Earth Science Final

Which of the following are unusual about Uranus?

Its axis of rotation, orientation of rings, and orbits of its moons are perpendicular to those of every other planet in the Solar System.

Earth is closest to the Sun in

January

What is the name of the ring of icy bodies that lies just beyond Neptune's orbit?

Kuiper Belt

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

What type of metamorphism occurs at fault boundaries where rocks have moved relative to one another?

dynamic

during the spring and fall equinoxes the maximum solar energy falls on the _______________

equator

Precursors to volcanic eruptions may include all of the following EXCEPT

increased frequency of lahars

Which of the following measures would reduce the possibility of landsliding?

increased drainage of the slope

The Edicaran fauna have been preserved in rocks that are about 630 million years old. These organisms were _________ and were _______________.

multicellular, eukaryotes

By definition, minerals are

naturally-occurring

Divergent margins are where:

new lithosphere is being created

The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere is

nitrogen

The Earth absorbs ______________ radiation and re-rediates __________________ 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 volcanic mountains of the Cascade Range

sit above a subduction zone, and are potentially explosive

What involves the movement of coherent rock on a planar surface?

slide

Surface waves are ______than body waves, and ______ responsible for much ground shaking and structural damage during major earthquakes.

slower, are

Igneous rocks composed of large crystals cooled

slowly

A layer of soil, parallel to the soil surface with distinct characteristics is a:

soil horizon

In addition to composition, the silicate group of minerals are further classified by:

structure

Which one of the following factors is most important in determining the texture of an igneous rock?

the rate at which the magma cools

the thermocline is ?

the zone of rapidly changing water temperature below the warm surface waters

why do maritime polar air masses have relatively high humidity and cold temperatures?

they form over high latitude oceans

arthquakes can be used to forecast an eruption because:

they record the movement of magma

How did an oxygen-rich atmosphere develop from a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere?

through photosynthesis by cyanobacteria

which of the following is the type of fossil that consists of fossilized nests, burrows, footprints, etc.?

trace fossils

The San Andreas Fault represents a:

transform boundary

The earths magnetic field is produced by?

turbulent motion in the liquid outer core

Porphyritic texture results from:

two episodes of magma cooling

in 1953, Stanley Miller used an electrical spark to produce these building blocks of life in the lab.

amino acids

Geologically, ___________ are actually submerged parts of the continents

continental shelves

The Himalayas represent a:

continental-contential collision zone

The slow mass wasting process that is recognized by downslope tilting of trees, posts and other features is called:

creep

The "Moho" is a seismic discontinuity produced by the boundary between the

crust, mantle

When a liquid cools, minerals can form. This is the process of:

crystallization

Polar amplification occurs because as ice melts, albedo _________ thus ___________ warming.

decreases, increasing

Hardpan or caliche often forms in soils found in environments.

desert

Felsic magmas are characterized by a _________ temperature and a __________ silica content than mafic magmas.

lower, higher

Petrified wood is formed by the process of fossilization called_______________

mineralization

According to Hubble's Law other galaxies are Earth, and more distant galaxies are doing so______________.

moving away from, faster

Energy in the core of the Sun is primarily transferred by while in the upper 200,000 km of the Sun, energy is mostly transferred by ___________.

radiation, convection

Volcanic rocks from the _________ cooling of magma, result in the formation of relatively ___________ crystals

rapid, small

Which tectonic setting accounts for the majority of lava production?

rift

Which best describes the hypothesis of seafloor spreading?

rising material in the mantle spreads laterally, carrying the seafloor away from the seafloor rides in the center of the ocean basin

what phenomenon does the Corolis Effect arise from?

rotation of the earth around its axis

Most fossils are found in

sedimentary rock

Which of the following is composed of the finest-grained (small) material?

shale

Average land surface elevation on Earth is about ________ Km, while average ocean depth is _____ km.

1, 4.5

Approximately how much more energy is released by a magnitude 7 earthquake than a magnitude 5 earthquake?

1,000 times

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

How long ago did the Earth form?

4.6 billion years ago

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 m.y.

There have been other periods is Earth's history when carbon dioxide concentration were high. But the current level is unprecedented over the last how many years, according to IPCC?

800,000

best definition of a slump is:

A coehsive slab of material moves along a curved surface

What is the best definition of the term "theory," as it is used in science?

