♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL REGENTS EXAM INFO, THEN JUMP ONTO YOUR COMPUTER AND LOG ONTO REGENTS REVIEW NY.NET.

IT'S THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR THE SERIES AND IT'S LOADED WITH TEST PREP RESOURCES GUARANTEED TO CURE THOSE REGENTS EXAM BLUES.

VIDEO CLIPS, TEST-TAKING TIPS, EXAM SCHEDULES, AND A HOST OF LINKS TO OTHER REGENTS RESOURCES - IT'S ALL HERE.

AND DON'T FORGET, ALL THE PROGRAMS IN THE SERIES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING ON THE SITE ONCE THE TELEVISION BROADCAST SCHEDULES ARE COMPLETE.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

INCREASE YOUR CHANCES FOR A BETTER SCORE ON TEST DAY: REGENTS REVIEW 2.0, THE NEXT GENERATION OF REGENTS EXAM PREP.

REGENTS REVIEW 2.0 IS MADE POSSIBLE BY: NEW YORK STATE TEACHER CENTERS, PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS BY TEACHERS.

NEW YORK STATE TEACHER CENTERS: A SOURCE FOR TEACHERS AND A PROMISE TO STUDENTS.

AND BY CONTRIBUTORS TO YOUR PBS STATION BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> KIM HYLAND: WELCOME TO THE REGENTS REVIEW EARTH SCIENCE.

I'M KIM HYLAND, AN EARTH SCIENCE CONTENT SPECIALIST.

>> ANDREW CALDERWOOD: HI, I'M ANDREW CALDERWOOD, AN EARTH SCIENCE TEACHER AT LIVERPOOL HIGH SCHOOL.

>> KIM HYLAND: WE ARE HERE TO REVIEW AND GO OVER THE EARTH SCIENCE REGENTS EXAM MATERIAL, SO LET'S BEGIN.

THE WRITTEN PORTION OF THE EARTH SCIENCE REGENTS EXAM CONSISTS OF 4 PARTS: PART A IS MADE UP OF 35 CONTENT-BASED MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS THAT WILL ASSESS YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIAL AND USE OF THE ESRT.

PART B1 - CONSISTS OF 15 MULTIPLE CHOICE GROUP QUESTIONS BASED ON A STIMULUS SUCH AS A DIAGRAM, MAP, OR READING PASSAGE.

PART B2 CONSISTS OF 15 CONSTRUCTIVE RESPONSE QUESTIONS THAT TEST YOUR ABILITY TO APPLY, ANALYZE AND EVALUATE MATERIAL.

PART C IS 20 CONSTRUCTIVE RESPONSES.

IT INCLUDES CONTENT-BASED AND APPLICATION QUESTIONS THAT ASSESS STUDENTS' ABILITY TO DESCRIBE OR EXPLAIN.

?IN ADDITION IN ADDITION TO THE WRITTEN TEST, THERE IS A PERFORMANCE TEST, PART D. THE PERFORMANCE TEST CONSISTS OF HANDS-ON TASKS.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE PART D. THE PART D IS USUALLY GIVEN ABOUT TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE WRITTEN EXAM DURING YOUR CLASS TIME.

IT CONSISTS OF 3 STATIONS WHERE YOU WILL HAVE 9 MINUTES TO PERFORM THE GIVEN TASK AT THAT STATION.

IT IS WORTH A TOTAL OF 16 POINTS.

CAREFULLY READ THE DIRECTIONS GIVEN AT EACH OF THE STATIONS TO COMPLETE THE TASK.

?ADDITIONALLY, TO COMPLETE THE TASKS AT EACH STATION, DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE REFERENCE TABLE WILL BE AVAILABLE TO YOU TO HELP YOU ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.

YOU WILL BE GIVEN A NEW 2011 EDITION OF THE EARTH SCIENCE REFERENCE TABLE TO USE ON THE EXAM.

YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO USE THE ESRT THAT YOU USED ALL YEAR AND HAVE PROBABLY MARKED UP WITH HELPFUL NOTES.

IT CONTAINS A LOT OF USEFUL INFORMATION THAT YOU CAN USE TO ANSWER MANY OF THE QUESTIONS.

YOU WILL NEED TO BECOME THOROUGHLY FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE DETAILS OF THE TABLES AND HOW TO USE THEM.

THE REGENTS' QUESTIONS WILL EXPECT YOU TO KNOW WHERE TO LOOK FOR THE ANSWERS.

NOW LET'S LOOK AT SOME MAJOR UNITS IN THE EARTH SCIENCE CURRICULUM.

LET'S REVIEW THE NECESSARY TOOLS TO IDENTIFY MINERALS, USING THESE MATERIALS THAT YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE FAMILIAR WITH.

A GLASS PLATE.

USING THE GLASS PLATE YOU WILL NEED TO DETERMINE THE HARDNESS OF THE MINERAL.

TAKE THE MINERAL ACROSS THE GLASS PLATE, PUT SOME MUSCLE INTO IT: IF THE MINERAL SCRATCHES THE GLASS IT IS HARDER THAN GLASS, IF THE MINERAL DOES NOT SCRATCH IT THEN IT IS NOT AS HARD AS GLASS.

NEXT, DETERMINE THE STREAK, THE POWDERED FORM OF THE MINERAL, BY USING THE PORCELAIN PLATE.

RUB THE MINERAL ACROSS IT TO DETERMINE IF THE MINERAL LEFT A COLORED OR NOT COLORED POWDER.

NOW LOOK AT THE SAMPLE FOR LUSTER, THE WAY IT REFLECTS LIGHT.

THIS METHOD HELPS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE SAMPLE IS METALLIC, LOOKS LIKE METAL, OR NONMETALLIC.

REMEMBER SHINY DOES NOT MAKE IT METALLIC.

LASTLY, DETERMINE IF THE SAMPLE HAS CLEAVAGE OR FRACTURE.

CLEAVAGE LOOKS LIKE STAIRS, BECAUSE THE SAMPLE WILL BREAK ALONG PLANES OF WEAKNESS.

USING THE PROPERTIES YOU OBSERVE AND THE GIVEN CHART, YOU CAN DETERMINE THE IDENTITY OF THE MINERAL.

NOW LET'S REVIEW THE INFORMATION THAT THE REFERENCE TABLE PROVIDES ABOUT MINERALS.

>> ANDREW CALDERWOOD: PAGE 16 OF THE REFERENCE TABLES IS USED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT ARE ABOUT MINERALS AND MINERAL IDENTIFICATION.

OFTENTIMES, STUDENTS FAIL TO USE THE ELEMENTS LIST AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE, SEEN HERE.

SO DON'T FORGET ABOUT THIS SECTION AND HOW IT TIES INTO THE MINERAL COMPOSITION COLUMN, SEEN HERE ON THE CHART.

THE CHART ON THIS SLIDE IS ON PAGE 6 OF YOUR REFERENCE TABLES.

IT SHOWS HOW ROCKS CONTINUALLY CHANGE FROM ONE TYPE TO ANOTHER IN A SERIES OF STEPS CALLED THE ROCK CYCLE.

TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESSES BY WHICH THESE ROCKS FORM, FOLLOW THE ARROWS GOING INTO THE SEDIMENTARY, METAMORPHIC, AND IGNEOUS ROCK BOXES.

FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE ARROWS LEADING INTO SEDIMENTARY ROCK, YOU WILL SEE THAT WEATHERING AND EROSION LEAD TO SEDIMENTS THAT MUST THEN BE DEPOSITED, BURIED, COMPACTED, AND CEMENTED IN ORDER TO FORM A SEDIMENTARY ROCK.

IN ANOTHER EXAMPLE, TO FORM IGNEOUS ROCK, ONLY TWO PROCESSES ARE NEEDED: MELTING, WHICH FORMS MAGMA, AND THEN THE MAGMA NEEDS TO SOLIDIFY TO FORM A ROCK.

