NCEA Level 3 Earth and Space Science cheat sheet

Plate boundaries: divergent (new lithosphere, shallow quakes), convergent (subduction, deep quakes, arc volcanism), transform (lateral slip, shallow quakes).

Rock cycle: igneous (cooling magma/lava), sedimentary (deposition and lithification), metamorphic (heat and pressure); each can transform into the others.

Relative dating principles: superposition (oldest at base), cross-cutting relationships, original horizontality, faunal succession, inclusions.

Absolute dating: radioactive decay N = N0 x e^(-lambda*t); half-life t1/2 = ln2/lambda; useful for igneous and some metamorphic rocks.

Earthquakes: P waves (compressional, fastest, travel through solids and liquids), S waves (shear, slower, solids only), surface waves (slowest, most damaging).

Earthquake location uses the difference in P and S arrival times across three or more stations; depth locates the focus and epicentre.

Atmosphere: troposphere (weather), stratosphere (ozone layer), mesosphere (meteor burn-up), thermosphere (aurora, satellites), exosphere.

Climate vs weather: climate is long-term statistical pattern (30-year normals); feedbacks (ice-albedo, water vapour) amplify or damp change.

Ocean circulation: surface currents driven by wind and Coriolis; thermohaline circulation driven by temperature and salinity differences affecting density.

Stellar life cycle: nebula to protostar to main sequence; mass determines path (low mass to red giant to white dwarf; high mass to supernova to neutron star or black hole).

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram: luminosity vs temperature; main sequence, giants, supergiants, white dwarfs occupy distinct regions.

Kepler's laws: orbits are ellipses; equal areas in equal times; T^2 proportional to a^3 (period squared proportional to semi-major axis cubed).

Newton's law of gravitation F = Gm1m2/r^2 explains orbital motion and weight; g = GM/r^2 on a planet's surface.

Doppler effect: redshift indicates recession; blueshift indicates approach; Hubble's law v = H0*d supports an expanding universe.

Solar system formation: solar nebula collapses, conservation of angular momentum forms a disc, accretion builds planetesimals and planets.

Terrestrial vs gas giant planets: inner planets are small, dense, rocky; outer planets are large, low density, hydrogen/helium-rich with rings and moons.

Moon phases and eclipses: phases result from changing Sun-Earth-Moon geometry; eclipses require alignment of Sun, Earth, and Moon at new or full phase.

Rock and mineral identification: minerals tested by hardness (Mohs scale), cleavage, streak, lustre; rocks classified by texture and composition.