SB: Earth and Space 1
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice What is the primary mode of heat transport in a white dwarf? W) Convection X) Conduction Y) Radiation Z) Advection
ANSWER: X) CONDUCTION
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Name the components that create the two distinct tails of a comet.
ANSWER: IONS AND DUST
BONUS1) Earth and Space - Short Answer The red or pink color commonly seen in quartzite is due to oxides of what element?
ANSWER: IRON
Earth and Space - Short Answer What type of rotating neutron stars are classified into rotation-powered, accretion-powered, and magnetars?
ANSWER: PULSARS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What law mathematically expresses the amount of radiation emitted by a blackbody at a given temperature?
ANSWER: STEFAN-BOLTZMANN (ACCEPT: STEFAN'S LAW)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Mechanical weathering is one type of weathering, what is the other?
ANSWER: CHEMICAL (ALSO ACCEPT BIOLOGICAL)
TOSS-UP20) Earth and Space - Short Answer What element is responsible for the destructive nature of CFCs to ozone molecules?
ANSWER: CHLORINE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer By name or number, identify all of the following five elements which destroy ozone: 1) hydrogen, 2) nitrogen, 3) chlorine, 4) bromine, 5) argon.
ANSWER: CHLORINE AND BROMINE (ACCEPT: 3 AND 4)
TOSS-UP14) Earth and Space - Short Answer What type of optical aberration is unique to refracting telescopes relative to reflecting telescopes?
ANSWER: CHROMATIC ABERRATION
Earth and Space - Short Answer Refracting telescopes have a severe limitation in that each wavelength of light is refracted differently, making it impossible to focus on more than one wavelength of light at a time. What is this type of optical aberration called?
ANSWER: CHROMATIC ABERRATION (ALSO ACCEPT: CHROMATIC DISTORTION, SPHEROCHROMATISM)
[Bonus] Short Answer: According to the Atterberg and U.S. Department of Agriculture classification scales, what type of soil particles have diameters of less than 0.002 millimeters and are considered the smallest particles of soil?
ANSWER: CLAY
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name for hygroscopic atmospheric particles on which water vapor condenses to form clouds?
ANSWER: CLOUD CONDENSATION NUCLEI (ACCEPT: CCN, CONDENSATION NUCLEI, NUCLEI)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What type of front travels at about 30 miles per hour and has a slope of about 1:100?
ANSWER: COLD
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the term for the process through which precipitation forms in water vapor clouds?
ANSWER: COLLISION-COALESCENCE (ACCEPT: COALESCENCE or BERGERON PROCESS)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer What is the general name for the myriad of suspended particles or aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere that allow rain droplets to undergo coalescence?
ANSWER: CONDENSATION NUCLEI
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name of the sedimentary rock formed by compaction and cementation of rounded, pebble-size particles?
ANSWER: CONGLOMERATE
[BONUS] Short Answer: What type of glacier flows outward from a center as opposed to down a mountain valley?
ANSWER: CONTINENTAL
TOSS-UP7) Earth and Space- Short Answer What is the term for the vertical motions that occur when the atmosphere is unstable?
ANSWER: CONVECTION
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Japan consists of a volcanic island arc and trench system. This is indicative of which type of tectonic plate boundary?
ANSWER: CONVERGENT
BONUS-EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: Based on compositional boundaries, name the three different layers that make up the structure of the solid portion of the planet Earth?
ANSWER: CORE, MANTLE, CRUST (accept in any order)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the hottest layer of the Sun's atmosphere?
ANSWER: CORONA
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the general name of an instrument designed to observe the extremely faint emissions from the region around the Sun in the absence of a solar eclipse?
ANSWER: CORONAGRAPH (ACCEPT: SOLAR CORONAGRAPH)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What discovery in the second half of the 20th century led to the acceptance of the Big Bang theory and the abandonment of the steady state model?
ANSWER: COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND
TOSS-UP 17) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What discovery in the second half of the 20th century led to the acceptance of the Big Bang theory and the abandonment of the steady state model?
ANSWER: COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What optical device completely eliminates chromatic aberration in telescopes?
ANSWER: CURVED MIRRORS (ACCEPT: MIRRORS)
Earth and Space - Short Answer What was the first black hole discovered?
ANSWER: CYGNUS X-1
TOSS-UP22) Earth and Space - Short Answer What was the first black hole discovered?
ANSWER: CYGNUS X-1
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the chemical formula for the substance whose dissolution was mainly responsible for the formation of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico?
ANSWER: CaCO3
Bonus: The Oso landslide that occurred in Washington State in 2014 moved 1.2 kilometers across the North Fork Stillaguamish [STILL-ah-GWAH-mush] River in a single minute. What was the speed of this landslide in miles per hour, rounded to the nearest tenth?
44.7
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer In the southern hemisphere, Ekman transport generated by trade winds over the equatorial Pacific Ocean is how many degrees to the left of the prevailing winds?
90
BONUS 25) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The basic building block of the silicates, the siliconoxygen tetrahedron, carries what overall charge?
ANSWER: -4
Short Answer By name or number, identify all of the following four formations that were caused by subduction: 1) Cascade Mountains, 2) North American craton, 3) Hawaiian Islands, 4) folded Himalayan mountains?