NOW LET'S LOOK AT THE CHARACTERISTICS OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

IGNEOUS ROCKS FORM FROM MAGMA AND LAVA COOLING AT DIFFERENT RATES.

AS A RESULT, IGNEOUS ROCKS HAVE A RANGE OF OBSERVABLE TEXTURES SUCH AS GLASSY OR NON-CRYSTALLINE, AS SEEN IN THIS OBSIDIAN SAMPLE THAT COOLED VERY QUICKLY, COARSE, SHOWING A LOT OF INDIVIDUAL CRYSTALS WITH NO APPARENT PATTERN, AS SEEN IN THIS SAMPLE OF GRANITE THAT COOLED VERY SLOWLY, AND VESICULAR, SHOWING GAS POCKETS, AS IN THIS SAMPLE OF SCORIA THAT ALSO COOLED VERY RAPIDLY AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE.

MOST SEDIMENTARY ROCKS START OUT AS SEDIMENTS THAT ARE DEPOSITED, BURIED, COMPACTED, AND CEMENTED AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE SO THEY EXHIBIT WEATHERED FRAGMENTS OF ROCKS, AS SHOWN IN THIS SAMPLE OF A CONGLOMERATE.

WHEN THE SEDIMENTS ARE SMALLER AND MORE UNIFORM IN SIZE, THEY CAN ALSO FORM HORIZONTAL LAYERS AS SEEN IN THIS SAMPLE OF SANDSTONE.

AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS ALL HAPPENS AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE WHERE LIVING ORGANISMS EXIST.

THIS THEN RESULTS IN THE PRESERVATION OF FOSSILS, SEEN IN THIS SAMPLE.

FINALLY, METAMORPHIC ROCKS FORM BY HEAT AND OR PRESSURE AND WILL SHOW FOLIATION SUCH AS BANDING OF MINERALS AS SEEN IN THIS SAMPLE.

OFTEN, THE INTENSE HEAT AND PRESSURE DEFORM THE MINERAL LAYERS AS SEEN IN THIS SAMPLE OF GNEISS.

>> KIM HYLAND: ANOTHER IMPORTANT SKILL IN EARTH SCIENCE IS HOW TO DETERMINE THE LOCATION OF AN EPICENTER OF AN EARTHQUAKE USING SEISMIC DATA.

YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW HOW TO USE THE P AND S WAVE TRAVEL TIME GRAPH ON YOUR ESRT PAGE 11 ALONG WITH THE SEISMIC DATA PROVIDED TO YOU, TO DETERMINE THE DISTANCE FROM THE EPICENTER.

USING THAT DATA, A DRAWING COMPASS WILL BE NEEDED TO DRAW THE DISTANCE FROM AN EPICENTER.

THE PLACE ON THE MAP WHERE THE THREE CIRCLES INTERSECT IS THE EARTHQUAKE'S EPICENTER.

SOME TIPS TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU ARE DRAWING CIRCLES TO FIND THE EPICENTER ON A MAP ARE: WHEN PROVIDED THE DISTANCE FROM THE EPICENTER, SET THE COMPASS DISTANCE USING THE MAP SCALE, AND USE THE STATION AS THE CENTER TO DRAW THE CIRCLE.

WHEN GIVEN THE ARRIVAL TIMES OF P-WAVES AND S-WAVES, CALCULATE THE DIFFERENCE, AND THEN USE THE ESRT CHART TO DETERMINE THE DISTANCE TO THE EPICENTER FOR EACH LOCATION.

THEN DRAW THE CIRCLE USING THE MAP SCALE.

REMEMBER, YOU NEED 3 LOCATIONS TO FIND THE EPICENTER, BUT ONLY 1 LOCATION TO FIND THE DISTANCE.

ONCE YOU HAVE THREE CIRCLES, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PINPOINT AN EXACT, OR ALMOST EXACT, INTERSECTION POINT.

IF YOU CAN, DOUBLE-CHECK YOUR WORK AND REVISE ACCORDINGLY.

THE LAST IMPORTANT TASK RELATED TO THE PART D IS TO DRAW AND ANALYZE AN ELLIPSE.

YOU PROBABLY REMEMBER USING TACKS OR PUSH PINS AND STRING TO DRAW AN ELLIPSE.

YOU ALSO USED THE METRIC SIDE OF THE RULER TO MEASURE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN FOCI AND LENGTH OF THE MAJOR AXIS TO CALCULATE ECCENTRICITY USING THE FORMULA ON YOUR REFERENCE TABLE.

SOME TIPS TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU DRAW AN ELLIPSE: 1.

FOLLOW DIRECTIONS FOR ROUNDING.

YOU WILL LOSE POINTS IF YOU DON'T ROUND CORRECTLY.

2.

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE FOCI IS DETERMINED BY MEASURING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO PUSH PINS.

3.

THE LENGTH OF THE MAJOR AXIS IS MEASURING THE LONG-DISTANCE ACROSS THE ELLIPSE THROUGH THE TWO PUSH PINS?

4.

TO CALCULATE ECCENTRICITY YOU TAKE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN FOCI AND DIVIDE IT BY THE LENGTH OF THE MAJOR AXIS.

YOUR ANSWER SHOULD BE BETWEEN 0 AND 1.

LASTLY... ECCENTRICITY DOES NOT HAVE UNITS.

SO DON'T PUT ANY ON THERE.

ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING UNITS IS METEOROLOGY WHICH IS ABOUT WEATHER.

QUESTIONS ABOUT WEATHER ON THE REGENTS YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO INTERPRET A WEATHER MAP, BUT ALSO KNOW YOUR WEATHER INSTRUMENTS.

SOME OF THE MORE CHALLENGING INSTRUMENTS THAT MIGHT ENCOUNTER ON REGENTS QUESTIONS ARE: ANEMOMETER, FOR WIND SPEED.

SLING PSYCHROMETER MEASURES RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND DEW POINT.

AND FINALLY A BAROMETER MEASURES AIR PRESSURE.

PAGE 12 AND 13 ON YOUR ESRT HAS A LOT OF INFORMATION TO HELP YOU WITH THE WEATHER THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A PART A OR B1 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION:?WHICH LOCATION WOULD QUESTION: EXPERIENCING A MARITIME TROPICAL (MT) AIR MASS?

THE DIAGRAM SHOWS A MID-LATITUDE CYCLONE, WHICH IS A LOW-PRESSURE STORM SYSTEM THAT WE OFTEN SEE IN THE UNITED STATES.

?

THE ISOBARS TELL THE PRESSURE AND SHOW HOW IT IS LOW PRESSURE WITH THE LOWEST NUMBER IN THE CENTER.

THERE ARE TWO FRONTS, A WARM AND A COLD FRONT.

STATION MODELS HELP DESCRIBE THE WEATHER AT 4 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS A, B, C, AND D. AN AIR MASS IS A BODY OF AIR WITH SIMILAR TEMPERATURE AND MOISTURE THROUGHOUT.

A MARITIME TROPICAL AIR MASS MEANS THE AIR IS WARM (TROPICAL) AND MOIST (MARITIME).

FRONTS ARE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN DIFFERENT AIR MASSES.

YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT ONE, TOO.

BY USING THE FRONTS AND THE STATION MODELS TO HELP THE LOCATION OF THE MARITIME TROPICAL AIR MASS.

THE AIR BEHIND A WARM FRONT BASED ON THE STATION MODEL IS WARMER THAN THE OTHER LOCATIONS.

THE AIR BEHIND THE COLD FRONT BEHIND IS THE KEY WORD HERE.

(STATION B) AND AHEAD OF THE WARM FRONT IS COLDER (STATION D).

