water on the earth, which includes the oceans, rivers, streams, lakes, etc...
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What is the hydrosphere made up of?
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97% salt water & 3% polar ice caps
That means we have 15% of the 3% of fresh water use |
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What is the atmosphere?
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The layer of gases that surrounds the earth. The atmosphere protects the earth and provides materials to support life.
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What was the earth's atmosphere made up of 4 billion years ago?
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methane, ammonia, and water vapor
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How was nitrogen, hydrogen, & carbon dioxide formed?
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Sunlight triggered chemical reactions
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How did oxygen form?
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Sunlight broke down the hydrogen, the hydrogen went into space and oxygen was left behind
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What is the ozone layer?
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The umbrella for the earth
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How was the ozone layer formed?
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Atoms of oxygen combined and formed the ozone layer
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What is the purpose of the ozone layer?
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Once the ozone layer formed, bacteria used the sun + CO2 + water to make food and oxygen. Bacteria and plants multiplied and produced more oxygen.
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What is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?
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Nitrogen (78%)
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What other gasses are in the atmosphere?
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Oxygen (21%)
The 1% that is left is made up of carbon dioxide, water vapor, argon, and trace gases |
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What do living things need to make proteins?
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Nitrogen
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How do living things make proteins?
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They can't use the nitrogen from the air, so they get nitrogen from the soil after bacteria turns the nitrogen into nitrates. Nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere when dead plants and animals decay.
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How do animals take in oxygen?
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Directly from the air through the process of respiration.
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Carbon dioxide is used by plants during what process?
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photosynthesis
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What is the formula for the oxygen cycle?
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photosynthesis + respiration
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What will happen if carbon dioxide gets too high?
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It will trap in the sun's heat energy and make the earth warmer
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What weather conditions are caused by water vapor?
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clouds, fog, and dew
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What does water vapor do?
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Falls to the earth as precipitation and absorbs heat energy from the sun
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What happens when there are solid particles in the air (like dust from volcanoes) ?
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They block the sunlight and make the temperature go down.
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How is the atmosphere divided?
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Into layers according to major changes in its temperature
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How are the layers of air around the earth held close to the earth?
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Because of gravity
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What is air pressure?
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The layers of gases pushing down on the earth.
Closer to the earth = more pressure than higher up |
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What is the troposphere?
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The layer closest to the earth. The weather happens in the troposphere
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What are convection currents?
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The ground absorbs heat & warms air above it. The warm air rises & cooler air sinks
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Why does the temperature go down as you go up in the atmosphere?
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Because the air is less dense the higher you go
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What is the tropopause?
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A layer of air with a constant temperature. It divides the troposphere from the stratosphere
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What is the stratosphere?
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The stratosphere is the part of the atmosphere that has the highest temperature. The ozone layer & jet stream are in the stratosphere.
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What does the jet stream do?
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Controls the weather patterns
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What does the ozone layer do?
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Protects the earth from UV radiation
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What is the mesosphere?
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The coldest part of the atmosphere that protects the earth from meteoroids
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What is the thermosphere?
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The thermosphere is above the atmosphere and does not have an upper limit
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What is the ionosphere?
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The lower part of the thermosphere. It has ions (electrically charged particles)
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What is the exosphere?
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The upper part of the thermosphere. It is where satellites are.
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What is magnetosphere?
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The area around the earth that extends beyond the atmosphere
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What is the magnetosphere made up of?
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Positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons
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What are Van Allen Radiation belts?
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Particles that are concentrated into belts or layers of high radiation. Space travelers have to avoid them because of the radiation, but the belts protect us by trapping other deadly radiation.
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What happens when magnetic storms happen in the magnetosphere?
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They interrupt telephone communication
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