CASCADE MOUNTAINS (ACCEPT: 1)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Homo sapiens evolved during which geological era of the Geological Time Scale?
CENOZOIC
Bonus: What geologic era began following the Cretaceous-Paleogene [PAY-leo-jeen] extinction?
CENOZOIC
What is the term for a Kuiper [KYE-pur] belt object that has been scattered into the region of the outer planetary orbits?
CENTAUR
What country has emitted the most carbon dioxide to Earth's atmosphere during the past five years?
CHINA
The Montreal Protocols were a series of international agreements to phase out what harmful pollutants that destroy stratospheric ozone?
CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS (ACCEPT: CFC's; DO NOT ACCEPT: HALOCARBONS)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What physical law, which ice skaters utilize to increase their rate of spin, is critical in the formation of dust devils, water spouts, and hurricanes?
ANSWER: LAW OF CONSERVATION OF ANGULAR MOMENTUM
Earth and Space - Short Answer Galena is a sulfide ore of what metal element?
ANSWER: LEAD
TOSS-UP1) Earth and Space- Short Answer Galena is a sulfide ore of what metal element?
ANSWER: LEAD
BONUS4) Earth and Space - Short AnswerWhat are the two most abundant elements in the Earth's crust?
ANSWER: OXYGEN AND SILICON
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The presence of what molecule causes temperatures to increase with increasing altitude in the stratosphere?
ANSWER: OZONE (ACCEPT: O₃)
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer What cinder cone appeared in 1943 in a Mexican corn field and is one of the most well characterized cinder cone volcanoes?
ANSWER: PARICUTIN
BONUS14) Earth and Space - Short Answer What cinder cone appeared in 1943 in a Mexican corn field and is one of the most well characterized cinder cone volcanoes?
ANSWER: PARICUTIN
BONUS 22) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The following four particles A, B, C, and D are of equal volume and are dropped into a column filled with water. Particle A is flat with a density of 2.5 grams per cubic centimeter. Particle B is flat with a density of 3.0 grams per cubic centimeter. Particle C is round with a density of 2.5 grams per cubic centimeter, and particle D is round with a density of 3.0 grams per cubic centimeter. Which particle would usually settle most rapidly?
ANSWER: PARTICLE D
BONUS 4) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name for a very coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, having large crystals that are usually several centimeters in length and forming in the later stages of a magma chamber's crystallization?
ANSWER: PEGMATITE
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Name the three layers of the Sun's atmosphere.
ANSWER: PHOTOSPHERE, CHROMOSPHERE, CORONA
TOSS-UP18) Earth and Space - Short Answer What type of nebula is formed as a star ejects ionized gas after its evolution through the asymptotic giant branch phase?
ANSWER: PLANETARY NEBULA
Earth and Space - Short Answer The Kansan, Nebraskan, Illinoian, and Wisconsinan glacial events occurred in what geological epoch?
ANSWER: PLEISTOCENE
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer What is the oldest Eon on the Geological Time Scale within which the first organisms appeared between 550 million and 3.4 billion years ago?
ANSWER: PRECAMBRIAN
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The North Star today is Polaris. In the time of the Babylonians, it was Thuban. What is the reason for this change?
ANSWER: PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES (ACCEPT: PRECESSION OR AXIAL PRECESSION)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer In hydrostatic equilibrium, which two forces are balanced against each other?
ANSWER: PRESSURE AND GRAVITY
TOSS-UP22) Earth and Space - Short Answer Pompeii was destroyed by what volcanic phenomenon, sometimes called "glowing avalanches?"
ANSWER: PYROCLASTIC FLOW (ACCEPT: NUÉE ARDENTE)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The average kinetic energy of ions in the solar core is too low to overcome the Coulomb barrier between the ions. What phenomenon allows nuclear fusion to take place nevertheless?
ANSWER: QUANTUM TUNNELING
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What are the two most abundant minerals in the continental crust?
ANSWER: QUARTZ AND FELDSPAR (ACCEPT: FELDSPAR FAMILY)
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer What type of fog frequently forms in valleys when the wind is light and the ground cools until the dew point is reached?
ANSWER: RADIATION FOG (ACCEPT: RADIATION or RADIATIONAL) (Solution: brought about by radiational cooling)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Wolf-Rayet stars are young, massive stars with prodigious mass loss rates. What force drives their strong stellar winds?
ANSWER: RADIATION PRESSURE
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Which form of electromagnetic radiation does NASA primarily use to transfer information from spacecraft back to Earth?
ANSWER: RADIO
TOSS-UP17) Earth and Space- Short Answer Using carbon-14 decay to determine the date of a material is an example of what technique?
ANSWER: RADIOCARBON DATING (ACCEPT: RADIOMETRIC DATING, RADIOACTIVE DATING, CARBON DATING)
BONUS20) Earth and Space - Short Answer The Great Basin, Gobi, and Takla Makan are examples of what type of deserts?
ANSWER: RAINSHADOW DESERTS
TOSS-UP22) Earth and Space - Short Answer What term describes the change of direction in a wave as it enters shallower water?
