The document provides a 100-point study guide for a final exam covering topics in physics, chemistry, astronomy, earth science, and climate science. Some key points include: understanding density, Newton's laws of motion, energy, waves, atomic structure, chemical bonds, nuclear processes, plate tectonics, the atmosphere, climate and climate change. Students are expected to know definitions, equations, relationships between variables, scientific theories and how they were developed from evidence.

1. Final Exam Study Guide
1. Know the meaning, equation, symbol and units of density.
Be able to use the
equation to answer questions relating to density.
2. What does it mean to be ‘proportional to’ (α) and ‘inversely
proportion to?’
3. Be able to distinguish between speed, velocity and
acceleration. In particular, know
the following including knowing units.
4. Given an equation, describe how the dependent variable
changes when the
independent variables are adjusted.
5. Know the details of Newton’s 3 laws of motion.
6. What is the gravitational acceleration on Earth?
7. What is the difference between weight and mass? What are
units for each?

2. 8. What did Galileo say about falling objects?
9. What is a ‘force’ and ‘net force’ and know how they relate to
acceleration.
10. What does Newton’s law of Gravitation say?
11. Know what the following are and know units. Be able to
solve simple problems:
a. Work
b. Power
12. Know the definition of “Energy” and know what the
following basic types of
energy are dependent on. Know how to solve simple problems.
a. Kinetic Energy
b. Potential Energy
13. What does the “Law of Conservation of Energy” state? Be
able to use this idea to
solve simple problems.
14. What is the definition of temperature and what three
temperature scales used?
Which one is the absolute scale and why?
15. Know the process behind the 3 modes of heat transfer.

3. a. Conduction
b. Convection
c. Radiation
16. Know the basics of the following type of energy sources, the
advantages,
disadvantages and whether it is renewable or nonrenewable.
a. Nuclear (fission and fusion)
b. Coal
c. Gas
d. Oil
e. Biomass
f. Geothermal
g. Solar
h. Wind
i. Tide
j. Hydroelectric
k. Wave
17. What are the 3 phases of a substance?
18. Be able to identify the following components of a wave.
a. Wavelength
b. Amplitude and wave height
c. Crest
d. Trough
e. Equilibrium position
f. Period (know units)
g. Frequency (know units)

4. 19. Know the details of the 4 ways in which waves (light and
sound) can interact with
objects.
a. Absorption
b. Transmission
c. Reflection
d. Refraction
20. What makes up an atom and describe location, charge and
relative size of each.
Which of these is involved with electrical interactions?
a. Electrons
b. Protons
c. Neutrons
21. What is an “ion?”
22. What is the difference between AC and DC power?
23. Basically how is the magnetic field of our Earth set up and
where are the north and
south poles? How often does the Earth’s magnetic field change?
24. What is light and all other radiation composed of?

5. 25. What determines one type of radiation from another?
26. What determines the energy of radiation emitted from an
object? What does a
higher energy say about the wavelength of that radiation?
27. What determines the color of an object?
28. What is meant by the colors black and white?
29. Given the Stefan-Boltzman law (E=σT4), determine how
radiation is affected by a
changing temperature.
30. How does the peak wavelength change as an object’s
temperature changes?
31. What components make up an atom?
32. Which part of the atom is involved with chemical reactions?
33. What is an ‘isotope?’
34. Using the Periodic Table, be able to identify the following
for any given isotope
a. Number of electrons
b. Number of protons (same as atomic number)

6. c. Number of neutrons
d. Mass number (what atom is the reference)
e. Atomic Weight (know how it is derived)
35. What do the columns of the Period Table tell you especially
with regards to the
number of electrons in the outer orbit?
36. What is an ‘orbital?’
37. What are ‘noble gases’ and what can you say about their
outer electrons? Where are
they found on the periodic table?
38. What occurs during a ‘chemical reaction?’ What are the
following?
a. Reactant
b. Products
39. Describe and be able to give some examples of the
following:
a. Ionic bond
b. Covalent bond
c. Polar covalent bond
40. Be able to identify the number of atoms in a given chemical
formula.

7. 41. Know how to derive a “molecular weight” given any
compound.
42. What does the “Law of Conservation of Mass” state?
43. What is meant by the following terms:
a. Mole
b. Avogadro’s number
44. What bonds hold water together and be able to describe how
each one works?
Which one is weaker?
a. Polar Covalent
b. Hydrogen
45. What does the hydrogen bond due to the specific heat of
water?
46. What is meant by solubility? What things affect the
solubility of a liquid with
respect to both solids and gases? What is “saturation?”
47. Know what things can affect the freezing and boiling point
of water.
48. What are acids, bases and salts? What are some
characteristics of each? What

8. happens when you add acids and bases together?
49. What is meant by the pH scale and what values do acids,
bases and pure water
have? What does it mean to go up or down one number in the
pH scale?
50. Describe the 3 types of radioactive decay. How penetrating
are each?
51. What is half-life, what can you do to change it and be able
to solve a simple half-
life problem (very similar to homework)
52. What is the difference between nuclear fission and nuclear
fusion? Which one of
these runs our ‘current’ nuclear power plants? Which one runs
our Sun and other
stars?
53. Describe the nuclear fusion process:
a. Elements involved
b. How does the size of a star change the time it takes to burn
up the fuel?
c. How long will it take for our Sun to burn up its fuel?
d. How long has the Sun been around so far?
54. How do stars end their lives? What about our Sun?

