Warm Up Questions
hese warm-up questions are pulled directly from the ESS Daily Slides and should mimic “Do-Nows”.
T
These questions will help you understand your comprehension of the matter.
● T he Maui wildfires introduced many small particles into the air. These particles can seed clouds
and increase rainfall. This is an interaction between which spheres?
● Write a CER to answer this question: “Is Air Matter?”
● Write the formula for density.
● You need to find the density of a rectangular solid. List the steps to complete that task.
● An irregularly shaped solid has a mass of 42 g. You place it into 75 ml of water. The water rises
to 97 ml. What is the density?
● A large piece of plastic sinks in the water. I start cutting the plastic into smaller pieces and
putting them into water. Predict what the small pieces will do when put in water.
● Which element has atoms with 29 protons?
● An isotope of Silicon has a mass number of 30. How many neutrons does it have?
● A different isotope of silicon has a mass number of 29. What is the same about the two isotopes
of silicon?
● A magnesium ion has a charge of 2+. How many electrons does it have?
● This morning I put a reflective sunshade in my window so my car would not get hot during the
day. Explain why putting a sun shade in the window keeps the car cooler. Be sure to discuss
energy transfers in your answer.
● Identify the type of graph you should use for each example:
○ Comparing the amount of time spent studying for a test and the test scores for 500
students.
○ Graphing the number of deer seen on a trail camera during one year.
○ Showing the percentage of different elements in a molecule.
○ Comparing the distance traveled to the speed traveled for 100 trips in an EV car.
● Draw a picture of a Transverse wave and label the wavelength and amplitude.
● In a transverse wave, the particles move _____ to the direction of the wave. In a longitudinal
wave, the particles move _____ to the direction of the wave.
● If the frequency of a wave is tripled, what will happen to the energy of the wave?
● Which type of visible light has the longest wavelength?
● A sound wave has a wavelength of 0.8 m and a frequency of 3.5 x 10^7 Hz. What is the speed of
the wave?
● A seismic wave has a speed of 95 m/s and a wavelength of 12.5 m. What is the frequency of the
wave?
● An orange photon (light) has a wavelength of 6.1 x 10^-7 m. What is the frequency?
● Draw an atom that has 4 energy levels and include an electron in the ground state.
● Use arrows to show the following:
○ The atom absorbs a high-energy UV photon
○ The atom emits a low-energy red photon
○ The atom emits a blue photon
W
● hy do different atoms have different spectra?
● How does this help us understand the universe?
● This morning I was driving down Harmony Rd at about 45 mph. I had to come to a quick stop
when a light turned yellow. Draw a motion diagram for this scenario.
● Describe a scenario that matches this motion diagram:
● ist the 3 chemical layers of the earth.
L
● What is the chemical composition of the core?
● How does the outer core protect life on Earth?
● What are the layers pointing to?
● Name two differences between oceanic crust and continental crust.
● Compare the movement of P and S waves through solids and liquids.
● If a planet has a small S-wave shadow zone, what does this tell us
about the internal structure of the planet?
● What causes P-wave shadow zones?
● What type of waves are P and S waves?
● Seismograph A is located 200 km from an earthquake. Seismograph
B is located 800 km from the same quake. Compare the SP interval
and amplitude of the waves for these earthquakes.
● A seismograph in Fort Collins detects an earthquake that has an SP interval of 24 seconds. Use
your SP interval graph to determine the distance this earthquake is from FOCO.
● What 2 pieces of information are needed to determine the magnitude of an earthquake?
● Write formulas for the following ionic compounds:
Magnesium sulfide Potassium Fluoride Aluminum oxide
● Write names for the following ionic compounds:
Na3P Ca3N2 RbF
● Determine what’s wrong with each formula and fix it!
Ca2O2 Sr2Br
● Write formulas for the following ionic compounds:
Magnesium sulfate Ammonium hydroxide Calcium Phosphate
● Write names for the following ionic compounds:
Ba(OH)2 Al(NO3)3 CaCO3
● List the 5 types of plate boundaries.
● What kind of plate boundary has a volcanic arc?
● What kind of plate boundary has an island arc?