THEN BY USING THE STATION MODEL CIRCLES, C AND D HAVE CLEAR SKIES AND COLDER TEMPERATURES.

THAT LEAVES STATION A WITH WARM TEMPERATURES AND PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES TO BE THE LOCATION FOR A, CHOICE 1.

WHICH HAPPENS TO BE THE CORRECT ANSWER.

THIS MAP CAN BE USED TO TEST MANY DIFFERENT WEATHER CONCEPTS.

USING THE SAME DIAGRAM, YOU ARE BEING ASKED ABOUT THE GENERAL TRACK OF WEATHER ACROSS THE US.

THE DIRECTION THAT THIS LOW PRESSURE IS MOVING ACROSS THE UNITED STATES IS TOWARDS THE •CAN NOW THIS IS A CONCEPT THAT YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW BECAUSE IT'S AN EIGHTH GRADE CONCEPT FROM SCIENCE, BUT WE'LL REVIEW THE TWO DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU CAN DETERMINE THIS.

NUMBER 1: THE UNITED STATES IS INFLUENCED BY THE PREVAILING WESTERLIES WIND BELT OR SOUTHWEST WIND BELT.

THIS INFORMATION, IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT, IS FOUND ON THE PLANETARY WINDS MAP IN YOUR ESRT.

THEREFORE, ALL OUR WEATHER COMES FROM THE WEST AND MOVES TOWARDS THE EAST.

2.

THE FRONTS SYMBOLS ALSO POINT IN THE DIRECTION THE WEATHER IS MOVING.

THIS LOW AND ALL OTHER WEATHER PRESSURE SYSTEMS WILL MOVE TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST.

SO YOUR ANSWER IS A.

NORTHEAST.

>> ANDREW CALDERWOOD: ON A WEATHER MAP, A STATION MODEL IS USED TO GIVE SPECIFIC WEATHER INFORMATION ABOUT A PARTICULAR TIME AND PLACE.

AN EXAMPLE OF A STATION MODEL IS ON PAGE 13 OF YOUR REFERENCE TABLES.

THIS SHOULD BE USED WHEN CONSTRUCTING AND INTERPRETING A STATION MODEL.

LET'S LOOK AT HOW TO INTERPRET A STATION MODEL USING PAGE 13.

THIS QUESTION IS ASKING FOR STUDENTS TO FILL IN THE CORRECT INFORMATION FOR EACH WEATHER VARIABLE BASED ON STATION MODEL B.

STATION B SHOWS A TEMPERATURE OF 34 F IN THE UPPER LEFT PORTION OF THE MODEL.

THE DEW POINT IS LOCATED BELOW THE AIR TEMPERATURE AND IS ALSO IN DEGREES F, THEREFORE, THE DEW POINT FOR MODEL B IS 24° F. THE WIND DIRECTION IS SHOWN WITH THE LINE, SHAFT, COMING OFF THE MODEL CIRCLE.

THE LINE POINTS IN THE DIRECTION THE WIND IS COMING FROM, WHICH IS HOW WINDS ARE NAMED.

STATION B SHOWS THE WINDS ARE COMING FROM THE NORTHEAST.

THE WIND SPEED IS INDICATED BY THE FEATHERS ATTACHED TO THE WIND LINE.

A LONG FEATHER EQUALS 10 KNOTS AND A HALF FEATHER INDICATES 5 KNOTS.

THIS EXAMPLE SHOWS ONE LONG FEATHER AND ONE HALF FEATHER SO THE WIND SPEED IS 15 KNOTS.

THE AMOUNT OF CLOUD COVER IS DETERMINED BY THE AMOUNT OF THE CIRCLE FILLED IN.

STATION B SHOWS HALF IS FILLED IN SO THIS LOCATION HAS A 50% CLOUD COVERAGE OR IS PARTLY CLOUDY.

THE BAROMETRIC PRESSURE, SHOWN IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER IS CODED AS 138.

TO GO FROM CODED AIR PRESSURE TO ACTUAL AIR PRESSURE YOU MUST LOOK AT THE LEFT-MOST DIGIT OF THE CODED PRESSURE.

IF IT IS 0 THROUGH 4, PUT A 10 IN FRONT OF THE THREE-DIGIT NUMBER.

IF IT IS A 6 THROUGH 9, PUT A 9 IN THE FRONT OF THE NUMBER.

THEN PUT IN THE DECIMAL BETWEEN THE LAST TWO NUMBERS, AND UNITS OF MB OR MILLIBARS.

THE EXAMPLE SHOWS A CODED PRESSURE OF 138 THEREFORE A 10 IS NEEDED IN FRONT OF THE 1 AND A DECIMAL IS PLACED BETWEEN THE LAST TWO DIGITS TO GET 1013.8 MB.

TO CONVERT FROM ACTUAL AIR PRESSURE TO CODED AIR PRESSURE ON THE STATION MODEL THE OPPOSITE ACTIONS ARE NEEDED.

THE 10 OR 9 WOULD BE DROPPED AND THE DECIMAL WOULD BE DROPPED TO GET A THREE-DIGIT NUMBER AND PLACED IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER OF THE STATION MODEL.

A WEATHER MAP AND STATION MODEL CAN ALSO ILLUSTRATE THE MOTION OF THE SURFACE WINDS AROUND LOW PRESSURE.

THIS QUESTION ASKS THE STUDENT TO: DESCRIBE THE TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GENERAL SURFACE WIND CIRCULATION PATTERN ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEM.

USING THE STATION MODELS, THE WINDS ARE SHOWN WHERE THEY ARE COMING FROM WITH THE LINE OFF THE CIRCLE.

FOR EXAMPLE, LOOK AT STATION C. THE WINDS ARE COMING FROM THE NORTHWEST, WHICH MEANS THE WINDS ARE GOING TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST.

OBSERVING THE WIND DIRECTIONS AT STATIONS B, A, AND D, WE SEE THAT THE SURFACE WINDS ARE MOVING COUNTERCLOCKWISE AROUND THE LOW AND TOWARDS THE CENTER.

REMEMBER ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT WITH WEATHER FRONTS IS WHY PRECIPITATION OCCURS.

IN EACH CASE, WARM AIR RISES, EXPANDS, COOLS TO THE DEW POINT, AND CONDENSES FORMING CLOUDS.

THESE STEPS CAN BE REMEMBERED WITH A SIMPLE MEMORY DEVICE OF REMEMBERING THE LETTER SPELL OUT RECC: RISING, EXPANDS, COOLS, AND CONDENSES.

TO FORM CLOUDS.

ANOTHER AREA FOR WEATHER ADDRESSED IN YOUR REFERENCE TABLE IS SEEN ON PAGE 14: THE PLANETARY WINDS AND MOISTURE BELTS CHART.

THIS DRAWING SUMMARIZES THE MOVEMENT OF WINDS.

THE CIRCULATION CELLS ARE CAUSED BY ALTERNATIVE BANDS OF HIGH AND LOW PRESSURE.

IN THE POLAR REGIONS, THE COLD, DENSER AIR SINKS AND FLOWS TO LOWER LATITUDE REGIONS.

THIS PROCESS PRODUCES LARGE CONVECTION CURRENTS WITHIN THE TROPOSPHERE.

THIS, ALONG WITH EARTH'S ROTATION, SETS UP LARGE WORLDWIDE WIND BELTS.

THE MOISTURE BELTS OF OUR PLANET CAN ALSO BE EXPLAINED BY THE UNEQUAL HEATING OF OUR PLANET.

THE PLANETARY WIND DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATES THAT THE WINDS DO NOT JUST TRAVEL IN A STRAIGHT LINE, BUT ARE CURVING.

AS EARTH ROTATES IT CAUSES THE WINDS TO BE DEFLECTED.