ANSWER: REFRACTION
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Of the 3 basic types of magma on Earth, which one generally has the LOWEST eruptive temperature?
ANSWER: RHYOLITIC (ACCEPT: RHYOLITE) (Solution: basaltic ~ 1000º - 1200ºC, andesitic ~ 800º - 1000ºC, rhyolitic ~ 650º - 800ºC)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name of the blue-white supergiant that is also the brightest star in the constellation Orion?
ANSWER: RIGEL (ACCEPT: BETA ORIONIS)
BONUS 8) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What seismologic feature led scientists to identify the Earth's liquid outer core?
ANSWER: S-WAVE SHADOW ZONE
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the term for the wind-driven transport process that causes sand particles to skip or bounce for short distances?
ANSWER: SALTATION
BONUS 22) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the largest sediment particle type a wind of 10 meters per second could transport?
ANSWER: SAND
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What kind of black hole can be described entirely by its mass?
ANSWER: SCHWARZSCHILD
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Igneous [IG-nee-uhs] rocks and magmas are classified into four main compositional groups: ultramafic, mafic, intermediate, and felsic, based on the content of what chemical compound?
ANSWER: SILICA
BONUS23) Earth and Space - Short Answer What structural modification did the United States introduce to enable atmospheric pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides to be dispersed at higher altitudes?
ANSWER: SMOKESTACKS
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer In what compass direction would the magnetic north pole of your compass point during a period in which the Earth's magnetic field was reversed?
ANSWER: SOUTH
BONUS 1) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer A Hertzsprung-Russell diagram plots the relationship between its luminosity and what other characteristic?
ANSWER: SPECTRAL TYPE (ACCEPT: TEMPERATURE, COLOR)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Name the three quantities that can completely describe any black hole.
ANSWER: SPIN, MASS, CHARGE (ACCEPT: ANGULAR MOMENTUM OR ANGULAR VELOCITY INSTEAD OF SPIN)
Earth and Space - Short Answer Prominent and well-defined arms are the defining characteristics of a grand design galaxy, which is a subset of what larger class of galaxies?
ANSWER: SPIRAL
TOSS-UP3) Earth and Space- Short Answer Prominent and well-defined arms are the defining characteristics of a grand design galaxy, which is a subset of what larger class of galaxies?
ANSWER: SPIRAL
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Based on the Spitzer Space Telescope observatory program, infrared emission from most galaxies comes primarily from three sources. Name two of them.
ANSWER: STARS, INTERSTELLAR GAS, DUST (ACCEPT: INTERSTELLAR DUST)
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Cirrus clouds are typically found at elevations of: W) 20,000 feet and above X) 10,000 to 20,000 feet Y) 5,000 to 10,000 feet Z) 2,000 to 5,000 feet
ANSWER: W) 20,000 FEET AND ABOVE
BONUS23) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following is closest to the average number of years between reversals of the polarity of Earth's magnetic field? W) 200,000 X) 2 million Y) 20 million Z) 200 million
ANSWER: W) 200,000
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice A lightning bolt is seen and its accompanying thunder is heard 15 seconds later. This means the storm is most likely how many miles away: W) 3 X) 6 Y) 9 Z) 15
ANSWER: W) 3
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following are the latitudes most favorable for tornadogenesis [tohr-nuh-doh-JEN-uh-sis]? W) 30 - 50 degrees north and south X) 45 - 60 degrees north Y) 0 - 10 degrees north and south Z) 0 - 60 degrees north
ANSWER: W) 30- 50 DEGREES NORTH AND SOUTH
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice According to the Continental Drift Theory, Australia remained attached to Antarctica until the 2 entities drifted apart about how many million years ago: W) 80 X) 120 Y) 250 Z) 350
ANSWER: W) 80
BONUS 22) EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT classified as a low-level cloud: W) altostratus X) nimbostratus Y) stratocumulus Z) stratus
ANSWER: W) ALTOSTRATUS
[bonus] Multiple Choice If ammonoid fossils are found in a sediment layer, the area was MOST likely covered by: W) an ocean X) a large forest Y) a pre-Cambrian swamp Z) a fresh-water basin
ANSWER: W) AN OCEAN
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice What is the term for a crescent-shaped sand dune with horns pointed downwind? W) Barchan [bahr-KAHN] X) Traverse Y) Parabolic Z) Longitudinal
ANSWER: W) BARCHAN
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following minerals occurs in small amounts in many igneous rocks, is black and shiny, often occurs in small hexagonal blocks, and is soft with good cleavage: W) biotite X) olivine Y) plagioclase Z) quartz
ANSWER: W) BIOTITE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Niagara Falls can be classified as which of the following types of waterfall? W) Block X) Chute [SHOOT] Y) Tiered Z) Cataract
ANSWER: W) BLOCK
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Who was the 18th century geologist who first developed the concept of uniformitarianism? W) Cuvier [KYOO-vee-ay] X) Lyell [LY-uhl] Y) Hutton Z) Steno
ANSWER: Y) HUTTON
