Earth Science Semester 1
A comet's tail always points ____. A. away from the sun B. toward the sun C. sideways D. downward
A
A star is said to be born when ____. A. a protostar reaches a temperature high enough for nuclear fusion to begin B. a red giant collapses on itself and becomes a black hole C. pressure within a protostar becomes so great that a supernova occurs D. a dark, cool interstellar cloud begins to contract
A
Alternate freezing and thawing often leads to ____. A. creep B. slumps C. mudflows D. earthflows
A
Aristotle concluded that Earth was round because A. it always casts a curved shadow during a lunar eclipse. B. he sailed around the world. C. he calculated Earth's circumference. D. it exhibited retrograde motion.
A
Balance in the water cycle means that ____. A. the average annual precipitation over Earth equals the amount of water that evaporates B. water that falls to Earth only enters oceans C. the amount of water that falls to Earth weighs the same as the amount that condenses in clouds D. water that evaporates from Earth's surface remains forever in the atmosphere
A
Deflation affected the Dust Bowl in the 1930s by ____. A. lowering the land B. creating rock pinnacles C. building up sand dunes D. depositing coarse sand and gravel
A
Limiting development on floodplains is effective because it ____. A. allows floodplains to absorb floodwaters with little harm to structures B. eliminates wide stream meanders C. is more expensive to build structures on flat land D. helps keep floodwaters within stream channels
A
Over time, sand dunes tend to migrate ____. A. in the same direction as the wind blows B. perpendicular to the movement of the wind C. toward the wind D. in random directions
A
The moon is closest to Earth at A. perigee B. apogee C. perihelion D. aphelion
A
The moon's period of revolution is 27 1/3 days, and its period of rotation is A. 27 1/3 days. B. 29 1/2 days. C. 30 1/3 days. D. 33 1/2 days.
A
The oldest features on the moon are A. highlands B. maria C. craters D. regolith
A
The sun's surface has a grainy texture produced by numerous bright markings called ____. A. granules B. umbras C. sunspots D. solar flares
A
What is the measure of the largest particles a stream can carry? A. competence B. capacity C. discharge D. gradient
A
What is the shape of a planet's orbit? A. elliptical B. circular C. irregular D. parabolic
A
What is the zone above the snowline on a glacier called? A. zone of accumulation B. zone of melting C. zone of wasting D. zone of crevasses
A
What was the first space telescope built by NASA? A. Hubble Space Telescope B. Chandra X-Ray Observatory C. Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory D. James Webb Space Telescope
A
Where is our sun located in the Milky Way? A. within one of the spiral arms B. at the exact center of the galactic nucleus C. in the galactic halo D. at the tip of one of the spiral arms
A
Which color has the longest wavelength? A. red B. blue C. green D. orange
A
Which of the following indicates that the universe is expanding? A. red shift of distant galaxies B. red shift of the galaxies in the Local Group C. blue shift of distant galaxies D. blue shift of the Milky Way
A
About 90 percent of stars on the H-R diagram are ____. A. supergiants B. main-sequence stars C. white dwarfs D. black holes
B
How does wind transport sand grains? A. mainly as part of the suspended load B. by saltation as part of the bed load C. Wind transports sand grains only during dust storms. D. Equal quantities are transported suspended in the air and as bed load.
B
How long does it take the moon to go from full-moon phase to new-moon phase? A. 1 week B. 2 weeks C. 3 weeks D. 4 weeks
B
Seasons are caused by A. Earth's rotation. B. Earth's tilted axis. C. Earth's distance from the sun. D. precession.
B
The capacity of a stream is directly related to its ____. A. velocity B. discharge C. gradient D. meandering
B
The shape of star dunes is mostly due to ____. A. the amount of vegetation B. variable wind directions C. variable wind speeds D. the amount of sand
B
What advantage do space telescopes have over telescopes used on Earth? A. They are much cheaper to build. B. They are not affected by Earth's atmosphere. C. They do not need lenses or mirrors to gather light. D. They last longer.
B
What is the main type of weathering in deserts? A. chemical weathering B. physical weathering C. weathering by organic acids D. weathering by water
B
What is the ultimate base level of a stream? A. a large lake B. the ocean C. a resistant layer of rock D. a larger stream
B
What occurs when the moon casts its shadow on Earth? A. lunar eclipse B. solar eclipse C. sidereal month D. synodic month
B
Which of the following is true about ice sheets? A. They are the smallest type of glacier. B. They flow in all directions. C. They usually flow down valleys. D. They are found only in high mountain areas.