THIS QUESTION STATES: THE DEFECTION OF THE PLANETARY WINDS, ALSO KNOWN AS THE CORIOLIS EFFECT, IS THE DIRECT RESULT OF WHICH OF THE FOUR FACTORS SHOWN.

IMAGINE STANDING AT THE NORTH POLE LOOKING DOWN TOWARD THE SOUTH - WINDS FROM 90 N TO 60 N MOVE FROM HIGHER PRESSURE AT THE POLE TOWARD LOWER PRESSURE AT 60 N AND CURVE TO THE RIGHT.

THIS ALSO OCCURS AT 30 N TO THE EQUATOR.

THEREFORE, IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, THE WINDS CURVE TO THE RIGHT AS THE WIND MOVES FROM HIGHER PRESSURE TO LOWER PRESSURE.

THE SAME PROCESS WORKS IN REVERSE IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE AS THE WINDS CURVE TO THE LEFT.

THIS CURVING IS CALLED THE CORIOLIS EFFECT.

AND IS DUE TO EARTH'S ROTATION.

KEEP IN MIND THAT THE CURVING IS DETERMINED BY WHERE THE WIND IS COMING FROM.

LOOK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ARROW TO DETERMINE THE DIRECTION BASED ON WHETHER IN THE NORTHERN OR SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE.

>> KIM HYLAND: THE ARROWS YOU SEE ARE SHOWING CIRCULATION IN THE LOWER PART OF EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE, THE TROPOSPHERE.

REMEMBER, THIS IS WHERE ALL WEATHER OCCURS.

THE PATHS THESE ARROWS TAKE OCCUR IN BANDS BETWEEN LATITUDES AND SHOW WHERE AIR IS RISING FROM THE SURFACE OR FALLING TOWARDS THE SURFACE.

THE CIRCULATION CELLS ARE CAUSED BY ALTERNATIVE BANDS OF HIGH AND LOW PRESSURE AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE.

HIGH-PRESSURE AREAS ARE LOCATED AT THE NORTH POLE AND SOUTH POLE AND 30 NORTH AND 30 S. NOTICE AT THE HIGH PRESSURES THE WINDS GO AWAY FROM EACH OTHER OR DIVERGE.

LOW PRESSURE AREAS ARE LOCATED AT 60 NORTH AND 60 SOUTH AND THE EQUATOR.

NOTICE THE WINDS AT THESE LATITUDES COME TOGETHER OR CONVERGE AT THE SURFACE.

LET'S LOOK AT A TYPICAL QUESTION: THE PLANETARY SURFACE WINDS AND AIR CURRENTS NEAR EARTH'S EQUATOR ARE USUALLY • LOOKING AT THE EQUATOR, WE NOTICE THAT THE WINDS ARE CONVERGING.

THAT ELIMINATES CHOICES A AND C. THAT ELIMINATES CHOICES B AND D. THE ANSWER IS CONVERNLGING AND RISING WHICH IS CHOICE C. THE SAME DIAGRAM, CAN ALSO BE USED ON A B2 OR C QUESTION: IDENTIFY THE PLANETARY WIND BELT WHERE MOST STORMS MOVE TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST.

?THE KEYWORD IN THE KEYWORD IN THIS QUESTION IS THE TERM TOWARDS.

REMEMBER WINDS ARE NAMED FOR THE DIRECTION THEY ARE COMING FROM, SO THE DIAGRAM GIVES THE NAME OF THE WINDS BASED ON WHERE THEY COME FROM.

IN THIS QUESTION, YOU NEED TO FIND THE WIND THAT GOES TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE WIND BELT BETWEEN LATITUDE 30 N AND 60 N, WHICH IS THE SOUTHWEST WIND BELT, YOU WILL SEE THEY GO TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AND ARE THE ONLY WIND BELT ON THE CHART THAT DOES.

THEREFORE YOUR ANSWER WILL BE THE SOUTHWEST.

THE IMAGINARY CONTINENT IS COMMONLY USED TO TEST QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MANY FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CLIMATE.

IT IS SET UP TO BE SIMILAR TO THE PLANETARY WINDS MAP AND CAN BE USED TO HELP WITH CLIMATE QUESTIONS SUCH AS THE ONE WE HAVE HERE.

IDENTIFY A LATITUDE FROM THE MAP WHERE A HIGH AIR PRESSURE, DRY CLIMATE BELT IS LOCATED.

USING YOUR PLANETARY WINDS CHART FROM REFERENCE TABLE 14, A DRY CLIMATE IS LABELED ON LATITUDE 90 NORTH, 90 SOUTH, 30 NORTH, AND 30 SOUTH.

?SINCE THE QUESTION SPECIFICALLY SAYS SHOWN ON THE MAP, YOU NEED TO NOTICE THAT THE 90 DEGREE LATITUDES ARE NOT ON THE MAP OF AN IMAGINARY CONTINENT, AND THAT LATITUDE CAN NOT BE USED.

THEREFORE THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE WOULD BE 30 N OR 30 S. TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS ARE ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC THAT IS TESTED ON THE REGENTS VIRTUALLY EVERY YEAR.

THESE MAPS USE CONTOUR LINES TO SHOW ELEVATION.

THE MAP WILL EITHER BE FOUND AS A MULTIPLE-CHOICE, PART B1 SET, OR AS A CONSTRUCTIVE RESPONSE SET WITH MULTIPLE QUESTIONS.

LET'S REVIEW SOME OF THE CONCEPTS THAT ARE TYPICALLY TESTED USING TOPO MAPS.

>> ANDREW CALDERWOOD: THIS IS A CONTOUR MAP OF ROCK MOUNTAIN.

POINTS A, B, C, D, AND X ARE LOCATIONS ON THE MAP.

THIS QUESTION ASKS THE STUDENT TO STATE A POSSIBLE ELEVATION SOMETIMES ON THESE MAPS, THE CONTOUR INTERVAL WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU, IN THIS CASE, IT IS NOT, SO LET'S LOOK AT THE INDEX CONTOURS LABELED 1000 FT AND 1500 FT.

THE CONTOUR INTERVAL CAN BE DETERMINED TO BE 100 FEET.

THEREFORE THE CONTOUR LINE NEAR X IS 1600 FEET.

THAT MEANS THAT X MUST BE GREATER THAN 1600 FT BUT LESS THAN 1700 FT, WHICH WOULD BE THE VALUE OF THE NEXT LINE IF THERE WAS ONE THERE.

THUS X COULD BE ANY VALUE GREATER THAN 1600 FT AND LESS THAN 1700 FT. AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE 1625 FT.

USING THE SAME MAP A GRADIENT PROBLEM CAN BE ASKED.

GRADIENT, ON A TOPOGRAPHIC MAP, IS THE SLOPE OR STEEPNESS OF AN AREA OF LAND.

GRADIENT CAN BE DETERMINED IN TWO WAYS - THE FIRST WAY IS SHOWN HERE.

FOR THIS QUESTION: WHAT IS THE AVERAGE GRADIENT OF THE SLOPE ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE CD?

YOU WILL BE USING THE EQUATION FROM PAGE 1 OF YOUR REFERENCE TABLE - CHANGE IN FIELD VALUE/DISTANCE.

BASED ON THE MAP, THE CHANGE IN FIELD VALUE IS THE ELEVATION OF C, 1500 FT. AND THE ELEVATION OF D, 1000 FT.

THE DISTANCE IS MEASURED USING THE SCALE AT THE BOTTOM.

ON A PIECE OF PAPER MARK OFF C AND THEN D - PLACE IT ALONG THE SCALE FOR THE DISTANCE.

MAKE SURE YOU MARK THEM CORRECTLY BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO REVERSE THE C AND D LOCATIONS.

THE DISTANCE IS DETERMINED TO BE 2 MILES.

