Prepare for your Abeka Science of the Physical Creation tests with these practice questions and answers. This guide covers physics, chemistry, and earth science concepts.
Q: weather
Answer: state of the earth’s atmosphere at a certain time and place
Q: climate
Answer: year-round weather typical of a certain place
Q: meteorology
Answer: study of the weather
Q: thermal energy
Answer: energy that comes from the sun
Q: thermal energy, distribution of heat, water vapor
Answer: three major factors that together cause variable weather
Q: evaporation
Answer: process by which a molecule of liquid becomes a gas
Q: heat of vaporization
Answer: amount of heat required to change one gram of a liquid into a gas without changing its temperature; extra energy gained by evaporating molecules
Q: 540 calories per gram
Answer: heat of vaporization for water
Q: condensation
Answer: process of a gas changing into a liquid
Q: heat of condensation
Answer: the amount of heat released when a gas changes into a liquid
Q: saturated
Answer: word used to describe air that cannot hold any more water
Q: dew point
Answer: temperature at which water in the air begins to condense
Q: dew
Answer: water vapor condensed on grass and soil in tiny droplets
Q: sublimation
Answer: when gas below the freezing point collides with an object and changes directly into a crystal of ice
Q: frost
Answer: light, feathery deposits of ice crystals formed by the sublimation process
Q: condensation nuclei
Answer: floating, microscopic particles that form the center of a rain drop
Q: freezing nuclei
Answer: microscopic nucleus for water vapor to sublime and form ice crystals
Q: clouds
Answer: condensed, airborne water vapor formed when temperatures fall below the dew point
Q: alto
Answer: “high”
Q: nimbus/nimbo
Answer: refers to a cloud that produces precipitation
Q: cumulus
Answer: “heap” or “pile”
Q: cumulonimbus
Answer: thunderclouds
Q: stratus
Answer: “layer”
Q: nimbostratus
Answer: stratus rain clouds
Q: cirrus
Answer: “wisp” or “curl”
Q: lenticular
Answer: a lens-shaped cloud
Q: stratocumulus
Answer: low, heavy layer of puffy, gray clouds
Q: cirrostratus
Answer: thin, translucent clouds spread like a sheet in the upper troposphere
Q: radiation fog
Answer: fog that forms when the ground is cold but the air is still moist
Q: advection fog
Answer: fog formed when a warm, humid breeze blows over a clod surface
Q: upslope fog
Answer: fog formed by moist wind blowing up a gentle slope
Q: precipitation fog
Answer: fog formed by warm rain falling into cool air
Q: photochemical smog
Answer: thick, brownish haze that results from complex molecules (such as exhaust fumes) being broken down by sunlight into ozone and other noxious chemicals
Q: air mass
Answer: a large body of air with relatively uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure
Q: tropical
Answer: refers to warm air masses
Q: polar
Answer: refers to cold air masses
Q: maritime
Answer: refers to moist air masses
Q: continental
Answer: refers to dry air masses
Q: Arctic
Answer: refers to very dry and very cold air masses
Q: front
Answer: area where two air masses meet, often accompanied by severe storms
Q: cold front
Answer: boundary between a cold air mass advancing into a warmer air mass
Q: warm front
Answer: boundary between a warm air mass advancing into a colder air mass
Q: stationary front
Answer: front created when two air masses cannot overtake each other and slowly spin in place
Q: frontal lows
Answer: small whirlpools of low pressure in a stationary front
Q: occluded front
Answer: front formed when two cold air masses overtake a warm air mass and lift it up, forming a “Y” shape
Q: precipitation
Answer: release of water from the atmosphere in the form of rain, sleet, snow, or drizzle
Q: water cycle
Answer: continuous cycle of movement of water from the earth to the atmosphere and back again
Q: rain
Answer: most common form of precipitation; consists of drops of liquid water larger than 0.5mm
Q: Bergeron process
Answer: process of rain being formed by snowflakes melting at a certain point on their descent
Q: collision-coalescence process
Answer: droplets become too big and fall out of a cloud, then collide and join with other rain drops on their descent to become even bigger
Q: drizzle
Answer: precipitation that consists of drops smaller than 0.5mm
Q: sleet
Answer: precipitation formed by raindrops freezing into miniscule pellets as they fall through an extremely cold layer of air
Q: freezing rain
Answer: supercooled precipitation that freezes when it makes contact with something solid
Q: hail
Answer: layered balls of ice that form in strong storm clouds
Q: snow
Answer: six-sided ice crystal; most beautiful form of precipitation
Q: storms
Answer: atmospheric disturbances characterized by strong winds, heavy precipitation, and usually lightning
Q: thunderstorms
Answer: localized storms involving lightning, thunder, turbulent winds, heavy rains, and sometimes hail
Q: squall lines
Answer: a long line of thunderstorms along a cold front
Q: updraft
Answer: a current of rising air
Q: cumulus, mature, dissipating
Answer: the 3 stages of thunderstorms
Q: downbursts
Answer: concentrated blasts of cool wind that blow downward at 130mph or more
Q: cell
Answer: thunderstorm updraft system
Q: supercell
Answer: giant, single-updraft thunderstorm
Q: lightning
Answer: abrupt discharge of electricity through the air
Q: electrons
Answer: negatively charged particles of an atom
Q: stepped leader
Answer: barely visible stream of electrons from a cloud to the ground
Q: return stroke
Answer: brilliant stream of electricity that occurs when the stepped leader and a positive streamer meet and electrons flow downward in a huge current
Q: thunder
Answer: shock wave of sound that is a result of the expanding air super-heated by a lightning bolt
Q: superbolt
Answer: most powerful type of lightning
Q: tornado
Answer: narrow funnel of powerful, rapidly whirling winds
Q: waterspout
Answer: tornado formed over water
Q: dust devil
Answer: “tiny tornado”; usually harmless and only lasts a few minutes
Q: hurricanes
Answer: giant, whirling storms accompanied by destructive winds (74-200mph), torrential rains, high waves and tides
Q: eye
Answer: low-pressure center of a hurricane
Q: eye wall
Answer: cylinder of thick, whirling clouds and rain that surround the eye of the hurricane
Q: rain bands
Answer: lines of thunderstorms in the lower altitudes of a hurricane
Q: storm surge
Answer: elevated water levels caused by a hurricane