A theory is a comprehensive of ideas explaining a phenomenon in nature.

Some incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space. Which of the following situations would result in the most reflection of incoming solar radiation?

Clear skies over Antarctica

The plastic zone just below the brittle plates is the?

Asthenosphere

This is the place where the four spheres (lithosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere) interact most intensely

At the surface of the Earth

measuring the depth of the ocean is called?

Bathymetry

Suppose you find a rock comprised mostly of decayed plant material? What type of sedimentary rock have you found?

Biochemical

The parent material of soils can best be identified by examining the horizon .

C

Which of the following is not a form of mechanical weathering?

Chemical dissolution

The organisims living around hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean get their energy from __________?

Chemosynthesis: creating energy from sulfur-bearing chemicals

All of the following are potential environmental, ecological, and human effects of global warming expect:

Coastal erosion will decrease

Latent heat energy is released by _________

Condensation

According to the adiabatic principle as air rises it ________, and as it sinks it ________.

Cools, warms up

Which of the following does not cause long-term climate change?

Coriolis effect on air masses in the in the troposphere

Earth scientists study where to find all EXCEPT

Cotton for your shirt

What is the Mercalli Intensity Scale based upon?

Damage and human reports

In the southern hemisphere, daylight hours are the longest at

December Solstice

P-wave velocity _______ at the core-mantle boundary and ________ at the outer core-inner core boundary.

Decreases, increases

Radar is used determine all of the following except about an object

Diameter and Temperature

Flat-lying sedimentary rocks are found beneath an erosional surface, and other flat-laying rocks are found above the erosional surface. The erosional surface is a ______________ .

Disconformity

How did the moon form?

Due to a collision between Earth and a smaller planet-sized body

Why are most of the Earth's earthquakes' foci located fairly close to the surface, and not further down?

Earthquakes occur where rocks are "rigid," giving them a brittle quality. This is not the Earthquakes case deeper Earth

Wind deposits tend to be

Fine-grained and Well-sorted

The use of resources in the US and the most industrialized economies is the world average.

Four times

what factor is most responsible for changing salinity values found in high latitudes?

Fresh water input

Our sun is powered by

Fusion

Which component of the earth system relates to the solid earth?

Geosphere

This type of rock has been altered by heat and pressure so that a new set of minerals formed and produces a characteristic banded appearance.

Gnesis

Which Graph below best represents the change In the proportion of unstable (parent) radioactive isotopes with time?

Graph A

Newton's Law of ______ provided proof of a heliocentric solar system.

Gravity

The mineral _____________ is commonly used to make plasterboard (also called wallboard).

Gypsum

The ideal of seafloor spreading is generally attributed to:

Hess

This part of Texas is High mesa with playa lakes, surrounded by high cliffs

High Plains

In the context of science, how would you classify the following statement? Dinosaurs become extinct because a large asteroid collided with Earth.

Hypothesis

How does physical weathering change the surface area of rocks and affect the rate of hemical weathering?

Increases surface area and thereby increases chemical weathering

What is the circulation direction for winds around C?

Inward and counterclockwise

Climate is classified by ___________ and _________ condition

Latitude, precipitation

Recent warming is strongly affecting terrestrial biological including such changes as?

Latitudinal changes in distribution, elevation changes in distribution, earlier and later bird migration

Where would you find the largest difference in shallow and deep ocean temperatures?

Low latitudes (near equator)

Which systems are more likely to be associated with cloudy conditions and why?

Low pressure systems because air rises there

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 light-colored and consists of heavily cratered, feldspar rich, igneous rock?

Lunar Highlands

This non-foliated metamorphic rock, prized by sculptors, is almost entirely comprised of the mineral calcite

Marble

The asteroid belt lies between

Mars and Jupiter

A hot spot is

an isolated area of active volcanism, especially one away from a plate boundary

Which is the correct order for the first six planets in our solar system starting from the Sun?

Mercury , Venus , Earth , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn

These two planets have no moons

Mercury and Venus

Air masses are characterized by their ______ content and _______.

Moisture, temperature

Which statement about the global carbon cycle is most accurate?

More carbon enters the atmosphere than leaves the atmosphere

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 re-radiated by Earth's surface to heat the atmosphere.

