Earth Science Final
The feature marked B on the figure is a:
Jetty
________ and _________ both favored a heliocentric solar system, but _________ was forced to recant his beliefs in the inquisition.
Kepler and Galileo; Galileo
High pressure cells, or _______, are often associated with _______ weather.
anticyclones; fair
Water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane in the atmosphere radiate heat _____, and cause the average temperature on the surface of the earth to be ______.
back to earth, warmer
Water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane in the atmosphere radiate heat _______, and cause the average temperature on the surface of the Earth to be _______.
back to earth; warmer
Stars at position C on the graph are _______ and will burn out ______.
brighter; faster
The greatest mass extinction of earth history resulted in the removal of 96% of existing species. It occurred at the ______ of the ________ era.
end; Paleozoic
During the spring and fall equinoxes the maximum solar energy falls on the _______.
equator
Which of the following measures would reduce the possibility of landsliding?
increased drainage of the slope
According to Hubble's Law other galaxies are _______ Earth, and more distant galaxies are doing so _______.
moving away from; faster
Jet streams are wind streams that reach great speeds in _____ zones at a _____ altitude.
narrow; high
Divergent margins are where:
new lithosphere is being created
Which of the following are present on Earth but not on any other planet?
none of these
The Earth absorbs _____ radiation and re-radiates _____ radiation.
shortwave; longwave
The Earth absorbs ________ radiation and re-radiates ________ radiation.
shortwave; longwave
The most abundant compositional group of minerals in the Earth's crust is the
silicates
The landform marked as E on the diagram is a:
sill
Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection involves ______ change due to _______ environmental conditions.
slow; changing
Scientists believe that heavy elements were produced by the _______, and light elements were created by the _______.
stars; Big Bang
Climate is based on the weather conditions at a given place as determined by _______ recorded over a ______ period of time.
statistics; long
Tides are increased when the shoreline is:
steep and irregular
Which one of the following factors is most important in determining the texture of an igneous rock?
the rate at which the magma cools
How do freezing, thawing, wetting and drying contribute to soil creep?
the soil expands and contracts, lifting particles and dropping them a slight distance downslope
What classifies a certain bit of a lithospheric plate as "oceanic" or "continental"?
the type of crust
Banded Iron Formations (BIFs) provide evidence that the early Earth lacked oxygen because
they cannot form in the presence of abundant oxygen gas
The San Andreas Fault represents a:
transform boundary
The deepest parts of the ocean are found at
trenches
Porphyritic texture results from:
two episodes of magma cooling
Mass movements (landslides) are classified by all of the following EXCEPT:
type of applied force
The arrows are pointing at a(n)
angular unconformity
A soil that has little or no O-horizon but a thick accumulation of calcium carbonate (caliche) most likely forms in:
an arid climate
Active pumping of a well may produce a _______ in the water table.
cone of depression
The aquifer marked as B in the picture near well A would be a:
confined (artesian) aquifer
Geologically, ______ are actually submerged parts of the continents.
continental shelves
The Himalayas represent a:
continental-continental collision zone
Subduction occurs along what type of plate boundary?
convergent
According to the adiabatic principle as air rises it _______, and as it sinks it _______.
cools, warms up
The highest part of a wave is the _______ and the lowest part the _______. The difference between these is the wave _______.
crest; trough; height
Globally, _______ accounts for 73% of the demand for water.
crop irrigation
The 25% portion of the diagram represents
dark matter in the universe
In going from a magic rock to a felsic rock, iron _______ and viscosity _______.
decreases; increases
Which of the following hazards is probably NOT associated with this volcano?
destruction by fast-moving lava
B in the diagram refers to:
disappearing streams
Poorly sorted sediment would tend to be of relatively _______ permeability. Whereas a well-cemented sediment would tend be of relatively _______ permeability.
low; low
Felsic magmas are characterized by a _______ temperature and a _______ silica content than magic magmas.
lower; higher
The Hawaiian Islands are thought to have been formed at a _____
mantle hot spot
The P-wave shadow zone primarily results from the bending of waves as they pass from the _______ to the ________.
mantle, outer core
Latent heat energy is absorbed by _______.
melting
Air masses are characterized by their _____ content and _____.