● Which boundary types have the most earthquakes?
● Draw a simple picture of a divergent boundary.
● What is fracking and what is it used for?
● What are some of the negative impacts of fracking?
● How do fracking companies protect the environment and community?
● What does it mean if a molecule is polar?
● What are some of the properties of water?
● How many valence electrons does an oxygen atom have?
F
● or an atom to be stable, how many valence electrons should it have?
● What kind of bond will form between oxygen and hydrogen?
● Determine if each molecule is polar or nonpolar:
CH2F2 PTe3 SiBr2
● List three properties of polar molecules
● List two properties (different than those above) of nonpolar molecules.
● Draw a picture of several polar molecules sitting on a nonpolar surface
● Why do nonpolar molecules have a lower boiling point than polar molecules?
● A piece of celery is placed in a glass of water with red dye. 24 hours later there are
red streaks up the stalk. Explain.
● Explain what is happening in this picture.
● A scientist is testing 100 g of an unknown liquid. She freezes the liquid and then
experiments to create a heating curve. She collects the following data:
○ Melting point: - 43 ℃
○ Boiling point: 57 ℃
○ Energy to melt 100 g: 200 J
○ Energy to vaporize 100 g: 1000 J
● Draw the heating curve for this substance and label it.
● Calculate the latent heat of vaporization.
● Based on this information, is this substance polar or nonpolar?
● A food chemist invents a new kind of candy. He needs to know how many joules are in a
100-gram sample for labeling purposes. He ignites the sample in a calorimeter. The
calorimeter contains 500 mL of water. The initial water temp is 20 C. After burning the candy,
the water temp is 24 C. How much energy does the sample have?
● Give the name of each compound:
P4S5 CO3 AsCl7 SeI
● Write formulas for the following compounds:
Sulfur Monoxide Disilicon Octafluoride Tetranitrogen pentabromide
● Acids have a pH of ____ than 7, while bases have a pH ___ than 7.
● If a solution is acidic it will contain more ____ than ___.
● Why is rainwater slightly acidic?
● What two compounds create acid rain? Where do they come from?
● What is the cause of ocean acidification?
● Why are lakes at higher elevations more likely to be affected by acid rain?
● Why would a lake on the plains be less affected by acid rain?
● Brainstorm other factors that might influence how a lake is influenced by acid rain.
● Name 2 ways acid rain has been reduced in the US.
● What watershed are we in?
● What is the purpose of the BTWP? Why is it important?
● Granby, a small city on the West Slope is projected to grow significantly over the next 10 years.
How will this impact water use in Colorado? What planning may need to take place and who
might need to be involved?
● Humans have major impacts on the hydrosphere! Describe how the government and other
organizations try to protect the hydrosphere. What new methods might they take to protect the
hydrosphere further?
● Write conversion factors for the following:
___Km = ___m __inches = ___cm __pa = __Gpa
● S olve the following problems using dimensional analysis:
○ The average bull elk weighs 700 lbs. How many kg is this?
○ An elk high-frequency bugle is around 1.9 MHz. How many Hz is this?
● List the layers of the atmosphere from the surface of Earth up.
● Which layers of the atmosphere warm up because they absorb incoming solar EM radiation?
● What happens to the temperature of the troposphere as altitude increases? Why?
● Which layer is the ozone in, and why is it important?
● Which types of radiation make it to the surface of the Earth?
● What process absorbs high-energy gamma and x-rays in the upper atmosphere?
● What happens to greenhouse gasses that get hit by infrared radiation?
● Describe the process that causes the ozone to warm up.
● Albedo is the amount of light _______ from a surface.
● Surfaces with darker colors will have a _____ albedo, while surfaces with lighter colors will have
a ____ albedo.
● Name 3 surfaces that have a high albedo.
● Name 3 surfaces with a low albedo.
● Albedo describes how much light energy is reflects/absorbs. What property of a material tell us
how quickly the temperature changes?
● Give two reasons urban areas are warmer than rural areas.
● Last night, I noticed a lot of ice in my driveway. I scraped away as much as I could. How will this
impact the ice today?
