FOS Reading Quiz 7

Which of the following is true regarding the Theory of Plate tectonics?

It meets the criteria of being conservative/consistent and has scope

Which of these is furthest from the Sun?

Pluto mainly, but sometimes Neptune

T/F Placebos are often as effective as some medicines - such as some pain killers and antidepressants.

True

T/F Smoking increases one's chances of developing heart disease.

True

T/F The rate of movement of plates has been directly measured and so it must be considered a fact - not an opinion or speculation.

True

T/F There is no empirical evidence that minerals emit a special form of electromagnetic energy that can act to heal people and improve their moods.

True

The planet with a size most like Earth's is

Venus

Because not all organisms in the history of the earth existed at the same time, it is possible to relative date the rocks based on the fossils they contain. This principle was discovered by:

William Smith

At which of the following locations is new oceanic crust being formed?

along rift zones

What fraction of Americans are overweight?

approximately two-thirds

The solar system is like an atom in that both

are mainly empty space

The planets do not produce their own light because they

are too cold to undergo nuclear fusion

The crust of the earth floats on a layer of the interior called the ____ and it behaves like a _____.

asthenosphere; plastic that deforms

At which of the following locations does subduction primarily occur?

at continental plate to oceanic plate collision zones

Obsidian is made of volcanic glass; i.e., it has no crystals in it. Given this, we know that it formed:

at the surface of the earth

The fact that only 8 elements, out of 112 known elements, make up most of the earth, is related to the fact that: (*You won't find the direct answer to this in the text. You have to apply what you've learned.)

b. heavy elements didn't form during the Big Bang when energy converted into matter c. nuclear fusion in stars created a greater abundance of these 8 elements than the heavier elements d. processes occurring when the earth formed from the nebula concentrated these 8 elements in the inner solar system e. B, C, and D are correct

Aside from getting enough calories, we also need to obtain _____ through our diet.

b. minerals c. vitamins both B and C

Which of the following is a source of energy powering plate tectonics?

both A and B a. gravitational compression b. radioactive decay

Minerals may form in:

both A and B a. magma b. fluids

The only way to lose weight is to:

burn more calories than you eat

Minerals are ____ whereas rocks are _______

chemical compounds; physical mixtures

When Pamela hit the piece of shiny galena, to her amazement, it broke into little pieces that were perfectly cubical in shape - just like the original mineral - only smaller. This phenomenon is known as ___ and is caused by _____:

cleavage; planes of weakness in the mineral

The plates of the earth are driven by _______ which occur in the ________ .

convection currents; mantle

What type of plate boundary produces high, folded mountains

convergent

Each second, the burning Sun's mass

decreases

Minerals may become unstable and start to disintegrate if:

either A or B depending upon the mineral a. pressures increase b. pressures decrease

Enchanted Rock (shown below) is located in Central Texas near Fredericksburg and is made of an intrusive rock known as granite. Based on this, we know that it:

formed deep below the surface of the earth when magma solidified

The limestone rock shown in the picture below is located along a coast in Thailand. This type of rock is:

formed from carbonate and shell material deposited in an ocean

Which of the following was true during the early history of the earth when it was still in the process of forming from the nebulae that gave birth to the solar system?

gas, dust, rocks, and asteroids stuck together to form the earth

Most meteors seen as shooting stars are about the size of

grains of sand

What is the common name for the igneous rock type that makes up most of the continents?

granite

If the Earth were the size of a marble about an inch in diameter, the Sun would be the size of a

grapefruit

The ocean floors are composed primarily of ________ material known as ______.

high density; basalt

An eruption of lava on the island of Hawaii - or any other island - will solidify to form ____ rock.

igneous

Which type of rock forms from molten material that cools off from a liquid state and turns solid?

igneous

Wegner's Theory of Continental Drift was:

initially rejected because he did not offer a mechanism by which the continents would move and some of his ideas were mistaken

Granite is an example of a/n:

intrusive igneous rock

We know that the earth's magnetic field changes because:

iron particles in igneous rocks record the orientation of the earth's magnetic field at the time they formed

Why is the rock in the picture below red in color?

it is due to iron oxidation

The continents are composed primarily of ________ material known as ______.

low density; granite

This rock used to be granite but was subjected to intense heat and pressure which changed it. This rock is therefore an example of ___ rock:

metamorphic

Gneisses are banded ____ rocks formed when ____

metamorphic; are subjected to intense heat and pressure

Michelangelo's magnificent statue known as the Pieta (shown below) is made of marble. Marble is a type of _____ rock formed from ____:

metamorphic; limestone

Given what you know about the world, if everyone on the earth had the same standard of living as that of a person in the U.S., the amount of minerals needed to supply their needs would be:

more than that used today because most people in the world use less resources than the people of the U.S.

