Welcome to
Distributed
Learning
Earth Science
11
The following activity is an activation assignment. This must be
completed and sent to your instructor before you can register in the course.. It will be worth 5% of
your total mark. The questions in this quiz are based on knowledge introduced in Science 8 - 10, and
reviewed and expanded on in Earth Science 11. Before you begin you should have access to a good
dictionary, either online or in hand. There are links to some recommended websites where you can
review the concepts as you complete this assignment. If you quit before you have completed all the
questions your partial assignment will be automatically submitted, so make sure you have 1 to 2 hours
set aside to complete this before you begin.
Outcomes from the B.C. Ministry of Education Earth
Science 11
B4: Explain the relationship between the sun, the
earth, and it's moon
E3: Outline the development of plate tectonic
theory
F1: Explain the characteristics and significance of the
atmosphere
Matching
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Section A: The relationship between the Sun and the
Earth
Go to the website: http://www.mathsisfun.com/earth-orbit.html and observe the two animations. The
main image shows the passage of a year, with the earth orbiting the sun. The embedded image shows
where the sunlight is shining on the earth at each point of the orbit. Together, these illustrate the
cycle of the seasons, and their effect on the changing day/night ratio. Then go to the website http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6h.html and carefully read the
sections titled 'Earth Rotation and Revolution' and 'Tilt of the Earth's Axis'.
Use the information to match the following vocabulary words to the
spaces in the paragraph below.
The earth is
constantly in motion, spinning around an imaginary pole called it's __1__. This spinning
motion or __2__ takes exactly 24 hours and defines the length of earth's day. Like all
planets, earth orbits the sun in an elliptical (oval) path, it's __3__. The length of this
orbit defines one year as 365.26 days . In relation to this orbital path, our planet is __4__
by 23.5 degrees, which changes both the incoming angle and the daily amount of sunlight. The
predictable patterns in these annual changes in sunlight create earth's __5__. Here in the
Northern Hemisphere the longest daylight period occurs during the __6__ , and the lands in the
Arctic Circle experience 24 hours of daylight. Our shortest daylight period occurs on the
__7__, when the North Pole receives no sunlight at all. During an __8__ the entire
planet experiences exactly 12 hours of daylight, though this occurs every day at earth's Equator. The
Northern Hemisphere experiences daily sunlight greater than 12 hours during the seasons of
__9__ and less than 12 hours during __10__.
a. | axis | f. | revolution | b. | December Solstice | g. | rotation | c. | Equinox | h. | seasons | d. | fall and winter | i. | spring and summer | e. | June
Solstice | j. | tilted | | | | |
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1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
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6.
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7.
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8.
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9.
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10.
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Section B: The Phases of the Moon
Go to the website http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml and study the diagram showing the
phases of the moon. Notice the sunlight shown as parallel arrows 'shining' from the right side of the
diagram. The 8 key stages of the moon's cycle are shown in a ring around the earth, with an enlarged
view of each phase as it appears from earth. Carefully read the section below the diagram titled 'The
Moon's Orbit'.
Refer to this website to match the vocabulary words
to the spaces in the paragraph below
When the moon is positioned directly between the sun and the earth
it's called a __11__. It's at this phase that, on rare occasion, it blocks our view of the sun
causing a __12__. As the moon progresses in it's revolution around the earth the increasingly
sunlit shape is called a __13_. Within a few days it has increased to a half-lit face, the
__14__. The ever increasing visible portion is called a __15__ moon. The brightest
phase is called a __16__, which can be highlighted occasionally by a __17__. As the
sunlit portion shrinks it's described as a __18__ moon. When it once again shows only half of
it's face illuminated, it's the __19__, which reduces down to a
__20__.
a. | first quarter | f. | third quarter | b. | full
moon | g. | waning
crescent, | c. | lunar eclipse | h. | waning gibbous | d. | new
moon | i. | waxing
crescent | e. | solar eclipse | j. | waxing gibbous | | | | |
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11.