NOW PLUG THE NUMBERS INTO THE EQUATION CHANGE IN VALUE EQUALS 1500 FT MINUS 1000 FT DIVIDED BY 2 MILES.

THIS WILL RESULT IN 500 FT DIVIDED BY 2 MI IS 250 FT PER MI OR ANSWER B.

THIS SLIDE ASKS THE QUESTION - WHICH SIDE OF ROCK MOUNTAIN HAS THE STEEPEST SLOPE?

THE SECOND WAY TO FIND THE RELATIVE GRADIENT OF A LOCATION IS BY LOOKING AT THE SPACING OF THE ISOLINES.

THE CLOSER THE ISOLINES, THE GREATER (OR STEEPER) THE GRADIENT.

ON THE MAP, WHERE THE CONTOUR LINES ARE CLOSE TOGETHER, IT CAN BE SEEN THAT THIS AREA IS A STEEP PART OF ROCK MOUNTAIN.

AND, BY USING THE NORTH COMPASS ARROW IN THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER THE STEEPEST SLOPE WOULD BE IN THE NORTHERN PART OF ROCK MOUNTAIN.

ANOTHER QUESTION COMMONLY ASKED ABOUT A CONTOUR MAP IS DETERMINING THE DIRECTION OF THIS SLIDE ASKS THE STUDENT TO: IDENTIFY THE COMPASS DIRECTION OF FISH CREEK.

WHEN THE CONTOUR LINES CROSS A STREAM, THEY BEND INTO THE SHAPE OF AN ARROW OR V. THAT ARROW OR V POINTS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF FLOW.

USING THE COMPASS ARROW AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MAP, THE STREAM IS SHOWN FLOWING EAST.

ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT STREAMFLOW, USUALLY SHOWN AS A SHORT ANSWER QUESTION IS: DESCRIBE THE EVIDENCE SHOWN BY THE CONTOUR LINES THAT INDICATE THE DIRECTION OF FLOW.

A CORRECT RESPONSE, SEEN HERE, NEEDS TO DESCRIBE THAT THE CONTOURS LINES BEND IN A V OR ARROW THAT POINTS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF STREAMFLOW, OR THE CONTOUR LINES BEND POINTING UPSTREAM.

A FINAL QUESTION REGARDING CONTOUR MAPS DEALS WITH THE SKILL OF CREATING A PROFILE.

?TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILES TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILES ARE CROSS-SECTIONAL VIEWS SHOWING ELEVATION CHANGES ALONG A TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILES ARE CROSS-SECTIONAL VIEWS SHOWING ELEVATION CHANGES ALONG A LINE.

TO COMPLETE A CONTOUR PROFILE, PLACE A STRAIGHTEDGE OF A PIECE OF SCRAP PAPER ALONG A SOLID LINE, AB.

MARK EVERY CONTOUR LINE THAT INTERSECTS THAT SCRAP PAPER AND ITS ELEVATION.

NOW PLACE THE SCRAP PAPER ALONG A GIVEN GRID AND PLOT THE ELEVATION FOR EACH LINE.

BE SURE TO CONNECT THE PLOTS WITH A SMOOTH LINE.

REMEMBER, FOR A MOUNTAIN OR HILL THE LINE SHOULD BUMP UP AND NOT TOUCH THE NEXT ELEVATION LINE.

SIMILARLY, A VALLEY SHOULD BE DIPPED DOWN BUT NOT TOUCH THE NEXT LOWEST ELEVATION LINE.

NOTICE THAT ON THE FIRST DIAGRAM TO THE LEFT A DEPRESSION CONTOUR LINE IS SHOWN WITH HACHURE MARKS INDICATING THE ELEVATION IS DECREASING.

REMEMBER, THE ELEVATION OF THE FIRST HACHURE LINE IS THE SAME AS THE ADJACENT CONTOUR LINE.

LET'S MOVE ON TO DISCUSSING CONCEPTS RELATED TO EARTH'S HISTORY.

PAGES 8 AND 9 IN THE REFERENCE TABLES CONTAIN A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT EARTH'S DISTANT PAST.

REMEMBER THAT THE STATE-ISSUED REFERENCE TABLES ARE IN BLACK AND WHITE.

THE COLOR HERE IS TO HELP YOU SEE HOW THE CHART IS ORGANIZED.

ALSO, OPEN THESE PAGES TOGETHER AS SEEN.

THE TIME SCALE REPRESENTS 4.6 BILLION YEARS OR 4600 MILLION YEARS OF EARTH'S GEOLOGIC HISTORY.

>> KIM HYLAND: THE INFORMATION HERE IS ORGANIZED BY EONS, WITH THE OLDEST AT THE BOTTOM AND THE MOST RECENT AT THE TOP OF THE TABLE.

QUESTION: WHICH SEQUENCE SHOWS THE CORRECT ORDER OF EARTH'S GEOLOGIC TIME?INTERVALS FROM OLDEST TO YOUNGEST?

THE SCALE SHOWS THE OLDEST ON THE BOTTOM, THE ARCHEAN EON, IS NEAREST THE BOTTOM.

THAT ELIMINATES CHOICE C AND D. NEXT IS THE PROTEROZOIC EON, THEN THE PALEOZOIC ERA, MESOZOIC ERA, AND THE CENOZOIC ERA.

THEREFORE CHOICE B IS THE CORRECT RESPONSE.

NOW LOOK AT THE ERAS.

THE ERAS ARE BROKEN DOWN INTO SMALLER UNITS CALLED PERIODS, WHICH ARE BROKEN DOWN INTO SMALLER UNITS CALLED EPOCHS.

EPOCHS ARE EARLY, MIDDLE OR LATE, WITH THE PERIOD NAME AFTER IT, EXCEPT IN THE CENOZOIC ERA WHERE THERE ARE SPECIFIC NAMES.

THE MIDDLE OF THE CHART IS AN EXPANSION OF THE TIMELINE.

THE SCALE EXISTS TO MORE SPECIFICALLY DENOTE THE EVIDENCE FOR NEW LIFE FORMS AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN OUR GEOLOGIC PAST.

LET'S LOOK AT THE NUMBERS NEXT TO THE EPOCHS.

THE SILURIAN STARTED 444 AND ENDED 416 MILLION YEARS AGO.

THE LIFE ON EARTH COLUMN: DIFFERENT LIFE FORMS ARE PLACED IN THE CORRECT PERIOD ACCORDING TO WHEN THEY APPEARED BASED ON FOSSIL EVIDENCE.

SO HERE IS A QUESTION.

DURING WHICH GEOLOGIC TIME PERIOD DID THE EARLIEST REPTILES AND GREAT COAL FORMING FORESTS EXIST?

THE QUESTION ASKS ABOUT THE EARLIEST REPTILES AND COAL FORMING FORESTS AND WANTS THE PERIOD.

USING THIS SECTION OF THE ESRT, YOU WILL LOCATE THIS INFORMATION UNDER LIFE ON EARTH.

THEN READ TO THE PERIOD COLUMN TO SEE THAT THE EARLIEST REPTILES AND COAL-FORMING FORESTS ARE FOUND IN THE CARBONIFEROUS.

SO CHOICE D IS CORRECT.

THE CHART CONTINUES TO THE COLUMN LABELED "NY ROCK COLUMN LABELED "NY ROCK RECORD" THICK BLACK VERTICAL LINES INDICATE THAT SURFACE BEDROCK FOR THAT PERIOD IS PRESENT SOMEWHERE IN NEW YORK STATE.

THE OPEN PARTS REPRESENT INTERVALS FOR WHICH THERE IS NO BEDROCK IN NEW YORK.

NOTICE THAT THERE ARE WHOLE GEOLOGICAL PERIODS MISSING IN THE NYS ROCK RECORD: PERMIAN, PALEOGENE, AND NEOGENE.

