T-CAP Review

1. T-CAP Review By: Cody Sipes Study Guide

2. Uneven heating of the earth • The Earth's major external source of energy is the Sun. The Earth is constantly receiving solar energy, but different areas of Earth receive different amounts of solar energy. This affects weather and climate. • Different areas of the Earth receive different amounts of sunlight. The equator receives the most sunlight because the Sun is closer to being directly overhead year-round than it is at any other place on the Earth. This increases the amount of heat energy received and explains why areas near the equator have tropical climates. The poles receive the least sunlight, which is why they have cold climates. • The solar energy received by the Earth causes ocean currents, winds, seasons, and climate differences.

3. Uneven heating of the Earth definitions • OCEAN CURRENTS—The uneven heating of the Earth's surface creates energy flow. Winds and ocean currents flow from warmer areas to colder areas, which means that they travel from the equator toward the poles. • WIND: LAND BREEZES & SEA BREEZES—In coastal areas during the day, the land heats up more than the ocean. This uneven heating causes wind to blow from the ocean to the land during the day, as the warm air over the land rises, and the cooler ocean air moves in to take its place. These winds are called sea breezes. • In the evening, the land cools faster than the ocean. This causes wind to blow from the land to the ocean, as the warmer ocean air rises and the air over the land moves out to take its place. These winds are called land breezes.

4. More definitions • SEASONS—The Earth's seasons occur because of the tilt of the Earth's axis. When either the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, it is receiving the most solar radiation and is experiencing summer. When it is tilted away from the Sun, it is receiving the least amount of radiation and is experiencing winter. • CLIMATE DIFFERENCES: COASTAL VS. INLAND—Oceans also have a major effect on climate. Water absorbs solar energy without changing temperature much. This means that ocean temperature remains within a small range throughout the year, even when the amount of solar energy received is changing. This explains why the climate in coastal areas changes less with the seasons than areas that are far away from the coast.

5. Movement of ocean water • There are three major types of water movement in the ocean. They are: • 1. Currents – continuous, directed movements of ocean water that are produced by forces acting upon the water. Surface ocean currents are primarily formed by winds that cause the water to move in the direction that the wind is blowing. Deep ocean currents form due to Earth's gravity—different sections of ocean water sink and rise as currents due to differences in density. These density differences are caused by differences in salinity and temperature. • 2. Tides – rising and falling of the water level caused by the gravitational forces of the moon and the sun • 3. Waves - vertical movements of water, typically involving waves moving towards the shore and breaking in shallow water near the coastline

6. Atmospheric convection • Atmospheric Convection • The Sun is the ultimate driving force for weather and climate patterns on Earth. Due to Earth's shape, position, and movement through space, the Sun heats Earth's atmosphere unevenly. Only half of Earth receives sunlight at one time. In addition, solar rays are more concentrated at the equator than at areas of higher latitude. Thus, some parts of the atmosphere become warmer than other parts. • When air heats up, it becomes less dense and rises. Colder, denser air sinks and moves in to take the place of the rising, warmer air. This constant circulation of air is driven by temperature differences, and is called convection.

7. wind • Warm air has a lower pressure than cool air. Warm air molecules are spread out; therefore, they do not place a lot of pressure on the area beneath. Cool air molecules gathered close together place greater pressure on the area beneath. • To maintain a balance, air masses flow from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. It is during this process that wind is produced. • The uneven heating of the Earth is the cause of weather differences like low- and high-pressure zones, strong and light winds, temperature differences, stormy and fair weather, humid and dry conditions, and stable and unstable air conditions. Low pressure areas tend to have stormy weather and stronger winds. High pressure areas tend to have fair weather and light winds.

8. planets • If you look at the night sky regularly during a year, you will notice small disks that change in brightness and position against the background of other stars. The Greeks called these wandering stars planets. We know that there are 8 official planets in our solar system (shown below): The inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) and the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). The inner planets each orbit the Sun in less than 2 years, but the outer planets take from 12 to 164 years each to orbit the Sun.