moisture; temperature
The result of a 20 degree noon sun angle would be that (more, less) incoming radiation would be reflected, scattered, and absorbed by the atmosphere and (more, less) radiation would be absorbed and reradiated by EArth's surface to heat the atmosphere.
more; less
Punctuated equilibrium involves ______ evolution and was supported by the late ______.
rapid; Stephen Jay Gould
Volcanic rocks form from the _____ cooling of magma, result in the formation of relatively _______ crystals.
rapid; small
The principle of Uniformitarianism is based on the concept that the processes governing Earth systems have _______ through geologic time, and that past events _____ be explained by phenomenon and forces observable today.
remained the same; can
You are swimming in the ocean and find yourself being pulled out to sea. You are caught in a:
rip current
Magellan orbiter allowed scientists to determine that the length of a day on Venus was 243.0185 Earth days. Venus Express found the length of the Venus day is on average 6.5 minutes longer. This implies that the _______ of the planet is slowing down.
rotation
What phenomenon does the Coriolis Effect arise from?
rotation of the earth around its axis
Water off the coast of Greenland is cold and ______, because freshwater has been removed from it by the formation of sea ice. This water is therefore dense, so it ______ to form a large mass of water called the North Atlantic deep water.
salty, sinks
A volcano that is relatively small and composed of volcanic cinders is a ________
scoria (cinder) cone
Hess's explanation of the formation of ocean crust is called:
seafloor spreading
Which of the following is composed of the finest-grained (small) material?
shale
Approximately how much more energy is released by a magnitude 7 earthquake than a magnitude 5 earthquake?
1,000 times
A little bit less than ____ percent of all water in the hydrosphere cycle is groundwater.
1.0
The best estimate as to the age of the universe using cosmic background radiation data is about _______ years.
13.7 billion
What is the ratio of parent-to-daughter atoms when exactly one half life has elapsed?
1:1
If a rock started with 1,000 atoms of a parent but now contains 250 atoms, how many half lives have passed?
2 half lives
This diagram shows a place underlain by uniform materials. What is the approximate average gradient (slope) of the water table in this location?
20 m/km
Hominids developed about ______ while modern humans appeared ______ years ago.
4 million; 150 thousand
How long ago did the Earth form?
4.6 billion years ago
The probability of a particular area having a 20-year flood next year is __- percent. A 20-year flood would have a ---- discharge when compared to a 50-year flood.
5; lower
Approximately what percentage of the earth's surface is covered by oceans?
70%
The half-life of a radioactive isotope is 200 million years. If 6.2% of the parent product remains and 93.8% have been replaced by the daughter product, how old is the sample?
800 million years
There have been other periods in Earth's history when carbon dioxide concentrations were high. But the current level is unprecedented over at least how many years, according to IPCC?
800,000
What percentage of heat from global warming has the ocean absorbed in the past 40 years?
90%
Which picture correctly describes the placement of a front between the cp and mp air masses?
A
For the diagram above, which stage would exhibit the largest discharge for the cross section of the stream assuming velocity is constant?
A (at the top)
What usually happened to cause an occluded front?
A cold front catches up to a warm front
Which of the following best describes "frost wedging"?
A cyclic process by which water in fractures freezes at night, expanding the space between blocks of rock, followed by daytime ice melting.
Which statement is true about magma and volcanoes?
A low viscosity magma will flow more readily and easily than a magma with high viscosity. Therefore the eruption will be fluid and passive.
The best definition of a fall is:
A movement in which material is not in constant contact with the ground surface
What is the best definition of the term "theory", as it is used in science?
A theory is a comprehensive set of ideas explaining a phenomenon in nature
Suppose you pick up a rock that formed from the sediments of weathered rocks. What type of rock have you found?
Clastic
How do scientists study the impact greenhouse gases have on climate?
All of the above
Recent warming is strongly affecting terrestrial biological systems including such changes as:
All of these
Which of the following is NOT a way in which fossils can be preserved?
All of these are ways a fossil can be preserved
How are clouds classified?
Altitude and shape
The hydrologic cycle was established at least by the
Archean 3.5 b.y.
The rapidly escalating cost of coastal storm damage in the United States is due mainly to which of the following?
As development continues, new buildings become vulnerable to storm damage
During the weathering of granite which of the following changes take place?