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following does the far side of the Moon possess in greater quantity when compared to the near side of the Moon? W) Maria X) Regolith [REG-uh-lith] Y) Impact craters Z) Aurora
ANSWER: Y) IMPACT CRATERS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following changes has NOT contributed to the current warming trend for Earth's atmosphere? W) Greenhouse gas concentrations X) Global deforestation Y) Incoming solar energy Z) Farming practices
ANSWER: Y) INCOMING SOLAR ENERGY
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The Philippines formed from tectonic activity at which of the following plate boundary types? W) Continent-continent convergent X) Divergent Y) Ocean-ocean convergent Z) Transform
ANSWER: Y) OCEAN-OCEAN CONVERGENT
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Tsunamis are most likely to be generated in which of the following oceans? W) Arctic X) Atlantic Y) Pacific Z) Southern
ANSWER: Y) PACIFIC
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Pangaea [pan-JEE-uh] formed by the end of what geologic period? W) Paleocene [pay-lee-uh-SEEN] X) Paleozoic Y) Permian Z) Pennsylvanian
ANSWER: Y) PERMIAN
TOSS-UP13) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice Which of the following types of lava flows results when a volcano erupts underwater? W) Pahoehoe lava X) A'a lava Y) Pillow lava Z) Block lava
ANSWER: Y) PILLOW LAVA
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Panning is a simple mining technique that is used for extracting gold deposited in: W) banded gold formations X) evaporite deposits Y) placer deposits Z) lode deposits
ANSWER: Y) PLACER DEPOSITS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The Sun's magnetic field, also called the interplanetary magnetic field, extends to at least which of the following? W) 0.5 au X) Neptune Y) Pluto Z) Asteroid belt
ANSWER: Y) PLUTO
Earth and Space - Multiple Choice What bright features extending from the Sun's photosphere, often loop-shaped, are composed of relatively cool plasma that emits visible light? W) Sunspots X) Flares Y) Prominences Z) Van Allen belts
ANSWER: Y) PROMINENCES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following types of smog in the boundary layer of the atmosphere contains sulfur dioxide? W) Oxidizing X) Photochemical Y) Reducing Z) Boundary layer
ANSWER: Y) REDUCING
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following terms best describes the albedo of a planet: W) electromagnetic energy X) density Y) reflectivity Z) absorption
ANSWER: Y) REFLECTIVITY
BONUS4) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice During an El Niño event, what wind pattern falters, causing cold, nutrient-rich water to be trapped underneath warmer waters? W) Jet stream X) Horse latitudes Y) Trade winds Z) Westerlies
ANSWER: Y) TRADE WINDS
Multiple Choice Which of the following glacial features are deposited in annual layers and can be used by geologists to determine seasonal variations during past ice ages: W) drumlins X) moraines Y) varves Z) eskers
ANSWER: Y) VARVES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Construction of habitable structures on the Moon hinges upon the discovery of which of the following vital resources on the Moon? W) Carbon X) Helium Y) Water Z) Iron
ANSWER: Y) WATER
Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true about Earth's history: W) the Ordovician Period predates the Silurian Period X) we currently live in the Cenozoic Era Y) we currently live in the Pleistocene Epoch Z) the Holocene Epoch began about 10,000 years ago
ANSWER: Y) WE CURRENTLY LIVE IN THE PLEISTOCENE EPOCH
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a fine-grained silica-rich sedimentary rock that is made primarily of microcrystalline quartz: W) shale X) potash Y) dolostone Z) chert
ANSWER: Z) CHERT
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Severe weather events are most commonly associated with which of the following types of weather front? W) Stationary X) Occluded Y) Warm Z) Cold
ANSWER: Z) COLD
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Mount Vesuvius in Italy is a typical: W) mud volcano X) caldera Y) cinder cone Z) composite volcano
ANSWER: Z) COMPOSITE VOLCANO
BONUS13) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following processes created the volcano Mount Nyiragongo [nee-ira-g ong-o h] in the Democratic Republic of Congo? W) Subduction X) Hot spot Y) Sea floor spreading Z) Continental rifting
ANSWER: Z) CONTINENTAL RIFTING
[BONUS] EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the term for a ridge of till that is formed when the lateral moraines of two adjacent alpine glaciers coalesce [koh-uh-LES]?
MEDIAL MORAINE
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer In what layer of Earth's atmosphere do most meteors experience the most heating?
MESOSPHERE
What state of matter is the most common in the universe?
PLASMA
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: What is the oldest Eon on the Geological Time Scale within which the first organisms appeared between 550 million and 3.4 billion years ago?
PRECAMBRIAN
Short Answer By name or number, identify all of the following four life forms that are NOT a part of the Paleozoic rock record: 1) arthropods, 2) brachiopods (read as: BRA-kee-oh-pods), 3) cephalopods (read as: SEH-fah-loh-pods), 4) sauropods.
SAUROPODS (ACCEPT: 4)
Every silicate mineral contains what two elements?
SILICON AND OXYGEN
Short Answer On Mars, how do the ages of the higher elevation and heavily cratered southern highlands compare to the ages of the lower elevation and flat northern lowlands?
SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS ARE OLDER (ACCEPT: NORTHERN LOWLANDS ARE YOUNGER)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: According to the Continental Drift Theory, Australia remained attached to Antarctica until the 2 entities drifted apart about how many million years ago: W) 80 X) 120 Y) 250 Z) 350
W) 80
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Trilobites are index fossils that lived: W) in warm, ocean waters X) during the Achaean geological time Y) in desert environments Z) in lakes, rivers and streams
W) IN WARM, OCEAN WATERS
Bonus: Addition of which of the following compounds may promote carbon sequestration in the ocean? W) Potassium hydroxide X) Carbonic acid Y) Hydrochloric acid Z) Sulfur
W) POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following both have very similar chemical compositions but exhibit different colors: W) ruby and sapphire X) opal and pearl Y) diamond and quartz Z) amber and citrine
W) RUBY AND SAPPHIRE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice A rising parcel of air reaches the lifting condensation level at 2,000 meters at a dew point temperature of 15ºC. At 3,000 meters, the temperature of this parcel of air will on average be: W) 15ºC X) 10ºC Y) 6ºC Z) 3ºC
X) 10ºC
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is best classified as a plutonic intrusive rock: W) obsidian X) granite Y) basalt Z) pumice
X) GRANITE
Bonus: The United States has the highest frequency of tornado occurrences of the world's nations. To the nearest order of magnitude, how many tornadoes touch down in the United States each year? W) One hundred X) One thousand Y) Ten thousand Z) One hundred thousand
X) ONE THOUSAND
Hydraulic fracturing is used to obtain which of the following resources? W) Coal X) Natural gas Y) Uranium ore Z) Water
X) NATURAL GAS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Ocean tides of diminished range are called: W) spring tides X) neap tides Y) diurnal tides Z) semi-diurnal tides
X) NEAP TIDES
What gas accounts for approximately 78% of the dry volume of Earth's atmosphere? W) Oxygen X) Nitrogen Y) Argon Z) Carbon dioxide
X) NITROGEN
If a slow-moving warm front is followed by a fast-moving cold front, the cold front will sometimes overtake the warm front. When the cold air lifts the warm air entirely aloft, what atmospheric phenomenon results? W) Stationary front X) Occluded front Y) Marine front Z) Polar front
X) OCCLUDED FRONT
Multiple Choice America's first satellite, Explorer I, had all of the following technology aboard, EXCEPT: W) Internal and external temperature sensors X) Data transmitting antennas Y) Solar panels Z) Micrometeorite impact microphone
Y) SOLAR PANELS
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice During a Nor'easter, areas far to the east of the storm center will feel which of the following storm-generated winds: W) northeasterly X) southeasterly Y) southwesterly Z) northwesterly
Y) SOUTHWESTERLY
Which of the following phenomena isa buildup of ocean water that is pushed towards land by a hurricane? W) Tsunami X) Surge tide Y) Storm surge Z) Rogue wave
Y) STORM SURGE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Andesitic magmas typically erupt above: W) hot spots X) divergent plate boundaries Y) subduction zones Z) fissure eruptions
Y) SUBDUCTION ZONES
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Mineral grains weathered from continental rocks and transported to the oceans are deposited as which of the following kinds of sediments? W) Calcareous (read as: kahl-KEHR-ee-is) ooze X) Atoll Y) Terrigenous (read as: teh-RI-jeh-nis) Z) Hydrogenous
Y) TERRIGENOUS
Multiple Choice Which of the following BEST describes what happens to continental crust as glaciers melt and retreat? W) Springs fill in low-lying regions left behind X) The crust remains deformed, leaving large synclines Y) The crust isostatically rebounds Z) There is no impact on the crust
Y) THE CRUST ISOSTATICALLY REBOUNDS
Bounus: Jupiter appearsbrightest in which of the following configurations relative to the Earth? W) Conjunction X) Quasi conjunction [KWAH-zye kon-JUNK-shun] Y) Quadrature Z) Opposition
Z) OPPOSITION
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: If the intent is to neutralize soil acidity, the mixing of which of the following materials in the soil would be the LEAST effective: W) ground limestone X) ground oyster shells Y) pure CaCO₃ Z) gypsum
Z) GYPSUM
Bonus: Identify all of the following three statements that are true of the Eagle Nebula: 1) It is an emission nebula; 2) It has a diameter of about 1 million light years; 3) It is part of the Kuiper belt.
1
Bonus: Classify the following three volcanoes according to whether they formed at convergent plate boundaries, divergent plate boundaries, or hot spots, respectively: 1) Yellowstone; 2) Kilauea; 3) Mount Etna.
1 -HOT SPOT; 2 -HOT SPOT; 3 -CONVERGENT
Bonus: Identify all of the following statements that are true about zodiacal light: 1) It is produced when sunlight is scattered by cosmic dust; 2) It appears as a faint white glow near the horizon; 3) It is best viewed at midnight.
1 AND 2
Bonus: Identify all of the following three statements that are true of the contrails produced by air traffic: 1) They are mostly composed of water ice; 2) They have a high albedo relative to oceans and forests; 3) They form in unstable, convectinglayers of the atmosphere.
1 AND 2
Christmas Pie is a small hamlet in Surrey, England, at 51.25 degrees north latitude. In degrees to the nearest integer, what is the noon sun angle over Christmas Pie on the winter solstice?