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12.
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13.
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14.
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15.
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17.
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18.
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19.
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20.
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Section C: Continental drift and Plate tectonics
Use this information to match the following vocabulary words to the
spaces in the paragraph below.
There have been many attempts through the centuries to explain what
created the landscapes we see on the surface of our planet, and the destructive volcanoes and
earthquakes that alter it. The currently accepted theory began with the ideas of Alfred Wegener, who
proposed that in the distant past, a vast supercontinent he called __21__ existed. The present
day continents (including the submerged continental margins) fit together like pieces of a gigantic
jigsaw puzzle, which had somehow drifted apart. Other evidence was found to support this idea, like
the presence of identical fossils, such as __22__ found on widely separated continents. It
appears that some mountain chains have been split apart, for example the __23__ and Caledonian
Mountains contain rocks of the same age, structure and type, in spite of their locations on opposite
sides of the Atlantic Ocean. There is also __24__ evidence, such as matching glacial traces
found on five separate continents, and coal deposits formed in areas that no longer enjoy the
tropical climates that allowed their formation. As intriguing as this evidence was, the theory of
continental drift was not accepted, as there was no explanation of why they moved. That change with
the new evidence of __25__, where the cooling lavas of the past recorded their orientation to
earth's magnetic field. In the 1960's a theory of seafloor spreading proposed the reason for
continental drift that Wegener had lacked. The 'engine' that drove all this motion was __26__
located deep in the semi-molten layer of the mantle. Where these rose to the surface there was an
upwelling of magma that formed a __27__, where new seafloor was formed. To balance the
expanding ridge, a destructive recycling of seafloor called __28__ was proposed. An
exploration of the newly formed seafloor revealed even more evidence to support the theory, a pattern
of__29__ creating a series of mirror image stripes on expanding ridges. The ideas of
continental drift and seafloor spreading became part of the Theory of Plate tectonics. This unified
theory explains all the geological features and events of our planet. It is built on the idea that
the earth's surface is made of large moving plates, separated by three types of boundaries. Where
plates move apart we find __30__ boundaries, with mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys. Where
plates come together, at __31__ boundaries we see deep ocean trenches and their
tsunami-generating earthquakes, explosive volcanoes, and crumpled mountain ranges. In many places the
plates grind past each other at __32__ boundaries, which can also create violent earthquakes.
In some areas, such as Hawaii, a __33__ results in a series of relatively safe volcanoes
erupting in the center of a moving plate.
a. | Appalachian | h. | mid-ocean ridge | b. | convection
cells | i. | Paleoclimatic | c. | convergent | j. | Paleomagnetism | d. | divergent | k. | Pangaea | e. | geomagnetic reversals | l. | subduction | f. | hot
spot | m. | transform | g. | Mesosaurus | | | | |
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21.
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28.
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30.
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32.
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33.
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Section D: The Greenhouse Effect
Use the
information to match the following vocabulary words to the spaces in the paragraph
below.
Our planet receives most of it's energy from the sun,
in the form of __34__. The incoming solar energy has very __35__ wavelengths, so it
passes through the earth's atmosphere very easily. Solar energy is absorbed by the earth's surface
and is radiated back out in the form of __36__ or heat radiation. Three gases in our
atmosphere, carbon dioxide, __37__ and water absorb this radiation, and increase it's
temperature. This natural atmospheric heating is known as the __38__. When human activities
burn fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline, or natural gas, it increases the levels of atmospheric
__39__, and the effect is dramatically increased. The increase in atmospheric temperature,
known as __40__ is rapidly changing our environment. Evidence of this change can be seen as
ice caps melt and sea levels rise.
a. | carbon dioxide | e. | infrared (IR) | b. | electromagnetic
radiation | f. | methane | c. | global warming | g. | short | d. | greenhouse
effect | | | | |
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34.
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35.
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36.
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38.
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40.
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