Clay minerals increase and feldspars decrease
Fossils are preserved by all of the following EXCEPT:
Cloning
Identify the continental tropical air mass.
B
Schist can be formed from which of the following rocks?
B and C (shale, and felsic igneous rock)
Sedimentary rocks made of angular fragments are called?
Breccias
Identify the center of a low pressure system.
C
The parent material of soils can best be identified by examining the ____ horizon.
C
Which of the following profiles does NOT match its position on the river?
C
Which of the following air masses has the least effect on the weather of the Eastern United States?
Continental tropical
Electrical wiring is often composed of
Copper minerals
Which of the following does not cause long-term climate change?
Coriolis effect on air masses in the troposphere
Using the chart above, which town's statue will undergo the most weathering in a 50-year period?
Cumberburg
According to the diagram below, which statement best reflects the relative positions of the Sun, Earth, the moon, and Mars in our solar system?
D represents the Sun, E is the Earth, and F is the moon.
What is the Mercalli Intensity scale based upon?
Damage and human reports
Where a sediment-laden stream flows into a lake, a ____ may develop.
Delta
What is the relative direction of motion for points C and D?
Divergent
How did the moon form?
Due to a collision between Earth and a smaller planet-sized body
A soil horizon which is typically light-colored and shows evidence of extreme leaching is:
E
Why are most of the Earth's earthquakes foci located fairly close to the surface, and not farther down?
Earthquakes occur in places where rocks are "rigid", giving them a brittle quality. This is not the case deeper in the Earth.
If only about 2% of the world's water is tied up in glacial ice, why would we worry if all of the ice melted?
Even though the percentage is low, the volume is large, so melting the glaciers will raise sea level and flood the coastline of the world
On average, what weather phenomenon kills the most people in the US every year?
Excessive heat
(T/F) An emergent coast develops because of a rise in sea level.
False
(T/F) The letter C depicts continental curst.
False
(T/F) The specific heat of the water in the oceans is about 4 times that of the rock and soil on the continents. In addition, water in the oceans moves, while rock and soil are effectively stationary. This implies that water bodies have more temperature extremes than land.
False
All of the following are characteristic of divergent plate boundaries EXCEPT:
Island arcs
_______ are lines of equal pressure drawn on a weather map.
Isobars
What is the tornado intensity scale?
Fujita scale
Energy is produced in the core of the sun by _______ and is transferred slowly upward to the _______ zone.
Fusion; chromosphere
The asthenosphere is depicted as letter:
G
What is the largest moon in our solar system?
Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter
Which graph below best represents the change in the proportion of unstable (parent) radioactive isotopes with time?
Graph A
Complete the concept map for number 1.
Gravity
Which of these circulation systems has a sinking limb around 30 degrees north and south?
Hadley cell
While speaking to a colleague, a scientist makes the following statement: "I propose that Bald Eagle eggs in northern Maine will have thinner shells than those from birds in southern Alaska due to increased levels of pesticides in the water." This statement is a:
Hypothesis
Where is most of earth's freshwater?
Ice caps, glaciers, and groundwater
Where do high pressure centers tend to develop during the winter?
In cold air masses over continents
Where have some of the strongest and earliest impacts of global warming occurred?
In northern latitudes
What is the circulation direction for winds around C?
Inward and counterclockwise
Which of the four Galilean moons is the most volcanically active object in the Solar System, erupting sulfur-rich lava?
Io
Which of the following occurs last in the formation of a sedimentary rock?
Lithification
Where would you find the largest difference in shallow and deep ocean temperatures?
Low latitudes (near equator)
What air pressure and wind directions are present in tornadoes?
Low pressure, winds flow inward
________-viscosity lava often erupts from ________ to produce flood basalts.
Low; fissures
Which feature on Earth's moon is the oldest and consists of heavily cratered, feldspar rich, igneous rock?
Lunar highlands
These igneous rocks contain relatively small amounts of silica, and commonly are rich in the minerals olivine and pyroxene:
Mafic
This non-foliated metamorphic rock, prized by sculptors, is almost entirely comprised of the mineral calcite.
Marble
This planet has dunes on the surface, evidence of liquid water and 2 moons. It is
Mars
The asteroid belt lies between
Mars and Jupiter
How does mass wasting connect the processes of weathering and erosion?
Mass wasting causes increased weathering and transports material to the ocean in streams or the like
These two planets have no moons.