9. Planets picture

10. Inner planets • The inner planets, also known as the terrestrial planets, are small, dense, and made of rock. Their orbits are close to the Sun. • Mercury is a little larger than the Moon, but has no atmosphere. Its surface is extremely hot in the sunlight (but cold in the shade) and is heavily cratered. • Venus is about the size of the Earth. Venus has a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid, and the surface is hot enough to melt lead. When Venus is closest to Earth, it is about 25 million miles away from Earth. • Earth is mostly covered by water, has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, and is the only planet known to have life. • Mars is about 7 times smaller than Earth. Mars has a thin atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide. The Martian surface is extremely cold (below the freezing point of water). Scientists believe that Mars may once have been warm enough for liquid water and possibly life. When Mars is closest to Earth, it is about 35 million miles away from Earth.

11. Outer planets • The outer planets (also known as the gas giants) are extremely large, cold, and made of gas (hydrogen, helium). Their orbits are farther out and spaced widely apart. • Jupiter is the largest planet (over 1,000 times the size of Earth) with colorful cloud bands and a large storm (The Great Red Spot). • Saturn has three large sets of rings surrounding it, which are visible in small backyard telescopes. Both Jupiter and Saturn have many moons (also called satellites) and are like mini-solar systems. Some of these moons could support life. • Uranus has smaller thin rings, has 21 moons, and is tipped on its side. • Neptune has eight moons including one large moon, Triton. Triton has active cold, nitrogen geysers that erupt frequently

12. Dwarf planets • Pluto was once considered the farthest planet. However, part of its orbit brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune, and it is about as small as the largest asteroid in the Solar System, Ceres. The status of Pluto was changed in 2006 to "dwarf planet", so it is no longer considered one of the major planets. Pluto is very cold and dim. It has a moon called Charon, which is almost as big as Pluto itself. • Ceres is another celestial body that is considered a dwarf planet. Before the "dwarf planet" category was established, it was classified as the largest known asteroid in the Solar System.

13. galaxies • Stars do not exist as separate entities in space, but instead belong to large groups of other stars that are held together by the force of gravity. These large groups of stars are called galaxies. Scientists believe that there are billions of galaxies in the Universe, and that most galaxies contain billions of stars. Some galaxies may even contain trillions of stars. • There are 4 major types of galaxies. Each of them is described and shown below.

14. Spiral galaxy • 1.Spiral Galaxy - these galaxies are relatively flat and have a bulge in the middle. These galaxies have arms that spiral out from the center. Our Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy, and the Sun, our closest star, is one of the stars in it. Below is a picture of the spiral galaxy M81.

15. Barred spiral galaxy • 2. Barred Spiral Galaxy - these galaxies are shaped like spiral galaxies, except for the fact that the arms begin spiraling out from a straight line of stars instead of from the center. Below is a picture of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672

16. Elliptical galaxy • 3. Elliptical Galaxy - these galaxies look like a round or flattened ball and contain little gas and dust between the stars. These are often described as taking on the shape of a football. Below is a picture of the elliptical galaxy NGC 1132.

17. Irregular galaxy • 4. Irregular Galaxy - these galaxies have no discernible shape or structure. Below is a picture of the irregular galaxy I Zwicky 18.

18. Deep sky objects • Most of the objects that astronomers study are far beyond our own solar system. Examples of these objects include clusters of stars and several kinds of nebulae, or "clouds."

19. nebulae • A nebula (plural = nebulae) is a cloud of dust and gas that exists in space, usually between stars. Nebulae can generally be classified into two categories based on their size and shape—planetary nebulae and diffuse nebulae. • A planetary nebula is a relatively small, ball-shaped nebula that surrounds a star. The nebula forms from material ejected from the star's outer layers as the star begins to collapse. The Hubble Space Telescope image below shows a planetary nebula.

20. Diffuse nebula • A diffuse nebula is a larger nebula with an irregular shape. Diffuse nebulae located near stars reflect starlight or give off their own bright light. The image below shows a diffuse nebula.

21. sPiral nebulae • The term "spiral nebulae" was used by astronomers before the 20th century. This term referred to a class of spiral-shaped objects believed at that time to be nebulae in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Modern astronomers now know that these objects are actually spiral galaxies located far beyond the Milky Way.

