Earth

Science
Term 1 Final

By: Justin Chan

Big Bang Theory and CBR
The Big Bang is a theory that the universe first started as a speck of light called
singularity. This happened around 13.7-14.6 billion years ago. Inside of the small speck,
was Hydrogen and Helium. It exploded creating the universe we know today and it is still
continuing to expand in all directions. The proof that we have that the Universe is
expanding is Cosmic Background Radiation or (The light emitted from the Big Bang
Explosion). The color of the wavelengths show us how far the light is away from us. From
shortest to least, it goes from Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red
Accretion
The first process of the Big Bang Theory was accretion. It is the accumulation of gas, dust.
Gravity then brings them together and creates our planets and stars. The heavier the mass,
the higher the gravity. The larger the distance, the lower the gravity. Without the process of
Accretion, we would not have planets and we would not have our sun. Accretion is also the
reason our moon was formed.
Nuclear Fusion
If you have ever wondered where we got our energy, it is from Nuclear Fusion.
Nuclear Fusion is when two hydrogen atoms slam together to form helium and
releases large amounts of energy. This energy allows the sun to give us warmth and
energy for us to move and without it, we would not be here.

H H H H

Hydrogen Atoms Hydrogen Atoms

slamming together slamming together

H
Large amounts of energy being
released in all directions
Star Classification
Stars are classified based on their luminosity, mass,
star development, and surface temperature. The
higher the luminosity, the brighter the star. The
heavier the star, the more gravity it has. The color of
the star shows how hot the surface temperature of
the sun is. From hottest to coolest, it goes from
Blue, Blue White, White, Yellow, Orange, and Red.
During star development, it starts as a main
sequence star which has a luminosity of 1-100. As it
gets older, it becomes a supergiant which has a
luminosity of 100-1,000,000. And lastly when it
gets very old, it becomes a white dwarf which has a
luminosity of 0.0001-0.1.
Electromagnetic Radiation
Electromagnetic Radiation or (energy) is the light emitted from the stars. They are created by
the process of radiation and nuclear fusion. The travel in different wavelengths ranging from
violet to red. Violet is the shortest wavelength and red is the longest one. So if you see a red
wavelength, it is from a star or galaxy very far away. As you can see below are different names
for the wavelengths. The closer they are to you, the more harmful they are. Gamma Rays are
the most dangerous and Radio waves are the least dangerous.
Redshift/Blueshift/Doppler Effect
Redshift or Doppler Effect is when a star or galaxy is moving away from us which makes the
wavelength color towards the red color. Redshift is also the proof that the universe is expanding and
was created by the Big Bang. Blueshift is when a galaxy or star moves closer to us which makes the
wavelength color decrease towards the blue color. In conclusion, if an object emitting radiation
moves, our perception of its color change.
Our Location in the Universe (Galaxy, Solar System)
Our Location in the Universe is in the Galaxy, the Milky Way on Orion's Arm. In the middle of
our galaxy is the black hole. Our galaxy is filled with billions of stars and other planets. The
shape of our galaxy is a spiral disk shape. Our planets that orbit our sun in order is Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Each of these planets have something
that makes them different from each other. For example, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
all have rings.
Heliocentrism vs Geocentrism
Before it was proven, we believed in two theories, Heliocentrism and Geocentrism.
Heliocentrism is the belief in that our planet’s orbit revolve around the sun. This theory was
created by Nicolaus Copernicus. Geocentrism is the belief that stars, the moon, and planets all
orbited Earth. This theory was created by Galileo Galilei.

Geocentrism Heliocentrism
Our Solar System
Our solar system contains of 8 planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
and Neptune. These planets are separated in two categories: Terrestrial and Jovian Planets.

Terrestrial Planets Jovian Planets

● Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars ● Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

● Our four inner planets (closest to our
sun)
● Higher density (Rocky Land)
● Higher temperatures than outer planets
(farthest from our sun)
● Smaller diameter
● Our four outer planets (farthest from
our sun)
● Lower density (Made up of gases)
● Colder temperatures than inner planets
● Larger Diameter
Evidence of Rotation (Foucault Pendulum)
The Foucault’s Pendulum named
after Léon Foucault, is the proof of
our Earth’s rotation. When a
pendulum swings, the Earth
Rotates underneath, making it
appear as though the path of the
pendulum swings. Because of this
rotation, we have seasons and days.
Coriolis Effect
The Coriolis Effect is a phenomenon that causes
fluids like water and air to curve as they travel
across or above Earth’s surface. Depending on the
location of the fluids, they curve in different
directions. If they are in the Northern Hemisphere,
the fluids curve to the right. And if they are in the
Southern Hemisphere, the fluids curve to the left.
For Example, if you threw a paper airplane from
texas straight above it towards Canada, you would
think it would go to Canada but, because of the
Coriolis effect, it would make it go towards New
York since we are in the Northern Hemisphere.
Eccentricity
Eccentricity is the numerical value given to the shape of an ellipse (Planet’s orbit) it ranges
from 0-1: 0 being a perfect circle and 1 being a straight horizontal line. So the lower the
eccentricity, the circular it becomes and the higher the eccentricity, the flatter it becomes. To
calculate the eccentricity of a planet, you have to divide the Distance Between Foci and the
Length of the Major Axis.
Seasons
As you know, the planet that we live on experiences for different seasons. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. And
during these seasons, we experience As Earth rotates around the sun, it gets colder and warmer during a specific
point of time. This is because of the Earth’s tilt. It is tilted 23.5 degrees and as we rotate around the sun, the different
hemispheres get more sunlight depending on which way the Earth’s tilt is facing. For example, when the Northern
Hemisphere has winter, the Northern Hemisphere is facing more “up” towards the sun and the Southern Hemisphere
is facing directly at the sun. During the Winter Solstice (Dec 21), we get the shortest amount of sunlight received
from the sun. In the Summer Solstice (June 21), we get the longest amount of sunlight received from the sun. During
the Spring Equinox and Autumnal Equinox, both hemispheres get equal amount of light and day.
Moon Phases
We believe that our moon used to be a chunk of our
Earth until one day, an impactor hit earth and sent a
chunk of earth out into space. The chunk then came
together because of accretion creating our moon and
having it orbit us. Our moon has different types of
phases. Moon phases are the way we see the moon for
example a full moon. The thing that changes the moon
phases is the position of where the moon is. We call
the moon phases based on what it looks like and what
it does for the next day. If the moon will reflect less
light the next day, it is called a “Waning” Moon. If it
reflects more light the next day, it is called “Waxing”
moon. If the moon is less than half full, it is called a
“Crescent” moon. If the moon is more than half full is
called a “Gibbous” moon.
Tides
If you have ever went to the beach many times, you may have seen the water level being high or being very
low. This is because of our moon's gravitation pull. There are two different types of tides, Low Tides and
High Tides. Low tides is when the gravity of the moon pulls water away from the locations on Earth. And a
high tide is when the gravity of the moon makes water bulge in the direction of the moon at its location.
Everyday, we experience two high tides and two low tides. Roughly every 6 hours and 12 minutes, we switch
from high to low tides. And every 12 hours, we switch from high tide to high tide or low tide to low tide.
Eclipses
Eclipses are when either the moon or earth has light being blocked from the sun. There are two types
of eclipses, Solar Eclipses and Lunar Eclipses. A solar eclipse is when the moon is in between the sun
and the Earth. While this is happening, the moon blocks the sun’s light from Earth. A lunar eclipse is
when the Earth is between the sun and the moon. While this is happening, the earth blocks the sun’s
light from the moon.
Lunar Eclipse