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100 Facts to Remember about
the Earth Science Regents!

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Print out a copy to study.

1. The same substance always has the same density.
2. As pressure increases, density increases.
3. As temperature increases, density decreases.
4. Water expands when it freezes.
5. Most changes in the environment are cyclic.
6. Water is densest at 4 0 C, when it is a liquid.
7. The true shape of the earth is an oblate spheroid.
8. The best model of the Earth¹s shape is a sphere.
9. The altitude of Polaris equals your latitude.
10. To determine the Earth¹s circumference, the altitude of the sun at two locations is needed.
11. Latitude lines are drawn East to West, but measure distances going North and South.
12. Longitude lines are drawn North to south , but measure distance going East and West.
13. Longitude is based on observations of the Sun¹s movement in the sky.
14. Use The Reference Tables.
15. The Earth rotates on its axis, West to East . (24 hours) The Earth rotates at a rate of 15 degrees per hour.
16. The Earth revolves around the Sun counterclockwise. (365 1/4 days)
17. The closer the isolines (contour, isobar, or isotherm) are, the steeper the gradient.
18. All celestial objects APPEAR to move to the West.
19. The Moon has phases because of the angle at which we view its surface. (Remember though only half of the Moon is lit)
20. Planets APPEAR to go backwards (retrograde) as the Earth passes them in space.
21. The Winter Solstice, December 21, has only 8 Hours of daylight and 16 hours of night time in the Northern Hemisphere. The Sun rises South of East, and the its vertical rays are at hitting the Earth¹s surface at 23 1/2 degrees south latitude, The Tropic of Capricorn.
22. The Summer Solstice, June 21, the opposite is true.
23. The Equinoxes Vernal March 21 and Autumnal September 23, there is 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night everywhere on the planet. The Sun rises due East and its vertical rays hit the Equator.
24. The lower the altitude of the sun, the longer the shadow it casts.
25. Use The Reference Tables.
26. The equator always has 12 hours of daylight.
27. There are two pieces of evidence that the Earth rotates:A) Foucault's Pendulum-which appears to change its direction of swing. B) The Coriolis Effect- which makes everything in the Northern hemisphere deflect to the right.
28. The closer a planet is to the sun, the faster its orbit.
29. Geocentric= Earth centered
30. Heliocentric= Sun centered
31. Black absorbs /White reflects
32. Conduction= The transfer of energy molecule by molecule through collisions.
33. Convection= The transfer of energy in liquids and gases due to density differences.
34. Radiation= The transfer of energy through empty space. (a vacuum) ex. light from the Sun.
35. Kinetic energy= Energy of motion. It increases as velocity increases.
36. Potential energy= Stored energy. It increases with a higher location.
37. There is no temperature change during a phase change.
38. Infrared has a long wavelength.
39. Carbon dioxide and water vapor absorb infrared radiation.
40. A good absorber of energy is a good radiator of energy.
41. The hottest part of the day is after 12 noon. ( energy time lag)
42. The hottest part of the year is after June 21, the summer solstice. ( energy time lag)
43. Use The Reference Tables.
44. As air temperature increase, air pressure decreases.
45. As moisture content increases (humidity), air pressure decreases.
46. Air pressure decreases with altitude.
47. Highs are cool and dry, while Lows are warm and wet.
48. Wind is named after the direction it comes from.
49. Highs are regions of divergence. Remember Downward, Outward, Clockwise
50. Lows are regions of convergence. Remember Inward, Counterclockwise, Upward
51. Wind is due to air pressure differences. It moves from High pressure to Low pressure. DOC ---> ICU
52. The closer the air temperature is to the dewpoint, the greater the chance of precipitation.
53. Our weather in the US moves from West to East.
54. Cold front:
55. Warm Front:
56. Occluded Front:
57. Stationary Front:
58. Cold fronts move fastest.
59. Porosity ( the amount of holes), does not depend on particle size.
60. Permeability (connection of holes), as particle size increases permeability increases.
61. Capillarity (movement of water upward), decreases with increasing particle size.
62. Ep (potential evapotranspiration) depends on temperature.
63. Maximum storage of water in the ground is 100mm.
64. Deficit: St=0 and P<EP
65. Surplus: St=100 and P>EP
66. Usage: St>0 and P<EP
67. Recharge: St<100 and P>EP
68. Bodies of Water moderate temperature.
69. Air cools as it rises.
70. Orographic effect (Adiabatic temperature changes) as air rises to go over a mountain its temperature drops down to its dewpoint. This causes precipitation.As the air comes down the other side its temperature rises.
71. The windward side of a mountain is cool and wet.
72. The leeward side of a mountain is warm and dry.
73. Use The Reference Tables.
74. Gravity is behind all erosion.
75. Streams are the #1 agent of erosion.
76. Stream velocity depends on slope of the land's surface and the stream's discharged.
77. Stream velocity is faster on the outside of a meander than on the inside bend.
78. Heavy, dense, round particles settle out first in water.
79. In Graded bedding (vertical sorting), the biggest sediments are on the bottom.
80. Glacial sediments are unsorted and scratched. The glaciers produce U shaped valleys.
81. Stream deposits are sorted, round and smooth. Streams produce V shaped valleys.
82. Sedimentary rocks: Fragmentals and Evaporites, Some show layers. They are the only group with fossils.
83. Igneous rocks: Intrusive and Extrusive. Course, fine, and glassy textures. Cool fast = small crystals. Cool slowly= Large crystals.
84. Metamorphic rocks: foliated and nonfoliated. They show banding and distortion.
85. A Mineral's properties depend on the internal arrangement of atoms.
86. Most rocks are Silicates. The Silicon and Oxygen tetrahedron is the basic unit.
87. Isostasy occurs when the Earth's crust is in equilibrium.
88. Mid ocean ridges are divergent. Crust is created there.
89. Trenches are convergent and crust is destroyed here.
90. P Waves are faster than S waves.
91. P waves travel through liquids and solids. S waves travel through solids only.
92. You need data from 3 seismometer stations to locate the epicenter of an earthquake.
93. The Law of Superposition says that in undisturbed strata the bottom layer is oldest.
94. Intrusions are younger than the rocks they are found in.
95. An Unconformity shows erosional surfaces.
96. Use The Reference Tables.
97. Uranium 238 is used to determine the age of very old rocks.
98. Carbon 14 is used to date once living things up to about 75,000 years old.
99. Convection currents in the mantle move the plates.
100. If you cut a substance into pieces you don't change its density.