Many seashells are made of calcium carbonate. Given this fact, can seashells be considered minerals?

no - it was made by an organism

Obsidian, which is a type of amorphous volcanic glass, was highly prized by many cultures because it could be fashioned into extremely sharp blades. Is it a mineral?

no - its atoms are not arranged in precise locations

Voodoo deaths may be the result of the:

nocebo effect

The Moon is not completely dark during a lunar eclipse because

of light refracted by the Earth's atmosphere

When the Moon assumes its characteristic Full Moon shape, the Moon lies:

on one side of the Earth, and the sun is on the other ( Sun->Earth->Moon)

How long (years) will it take the diamonds in wedding rings to break apart?

one billion

The basic unit into which the crust of the earth is broken is a:

plate

The Himalayas formed in area experiencing:

plate collisions

Spreading centers (also known as mid-ocean ridges and rift zones) are the sites at which:

plates are generated by magma rising upward from the earth's interior

When an earthquake occurs, _________

potential energy is converted into kinetic energy

An earthquake is caused when ___________ and ____________

potential energy is released when rock breaks; movement occurs along the break

Which of the following conditions is not considered necessary for the evolution of life?

presence of solid land

Which of the following is true?

rocks are made of minerals

The fact that one side of the Moon always faces Earth is evidence that while revolving about the Earth, the moon:

rotates once about its axis

The fact that the idea that continents move was originally rejected, but later accepted, shows that:

science works because it is self-correcting

The deepest features of the earth's crust are:

seafloor trenches

Fossils are found in which type of rock?

sedimentary

The layered rock in the picture below, which formed in a swampy environment, is an example of ____ rock.

sedimentary

Which type of rock is formed from the bits and pieces of other rocks?

sedimentary

We can map the interior of the earth without going there through the use of:

seismic waves

Which of the following has not been used to determine the rate of plate movement?

spectroscopes

The continental crust sits higher than the ocean floor because:

the continents are less dense than the ocean floor

The major rocks of the earth's crust are classified into three principal types based on:

the manner in which they formed

Ocean floor subducts under continental material because:

the ocean floor is made of material which is heavier than the continental material.

The magma that fuels and produces the volcanic activity along the Pacific Rim is derived from:

the rise of melted plate material that was melted in subduction zones along the margins of the Pacific Ocean basin.

Minerals often have very neat shapes, such as cubes or pyramid-like forms, because:

their atoms are arranged in such a way as to produce these shapes based on the electrical forces of attraction between the atoms

The San Andreas Fault is an example of a ________ plate boundary.

transform

Which of the following are located along the mid-ocean ridges?

volcanoes

In terms of age, the ocean floor is ____ than the continents because it is ____.

younger; forced downward into the interior and melted during plate collisions

The parallel stripes of alternating paleomagnetic bands on the ocean floor show that:

Both A and C a. the seafloor is diverging from mid-ocean ridges c. the seafloor is moving

Which of the following can occur when seismic waves encounter a layer in the Earth's interior?

A, B and C a. The can be reflected b. They can be absorbed c. Their speed can change

Which of the following would be located on the side of a continent located adjacent to an oceanic trench?

A, B, and C a. mountains b. volcanoes c. faults

Recalling that energy is the ability to do work; what work is the earth's internal energy doing on the crust of the earth?

A, B, and C a. moving plates b. creating mountains by folding and uplifting the rock c. causing earthquakes

Evidence that Mars may now or in the past have featured life includes:

A, B, and C a. the presence of carbon b. flood plains and other signs of water c. the discovery of what may be bacteria-like fossils on a meteorite

About how many kilograms of minerals does a person in the U.S. use in their lifetime? (FYI: 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds)

1-2 million

The Nebular Theory tells us that the solar system began to condense from a cloud of gas and dust about

4.5 billion years ago

The ability to decipher the type of environment in which rocks formed is based on:

A and B a. knowledge of the laws of nature b. the Principle of Uniformitarianism

What is the source of the earth's internal heat energy that drives the plates?

A and B a. radioactive decay of radioactive elements in the earth's interior b. energy associated with gravitational potential energy

The process of formation referred to in the previous question:

A and B a. caused light-weight material to sink to the interior of the earth b. caused the earth to separate into layers

What scientist first proposed the idea that continents move?

Alfred Wegner

T/F All minerals of the same kind, such as fluorite, have the same color.

False

T/F If you live along the Pacific Ocean margins, you are NOT very likely to experience earthquakes.

False

T/F Some people have claimed that, when a magnetic reversal occurs, the earth flips on its axis of rotation; i.e., it flips over. As strange as this sounds, scientists have confirmed that it is correct.

False

T/F We cannot reliably predict exactly when an earthquake will occur because they do not obey laws of nature.

False

When the alignment of the Sun, the Moon, and Earth produces a solar eclipse, the body that is in between the other two is the

Moon

Asteroids orbit the

Sun

Which of the following is true?

The age of the seafloor increases with increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge.

Why is the mid-Atlantic Ridge located exactly between the continents to the east and west of it?

The continents were once joined together and then rifted apart as the ridge formed.