Mercury and Venus
The ______ is referred to as the Age of Reptiles.
Mesozoic
The atmosphere of Uranus contains a small amount of _______ which gives it its blue-green color.
Methane
Identify two greenhouse gases.
Methane and Carbon Dioxide
Which statement about the global carbon cycle is most accurate?
More carbon enters the atmosphere than leaves the atmosphere
All of these can indicate current direction Except:
Mudcracks
Which form of mass wasting would be most likely after heavy rains on a recently active volcano with significant ash deposits?
Mudflow
An immense cloud of gas (mainly hydrogen) and dust in interstellar space that forms a star.
Nebula
The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere is ________
Nitrogen
Which of the following mineral types is NOT commonly formed in evaporite deposits?
Olivine
Where are stream loads deposited?
On the inside of a bend where velocity is lower
Pluto orbits around 39 AU from the sun. What celestial groups orbits around 100,000 AU's?
Oort Cloud
What type of chemical weathering causes rust to form?
Oxidation
________ waves travel the fastest of energy waves produced by earthquakes and can travel through ________, whereas _______-waves are slower and can travel through _________.
P-waves; solids, liquids or gases: S-waves; solids only.
Floating or drifting organisms including phytoplankton are _______.
Planktic
The Ediacara fauna are fossils from the _______ Eon and are an extraordinary geological finding because they are preservations of ______ bodied, _______ organisms.
Proterozoic; soft; multicellular
Glass windows are made of
Quartz
Which surface would have the lowest albedo?
Rainforest
Persistent wet meteorological conditions can cause _______ floods.
Regional
What happens to relative humidity of an isolated, unsaturated parcel of air as temperature decreases?
Relative humidity increases
Which of the following is NOT a plutonic rock?
Rhyolite
What direction are ocean currents deflected in the northern hemisphere due to the Coriolis effect?
Right
This is the least dense of all the planets.
Saturn
A hot spot is:
an isolated area of active volcanism, especially one away from a plate boundary
How long have asteroids been striking Earth?
Since Earth formed
Steep, rounded depressions and water-filled holes common in areas of limestone bedrock are:
Sinkholes
________ was the first person to determine that the gravity force must also extend "to the orb of the moon".
Sir Isaac Newton
Of the following metamorphic rocks which has the finest (smallest) grain size?
Slate
What type of slope failure is shown in this figure?
Slump
Which relative time principle assumes that G is older than F?
Superposition
Why does precipitation form when air moves up a mountain?
Temperatures decrease causing condensation
Why is the post-Pangaea motion of the plates well known, but the pre-Pangaea motion not?
The ages and magnetic stripes of the ocean crust document the motion of the plates. The oceanic plates pre-Pangaea have been destroyed by subduction.
This figure shows a disconformity between an upper dark layer (being deposited by the sea) and a lower light-colored layer. What happened to form this disconformity?
The boundary between the two units indicates that for a time there was either erosion or no deposition.
What is a tectonic plate?
The crust and underlying rigid mantle above the asthenosphere
How would this stream interact with groundwater?
The stream would lose water to the groundwater
Which of the following is data rather than interpretation?
There is an area of low topography southwest of Yellowstone National Park
This major density zone for seawater is where temperature decreases rapidly with depth, reaching a maximum depth of about 1500km.
Thermocline
Which tectonic setting accounts for the majority of lava production?
Transform
(T/F) Warm water expands, so warming of the oceans leads to an increase in sea level.
True
Which planets have rings?
Uranus and Neptune
This planet has a 97% CO2 atmosphere with surface temperatures that average a blistering 480 degrees C.
Venus
Match the lettered answers to number 3 on the diagram.
Volcanic eruption
What factors are the most critical in determining whether a fossil is preserved?
