PREMIER CURRICULUM SERIES Based on the Sunshine State Standards for Secondary Education, established by the State of Florida, Department of Education EARTH SCIENCE Author: David H. Menke Copyright 2009 Revision Date:12/2009 INSTRUCTIONS Welcome to your Continental Academy course. As you read through the text book you will see that it is made up of the individual lessons listed in the Course Outline. Each lesson is divided into various sub-topics. As you read through the material you will see certain important sentences and phrases that are highlighted in yellow (printing black & white appears as grey highlight.) Bold, blue print is used to emphasize topics such as names or historical events (it appears Bold when printed in black and white.) Important Information in tables and charts is highlighted for emphasis. At the end of each lesson are practice questions with answers. You will progress through this course one lesson at a time, at your own pace. First, study the lesson thoroughly. (You can print the entire text book or one lesson at a time to assist you in the study process.) Then, complete the lesson reviews printed at the end of the lesson and carefully check your answers. When you are ready, complete the 10-question lesson assignment at the www.ContinentalAcademy.net web site. (Remember, when you begin a lesson assignment, you may skip a question, but you must complete the 10 question lesson assignment in its entirety.) You will find notes online entitled “Things to Remember”, in the Textbook/Supplement portal which can be printed for your convenience. All lesson assignments are open-book. Continue working on the lessons at your own pace until you have finished all lesson assignments for this course. When you have completed and passed all lesson assignments for this course, complete the End of Course Examination on-line. Once you pass this exam, the average of your grades for all your lesson assignments for this course will determine your final course grade. If you need help understanding any part of the lesson, practice questions, or this procedure: Click on the “Send a Message to the Guidance Department” link at the top of the right side of the home page Type your question in the field provided Then, click on the “Send” button You will receive a response within ONE BUSINESS DAY EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE About the Author… Dr. David H. Menke was born and raised in the St. Louis area. After high school, he enrolled at the University of California at Los Angeles, and over the next eleven years, earned his two bachelor’s degrees, his four master’s degrees, a teaching credential, and a Ph.D. in Science Education. During his career, Dr. Menke has served as a public school teacher, community college instructor, and university professor. He has worked full time at such institutions as California State University, Northridge; Southern Utah University; Central Connecticut University; and Broward Community College. Much of his career was spent as an academic administrator of public observatories and planetariums. Dr Menke serves as the First Vice-President and COO of the International Planetarium Directors Congress, and as Chief Astronomer for the Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge in Namibia, Africa. As a world traveler, Dr. Menke has served as leader of many expeditions, including observations of eclipses and comets – on land and at sea. Dr Menke speaks, reads, and / or writes 16 languages. Dr Menke is married and has six children and 4 grandchildren. Dr Menke’s wife is an elementary school teacher and mental health counselor. Earth & Space Science by David H. Menke, Ph.D. Copyright 2008 Home School of America, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED For the Continental Academy Premiere Curriculum Series Course: 2001310 Published by Continental Academy 3241 Executive Way Miramar, FL 33025 3 FORWARD EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE Keep these thoughts in mind…. “When I investigate and when I discover that the forces of the heavens and the planets are within ourselves, then truly I seem to be living among the gods.” – Leon Battista Alberti “Science does not know its debt to imagination.