● When the earth gets warmer, evaporation increases, producing more clouds. What effect will
this have on temperatures? What kind of feedback loop is this?
● What drives surface currents?
● What drives deep currents?
● How can ocean currents impact the climate of an area?
● Gyres in the Northern Hemisphere rotate ______ while those in the Southern Hemisphere
rotate _______.
● Describe characteristics of very dense seawater.
● Why do the CO2 levels in the atmosphere change with the seasons?
● What is the trend for CO2 over the past 60 years and why?
● There are many solutions to global warming and climate change. Come up with a creative,
realistic solution that we did not discuss in class. Describe how your solution could make a big
impact on reducing global warming.
hese are all of the warm-ups from the daily slides.
T
Answers
ote: A human makes all of these answers. If there is anything wrong, feel free to fix it and then
N
comment on what you fixed so we can know what you changed.
● This one is tricky for me as I don’t know what category fire fits in but I believe it is the
atmosphere and the hydrosphere as the atmosphere’s change in particulate matter causes
more rain in the hydrosphere
● A ir is matter. Matter is defined as anything that takes up space by having volume. Since air, with
its millions of molecules, takes up space, it is matter. This can be shown when you weigh a
balloon without air and a balloon with air. The one with air is heavier because weight is only
gravity’s effect on the amount of matter in an object. And because the only difference between
the two objects is the air, that means the air accounts for the weight.
○ Claim:Air is matter.Evidence:Air is composed ofgases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and
carbon dioxide, which have mass and occupy space. For example, when air is trapped in
a balloon, the balloon expands and has weight, demonstrating that air takes up space
and has mass. Additionally, air can be measured using a scale, and the gases that make
up air can be separated into individual components, which further supports the idea that
air is made of matter.Reasoning:Matter is definedas anything that has mass and
occupies space. Since air has mass (it can be weighed) and occupies space (it fills up
containers like balloons), it meets both criteria and, therefore, qualifies as matter.
Furthermore, the physical properties of air—such as its ability to exert pressure—also
align with the characteristics of matter. Thus, based on its mass and volume, air is
indeed matter.
● Density = Mass/Volume
● The steps are:
○ Figure out the dimensions of the rectangular solid (length, width, height)
○ Multiply the length, width, and height of the solid to figure out the volume
■ You could also drop the solid into a graduated cylinder and measure the water
displacement to get the volume
○ Using a scale, figure out the weight of the solid
○ Divide the weight by 9.807 which is approximately the Earth’s gravitational constant
○ Divide the mass by the volume to get the density.
● 97-75=22 mL/22 cm3 42 g/22 mL = 1 10/11 g/cm3
● Because the density of the plastic doesn’t change, the smaller pieces of plastic should still sink
in the water.
● Copper(Cu)
● 30 amu–14 protons =16 neutrons
● They have the same amount of protons
● 10 electrons
● Putting a sun shade in the window keeps the car cooler because it prevents any the light
energy; in the form of rays from the electromagnetic spectrum, from entering the car, converting
into thermal energy, and warming the car up
● The answers are:
○ Comparingthe amount of time spent studying for atest and the test scores for 500
students.Scatterplot with trend line
○ Graphing the number of deer seen on a trail cameraeach dayduring one year.
Scatterplot with connected line - over time
○ Showing thepercentageof different elements in amolecule. PIE
○ Comparingthe distance traveled to the speed traveledfor 100 trips in an EV car.
Scatterplot with trend line
●
● P erpendicular, Parallel
● The energy of the wave will also triple because the energy of a wave and its wave frequency
have a positive relationship
● Red light
● 0.8 x 3.5 x 10^7 =2.8 x 107 m/s
● 95/12.5 =7.6 Hz
● 3 x 108/ 6.1 x 10-7=4.918 x 1014
●
● U h
● Because different atoms behave differently with light compared to other atoms due to their
differing compositions of protons, neutrons and electrons. The different arrangements of
electrons make each atom give off or absorb a different amount of energy when its electrons
move between energy levels, causing a difference in spectra.
● It helps us understand the chemical composition of planets, stars, and black holes.