More, Less

Land surfaces heat ________ rapidly than water, and cool _____ rapidly then water.

More, more

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 voIcano with significant ash deposits?

Mudflow

Pluto orbits around 39 AU from the sun. What celestial groups orbits around 100,000 AUs?

Oort Cloud

What type of chemical weathering causes rust to form?

Oxidation

_____-waves are compressional waves, and are body waves that _______ pass through a solid, liquid, or gas.

P, can

Looking at the distribution of volcanoes that have occurred over the last 10000 years, they cluster around the margin of the _______ Ocean, and occur in grouping around _______ plate boundaries.

Pacific, convergent

Marine organisims that swim freely under their own locomotion are classified as_______________

Pelagic

Which of the following is a plutonic texture that indicates a slow rate of cooling?

Phaneritic

Carbon enters the atmosphere by all EXCEPT

Photosynthesis

Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.

Plates are sliding past one another horizontally

Which of the following sequences below correctly describes the evolution of our Sun from young to old?

Protostar, main-sequence, red giant, white dwarf

Glass windows are made from

Quartz

What happens to the density of seawater with increasing depth in the oceans?

Rapid increase shallow, the fairly constant with depth

What happens to relative humidity of an isolated, unsaturated parcel of air as temperature decreases?

Relative humidity increases

what direction are ocean currents deflected in the northern hemisphere due to the Coriolis Effect?

Right

Which of the following rocks would physically weather most rapidly?

Rock D is in a low temperature, dry climate

why is there salt in the oceans?

Runoff from continents

what type of air changes temperature more slowly as it rises?

Saturated Air

This is the least dense of all the planets. It is..

Saturn

Why weren't the other Pluto-like objects discovered earlier?

Science is limited by technology

If sedimentary rocks account for only about 5% of the Earth's top 10km, which one of the following is NOT a reason why sedimentary rocks are still considered "important"?

Sedimentary rocks contain evidence of the crystallization sequence of minerals produced by solidifying magma

Mauna Loa in Hawaii is an example of this type feature

Shield - Volcano

How long have asteroids been striking Earth?

Since Earth formed

This volcano is composed of multiple layers of ash and rock

Strato-Volcano

Why does precipitation form when air moves up a mountain?

Temperatures decrease causing condensation

You examine an igneous rock that has mineral grains which are 2.5 cm in size (large), and are primarily dark green and black color. Which statement concerning the rock is not accurate?

The composition of the magma that formed this rock would be Felsic

What is a tectonic plate?

The crust and underlying rigid mantle above the asthenosphere

which of the following collection of fossils would be LEAST useful for determining the age of a section of rocks?

The fossil of a family of creatures that lived unchanged for a very long time

What must be true of a rock unit that has an inclusion?

The rock unit is younger than the inclusion

If we cannot see the ocean floor from an airplane, we cannot see it from space either. So, how does a satellite measure the depth of ocean water to determine the topography of the ocean floor?

The satellites can detect very minute variances in gravity which are reflected in the topography of the ocean floor.

What is the dominant character of the four outer planets?

They are large and gas rich

Which statement about cyclones is correct?

They are low pressure systems with counterclockwise flow

The 2006 Cassini space probe confirmed that Saturn's rings are comprised of frozen ___________________ molecules.

Water

A cow patty, if fossilized, would be a?

Trace fossil

This T'exas area contains varied topography from deserts to mountains

Trans Pecos

What is not a characteristic of a convergent plate boundary

Transform Faults

Warm water expands, so warming of the oceans leads to an increase in sea level?

True

Who was a Danish astronomer who was skeptical of the heliocentric hypothesis of Copernicus, and collected the most accurate planetary data of the time from an astronomical observatory that was built in the year 1572 on the Danish island of Hven.

Tycho Brahe

Mass movements (landslides) are classified by all of the following EXCEPT

Type of applied force

What principle suggests that geologic processes that operate on Earth today are similar to those that operated in the past?

Uniformitarian

Which planets have rings?

Uranus and Neptune

The eye of a tropical cyclone has _______ winds and the eye wall has ________.