22. Star clusters • A star cluster is a group of stars bound to each other by gravity. Star clusters can be classified into two general categories—galactic clusters and globular clusters. A galactic cluster is an open cluster of stars that are loosely bound to each other by gravity. A globular cluster is a spherical cluster of stars that are tightly bound to each other by gravity. The images below show an example of each cluster type.

23. Galactic cluster

24. Globular cluster

25. The solar system • The Earth, the Sun, and the seven other planets that are in orbit around the Sun are part of our solar system. Our solar system also contains all of the meteoroids, asteroids, and comets that are in orbit around the Sun and all of the moons that orbit around the eight planets. The eight planets in our solar system are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

26. The milky way • Our solar system is located in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Milky Way Galaxy is a spiral galaxy that contains hundreds of billions of stars. In fact, in areas on Earth without excessive light pollution, the stars of the Milky Way create a band of light that can be seen in the night sky. The entire Milky Way Galaxy is about 100,000 light years across. This is an artist's best guess at what the Milky Way might look like from outside of it. Earth is located on the Orion spur, a sort of half arm between the two major spiral arms.

27. The sun • The Sun is a medium-sized star within the Milky Way Galaxy. The Sun and our solar system are about halfway out from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The entire Milky Way Galaxy is about 100,000 light years across. The Sun is one of hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.

28. Where earth is located • The Earth is very far away from the far edge of the Milky Way Galaxy. The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is approximately 150 million kilometers. The distance from the Earth to the far edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, on the other hand, is over 75,000 light years (which is more than 710 quadrillion kilometers!). This means that the Earth is billions of times closer to the Sun than it is to the far edge of the Milky Way Galaxy.

29. comets • Comets have the most elliptical orbits of all the objects in the solar system. They move into the inner solar system for only a short amount of time. Once they have passed around the Sun, they move back out into the outer reaches of the solar system again, often well past Pluto, and are not seen again for many years. • Comets are smaller than planets, moons or asteriods. They are mostly made up of dust particles, frozen water and frozen gases. They are usually very hard to see, but as they approach the Sun these particles heat up and become much easier to see. It is the heating of these particles that causes a comet to have its distinct tail.

30. Asteroids ( biggest ) • The majority of the asteroids in our solar system can be found in the space between Mars and Jupiter. This area is called the asteroid belt. Asteroids vary greatly in size and shape and areThere are 4 main classifications of asteroids: 1. Carbon (C-type) • 2. Silicate (S-type) • 3. Metallic (M-type) • 4. Dark (D-type) mostly made up of stone, iron and nickel.

31. meteorites • Meteorites are only found on the surface of planets. The reason for this is that until they survive the trip through the atmosphere of a planet and actually land on the planet's surface, they are classified as meteoroids. Most meteorites are created as the result of collisions of asteroids, comets, moons, and even planets within our solar system. • Classifying meteorites has proven to be a difficult thing because they are usually formed when smaller chunks of material are knocked off of larger objects. Meteorites have come from asteroids, comets, moons, and even planets. The 3 main classifications of meteorites are stony, stony iron, and iron.

32. meteoroids • A meteoroid is an object in interplanetary space that is too small to be called an asteroid or comet. Like asteroids and comets, meteoroids revolve around the Sun. Most meteoroids are created as the result of collisions of asteroids, comets, moons, and even planets within our solar system. • Classifying meteoroids has proven to be a difficult thing because they are usually formed when smaller chunks of material are knocked off of larger objects. Meteoroids have come from asteroids, comets, moons, and even planets. The 3 main classifications of meteoroids are stony, stony iron, and iron.

33. stars • The Sun is only one of many stars in the universe. Within our galaxy there are billions of stars, and our galaxy is only one of billions in the universe. All the other stars we see appear much dimmer than the Sun because they are much farther away from us than the Sun is. While it takes less than 10 minutes for sunlight to reach the Earth, light from the nearest stars beyond our solar system takes many years to reach the Earth. For stars that are even farther away, it can take billions of years for their light to reach the Earth.

34. Solar system – relative distances • The diagram is a scale model of the solar system that shows the positions of the Sun and planets as well as the relative distances between them. The relative sizes of the bodies are not represented. • The Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars are all relatively close to the Earth. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are progressively farther away from the Earth. In general, the distance between planets increases as the distance from the Sun increases.

