TOPICS COVERED ON THE TEST:

TOPICS # 1 through #5 (primarily Topics #3 - #5) and the corresponding material in CLASS NOTES, i.e., essentially all material covered in class (including Dr H's presentations and any class activities) since the beginning of the semester.

 CLASS ACTIVITIES: The material covered in class:   group and whiteboard activities, especially the ungraded Periodic Table Background Activity (covered  in class on Aug 26 & 31st.)  To practice the periodic table layout again yourself see pp 95 & 96 in Class Notes and obtain the “dot diagrams” and table layout we used in class at this LINK.)

SELF TESTS & READINESS QUIZZES: All the questions (and the feedback for both right and wrong answers) in the Self Tests and Readiness Quizzes for the: Practice Self Test & RQ-A on the Syllabus & Course Policies, Self Test / RQ-1 on Matter & Energy and Self Test RQ-2 on the Electromagnetic Spectrum and Radiation Laws.

NOTE:  Even though RQ-A on the Syllabus & Course Policies is ungraded, all students must complete it.  Students who have not completed Practice RQ A will NOT get their grade for Test #1 posted until they complete RQ-A. 

ASSIGNMENT: I-1 Climate Science Basics Lesson 1 Tutorial on CO₂ and the Greenhouse Effect

TEXTBOOK READING & CLASS NOTES: The reading and notes since the beginning of the semester on these topics:

Topic #1 Course Overview & Science Background (see p 6 in Class Notes for overview) + the WORLD MAP you drew!

Topic #2 Overview of Global Change  (see p 9-11 in Class Notes – We will go into this in depth after Test #1 – so don’t worry about these pages for now – EXCEPT for the brief overview of Powers of Ten and scientific notation that we did in class on Sep 9^th (see p 11 in Class Notes and the Sep 9 Class Follow Up practice )

Topic #3 Matter & Energy Overview, Class Notes pp 13-18, esp.  the concepts emphasized in class and the Periodic Table.

Topic #4 Electromagnetic Radiation & the Electromagnetic Spectrum  Class Notes pp 19-22

Topic # 5 The Radiation Laws Part I & II  (Laws #1- #5 only ) (Law #6 will be addressed on Test #2.)  See Class Follow Up for Sep 9 & 14. The laws are introduced in the textbook reading you did to prepare for Self Test /RQ-2, including SGC E-Text pp 36-44.  See Class Notes pp 23—28.   Note, however, that Law #6,  will not be emphasized on Test #1.

And now, here are . . . THE TOP TEN!

1. SCIENTIFIC NOTATION REVIEW. Know how to use scientific notation to express numbers that are very large and very small.   To gain some familiarity looking at lots of things in nature described with SCIENTIFIC NOTATION see how it is used to describe the features shown in the video we watched in class  (See Sep 9^th Class Follow Up), and also the range of sizes and distances shown on p 11 in Class Notes. Specific Hints:  Can you relate scientific notation to a topic we’ve discussed in class?  Flip to pp 21 and 22 and see how the huge range of wavelengths in the Electromagnetic Spectrum are described using scientific notation.  Can you answer a question involving scientific notation like Q’s 13 and 14 in Self Test 2 and the practice questions posted on the Sep 9^th Class Follow Up?

2. MATTER - Basics. Understand the basic concepts relating to MATTER, ATOMS & MOLECULES including the structure of atoms; also how atoms relate to molecules.  Specific Hints:   Do you know the different parts of an atom (proton, neutron, nucleus, electron, etc.), and different views or models of the atom.  How do molecules differ from atoms?  What’s the difference between matter vs. energy or proton vs. photon?   What are some molecules that are related to Global Change? (This was discussed in class  on Aug 26. Stumped? For ideas, look ahead to the Atmospheric Composition table on the top of p 33 in Class Notes.)

3 .MATTER - Periodic Table of the Elements. Do you understand how the Periodic Table is organized?  Specific Hints: It’s not only based on atomic weight; what organizes the elements in rows and columns? Be able to answer questions about a "dot diagram" like the one on p. 13 in Class Notes and be able to arrange atoms represented as dot diagrams in proper formation in the Periodic Table as we did in class on Aug 26? ( See pp 95 & 96 in Class Notes and the “Periodic-Table-Activity-on-Your-Own”  PDF at this LINK.)

4. ENERGY. Understand the difference between the two main forms of energy:  kinetic energy (KE) & potential energy (PE) (see Class Notes p 16-18).  Know what the LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY states.  Specific Hints:  Can you list some examples of kinetic vs. potential energy?  What kind of energy is Thermal Energy -- kinetic or potential?  How does the Law of Conservation of Energy relate to Energy Efficiency and what does this have to do with Global Change (see p 18 in Class Notes).

5. MATTER & ENERGY INTERACTING – PHASE CHANGES.  Know the different STATES (or phases) of matter (solids, liquids and gases) and understand the differences in these states based on the microscopic motion of the molecules as described in SGC Chapter 2 on Atoms.  Specific Hint:  When and how is energy absorbed or released (emitted) by matter during phase changes in H₂O. (We discussed this in class via whiteboard on Aug 31; see also p 20 in Class Notes.)