9. 55. How does our Sun compare to other stars as far as size, age,
and temperature?
56. What are the following?
a. Red Giant
b. White Dwarf
c. Supernovae (know elements heavier than Iron are formed
here)
d. Neutron Stars
e. Black Holes
57. What is a Galaxy?
a. What galaxy do we live in?
b. How many stars are in an average galaxy?
c. How many galaxies are in the universe?
58. What is the Big Bang?
a. What evidence pointed to this theory?
b. What happens after the Big Bang? How does the density of
the universe
determine its ultimate fate?
59. Regarding our planets and moons:
a. Know the ordering of our planets in the Solar System from
closest to

10. furthest.
b. What does “Terrestrial Planet” and “Giant gas planet” mean
and which
planets fall under each category?
c. Which planets have atmospheres?
d. What is Pluto’s new classification and why?
e. Which planet is the largest? Smallest?
f. Which moon in our Solar System likely has a large ocean?
60. Know the characteristics of the following parts of a year
a. Summer solstice
b. Winter solstice
c. Autumnal equinox
d. Vernal equinox
61. What is the tilt of our Earth and how does it affect the
following?
a. Lengths of day and night
b. Seasons
62. What is the Coriolis Effect and how does it influence the
way things move on
Earth?
63. How does latitude and longitude identify a location on a
planet?
64. What is the ‘prime meridian’ and where is it located? Is this
arbitrary?

11. 65. What is the “equator” and where is it located? Is this
arbitrary?
66. Identify the following and how are they significant?
a. Arctic Circle
b. Antarctic Circle
c. Tropic of Cancer
d. Tropic of Capricorn
67. Be able to identify the Sun’s location throughout the year.
68. What makes a Moon phase and what are the 4 basic types?
69. What is a lunar and solar eclipse? What phase will the Moon
be in for each?
70. What affects the tides? What are Neap and Spring tides?
71. What are the 3 types of tides and what type does Miami
experience?
72. What are the 3 main groups of rocks and make sure you
know how each are formed.
Which one is the most common?

12. 73. What type of waves do earthquakes produce and how can
they tell us what the
interior of the planet looks like? What are P and S wave shadow
zones?
74. How do the Oceanic and Continental crusts differ with
regards to age, thickness,
density and composition? Which part of the oceanic crust is the
deepest?
75. Regarding plate tectonics, describe the following:
a. Who proposed the theory?
b. What was the name of the original land mass?
c. What do the magnetic stripes on the seafloor tell us about
plate tectonics and
the magnetic field of Earth?
76. Regarding plate boundaries:
a. What are the 3 types?
b. How fast do plates typically move?
c. What are subduction zones and what can they create?
d. What is the difference between the following types of
convergent
boundaries?
i. Continental-oceanic
ii. Oceanic-oceanic
iii. Continental-continental

13. 77. Know how each of the following places are created:
a. Japan
b. San Andreas Fault
c. Iceland
b. Himalayan Mountains
c. Hawaii
78. What top 2 fixed components make up our atmosphere? How
are each created and
removed from the atmosphere?
79. What are 2 important non-fixed components in our
atmosphere and how are they
created and removed?
80. What type of radiation does the Sun provide to the Earth?
What type of radiation
does the Earth re-radiate back out to space?
81. What is the greenhouse effect?
82. Be able to identify the regions of our atmosphere and
describe the temperature
changes in each.
83. How are winds created?

14. 84. What is a seabreeze and land breeze?
85. How are global wind patterns set up? Be able to identify and
describe the following:
a. ITCZ (Doldrums)
b. Trade winds
c. Westerlies
d. High and low pressure regions
86. What is an ‘air mass?’
87. What are the various fronts and their characteristics?
88. What is a cyclone and anticyclone? How do winds spin
around them in the northern
hemisphere?
89. How does a hurricane gets its energy?
90. What and where are the major climate zones? What causes
them? What types of
features are found in these regions?
91. What 4 factors can locally change global climate patterns?
a. Altitude

15. b. Mountains
c. Bodies of water
d. Ocean currents
92. What is meant by the ‘thermohaline circulation?’ How does
it affect Earth’s
climate?
93. Know the characteristics and location of the following:
a. Gulf Stream
b. California Current
94. What is the Milankovitch Theory?
95. List the important greenhouse gases.
96. Describe our current CO2 concentrations and compare them
to the past 420,000
years.
97. How do CO2 concentrations relate to Earth’s past
temperature?
98. What primarily changes sea levels on Earth?
99. How are sea levels currently changing and how high can
they go?

16. 100. Describe the following feedback mechanisms:
a. Water-vapor greenhouse feedback
b. Snow-albedo feedback
c. Cloud feedback
d. Radiation feedback