●
● A t the beginning of the race I was off however I accidentally tripped a couple paces after. I got
back up and ran quicker to catch up with the other racers.
● Crust, mantle, core
● 88.8% iron, 5.8% nickel, 4.5% sulfur, <1% trace elements (oxygen, carbon, silicon, +)
● It prevents the life on Earth from meeting the scorching hot mantle found underneath the crust
● A = crust, B = lithosphere, C = asthenosphere, D = mantle, E = outer core, F = inner core
● Oceanic crust is thinner and made of mafic rocks and is denser compared to continental crust’s
thicker, less dense, felsic rocks. Mafic rocks, such as basalt, are those that are high in
dark-colored minerals composed mainly of magnesium and iron. Felsic rocks, such as granite,
are high in light-colored minerals, including feldspar and quartz.
● P-waves can go through solids and liquids while S-waves can only go through solids.
● The planet has a relatively small liquid core
● The refraction of the P-waves from traveling from a solid to a liquid causes it so that a portion of
land never feels the P-waves
● Seismic waves
● T he SP interval at 200 km is 22.22 seconds and at 800 km is 88.89 seconds because P-wave
velocity (Vp) ≈ 8 km/s and S-wave velocity (Vs) ≈ 4.5 km/s.The amplitude at 800 km is 1/4 of
the amplitude at 200 km.
● 246.857142857 km soapproximately 240 km
● The amplitude of the waves and the distance from the magnitude are calculated using the
difference of the P-wave and S-wave arrival times.
● MgS KF Al2O3
● Sodium Phosphide Calcium Nitride Rubidium Flouride
● CaO SrBr2
● MgSO4 NH4OH Ca3(PO4)2
● Barium hydroxide Aluminum Nitrate Calcium Carbonate
● The6types are ocean-ocean divergent (mid-ocean ridges),continental-continental divergent
(continental rifting), ocean-continental convergent (subduction, sometimes obduction),
ocean-ocean convergent (subduction), and continental continental convergent (collision)
● Convergent boundaries
● Convergent ocean-ocean boundaries
● Convergent boundaries
● < ---- ---- >
● Fracking is the process of bringing high-pressure fluid underground to crack the rock structure
and obtain oil
● It can weaken the surrounding rock, use many chemicals that can leach into the surrounding
environment, increase seismic activity and air pollution, and promote the use of oil.
● Fracking creates jobs and provides cheap fuel.
● Its charge is unevenly distributed within the molecule
● Water has good cohesion (“sticky”) abilities because of the hydrogen bonds(??) and it is also a
good solvent due to its polarity.
● 6 valence electrons
● 8 valence electrons
● A hydrogen bond/polar covalent
● Polar Polar Non-polar
● Higher boiling and melting points compared to nonpolar molecules due to stronger
dipole-dipole forces, higher surface tension, and better solubility in water and other polar
solvents.
● Primarily exist as gases or liquids at room temperature, soluble in nonpolar solvents like
chloroform.
●
● N
onpolar molecules only experience London dispersion forces, which are the weakest type of
intermolecular force while polar molecules experience electromagnetic forces. And since less
energy is needed to break weaker bonds, nonpolar molecules tend to have a lower boiling point.
● T he celery has red stripes because the celery naturally absorbs water, so when the water has
red dye, it also absorbs the red dye
● The water vapor in the atmosphere is condensing to form dew on a leaf
●
● 1 0 J/g
● Nonpolar because 57 C is a relatively low boiling point. While the boiling points between polar
and nonpolar compounds are more of a gradient so it could be polar, it is highly unlikely.
● 8,360 J
● Tetraphosphorus pentasilicide Carbon Trioxide Arsenic heptacloride
Selenium monoiodide
● SO Si2F8 N4Br5
● Less, greater
● H+, OH-
● When falling through the sky, it collects salts and minerals in the form of dust particles in the
atmosphere. These salts have more H+ molecules which makes it more acidic.
● The two main compounds are nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxide; they are made from burning
fossil fuels.
● Ocean acidification occurs because the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reacts with
water to make carbonic acid.
● Lakes in higher elevations are more likely to be affected by acid rain because the soil there is
not good at acidic neutralization.