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson “There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.” – Mark Twain “If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible, he is almost certainly right; but if he says that it is impossible, he is very probably wrong.” – Arthur C. Clarke 4 EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE TABLE OF CONTENTS Forward…………………………………………………………………………4 Lesson 1 Earth’s Place in Space……………………………………………….7 Lesson 2 Geology………………………………………………………………35 Lesson 3 Meteorology………………………………………………………….55 Lesson 4 Energy………………………………………………………………..91 Lesson 5 Technology………………………………………………………….105 Course Objectives…………………………………………………………… 117 Index…………………………………………………………………………..120 APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Glossary…………………………………………...122 Appendix 2 – Labs ………………………………………………131 Appendix 3 – Solutions …………………………………………153 Appendix 4 – Scientists and Writers Involved in Earth & Space Science……………………………………………161 5 6 EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE LESSON 1 EARTH’S PLACE IN SPACE In this unit, you will get a feeling for Earth’s place in space, among the moons, planets, stars, and galaxies. You will also understand what our fascination with flight and space travel. The lesson includes: The Solar System The Moon Stellar Systems The Galaxies History of Flight and Space Travel Waves, Light, and Sound SOLAR SYSTEM (During this session do, Lab 1: Solar System to Scale) Our star, the Sun, has a name, “Sol.” And Sol’s family is the “Solar System.” That means that the Sun, Moon, planets, other moons, comets, meteors, and asteroids are all part of the Sun’s “family.” This is because all of the objects in the solar system were created out of the same cloud of gas and dust, many billions of years ago. There are nine major planets in the Solar System: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Sometimes they are referred to by the acronym “MVEMJSUNP,” which is short for “Main Valves Explode, Making Janitors Stand Under New Pipes.” There are millions of minor planets, including the four largest ones: Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Juno. There are thousands – or maybe millions - of comets, such as Halley’s. And there are probably about 100 moons that orbit the major planets (and there are a few that even orbit the minor planets). Mercury and Venus have no moons. But Earth has two; Mars has two; Jupiter has sixteen or more; Saturn has twenty-three or more; Uranus has fifteen or more; Neptune has eight or more; Pluto has one. And a few asteroids have moons. That’s quite a few if we add them all up. 7 It is common for scientists to make comparisons, and we use our planet, Earth, as a comparison. It is important to understand these values as we compare other celestial objects to Earth. PLANETS Distances between planets are measured in Astronomical Units (AU), The average distance from the Sun to Earth is defined as 1 AU. Mercury The closest planet to the Sun is Mercury, at a distance of only 0.387 AU. Mercury was named after a very fast-moving Roman god. He took messages from one person or god to another. The planet Mercury is fairly small, and it moves very fast in its orbit around the Sun – at 122.5 km/s (about 74 miles/second). Mercury is rather small. In fact, Earth is 20 times heavier. Mercury’s diameter is slightly more than one-third of Earth’s diameter. Its day is very, very long. It spins on its axis in 58.6 Days! (Earth takes 24 hours). In addition, Mercury takes about one-quarter of a year (89 Days) to travel around the Sun – Earth takes 1.0 Year. Since Mercury is only 0.387 AU from the Sun, it receives a lot more of the Sun’s energy than the Earth does – 6.7 times as much! And there is no air to screen out the powerful solar rays, so you could get a sun tan in just a few moments there. With no air, its air pressure is 0.0 ATM. The force of gravity on Mercury is about 1/3 of what we have on Earth. That means that a person who weighs 120 pounds on Earth would weigh 40 pounds on Mercury. And Mercury’s surface is covered with mountains, valleys, hills, craters, rocks, and similar stuff. Since it is a solid planet with a hard surface, it is one of the Terrestrial planets – i.e., Earth-like (since it is a rock, in the shape of a ball). Mercury can become quite bright in our evening skies, but its position is so close to the Sun most of the time, it’s very difficult to find it. The best times would be shortly after sunset in the western sky, or just before sunrise in the eastern sky. Mercury has no moons. Mercury has a car named after it. Venus Venus, another Terrestrial object, is the second planet from the Sun. It is almost the same size as Earth, and it has about the same gravity. However, it is vastly different. First of all, it is 0.67 AU 8 EARTH & SPACE SCIENCE from the Sun, so it should be hotter. And it is hotter, but much, much hotter than expected! The air temps are around 1000 degrees F. In addition, the atmosphere on Venus is very oppressive (hot, heavy, dangerous). In fact, on its surface, Venus’ air pressure is about 100 times that of Earth’s air pressure – about ¾ ton per square inch! The atmosphere is made of carbon dioxide and poisonous gases and acids like sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and other foul things.