15
Bonus: Identify all of the following three characteristics that can be used to distinguish the mineral calcite from the mineral quartz: 1) Color; 2) Hardness; 3) Birefringence [bye-ree-FRIN-jents].
2 AND 3
Bonus: Put the following four minerals in order from softest to hardest on the Mohs scale: 1) Apatite; 2) Fluorite; 3) Quartz; 4) Corundum.
2, 1, 3, 4 (ACCEPT: FLUORITE, APATITE, QUARTZ, CORUNDUM)
Bonus: Arrange the following distances in our Solar System from smallest to largest, taking thickness to mean the difference between the outer and inner radii of an annulus or spherical shell: 1) Thickness of the Oort cloud; 2) Separation of Earth and Venus at inferior conjunction; 3) Thickness of the asteroid belt.
2,3,1
Bonus: What is the discharge, in meters cubed per second, of a simple river that is 5 meters deep,10 meters wide, and has a current speed of5 meters per second?
250
Bonus: Two stars have the same absolute magnitude. One is at a distance of 10 parsecs and the other is at a distance of 100 parsecs. What is the positive difference in their apparent magnitudes?
5
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer The aurora occur high in what layer of Earth's atmosphere?
ANSWER: THERMOSPHERE
TOSS-UP22) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Planetary nebulae expand with what range of speeds? W) 1-3 centimeters per second X) 1-3 meters per second Y) 10-30 kilometers per second Z) 1000-3000 kilometers per second
Answer: Y) 10-30 KILOMETERS PER SECOND
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: Of the 3 basic types of magma on Earth, which one generally has the LOWEST gas content?
BASALTIC (ACCEPT: BASALT)
Toss-up Earth and Space- ShortAnswer: What term is used to describe the point on the surface, below which an earthquake originates?
Epicenter
Bonus: The spectra of type IA supernovae are unique because they do NOTcontain lines for what element?
HYDROGEN
What volcano hosts the world's primary benchmark site for atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements and the observatory that produced the original Keeling curve?
MAUNA LOA
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: Giving your answer as morning, afternoon, evening, or night, when does most radiational cooling occur for any location in the U.S.?
NIGHT
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true of an El Nino: W) when an El Nino is present, fish are less abundant off the west coast of South America X) El Ninos typically come along every 4 to 5 years Y) during a peak El Nino, strong high pressure will be present in the eastern Pacific with lower pressure to the west Z) El Nino affects global weather patterns A
NSWER: Y) DURING A PEAK EL NINO, STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE PRESENT IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC WITH LOWER PRESSURE TO THE WEST (Solution: during peak strong high pressure is in the western Pacific with lower pressure to the east, setting up an easterly wind flow)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is NOT generally characteristic of a passive continental margin: W) relatively wide continental shelf X) oceanic trench Y) terrigenous sediment Z) continental rise
X) OCEANIC TRENCH
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice According to the discontinuous side of Bowen's reaction series, which of the following is likely to first crystallize as basaltic magma cools: W) quartz X) olivine Y) pyroxene Z) hornblende
X) OLIVINE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a coarse-grained igneous rock primarily containing plagioclase feldspar, amphibole and biotite: W) gabbro X) basalt Y) diorite Z) granite
Y) DIORITE
The deepest known point of the oceans is found in what ocean?
PACIFIC OCEAN
What geologic eon extends from around 542 million years ago through the present day?
PHANEROZOIC
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer: What is a Robonaut?
ROBOTIC ASTRONAUT
What type of geologic fault is characterized by upward displacement of a footwall? W) Normal X) Reverse Y) Strike-slip Z) Thrust
W) NORMAL
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Continental margins facing the edges of diverging tectonic plates are called: W) passive margins X) Pacific-type margins Y) transform fault margins Z) active margins
W) PASSIVE MARGINS
Multiple Choice questions are asked in what format?
W X Y and Z
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following rocks is MOST porous: W) marble X) granite Y) limestone Z) slate
Y) LIMESTONE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice If the air temperature is 0ºF and the wind speed is 10 miles per hour, which of the following is closest to the wind chill, in degrees Fahrenheit: W) 10 X) 0 Y) -10 Z) -20
Z) -20
DO NOT answer before you are...
verbally recognized
Short Answer What do we call the transfer of a property of the atmosphere, such as heat, cold, or humidity, by the horizontal movement of an air mass?
ADVECTION
Short Answer Lightning is most likely to occur at what time of day: morning, afternoon, evening, or night?
AFTERNOON
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Name all of the following 4 factors that are reasons why biomes are not considered homogeneous biotic communities: local topography; soil characteristics; temperature; water
ALL
Bonus: Identify all of the following three factors that threaten California'swater supplies: 1) Slow reservoir recharge rates; 2) High agricultural water consumption; 3) Strike-slip faults intersectingmajor aqueducts.
ALL OF THEM
Bonus: Identify all of the following three marine regions that host coral reefs: 1) The Red Sea; 2) The Australian Coast; 3) The Brazilian Coast.
ALL OF THEM
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The orbit of an asteroid in our solar system has a semimajor axis of 4 AU. To the nearest integer, and in years, what is its period?
