1. Compare and contrast Weather and Climate.
2. Provide the general chemical composition of the atmosphere.
3. Given a graph similar to that in Figure 14.4, describe the quantities plotted on each axis, and explain why it has the general shape it does.
4. Define "ozone," explain the role of ozone in earth's atmosphere, and explain why the concentration in ozone over Earth's poles is decreasing.
5. Define the following terms and use them to label a graph similar to the graph in Figure 11.6: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere.
6. Explain how the tilt of Earth's axis is responsible for the occurrence of seasons.
7. Given a picture of earth’s position relative to the sun, determine the season in the northern and southern hemispheres.
8. Define and properly use the following terms to describe the transfer of heat: Convection, Conduction, Radiation.
9. Explain the greenhouse effect.
10. List common greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
11. Explain how humans could be affecting global temperature.
12. Explain reasons why someone might make the argument "Society does not need to be too concerned about global warming."
13. Explain reasons why someone might make the argument "Society should be keenly concerned about global warming."
14. Explain what Hadley Cells are why they occur.
15. Explain how Hadley cells determine the location of many of Earth's rainforests and deserts.
16. Explain the what is meant by the following terms: El Niño, La Niña, ENSO.
17. Explain how
El Niño affects coastal fisheries in
18. Describe the factors that are used to determine Milakovitch Cycles (See the section titled "Variations in Earth's Orbit" beginning on page 139).
19. Given a
graph of sea-surface temperature or ENSO index, determine general trends in
climate that are likely to occur
20. Describe and identify on a figure the equatorial current, polar jet, and subtropical jet during El Niño and normal conditions.
21. Correctly indicate of we are currently in El Niño or La Niña conditions.
22. Indicate
the projected outlook for climate in the
23. Describe what principle or principles are illustrated by the "Daisyworld" simulations.
24. Explain why the growth of daisies in "Daisyworld" changed the temperature of the planet.
25. Relate a graph of daisy population to a graph of temperature on “Daisyworld.”
26. Explain what is meant by a “self regulating” system; give examples of self-regulating systems.
27. Relate Daisyworld to general observations about the temperature and chemistry of Earth.
28. Define and correctly use the terms “adiabatic cooling” and adiabatic warming.”
29. Given photographs or sketches, correctly identify the following types of clouds: Cirrus, Altostratus, Stratus, Cumulus, Cumulonimbus, Stratocumulus, Altocumulus, Nimbostratus, and indicate if they are High Clouds, Middle Clouds or Low Clouds.
30. Describe how the following types of fog form: Advection Fog, Radiation Fog, Upslope Fog, Steam Fog and Frontal Fog.
31. Describe the formation of and correctly identify the following types of precipitation: Rain and Drizzle, Snow, Sleet and Hail.
32. Explain how the position of the Sun, Earth and Moon give rise to different phases of the Moon.
33. Given the position of the sun and moon relative to Earth, predict the phase of the moon.
34. Define and correctly use the following terms: geocentric, heliocentric, orbit, retrograde motion, ellipse, Occam’s Razor, solar system, Astronomical Unit, Mare (Maria), Asteroid, Comet, Meteoroid, Meteorite, Meteor, Sunspot, Solar flare, Nuclear fusion, Auroras, New Moon, Full Moon, Quarter Moon, sidereal day, solar day, Lightyear.
35. Explain how Ptolemy accounted for retrograde motion of the planets in a geocentric view of the solar system.
36. Explain how retrograde motion of planets is accounted for in a heliocentric view of the solar system.
37. Given two or more scientific theories, apply Occam’s Razor to identify the preferred theory.
38. Explain Kepler’s 3 laws.
39. List some of Galileo’s contributions to understanding the motion of planets.
40. Outline the elements of the Solar Nebula Hypothesis.
41. Distinguish between terrestrial and Jovian planets.
42. List the planets in the solar system in order
of distance from the sun.
43. List distinguishing features of each planet in the solar system.
44. Discribe the major features of the lunar surface.
45. Identify and describe the Asteroid Belt.
46. Explain what is meant by the expression “Asteroids with Earth-crossing orbits.”
47. Describe the source of the Sun’s energy.
48. Describe the occurrence of sun spots and solar flares.
49. Describe some of the consequences on Earth of solar flares.
50. Correctly answer questions assigned as homework.