NYS Regents Earth Science UNIT I: Earth Science Math Skills, Graphing, and Measurement

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UNIT I: EARTH SCIENCE MATH SKILLS, GRAPHING, AND

MEASUREMENT NOTES PACKET

Picture: Irondequoit Bay looking

northward towards Lake Ontario.

Geologic evidence suggests that this was

once the mouth of the Genesee River

prior to the most recent glacial advance

and retreat.

NYS Regents Earth Science UNIT I: Earth Science Math Skills, Graphing, and Measurement

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Many students that have taken Earth Science have shown the ability to be accurate.

Accuracy is the ability to hit the target you are aiming for, in this class that could be a correct

answer on a test that asks you to perform a set task.

What only a few students have shown is the ability to be precise. Precision requires that you

are able to reproduce results time after time. This unit focuses on honing your ability to be

both accurate and precise throughout the course.

Let’s begin with some basic mathematical equations you could be counted on to use during

the year. These are found on the front page of your Earth Science Reference Tables

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There are 4 essential equations you will need to be familiar with in order to be successful in

the course:

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Additional Equations

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Ensuring Accuracy

In order to ensure that your responses are accurate throughout the course, there are some fundamental concepts you need to

understand.

NYS Regents Earth Science UNIT I: Earth Science Math Skills, Graphing, and Measurement

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Accuracy Beyond Whole Numbers

Often we want to know measurements that are more accurate than simply a whole number.

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Units

Almost all measurements in Earth Science must be coupled with units. One exception is when eccentricity is calculated

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Lines As Equations

You may be familiar with how you can graphically represent an equation in math. The same is possible in

Earth Science, but in a much more simplified way.

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Isolines

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NYS Regents Earth Science UNIT I: Earth Science Math Skills, Graphing, and Measurement

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Properties of Isolines

Think of isolines like fences that separate neighbors. The neighbors live at different

addresses and the isolines keep those properties separate.

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Isoline Rhyme

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Practice

The following are temperature measurements for a classroom in degrees Celsius. Draw isotherms for every 2

degrees Celsius.

NYS Regents Earth Science UNIT I: Earth Science Math Skills, Graphing, and Measurement

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4

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Determining the Value of an Isoline

How is an isoline’s value determined if it isn’t labeled? Only some isolines are labeled.

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Steps to determining isoline intervals:

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Step #2:

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Step #3:

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In Earth Science we sometimes would like to know how quickly values

change on a field map. We can actually assign a number to this change by

using the equation for gradient:

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NYS Regents Earth Science UNIT I: Earth Science Math Skills, Graphing, and Measurement

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Determining Gradient

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In this example, let’s assume the distance between points is 2 miles and the measurements on the map are in feet.

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Graphing in Earth Science

You will often be asked to us graphs to display data on in-class tests, the midterm, and the final. There

are 3 common graphs found in Earth Science:

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General Rules

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NYS Regents Earth Science UNIT I: Earth Science Math Skills, Graphing, and Measurement

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Line Graphs

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Bar Graphs

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Relationships Graphs

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In Earth Science we will often be dealing with very large numbers. Since this is the case, it

becomes necessary in some instances to use scientific notation to represent numbers. Scientific notation will look something

like this:

1 x 103

or

1.0 x 103

The exponent dictates the direction the decimal must move in order to express the number in standard form.

NYS Regents Earth Science UNIT I: Earth Science Math Skills, Graphing, and Measurement

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If the exponent is positive:

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If the exponent is negative (1 x 10-3):

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Converting Standard Form Numbers to Scientific Notation

The number being written must begin with a number higher than zero and only a single digit before the decimal point.

For example: 0.00093 will become 9.3

If the decimal moved to the right, the exponent is equal to the number of spaces it moved with a preceding (-)

For the example above: 0.00093 will ultimately become 9.3 x 10-4

If the decimal moved to the left, the exponent is positive.

867,000 will become 8.67 x 105