6. MATTER & ENERGY INTERACTING – QUANTUM BEHAVIOR. Be familiar with the quantum behavior of electrons within atoms (pp 14-15  and 19-20 in Class Notes) and how molecules also exhibit quantum behavior (vibration, rotation, etc.) Specific Hints: Know, what a PHOTON is and what happens when photons of electromagnetic energy are absorbed or emitted by electrons in atoms (whiteboard activity) or by molecules (see Class Follow Up for Sep 2 & 9). 

7. ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION & SPECTRUM.  Know the meaning of wavelength,  speed, and  frequency and how wavelengths and frequencies vary in the different parts of the spectrum.    Specific Hints: Know how to express the relationship between wavelength (λ), wave speed (c), and frequency (ν) in words ( see bottom of p 21 in Class Notes "The shorter the wavelength the greater the energy & the higher the frequency.")  and in an equation (in the SGC E-Text Chapt 3 pp 37-38 and discussed in class on Sept 9th). Know what generates  UV, Visible, and IR electromagnetic radiation (i.e. what is "the typical source of" of these different wavelengths of energy -- Class Notes p 22 and corresponding reading in  Electromagnetic Spectrum Reading PDF -- linked in the Checklist for the week of Sep 6^th and Self Test/RQ 2. )  Be able to divide a graph of the spectrum into UV, VISIBLE, AND IR wavelength regions (i.e., know the upper and lower  boundaries for the VISIBLE LIGHT wavelength band in micrometers as shown in Fig. 3-3, p 38 in SGC- E-text and on pp 21-22 in Class Notes). Know which colors of the visible light spectrum have longer wavelengths and which have shorter; recall R-O-Y-G-B-V.   You also drew a spectrum on the whiteboards.  Could you refine your sketch to illustrate the exponential change in wavelengths when going from the smaller to larger wavelength portions of the spectrum (e.g., ultraviolet to infrared)? ( Hint: See the spectrum lines on p 26 in Class Notes – covered in class on Monday Sep 14.)

8. RADIATION LAWS #1 - #2   Know what a blackbody is, what the blackbody radiation curve looks like (note: it's also called the Planck function curve (Law #2) and what information is represented by the curve (see SGC E-Text Fig 3-7a , p 42). Be able to tie this in with Radiation Law #1: All substances emit radiation.  Specific Hints:  Know how a blackbody curve of the Sun differs from that of the Earth (i.e., be able to understand what SGC Fig 3-8 on p 42 is showing – as well as the figure on the bottom of Class Notes p 24  comparing Solar vs Terrestrial radiation (covered on Monday Sep 14).

9. RADIATION LAWS # 3 - #5  Be able to state (or recognize) the Stefan-Boltzmann Law #3  in simple words if the formula is given. Recognize that the Law’s formula: E = σT ⁴  indicates that E & T are directly related (not inversely), whereas in Wein’s Law #4, wavelength and temperature are inversely related (as shown in the Law’s formula: λmax = k/T, where k is a constant).   Be able to state the Inverse Square Law #5 in simple words or recognize it in a diagram and know why this law is important for Earth’s temperature. Specific Hints:  Know what the Goldilocks Effect is and whether or not a planet’s temperature is due ONLY to the inverse square law (Hint: see discussion under Magnitude of the Greenhouse Effect in SGC-E-Text pp 43-44; The Goldilocks Effect (i.e., Earth’s temperature being “just right”) is due to MORE factors than the inverse square law alone -- what else determines the Earth's temperature?  Do you understand the difference between Laws #3 and #4  in terms of what they say about how the Sun and Earth radiate energy?  (ANSWER: Stefan-Boltzmann tells us that the Sun, being hotter, radiates much, much more energy than the Earth does, while Wien’s law tells us that the Sun, being hotter, radiates a maximum of energy at short (UV & visible) wavelengths and the Earth, being cooler, radiates all of its energy at long (IR) wavelengths.)

10. DEFINITION OF A GREENHOUSE GAS:  Be able to recognize  a correctly worded definition of a Greenhouse Gas or a proper description of what a Greenhouse Gas does.  Specific Hint:    At least one of the questions on the test will be related to something that was covered in Lesson 1 of the Climate Basics Tutorial on "CO₂ and the Greenhouse Effect."

Sounds like a lot, but if you’ve been keeping up with your readings, Self Tests, RQ’s, listening attentively in class, and taking an active role in the whiteboard activities, you should have a good grasp of the material. Now you simply need to review it and reinforce it in your mind and you will be ready!

WHAT WILL NOT BE COVERED ON TEST #1: Detailed questions on SGC-E-text Chapter 1 on Global Change will NOT be asked..  Radiation Law #6  (and the G-1 Absorption Curve group activity on Monday Sep 14) will be continued after Test #1, therefore questions about Lawe #6 will be on Test #2.)

     NOTE:  A question on the WORLD MAP might be asked during the GROUP TEST, but not the individual test.