Your friend says that the Sun's mass is the ultimate source of the energy that powers life on Earth. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
What will be an ideal response?
Agree. The Sun produces heat and light through the process of thermonuclear fusion. Energy is not created in this process, however. By the conservation of energy, we know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. The heat and light produced in fusion reactions in the Sun comes from the Sun's mass; mass is converted to heat and light in accordance with the mass-energy equivalence E = mc2. In fact, the Sun does lose mass over time, as the Sun radiates energy into space from its surface. A small portion of the energy radiated to space is intercepted by Earth. This radiant energy is trapped by photosynthesizing organisms, converted to chemical energy (food), and consumed by nonphotosynthesizing organisms, providing the energy they need to conduct the processes essential for life.
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Volcanic craters and impact craters can often look similar. Which of the following statements is correct is distinguishing between volcanic and impact craters?
A. Volcanic craters are often characterized by the presence of shocked quartz and melted rocks on the crater floor. B. Impact craters are often bowl-shaped and contain breccia and shocked quartz. C. Volcanic and impact craters cannot be distinguished by their physical characteristics, though there are differences in their chemical composition. D. Both volcanic and impact craters are bowl-shaped and contain breccia, but only impact craters contain melted rocks on the crater floor.
Four of the five statements about nonnative species are true. Select the exception.
A. The spread of nonnative species is the second largest threat to animal and plant ecosystems. B. Nonnative species provide no benefits tin their new habitats. C. Introduced species do not have natural predators in their new ecosystem. D. Nonnative trees are grown in 85% of the world's tree plantations. E. Invasive species rarely cause global extinctions of other species.
In coastal subduction zones, the oceanic plate can rise suddenly, triggering a tsunami
a. True b. False
The time of maximum daily temperature occurs
A) after the time of maximum insolation, because an energy surplus accumulates in the atmosphere while the Sun is still high in the sky and reaches a peak in mid-afternoon. B) before the time of maximum insolation, because the residual heat energy left over in the atmosphere from the previous day adds to the energy supplied by insolation. C) at the same time that maximum insolation occurs, because that is when maximum energy is available for heating the air. D) after the time of maximum insolation, because the ground starts to reflect heat energy in the late afternoon, and this creates an energy surplus. E) before the time of maximum insolation occurs, because the thermosphere transfers heat energy to the surface during the early morning hours as the D and E layers in the ionosphere become active.