Whether the creature had hard parts and how fast it was buried
The magnetic stripes of the sea floor
all of the above
The first person to orbit the earth was
Yuri Gagarin
An aquifer is defined as:
a formation which can supply water to a well
A large, flat-topped submerged hill rising from the sea floor is
a guyot
Which of the following was NOT a line of evidence used by Suess and Wegener to prove continental movement?
age of the ocean
Yellowstone is an example of a:
caldera
Calcite (CaCO3) is a _______ mineral, white gypsum (CaSO4) is a _____.
carbonate, sulfate
During an El Nino event upwelling along the Peruvian coast ______, and trade winds _______.
ceases; weaken
The process of binding particles together by precipitation of dissolved ions is called _________
cementation
If pressure and temperature are the only changes that occur during a metamorphic event, which of the following does not occur?
changes in chemical composition
The organisms living around hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean get their energy from ______.
chemosynthesis: creating energy from sulfur-bearing chemicals
Mechanical weathering especially dominates in ________ and ________ climates.
cold, dry
Overpumping of groundwater will result in _______ of an aquifer, which will lead to land _______.
compaction; subsidence
Miller and Urey's experiments proved that
complex organic molecules can form spontaneously under conditions that probably existed on the early Earth
A relatively large, symmetrical volcano contains interlayer lava flow, pyroclastic deposits, and volcanic mudflows. What kind of volcano is it?
composite volcano
The two fundamental identifying characteristics of a mineral are
composition and structure
Which of the following are all minerals?
feldspar, ice, quartz, diamond
An earthquake's source of energy is located at the ________, but the location at the land surface above that point is called the ________.
focus, epicenter
The alignment of platy minerals, like clays or micas, during metamorphism leads to the development of
foliation
Dendritic drainage:
forms on a uniformly eroding surface, gently sloping rocks
Where did the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere come from originally?
from cyanobacteria
Clastic or detrital rocks are classified primarily on the basis of:
grain size
The compositional equivalent of rhyolite is:
granite
A good aquifer should have:
high permeability, high porosity
Complete the following weathering concept map by selecting the correct term for number 5.
hydrolysis
Metamorphism by hot fluids is called:
hydrothermal
Precursors to volcanic eruptions may include all of the following EXCEPT:
increased frequency of lahars
The burning of fossil fuels has _____ the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and appears to be contributing to the global ______ problem.
increased; warming
How does physical weathering change the surface area of rocks and affect the rate of chemical weathering?
increases surface area and thereby increases chemical weathering
In general the density of rocks ________ with depth, and the speed of earthquake waves ________ with depth.
increases, increases
A reddish coloration in sedimentary rocks results from the presence of _______, and points towards an oxygen-_______ environment.
iron oxide, rich
A neap tide:
is the lowest low tide
Unit C is present in the left column but not the right column because:
it was not deposited or was eroded away
The intrusive landform marked A in the diagram is a:
laccolith
The tides at Biloxi are _______ compared to Plymouth and have a _______ pattern.
larger; diurnal
All of the following are useful in forecasting eruptions except:
latitude of the volcano
When waves intersect the beach at an angle they generally produce:
longshore currents
At an oceanic-continental convergent plate boundary, the _____ plate will subduct, and a _____ arc will form.
oceanic; volcanic island
Carefully examine the tilted sedimentary strata from Western Australia shown in the below photograph. According to the principle of ________, the tilting must have occurred ________ deposition.
original horizontality; after
The lava texture characterized by a smooth or ropy surface is:
pahoehoe
A very coarse-grained igneous rock, believed to form from volatile-rich, very fluid magma, is
pegmatite
Minerals such as diamond and graphite that have the same chemical composition but different structures are called _______
polymorphs
If a sedimentary rock is composed of many different size particles it is said to be:
poorly sorted
The amount of open space in a rock is the _____
porosity
When scientists report uncertainty in their data, they are
quantifying the degree of error and variability present in the data
Small particles, usually silt and clay, carried in a stream is the:
suspended load
An important component of the scientific process is that the findings of science are _______
testable
What is the current theory for the formation of our Solar System and the Earth?
the Sun and planets condensed from a cloud of gas and dust
The acceptance of seafloor spreading was aided by the fact that:
the ocean crust is youngest adjacent to spreading ridges
Earth's early atmosphere had _______ oxygen, and at the present time the atmosphere is comprised of ____% oxygen.
virtually no; 21%
Volcanic domes are formed by
viscous, rhyolitic lavas
Carbonate sedimentation, which forms limestone, is most likely to occur in:
warm, shallow waters
The Gulf Stream is a _______ water current that moves ________
warm; north
Which of the following is characteristic of a passive margin?
wide continental shelf
Groins will _______ updrift beaches, and _______ downdrift beaches.
widen; erode