THIS AREA REPRESENTS UNCONFORMITIES OR GAPS IN THE NEW YORK BEDROCK.

HERE IS A SAMPLE QUESTION THAT TESTS THIS CONCEPT: BEDROCK OF WHICH FOUR CONSECUTIVE GEOLOGIC PERIODS IS BEST PRESERVED IN NEW YORK STATE?

CONSECUTIVE MEANS CONTINUOUS, SUCH AS HERE DURING THE CAMBRIAN, ORDOVICIAN, SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN.

ANSWER, CHOICE 1 IS THE CHOICE THAT SHOWS A BLACK LINE FOR THE PERIODS INDICATED IN THE QUESTION.

AS WE MOVE FARTHER TO THE RIGHT ON THIS TABLE THE COLUMN IS LABELED "TIME DISTRIBUTION OF FOSSILS" IT HAS THINNER VERTICAL LINES THAT INDICATE THE LIFESPAN OF CERTAIN ORGANISMS FOR EXAMPLE THE TRILOBITES LINE GOES FROM THE CAMBRIAN TO THE END OF THE PERMIAN.

WHEN THEY WENT EXTINCT.

THE LETTERS LOCATED ON THE BARS INDICATE WHEN SPECIFIC INDEX FOSSILS LIVED.

THESE LETTERS CORRESPOND TO THE DIAGRAMMED INDEX FOSSILS LABELED A-Z ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.

FOR EXAMPLE B REPRESENTS THE INDEX FOSSIL CRYPTOLITHUS - AT TYPE OF TRILOBITE THAT LIVED DURING THE ORDOVICIAN PERIOD AND THE MIDDLE ORDOVICIAN EPOCH.

A SAMPLE REGENTS QUESTION ON THIS SECTION OF THE GEOLOGIC HISTORY TABLE IS: WHICH TWO TYPES OF ORGANISMS BOTH SURVIVED THE MASS EXTINCTION THAT OCCURRED AT THE END OF THE PERMIAN PERIOD?

UNDER THE TIME DISTRIBUTION LOOK AT THE VERTICAL LINES TO FIND A SPECIES THAT EXISTED BEYOND THE ANSWER: B, CORALS AND VASCULAR PLANTS.

>> ANDREW CALDERWOOD: THE SECOND TO LAST COLUMN, LABELED IMPORTANT GEOLOGIC EVENTS IN NEW YORK, HAS INFORMATION REGARDING THE GEOLOGIC EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN NYS WITH THE YOUNGEST GEOLOGIC EVENT FOUND AT THE TOP OF THE CHART.

ONE TERM YOU WILL ENCOUNTER IS OROGENY.

OROGENY IS THE CONVERGING TOGETHER OF CRUSTAL PLATES TO PRODUCE MOUNTAINS.

THERE WERE FOUR OROGENIES AFFECTING NYS.

A QUESTION ON THE REGENT'S EXAM REGARDING THIS COLUMN MIGHT LOOK LIKE THIS: THE ACADIAN MOUNTAINS WERE FORMED AS A RESULT OF THE COLLISION BETWEEN NORTH AMERICA AND • LOOKING THROUGH THE QUESTION WE SEE THE NAME ACADIAN MOUNTAINS.

THIS CORRELATES TO THE ACADIAN OROGENY SEEN ON THE ESRT.

THE INFORMATION IN THE BOX STATES THAT THESE MOUNTAINS WERE FORMED BY THE COLLISION BETWEEN NORTH AMERICA AND AVALON.

THEREFORE, THE ANSWER IS A, AVALON.

THE FINAL COLUMN ON THE CHART IS THE INFERRED POSITIONS OF EARTH'S LANDMASSES.

THIS COLUMN SHOWS THE INFERRED POSITIONS OF THE CONTINENTS AS THEY DRIFTED DUE TO PLATE TECTONICS.

THE GLOBES ARE POSITIONED CLOSE TO THEIR RESPECTIVE TIME PERIODS WITH THE SMALL GRAY ARROW POINTING TO THEIR POSITION WITHIN THE CORRECT GEOLOGIC PERIOD.

UNDER THE GLOBE IS GIVEN THE TIME OF OCCURRENCE IN MYA.

NOTE, NORTH AMERICA IS SHOWN IN BLACK AND ITS POSITION CAN BE SEEN TO CHANGE OVER TIME.

LET'S LOOK AT A POSSIBLE REGENTS QUESTION: BASED ON THE THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS IT IS INFERRED THAT OVER THE PAST 250 MILLION YEARS NORTH AMERICA HAS MOVED TOWARDS THE •?

SO, THIS QUESTION IS LOOKING FOR A COMPASS DIRECTION.

LOOKING AT THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT AND STARTING AT THE BOTTOM (THE OLDEST), WE CAN SEE OVER TIME IT HAS BEEN INFERRED TO MOVE IN A NORTHWEST DIRECTION.

CHOICE 1, NORTHWEST.

CONTINUING WITH GEOLOGIC TIME, THE RADIOACTIVE DECAY TABLE, SEEN ON PAGE 1, IS USED TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH OF A PARTICULAR ISOTOPE REMAINS IN A SAMPLE AFTER A CERTAIN TIME PERIOD.

THE CHART SHOWS 4 RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES.

OVER TIME THESE ISOTOPES WILL DECAY AND CHANGE INTO DIFFERENT NON-RADIOACTIVE STABLE ISOTOPES.

THE DISINTEGRATION COLUMN SHOWS THE RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS SYMBOL AND THE NON-RADIOACTIVE STABLE ISOTOPE.

FOR EXAMPLE, CARBON 14 IS A RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPE THAT DISINTEGRATES INTO THE STABLE ELEMENT NITROGEN 14.

NOTE: CARBON 14 IS USED TO DATE THINGS THAT WERE ONCE LIVING UP TO THE LAST 50,000 YEARS.

THE LAST COLUMN IS THE TIME IT TAKES FOR HALF OF A RADIOACTIVE ELEMENT TO DECAY INTO ITS DECAY PRODUCT.

THIS TIME IS CALLED ITS HALF-LIFE.

FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE START WITH A SAMPLE THAT CONTAINS ONLY RADIOACTIVE URANIUM-238 AND NO DECAY PRODUCT, AFTER THE 1ST HALF-LIFE 50% OF THE ORIGINAL URANIUM-238 WILL HAVE DISINTEGRATED INTO LEAD-206.

THIS WILL TAKE APPROXIMATELY 4.5 X 10 TO THE 9 YEARS.

AN ADDITIONAL HALF-LIFE OF ANOTHER 4.5 X 10 TO THE 9 YEARS (9.0 X10 TO THE 9) WOULD RESULT IN THE SAME SAMPLE CONTAINING 25% OF ITS ORIGINAL URANIUM-238 AND 75% WOULD BE EITHER LEAD 206 THE DECAY PRODUCT.

NOTE THE HALF LIFE OF URANIUM 238 IS APPROXIMATELY THE SAME AGE AS THE EARTH AND SOLAR SYSTEM.

39 - DREW?LET'S LOOK AT THE LET'S LOOK AT THE QUESTION SHOWN HERE.

THE QUESTION STATES THAT A SAMPLE OF WOOD FOUND IN AN ANCIENT TOMB CONTAINS 25% OF ITS ORIGINAL CARBON-14.

THE AGE OF THIS WOOD SAMPLE IS APPROXIMATELY HOW OLD.

THERE ARE KEY TERMS IN THIS PROBLEM TO HELP YOU.

CARBON 14 IS 25%.