ANSWER: 8
Identify all of the following three statements that are true of wooly mammoths: 1) They once lived in North America; 2) They had ivory tusks; 3) They evolved in the Devonian Period.
1 AND 2
Bonus: Identify all of the following three statements that are true regarding the differences between S waves and P waves: 1) P waves are longitudinal waves, while S waves are transverse waves; 2) P waves tend to have much larger amplitudes than S waves; 3) P waves travel faster than S waves.
1 AND 3
Identify all of the following three statements that are true of seismic waves: 1) P waves are compressional; 2) S waves travel through fluids; 3) P waves travel faster than S waves.
1 AND 3
Bonus: Identify all of the following three constellations and asterisms that would be visible in the December night sky over the North Pole:1) Cassiopeia; 2) Crux; 3) The Big Dipper.
1 AND 3 (CASSIOPEIA AND THE BIG DIPPER)
Bonus: Identify all of the following three processes that remove nitrogen gas from Earth's atmosphere: 1) Nitrogen fixation; 2) Denitrification; 3) Forest fires.
1 Only
Identify all of the following three conditions that can cause metamorphism of rocks: 1) High temperature; 2) High acidity; 3) High pressure.
1, 3 (ACCEPT: HIGH TEMPERATURE, HIGH PRESSURE)
Bonus: Order the following four color classifications of stars from least to greatest surface temperatures: 1) Yellow; 2) Blue; 3) Red; 4) White.
3, 1, 4, 2 (ACCEPT: RED, YELLOW, WHITE, BLUE)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Name all of the following 3 lavas from which stratovolcanoes are typically composed: andesite; rhyolite; basalt
ANDESITE; RHYOLITE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Of the 3 basic types of magma on Earth, which one generally has a chemical composition intermediate in iron, magnesium, and calcium?
ANDESITIC (ACCEPT: ANDESITE)
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer Identify all of the following three quantities that have increased globally due to human activities: 1) Flux of sediment into the oceans from streams; 2) Area of rainforest in the tropics; 3) Total volume of groundwater in aquifers.
ANSWER: 1
BONUS9) Earth and Space - Short Answer Identify all of the following three geological features that are formed by the wind: 1) Yardangs; 2) Roche moutonnee [moot-an-ay]; 3) Blowouts.
ANSWER: 1 AND 3
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer Identify all of the following three events that occurred during the recombination epoch of the Big Bang: 1) Formation of neutral hydrogen; 2) Neutrino decoupling; 3) Star formation.
ANSWER: 1 ONLY
BONUS 4) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer A binary star system has one star with an apparent magnitude of 5 and a brown dwarf companion with an apparent magnitude of 15. The first star is how many times as luminous as the brown dwarf?
ANSWER: 10,000
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer On Earth, what is the average time from one high tide to the next, in hours and minutes?
ANSWER: 12 HOURS AND 25 MINUTES (ACCEPT ANY ANSWER BETWEEN: 12:15 AND 12:45)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer By number, identify all of the following five choices that will allow greater resolution for a radio telescope: 1) lower noise temperature, 2) larger diameter, 3) longer baseline, 4) adaptive optics system, 5) larger brightness temperature of the source.
ANSWER: 2 AND 3
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer NASA's Aqua MODIS [MOH-diss] satellite instrument senses the color of Earth's surface oceans. Identify all of the following three statements relevant to Aqua MODIS data that are true: 1) The greenest seawater is found at the centers of ocean gyres; 2) A bloom of coccolithophores [caw-koh-LITH-oh-foorz] increases seawater albedo; 3) A bloom of cyanobacteria absorbs light in the 430-450 nanometer band.
ANSWER: 2 AND 3
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer A fictional moon in a faraway galaxy has the same mass and atmospheric composition as the Earth, but its radius is twice as large. To one decimal place, in kelvins per kilometer, what would be the dry adiabatic lapse rate in this moon's atmosphere?
ANSWER: 2.5
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer To the nearest 10, how many times has the Sun orbited the galaxy since the Sun formed?
ANSWER: 20
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Order the following four steps that are theorized to have occurred in the formation of our atmosphere: 1) plants evolve and oxygen increases dramatically; 2) the atmosphere gradually becomes rich in nitrogen; 3) outgassing leads to abundant water vapor; 4) photodissociation increases oxygen gradually.
ANSWER: 3, 2, 4, 1
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Order the following four index minerals according to increasing grade of metamorphism of shale: 1) Sillimanite [SIL-uh-muh-nyt], 2) Biotite, 3) Chlorite, 4) Garnet.
ANSWER: 3, 2, 4, 1 (ACCEPT: CHLORITE, BIOTITE, GARNET, SILLIMANITE)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer By number, put the following four Earth events in chronological order from earliest to most recent: 1) first evidence of ice at the poles, 2) opening of the Red Sea, 3) separation of Australia and Antarctica post-Pangaea 4) collision of India with Asia.
ANSWER: 3, 4, 1, 2
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer A parcel of dry air has a temperature of 0° Celsius as it crosses a mountain range at 3 kilometers. If it descends adiabatically, what will its temperature be, rounded up to the next whole Celsius degree, when it reaches sea level?