Weak to no, strong

A large, flat - topped submerged hill rising from the sea floor is

a guyot

which surface would have the lowest albedo?

a rainforest

Which of the following was not a line of evidence used by Suess and Wegener to prove continental movement?

age of the ocean

27)Yellowstone an example of a:

caldera

Calcite (CaCO3) is a ____________ mineral, while gypsum (CaSO4) is a ____________.

carbonate, sulfate

A fossil that forms when an object is pressed into mud and dries is a _________ fossil?

cast fossil

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

Milutin Milankovtich first proposed that variations in Earth's climate may be caused by all of these expect ______________.

changing continental positions

Sedimentary rocks are divided into categories. Which of the following correctly identifies the categories?

clastic, chemical, biochemical

The tendency of a mineral to break along certain preferred planes is

cleavage

air that is _____________ will be more likely to produce thunderstorms. A ________ decrease in temperature with height would also be more likely to produce thunderstorms.

cold and wet, rapid

Mineral groups (carbonates, sulfates, etc) are classified based on:

composition

The rate and direction of plate movements can be determined using all except

erosion rate of volcanic rocks

What type of volcano is Mount St. Helens and what caused the explosion?

explosion?I It is a strato-volcano that exploded when trapped gasses were quickly released.

Talus piles are formed primarily from what type of mass-wasting?

fall

Which of the following are all minerals?

feldspar, ice, quartz, diamond

The alignment of platy minerals, like clays or micas, during metamorphism leads to the development of

foliation

Transform plate boundary are characterized by:

frequent earthquakes

general name for a narrow zone separating two air masses

front

deposits generated by turbidity currents are also called:

graded beds

Clastic or detrial rocks are classified primarily on the basis of

grain size

The development and closure of the Isthmus of Panama 50 million years ago resulted in the development of the_________ which led to a _____________ of Europe.

gulf stream, warming

The shape that mineral grows into is called

habit

Metamorphism by hot fluids is called:

hydrothermal

The type of rock that forms from magma is:

igneous

Where does most of the matter originally present in the solar nebula end up in the solar system?

in the Sun

In general the density of rocks ______ with depth, and the speed of earthquake waves ______ with depth.

increases, increases

clams and oysters are often studied by ________ paleontologists

invertebrate

Most of the hydrogen and helium can be found in the _______ planets, and most of the heavy elements such as iron, aluminum and silica are found in the _________ planets

jovian, terrestrial

You are transported back to about 200,000 years after the Big Ban. It would be

light with atoms present

At an oceanic-continental convergent plate boundary, the _____________ plate will subduct, and a __________________ arc will form.

oceanic, volcanic island

Japan was formed as a result of:

oceanic- oceanic plate convergence

where and when do hurricanes originate?

over the tropical oceans during the summer

The lava texture characterized by a smooth or ropy surface is:

pahoehoe

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

An igneous rock containing coarse crystals in a fine-grained matrix is described as

porphyritic

Which geologic time principle states that the older geologic units are below younger geologic units?

principle of superposition

An isotope of an element will have the same number of _________, but different number of __________?

protons, neutrons

When scientists report uncertainty in their data, they are

quantifying the degree oferror and variability present in the data

An important of the scientific process 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

Shield volcanoes are large, gently-sloping landforms. This characteristic shape occurs because:

the magma is fluid and flows easily

The "focus" and "epicenter" associated with earthquakes are

the point where fault "slip" is initiated/ the point on the surface directly above the focus

Pillow lavas are formed

under water

Earth's early atmosphere had ___________ oxygen, and at the present time the atmosphere is comprised of ________ % oxygen

virtually no, 21

Which of the following are ways that viscosity affects gases in magma?

viscous magma prevents gas from escaping easily and gas builds up in viscous magma and can cause explosive eruptions

Volcanic domes are formed by

viscous, rhyolitic lavas

The Spotted Owl is a bird that lives primarily in old growth woods in the Pacific Northwest nests in cavities or on platforms in large trees and will use abandoned nests of other species. There are approximately three to five thousand pairs remaining in the wild, mostly in the states of Washington, Oregon and California. The Northern Spotted Owl was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act throughout its range of northern California, Oregon and Washington by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on June 23, 1990, citing loss of old-growth habitat the primary threat. Logging in national forests containing the Northern Spotted Owl stopped by court order in 1991. The logging industry estimated up to 30,000 of 168,000 jobs would be lost because of the owl's status, which agreed closely with a Forest Service estimate. This a scientific controversy.

ⓑFalse