B
Which of the following supports the big bang theory? A. pulsars B. cosmic background radiation C. galactic clusters D. irregular galaxies
B
Why isn't Pluto considered a planet? A. Pluto has a moon, Charon, which is more than half its size. B. Pluto's gravity is too weak to pull in smaller debris, so it hasn't cleared its orbital path. C. Pluto's orbit around the sun is larger than that of any of the eight planets. D. Pluto is smaller than all of the eight planets.
B
According to Figure 25-1, the sun (C) has an absolute magnitude of ____. absolute magnitude Lumity -10 | O | 1,000,000 -5 | 0 | 10,000 0 | o | 100 5 | C | 1 10 | o . | 0.1 ___________________________________________________________| 0.01 20,000 14,000 10,000 tempature A. -5 B. 0 C. 5 D. 5000
C
According to Figure 25-1, which main-sequence stars are brightest? absolute magnitude Lumity -10 | O | 1,000,000 -5 | 0 | 10,000 0 | o | 100 5 | C | 1 10 | o . | 0.1 ___________________________________________________________| 0.01 20,000 14,000 10,000 tempature A. the smallest B. the coolest C. the hottest D. none of the above
C
Chemical weathering would be ____. A. most effective in a warm, dry climate B. most effective in a cold, dry climate C. most effective in a warm, humid climate D. equally effective in any climate
C
Currently, about what percent of Earth's land surface is covered by glaciers? A. 70% B. 25% C. 10% D. 40%
C
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is believed to be a ____. A. volcanic area B. large desert C. cyclonic storm D. zone of high ammonia concentration
C
One astronomical unit (AU) averages about A. 39 million kilometers. B. 93 million kilometers. C. 150 million kilometers. D. 210 million kilometers.
C
The turning or spinning of a body on its axis is known as A. retrograde motion. B. revolution. C. rotation. D. precession.
C
What does a prism do? A. combines the colors of visible light into white light B. separates sunlight into ultraviolet and infrared radiation C. separates visible light into several colors D. changes the wavelength of electromagnetic waves
C
What must happen for a solar eclipse to occur? A. The moon must pass behind Earth. B. The moon must be full. C. The moon's orbit must cross the plane of the ecliptic. D. The moon's orbit must not cross Earth's penumbra.
C
What will be the final stage in the sun's life cycle? A. white dwarf B. planetary nebula C. black dwarf D. red giant
C
Which of the following are you most likely to experience? A. total solar eclipse B. total lunar eclipse C. full moon D. partial lunar eclipse
C
Which planet might best be described as a large, dirty iceball? A. Mercury B. Venus C. Pluto D. Mars
C
Why can a heavy rain shower cause a large amount of erosion in a desert area? A. Temperatures are very high. B. Streams overflow easily. C. There is a lack of vegetation to hold the soil in place. D. Desert ground cannot absorb any water.
C
A floodplain forms where a stream ____. A. cuts downward rapidly B. is far above its base level C. carries no bed load D. cuts mainly side to side
D
A stream's discharge ____. A. decreases between its source and mouth B. remains the same throughout its course C. is greatest during times of drought D. increases between its source and mouth
D
Gamma rays, X-rays, visible light, and radio waves are all types of ____. A. nuclear energy B. chromatic aberration C. ultraviolet radiation D. electromagnetic radiation
D
In Figure 5-2, what layer makes up the B horizon? * X-------- Z-------- W------- Y-------- A. layer X B. layer Y C. layer W D. layer Z
D
In Figure 6-1, what process is illustrated by the arrows labeled D? upper land ----------- <----------> D A. precipitation B. evaporation C. runoff D. infiltration
D
In Figure 6-2, what letter labels the zone of saturation? Upper land ------------- E -------------C D ------------- Under land A. E B. B C. C D. D
D
Most asteroids lie between the orbits of ____. A. Mercury and Venus B. Venus and Earth C. Earth and Mars D. Mars and Jupiter
D
The mass of a star can be determined by studying ____. A. the wavelength of light emitted by the star B. the color of the star C. the distance between the star and Earth D. binary star systems
D
Using Figure 24-1, what solar features are labeled C? ( . C . ) A. prominence B. solar winds C. solar flares D. sunspots
D
What factor commonly triggers mass movements? A. saturation of surface materials with water B. earthquakes C. removal of vegetation D. all of the above
D
What type of stream valley would form in a mountainous area? A. a wide, flat valley B. No valley would form. C. The type of valley would depend on the stream discharge. D. a narrow V-shaped valley
D
Which of Jupiter's moons is volcanically active? A. Callisto B. Europa C. Ganymede D. Io
D
Which of the following human activities has caused an increase in soil erosion? A. clear-cut logging B. clearing land for construction C. plowing land for farming D. all of the above
D
Which of the following is NOT a terrestrial planet? A. Mercury B. Earth C. Mars D. Jupiter
D