● Lakes in lower elevations are less likely to be affected by acid rain because the soil there is
good at acidic neutralization.
● Size, mainly depth, as it allows the lake to dilute the acidity easily and composition as the acidity
of the lake itself can impact its impact with acid rain.
● Using low-sulfur coal or washing coal and installing scrubbers in power plants
● Cache la Poudre River
● What the heck is a BTWPBTWPstands forBottom WaterTransport Pathway. This term is
primarily used in oceanography, hydrology, and environmental science. ABottom Water
Transport Pathway (BTWP)refers to the movement ofwater (often denser, colder, or saltier
water) along the ocean floor or through bodies of water. It is a critical concept for understanding
how water masses move and how they influence the distribution of nutrients, heat, and other
hysical properties in marine ecosystems. BTWPs are typically associated with deep ocean
p
currents or groundwater flows that occur along the bottom of oceans, lakes, or other water
bodies. Key functions include nutrient transport, heat distribution, ocean circulation, and water
quality.
● It will increase the water use and water conservation measures may need to take place.
● They have promoted cleaner energy sources as the influx in CO2 can cause ocean acidification,
and they might invest in clean energy.
● 1, 1000 1, 2.54 1,000,000,000, 1
● The answers are:
○ 317.5154kg
○ 1,900,000 Hz
● Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere
● The stratosphere as it warms up primarily due to the absorption of ultraviolet (UV) radiation by
the ozone layer and the thermosphere as this layer is the first to receive the Sun's radiation,
leading to intense solar activity.
● As the altitude rises, the temperature of the troposphere drops as the density of the atmosphere
is less because gravity has less of an effect on the air
● The layer of the ozone is in the stratosphere and it’s important because the ozone prevents UV
rays from reaching the surface and causing cancers.
● Visible light, Infrared, and UV, specifically UV-A and UV-B as these are the UV rays that can get
past the ozone layer.
● The photoelectric effect, which is an instantaneous process where light causes a material to
release electrons.
● The greenhouse gasses become “excited” causing them to emit some heat back to the earth
and some towards space.
● Ozone molecules absorb incoming ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun, converting this
energy into heat and thereby warming the surrounding air.
● Reflected
● Lower, higher
● Snow, ice, mirror
● Oceans, asphalt, forests.
● Thermal conductivity
● Urban areas are warmer because the concrete has a lower albedo than the leaves which
reflects sunlight back out of the environment and concrete absorbs heat better than the plants
● The ice you scraped from your driveway last night will likely impact the remaining ice today by
allowing more sunlight to reach the surface, which can promote melting.
● When the Earth gets warmer, increased evaporation leads to more water vapor in the
atmosphere, which can produce more clouds. The effect on temperatures depends on the types
of clouds formed. If low, thick clouds are created, they can reflect sunlight back into space,
resulting in a cooling effect (negative feedback). Conversely, if high-altitude, thin clouds form,
they can trap heat and contribute to further warming (positive feedback).
● Solar radiation
● Differences in temperature
● It can either cool the area by taking warm water away or it can warm the area by bringing it
warm water.
● Clockwise, counterclockwise
H
● igh salinity and low temperature
● The plants perform more photosynthesis during the spring/summer as the days are longer,
absorbing CO2 overall while during the fall/winter, they perform mostly cellular respiration as
they don’t have leaves or the sun isn’t out as long. This imbalance changes the CO2
composition.
● An upward trend due to the burning of fossil fuels.
● A creative and realistic solution to climate change would be recreating the Hunger Games.
There are many ways the Hunger Games would reduce global warming. First, important
resources like food and water are highly controlled and scarce. This scarcity will lead to more
efficiency and less over-consumption. This could potentially reduce carbon emissions, as less
industrial production and waste would result in fewer greenhouse gases. Additionally, a drastic
reduction in population growth could hypothetically reduce human impact on the environment,
including emissions and deforestation, which are major contributors to global warming. Finally,
there would also be minimal technology and more focus on farming or craftsmanship. This kind
of lifestyle would lead to lower energy use and a reduction in high-tech industries that produce a
lot of carbon emissions.