ON THE REFERENCE TABLE, WE CAN SEE CARBON 14 AND ITS HALF-LIFE AS MENTIONED, IF WE START WITH 100% OF THE INITIAL RADIOACTIVE CARBON-14 IN A SAMPLE, AFTER THE 1ST HALF-LIFE 50% IS STILL RADIOACTIVE AND 5,700 YEARS (5.7X103 ) HAVE PASSED.

AFTER THE SECOND HALF-LIFE, 25% OF CARBON-14 IS LEFT.

5,700 + 5,700 YEARS INDICATE THAT 11,400 YEARS HAVE PASSED.

SO THE ANSWER WOULD BE NUMBER 3.

11,400 YEARS.

TAKE NOTE THAT THIS PROCESS CONTINUES AT THE SAME HALF-LIFE UNTIL THE RADIOACTIVE ELEMENT IS ALSO, REMEMBER THAT CARBON 14 IS USED FOR OBJECTS THAT ARE 50,000 YEARS OLD OR LESS THE RADIOACTIVE DECAY OF A SUBSTANCE CAN ALSO BE REPRESENTED IN A GRAPH.

THE GRAPH SHOWS THE RADIOACTIVE DECAY OF AN ISOTOPE.

AS TIME GOES ON, THE AMOUNT OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL DECREASES.

A TYPICAL REGENT'S QUESTION MIGHT ASK: ACCORDING TO THE GRAPH, WHAT IS THE HALF-LIFE OF THIS ISOTOPE?

THE Y-AXIS ON THIS GRAPH STARTS OUT AT 50 GRAMS WITH NO TIME HAVING PASSED.

TO DETERMINE THE HALF-LIFE OF THIS ISOTOPE, TAKE HALF OF 50 G, WHICH IS 25 G. FOLLOW THE 25 G VALUE TO THE GRAPH LINE AND READ DOWN FOR THE NUMBER OF YEARS.

THE ANSWER IS 200 YEARS.

ANOTHER LARGE AREA OF STUDY IN THE EARTH SCIENCE CURRICULUM IS ASTRONOMY, WHICH INCLUDES UNDERSTANDING HOW OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, GALAXY, AND UNIVERSE WERE FORMED AND HOW THEY FUNCTION.

REMEMBER, THE SUN IS THE ONLY STAR IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AND IT GENERATES ENERGY BY THE PROCESS OF NUCLEAR FUSION, WHICH IS THE COMBINING OF NUCLEI OF LIGHTER ELEMENTS TO FORM A HEAVIER ELEMENT.

THERE ARE TWO CHARTS ON THE REFERENCE TABLE THAT DEAL WITH ASTRONOMY: THE SOLAR SYSTEM DATA TABLE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS CHART IS BASED ON THE LUMINOSITY, SURFACE TEMPERATURE, COLOR, AND SIZE OF THE STARS.

YOU CAN ALSO USE THE STAR'S POSITION ON THE DIAGRAM TO INFER THE STAR'S PROGRESS IN THE AGING SEQUENCE.

TAKE NOTE OF THE LOGARITHMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GRAPH AND HOW THE TEMPERATURE DECREASES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ON THE X-AXIS AND THE NAME OF THE STAR CLASSES AND STARS.

>> KIM HYLAND: THIS DIAGRAM HAS A LOT OF INFORMATION.

LET'S START WITH THE ASTRONOMY FACTS THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE LEARNED THIS YEAR IN THE ASTRONOMY UNIT.

THE EARTH IS TILTED 23.5 DEGREES AND THE AXIS REMAINS TILTED IN THE SAME DIRECTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE BACKGROUND STARS THROUGHOUT A YEAR REGARDLESS OF WHERE IT IS IN ITS ORBIT).

THIS MEANS THAT ONE POLE (AND THE ASSOCIATED HEMISPHERE OF EARTH) WILL BE DIRECTED AWAY FROM THE SUN AT ONE SIDE OF THE ORBIT, AND HALF AN ORBIT LATER (HALF A YEAR LATER) THIS POLE WILL BE DIRECTED TOWARDS THE SUN.

THIS IS THE CAUSE OF EARTH'S SEASONS.

SUMMER OCCURS IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WHEN THE NORTH POLE IS DIRECTED TOWARD THE SUN.

EARTH ROTATES ON ITS AXIS COUNTERCLOCKWISE AT A RATE OF 15 DEGREES PER HOUR.

THIS TILT CAUSES DIFFERENT PARTS OF EARTH TO RECEIVE THE SUN'S MOST DIRECT RAYS.

AND HERE'S THE QUESTION: WHICH LOCATION REPRESENTS MARCH 21?

LET'S LOOK AT EACH LOCATION.

A SHOWS THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE TILTED AWAY FROM THE SUN, THEREFORE EXPERIENCING THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER (WINTER SOLSTICE) IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

C HOWEVER IS TILTED TOWARDS THE SUN, THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE IS EXPERIENCING THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER (SUMMER SOLSTICE).

EARTH MOVES AROUND THE SUN IN A COUNTERCLOCKWISE DIRECTION 1 DEGREE PER DAY.

THAT MEANS D IS THE FIRST DAY OF FALL OR AUTUMNAL EQUINOX, AND B IS THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING OR THE VERNAL EQUINOX.

THAT MAKES THE ANSWER IS B.

CONTINUING WITH THE SAME DIAGRAM, THE HEMISPHERE TILTED TOWARD THE SUN RECEIVES MORE DIRECT SUNLIGHT AND THUS HAS HIGHER TEMPERATURES AND LONGER DAYS.

THE SUN APPEARS TO CHANGE IN ALTITUDE BY 23.5 DEGREES EACH SEASON.

SO LET'S LOOK AT THE QUESTION: HOW DOES THE ALTITUDE OF THE SUN AT SOLAR NOON APPEAR TO CHANGE EACH DAY FOR AN OBSERVER IN NEW YORK STATE AS EARTH MOVES FROM POSITION A TO POSITION B TO POSITION C?

AS MENTIONED, A IS THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER WHERE THE SUN IS AT ITS LOWEST POSITION OF 23.5 DEGREES FOR AN OBSERVER IN NEW YORK STATE, AND LOCATIONS IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE EXPERIENCE THE SHORTEST AMOUNT OF DAYLIGHT HOURS.

C IS THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AND IS AT ITS MAXIMUM TILT TOWARD THE SUN.

THE SUN IS AT ITS HIGHEST ALTITUDE OF 71 DEGREES FOR NEW YORK STATE, AND LOCATIONS IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE EXPERIENCE THE LONGEST DAYLIGHT HOURS.

POSITION B IS THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING.

THE ALTITUDE OF THE SUN AT SOLAR NOON APPEARS TO INCREASE FROM POSITION A TO B TO C. ANOTHER IMPORTANT POINT TO REMEMBER IS ANY DIAGRAM SHOWING EARTH IN ITS ORBIT AROUND THE SUN CAN ALSO BE USED TO DISCUSS SEASONAL CONSTELLATIONS.

AT ANY POINT IN EARTH'S ORBIT DIFFERENT CONSTELLATIONS ARE VISIBLE IN THE NIGHT SKY.

MAKE THE CONNECTION ON REGENTS QUESTIONS BETWEEN "SEASONAL CONSTELLATIONS" AND "REVOLUTION AROUND THE SUN."

AND YOU WILL NOT GET THE ANSWER WRONG.

IN A SIMILAR DIAGRAM, THE NORTH POLE IS LABELED.

?HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF A SHORT RESPONSE QUESTION.

IDENTIFY THE NAME OF THE STAR THAT IS ALIGNED WITH EARTH'S AXIS ABOVE THE NORTH POLE.

THE AXIS OF EARTH REMAINS ORIENTED IN THE SAME DIRECTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE BACKGROUND STARS REGARDLESS OF WHERE IT IS IN ITS ORBIT.

