Semester Exam, December
Study Guide
**The following content will be COVERED on the Semester test. The test will
NOT look like the study guide.
1. List and define the 6 steps of the Scientific Method.
State the Question- question or statement about how things work, Collect
Information- research of subject, Form a Hypothesis- If, then statement or
educated guess, Test the Hypothesis- the experiment you perform, Record and
Study Data- writing down the numbers or a description of what happens, Draw
a Conclusion- final results from the experiment that either proves or disproves
the hypothesis.
2.
Be able to identify the steps of the Scientific Method from a passage.
3.
Identify the parts of the following box.
4.
List the charges on an atom’s protons, neutrons, and electrons.
5.
What is the difference between atomic mass and atomic number?
Atomic number is the number of protons and atomic mass is protons plus
neutrons
6.
How is the Periodic Table is arranged.
Increasing atomic number
7.
What is the difference between period and family on the periodic table?
Period is horizontal or across and Families are vertical or up and down
8.
What are characteristics of the following families: Alkali Metals- most
reactive, Alkali Earth Metals- always combined in nature, Transition Metals- most
common metals, Boron Family- aluminum, Carbon Family-most abundant, Nitrogen
Family- most of our atmosphere, Oxygen Family- has oxygen, Halogens- most
reactive nonmetals and Noble Gases-most stable?
9.
What is a chemical change is and what is the best indication that a chemical
change has taken place?
Chemical change is when two or more chemicals interact and a new product is
made. Something new.
10.
What is the range of the pH scale and what it measures?
1-14 and it measures acids and bases
11. List the properties of acids and bases.
Acids- sour, h+, react with metals and carbonates, 1-6, turn paper red / Basesbitter, oh-, don’t react, slippery, 8-14, turn paper blue / 7-neutral-water
12. How are waves classified?
How they move
13.
What is the wavelength of a wave? Length between two corresponding parts
of a wave (From crest to crest or trough to trough/ compression to compression or
rarefaction to rarefaction) What is a wave’s amplitude and what does it measure?
Amplitude is rest to maximum height and it measures energy of the wave
14.
What is an electric circuit? A unbroken path that electrons flow through What
are the two types of circuits? Series and Parallel What happens as additional bulbs
are added to the circuits? Series- they get dimmer, Parallel- they stay the same What
happens if a bulb is disconnected? Series- they all go out, Parallel- only one goes out
15.
How many meters in a kilometer? 1000m=1km
16.
Explain how motion is relative. Include the term “reference point”. Motion is
relative to things that are not moving such as reference points. Trees and streets do
not move and can be used a reference to tell if you or the object you are in are
moving.
17.
KNOW the formulas for speed, velocity, and average speed FROM
MEMORY!! Know your speed triangle. Speed=distance/time,
Velocity=distance/time with direction, Average Speed=total distance/total time
a.
Pete is driving down 7th street. He drives 150 meters in 18 seconds. Assuming he
does not speed up or slow down, what is his speed in meters per second?
b. A person jogs 4.0 km in 32 minutes, then 2.0 km in 22 minutes, and finally 1.0 km
in 16 minutes. What is the jogger’s average speed in km per minute?
c. A train travels 120 km in 2 hours and 30 minutes. What is its average speed?
d. A plane’s average speed between two cities is 600 km/hr. If the trip takes 2.5 hrs.
how far does the plane fly?
e. A roller coaster’s velocity at the top of a hill is 10 m/s. Two seconds later it
reaches the bottom of the hill with a velocity of 26 m/s. What was the acceleration
of the coaster?
f. A roller coaster is moving at 25 m/s at the bottom of a hill. Three seconds later it
reaches the top of the hill moving at 10 m/s. What was the acceleration of the
coaster?
g. A car traveling at 15 m/s starts to decelerate steadily. It comes to a complete stop
in 10 seconds. What is it’s acceleration?
18.
On a distance versus time graph (speed graph):



What does a horizontal line mean? At rest or standing still
What does a straight line mean? Constant speed
The steeper the line, the _______faster_______ the speed.
19.
Define acceleration. Acceleration is when object in motion speeds up, slows
down or changes direction. What are the three different ways that an object can
accelerate? Speed up, slow down or change direction What is it called when an
object slows down? Deceleration and it is a negative number Know the formula for
acceleration FROM MEMORY! Accelration= final speed-initial speed/time
20.
What is the difference between balanced and unbalanced forces? Balanced
forces are sitting still(or constant speed) and unbalanced forces are moving How do
you calculate the net force? If arrows go the same way you add and if arrows go
opposite ways you subtract When an unbalanced force acts on an object, it causes
the object to __________accelerate_______, which means the object will
___Speed____ _____up_____, ____slow______ ____down______, or
______change______ ________direction___________.
21.
Define gravity. A force that attracts all objects together. Explain the two
factors that affect gravity. Gravity is affected by mass and distance.
22.
Define friction. When two objects rub against each other. Explain the two
factors that affect friction. Types of surfaces and how hard they are pushed together.
What are the four types of friction (list them in order of strongest to weakest)? Static,
sliding, fluid, rolling
23.
Define work. When a force moves an object a distance
24.
How do you know when work is done on an object? The object moves a
distance Write an example of work being done on an object, and an example of no
work being done on an object. Work is done: Lifting a backpack from the floor to
your shoulders. Work is not done: carrying a backpack around on your back.
25.
Be able to calculate work. KNOW the formula for work FROM MEMORY!!
Know the work triangle. Work= force * distance
26.
A machine makes work _____easier________ by changing the amount of
_______force_______ exerted, the _____distance__________ the force is exerted, or
the _______direction________ the force is exerted.
27.
Does a machine change the amount of work done on an object? NO!
28.
A machine allows you to exert a ____lesser________ force over a larger
distance in return for a ______stronger______ force over a ______shorter________
distance.
29.
Explain Wegener’s theory of Continental Drift. That the continents were once
joined together in a single landmass and has since drifted apart.
30.
What were the three types of evidence he used to support his theory?
Landforms-mountains of South America and Africa, Fossils- Glossopteris(plant) and
Mesosaurus and Lystrosaurus(reptiles), Climate Change- island of Spitsbergen
going from tropical to very cold.
31.
Why did most geologists reject his idea at the time? He couldn’t explain what
the force was that moved the continents.
32.
What type of boundary occurs at the mid-ocean ridge? divergent What
process occurs there? Sea-floor spreading Describe the process. Molten material
comes us through the mid-ocean ridge and pushes old material further away.
33.
What type of boundary occurs at the deep-ocean trench? convergent What
process occurs there? Subduction Describe the process. Old dense ocean crust hits
the continental crust and gets pushed down back into the mantle.
34.
What causes earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain ranges, and rift valleys to
form? (Name the type of boundary and the type of Earth’s crust that is involved)
Earthquakes mainly occur at Transform boundaries at any type of crust. Volcanoes
mainly occur at Convergent boundaries where ocean meets continent or at
Divergent boundaries of ocean and ocean crust. Mountain ranges occur at
Convergent boundaries where continental meets continental. Rift valleys are only on
land at Divergent boundaries.
35.
What causes convection currents in the mantle? The heating and cooling of
magma in the mantle by the inner core as it travels between the core and the crust.
36.
What causes the Earth’s plates to move? Convection currents in the mantle
What is the theory called that proves the plates are moving? Plate tectonics