35. biomes • The term biome refers to a geographic region that has a distinct climate. A biome contains characteristic types of plants and animals adapted to the region and its climate. • The climate of a location determines which types of organisms are able to live there. Climates that are very cold are home to plants and animals that have adapted to the extreme temperatures. The same is true for climates that are extremely hot and dry. • The biotic factors of a biome are the plants and animals that live there. For example, deer, maple trees, and lichen are some of the biotic, or living, factors that characterize the deciduous forest biome. The abiotic factors of a biome are nonliving things. For example, very low temperatures and very little precipitation are some of the abiotic, or nonliving, factors that characterize the tundra biome. • The major biomes on Earth include: tropical rainforest, temperate rainforest, desert, grassland, deciduous forest, coniferous forest, tundra, estuary, savanna, and taiga.

36. Tropical rainforest • The climate of a tropical rainforest is hot and wet. Heavy rainfall (around 150 cm per year) and year-round warm temperatures make it very humid. This climate is found near the equator. A tropical rainforest is very dense with lots of large trees that block out sunlight. Very little sunlight reaches the rainforest floor.

37. Temperate rainforest • The climate of a temperate rainforest is mild and wet. Temperatures are moderate and change with the seasons. Rainfall amounts are very high. Like tropical rainforests, temperate rainforests have a thick canopy of trees that block most sunlight from hitting the forest floor. However, while tropical rainforest canopies are generally broadleaf trees, temperate rainforest canopies may be broadleaf or coniferous trees. Temperate rainforests are farther from the equator than tropical rainforests and can be found in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Asia, South America, Europe, and Australia.

38. desert • The climate of deserts is very hot and dry. The amount of precipitation in these areas is less than the amount of water that could potentially evaporate. Deserts get less than 25 centimeters of rain every year. Desert plants and animals are adapted to store water and withstand year-round hot temperatures.

39. grasslands • Grasslands receive enough rainfall to support grasses, but not enough to support the growth of large trees. Drought and wildfire are common. Temperatures in grasslands are warm in the summer and cold in the winter. Some of the animals that can be found in a grassland ecosystem include grasshoppers, prairie dogs, and bison.

40. Deciduous forest • The climate of a deciduous forest is temperate with four distinct seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter). Deciduous forests have warm summers and cold winters. They have moderate precipitation throughout the year. During winter months, however, the precipitation is usually frozen and unavailable to the organisms that live there. Trees in a deciduous forest usually lose their leaves during the winter and have thick bark to conserve water and protect them from the cold.

41. Coniferous forest • Coniferous forests are located in northern latitudes. The climate in coniferous forests is very cold and dry. Coniferous forests have cold, snowy winters and warm summers. The main types of vegetation located in coniferous forests are conifers, such as pine trees. These trees are evergreens that have needles that stay on them all year long and produce cones. Arctic foxes, wolves, and snowy owls are a few examples of the animals that live in coniferous forests

42. tundra • The tundra has very low temperatures and very little precipitation. Winters in the tundra are long and extremely cold; summers are short, mild, and cool. The animals living in tundra ecosystems have adaptations that allow them to stay warm in the very low temperatures. For instance, Arctic foxes, grizzly bears, and ermines (a kind of weasel) all have thick fur that protects them from the cold.

43. savanna • A savanna is a dry tropical grassland where trees are present but more widely scattered than in most rainforest ecosystems. The savanna climate has a temperature range of 68° to 86°F. Savannas receive around 125 centimeters of rain every year, with most of the rain falling during the summer. Zebras, giraffes, lions, and acacia trees are found in the savannas of Africa.

44. taiga • The taiga is the largest continental biome. It experiences long, cold winters; short, warm summers; and low precipitation. It is characterized by coniferous forests. Taiga covers most of Canada and Siberia and is not found in the Southern Hemisphere.

45. marine • The marine biome, or saltwater biome, is the largest on Earth, covering about 75% of the Earth's surface. Because land heats up and cools down much more quickly than water, the marine biome experiences a smaller degree of temperature change than the terrestrial biome. The marine biome has a major impact on the weather and climate patterns of the terrestrial biome.

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