POLARIS OR THE NORTH STAR IS A STAR THAT APPEARS ALMOST DIRECTLY ABOVE THE EARTH'S ROTATIONAL AXIS.

AS THE EARTH TURNS, EVERY OTHER STAR SEEMS TO SPIN AROUND THE AXIS, TRACING OUT A CIRCLE IN THE SKY, BUT THE NORTH STAR APPEARS TO STAND STILL.

HERE IS ANOTHER FAMILIAR DIAGRAM THAT SHOWS UP ON REGENTS BECAUSE IT CAN BE USED TO TEST SEVERAL DIFFERENT CONCEPTS ABOUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND MOTIONS OF THE MOON AND EARTH AROUND THE SUN.

HERE ARE SOME "BIG IDEAS" YOU SHOULD ALREADY KNOW FROM LOOKING AT THE DIAGRAM.

THE REVOLUTION OF THE MOON AROUND EARTH AS EARTH REVOLVES AROUND THE SUN RESULTS IN THE PHASES OF THE MOON, TIDES, AND ECLIPSES.

HALF OF THE MOON IS ALWAYS RECEIVING LIGHT FROM THE SUN AT ANY GIVEN TIME HOWEVER AN OBSERVER ON EARTH SEES VARYING AMOUNTS OF THIS LIGHTED HALF CALLED THE PHASES.

WHICH MOON PHASE BELOW COULD BE SEEN BY AN OBSERVER IN NEW YORK STATE WHEN THE MOON IS IN POSITION 4?

AT POSITION 1, THE MOON WOULD APPEAR DARK TO AN OBSERVER ON EARTH, THIS IS THE NEW MOON PHASE.

AS IT TRAVELS FROM POSITION 1 TO 5 THE MOON WILL APPEAR TO GET GRADUALLY BRIGHTER FROM THE RIGHT SIDE.

THAT'S IMPORTANT.

UNTIL AT POSITION 5 IT IS A FULL MOON.

BEING AT POSITION 4 WOULD ALMOST BE A FULL MOON, SO THE ONLY CHOICE COULD BE TO ANSWER 1.

>> ANDREW CALDERWOOD: USING THE SAME DIAGRAM, LET'S LOOK AT ANOTHER QUESTION.

THE SHADOW OF THE MOON MAY FALL ON EARTH AT WHICH OF THESE FOUR POSITIONS?

WHEN A CELESTIAL OBJECT COMES INTO THE SHADOW OF ANOTHER CELESTIAL OBJECT AN ECLIPSE OCCURS.

WHEN THE MOON REVOLVES INTO THE SHADOW OF EARTH AT THE FULL MOON PHASE A LUNAR ECLIPSE CAN OCCUR.

WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THE EARTH'S SHADOW IS CAST ONTO THE MOON.

DURING A NEW MOON PHASE, THE EARTH IS IN THE MOON'S SHADOW.

THEREFORE, WHEN THE MOON'S SHADOW IS CAST ONTO THE EARTH DURING THE NEW MOON PHASE A SOLAR ECLIPSE OCCURS.

THEREFORE, THE ANSWER IS CHOICE 1.

THE SAME DIAGRAM CAN ALSO BE USED TO TALK ABOUT THE TIDES.

?THE TIDES ARE CAUSED BY THE GRAVITATIONAL PULL BETWEEN THE EARTH, THE MOON, AND THE SUN.

HOWEVER, THE TIDAL EFFECT IS CAUSED PRIMARILY BY THE MOON.

THIS QUESTION ASKS THE STUDENT TO: DESCRIBE THE EFFECT ON THE HEIGHTS OF EARTH'S HIGH AND LOW TIDES WHEN THE MOON MOVES FROM POSITION 7 TO POSITION 1.

THE SUN'S EFFECT ON THE TIDES IS LARGELY THAT OF REDUCING OR ENHANCING THEIR HEIGHTS.

WHEN EARTH, THE MOON, AND THE SUN ARE IN A STRAIGHT LINE, POSITION 1, NEW MOON PHASE, AND 5, FULL MOON PHASE, THE SUN ENHANCES THE TIDAL EFFECT AND HIGH TIDES ARE HIGHER.

WHEN THE MOON IS IN ONE OF THE QUARTER PHASES, OR AT A RIGHT ANGLE TO EARTH AND THE SUN - POSITION 3, FIRST QUARTER, AND 7, LAST QUARTER, HIGH TIDES ARE LOWER AND LOW TIDES ARE NOT AS LOW.

?THEREFORE GOING FROM POSITION 7 (A QUARTER PHASE) TO POSITION 1 (NEW MOON PHASE) THE HEIGHT OF THE HIGH TIDE WILL INCREASE OR BE HIGHER AND THE LOW TIDES WILL DECREASE OR BE LOWER.

THE TIDES ON EARTH ARE CYCLIC, MEANING THEY REPEAT BECAUSE EARTH IS ROTATING THEREFORE THE LOW AND HIGH TIDES FOLLOW THE STRAIGHT-LINE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN EARTH AND THE MOON.

THE TIMING OF HIGH AND LOW TIDES IS INFLUENCED BY NOT ONLY THE EARTH'S ROTATION BUT ALSO THE MOON REVOLVING AROUND EARTH ON THE QUESTION: IF THE PATTERN SHOWN CONTINUES, THE MOST LIKELY HEIGHT AND TIME FOR THE FIRST HIGH TIDE ON DAY 3 WOULD BE •?

TO FIND THIS ANSWER YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT THE TIME BETWEEN TWO HIGH TIDES OR TWO LOW TIDES IS 12 HOURS AND 25 MINUTES.

THE LAST HIGH TIDE WAS AT A HEIGHT OF APPROXIMATELY 2.1 METERS AT 3 P.M. BY CONTINUING THE GRAPH LINE THE NEXT HIGH TIDE WOULD OCCUR APPROXIMATELY 12 HOURS LATER AT A HEIGHT OF 2.2 M AND AT 4 AM OR CHOICE 1.

OKAY, HERE ARE SOME GREAT TEST-TAKING TIPS.

FIRST OF ALL, NUMBER 1, USE THE REFERENCE TABLE.

ABOUT 30 TO 35% OF THE TEST IS DIRECTLY ON THE REFERENCE TABLE, SO THOSE ARE FREE ANSWERS.

NUMBER 2, READ DIRECTIONS AND INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS BEFORE LOOKING AT THE QUESTIONS.

NUMBER 3, EXAMINE THE DIAGRAMS VERY CLOSELY BEFORE YOU MOVE TO THE QUESTION SO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE SHOWING.

ON A MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTION TRY TO ELIMINATE THE CHOICES THAT YOU THINK ARE CLEARLY WRONG.

ALSO, FOR SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS, DO NOT WRITE TOO MUCH INFORMATION, JUST ANSWER WHAT THE QUESTION IS DIRECTLY ASKING.

DO NOT LEAVE ANY QUESTIONS BLANK, FILL IN ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN WITH ANY THOUGHT THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE THAT IS SIMILAR TO AN ANSWER.

AND LOOK FOR KEY TERMS IN THE QUESTION AND ALSO IN THE REFERENCE TABLE.

ALWAYS GO WITH YOUR FIRST INSTINCT, THAT'S USUALLY CORRECT.

MAKE SURE YOU TAKE YOUR TIME, YOU HAVE 3 HOURS TO COMPLETE THE EXAM, SO NO NEED TO GO TOO QUICKLY.

FINALLY, RELAX - YOU GOT THIS.

>> KIM HYLAND: GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP THE NIGHT BEFORE.

>> ANDREW CALDERWOOD: AND MAKE SURE YOU EAT A GOOD BREAKFAST.

KIM AND I WISH YOU THE BEST.

>>KIM HYLAND: AND WE HOPE THAT YOU BE THE A!

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