ANSWER: 30
BONUS22) Earth and Space - Short Answer A parcel of dry air has a temperature of 0° Celsius as it crosses a mountain range at 3 kilometers. If it descends adiabatically, what will its temperature be, rounded up to the next whole Celsius degree, when it reaches sea level?
ANSWER: 30
[bonus] Short Answer Name all of the following 4 reagents that would NOT be labeled as a highly flammable substance: methanol; diethyl ether; 30% hydrogen peroxide; benzene
ANSWER: 30% HYDROGEN PEROXIDE
BONUS22) Earth and Space - Short Answer Most ocean shore areas have how many tidal extremes per day?
ANSWER: 4
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Arrange the following four Big Bang events in chronological order: 1) nucleosynthesis, 2) reionization, 3) recombination, 4) inflation.
ANSWER: 4, 1, 3, 2 (ACCEPT: INFLATION, NUCLEOSYNTHESIS, RECOMBINATION, REIONIZATION)
Short Answer: What is the percent relative humidity if the vapor content is one-half the amount of vapor the mass of air can hold?
ANSWER: 50%
Earth and Space - Short Answer What is the magnitude of the faintest stars that can be seen with the naked eye?
ANSWER: 6
BONUS 12) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Taking the value of the Hubble constant to be 75 kilometers per second per megaparsec, if a galaxy is observed with a recessional velocity of 50 kilometers per second, what is its distance, in kiloparsecs, to two significant figures?
ANSWER: 670
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Radiosondes are released at 0 UTC and 1200 UTC daily at multiple locations around the globe. What are the corresponding times in Eastern Standard Time?
ANSWER: 7 AM AND 7 PM (ACCEPT: 0700 AND 1900)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Winds aloft tend to form into longwaves. Assuming there is no divergence or convergence and the column of air cannot stretch or contract, as we follow the air at a constant speed and a constant 500 millibar level, it begins to flow southeastward, where the value of Earth's vorticity decreases. The conservation of what factor then causes the air to head northeastward?
ANSWER: ABSOLUTE VORTICITY
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer The most violent earthquake ever recorded in the United States occurred in what state?
ANSWER: ALASKA
BONUS19) Earth and Space - Short Answer The most violent earthquake ever recorded in the United States occurred in what state?
ANSWER: ALASKA
TOSS-UP9) Earth and Space- Short Answer What is the name for the non-dimensional, unitless quantity that indicates how well a surface reflects solar energy?
ANSWER: ALBEDO
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Name all of the following 4 factors that are reasons why biomes are not considered homogeneous biotic communities: local topography; soil characteristics; temperature; water
ANSWER: ALL
Earth and Space - Short Answer Identify all of the following three minerals that are formed by oxidative weathering: 1) Hematite; 2) Limonite; 3) Goethite.
ANSWER: ALL OF THEM
Earth and Space - Short Answer Identify all of the following three phenomena that are formed by aeolian processes: 1) Yardangs; 2) Ventifacts; 3) Dunes.
ANSWER: ALL OF THEM
TOSS-UP22) Earth and Space - Short Answer What is the nearest triple system?
ANSWER: ALPHA CENTAURI
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Name all of the following 3 lavas from which stratovolcanoes are typically composed: andesite; rhyolite; basalt
ANSWER: ANDESITE; RHYOLITE
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer What is the third most common gas naturally found in the Earth's clean, dry atmosphere?
ANSWER: ARGON
TOSS-UP 14) EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer What is the name of the layer lying between the base of the Earth's lithosphere and a depth of about 2900 kilometers, where rock exists in a hot, weak, plasticlike form?
ANSWER: ASTHENOSPHERE
BONUS 2) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What celestial phenomenon results from the movement of charged particles interacting with the Earth's magnetosphere?
ANSWER: AURORA BOREALIS (ACCEPT: AURORA AUSTRALIS, NORTHERN LIGHTS, SOUTHERN LIGHTS, AURORA)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the second hottest spectral class?
ANSWER: B
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Of the 3 basic types of magma on Earth, which one generally has the LOWEST gas content?
ANSWER: BASALTIC (ACCEPT: BASALT) (Solution: 3 basic types: basaltic = low; andesitic = intermediate; rhyolitic = high)
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer What is the term for the feature formed when a moving glacier separates from stagnant ice, creating a crevasse?
ANSWER: BERGSCHRUND (ACCEPT: SCHRUND)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the series used in igneous [IG-nee-uhs] petrology that explains why certain types of minerals tend to be found together while others are almost never associated with one another?
ANSWER: BOWEN'S REACTION SERIES
TOSS-UP2) Earth and Space - Short Answer Coral polyps extract what compound out of seawater to form hard external skeletons?
ANSWER: CALCIUM CARBONATE
TOSS-UP 6) EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Many large volcanoes are marked near their summit by a large, basin-shaped volcanic depression, more or less circular in form and steep-walled, which is called?
ANSWER: CALDERA
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer According to records kept since 1897, the all-time record snow depth in the U.S. was 451 inches in 1911. In which state did this record occur?
ANSWER: CALIFORNIA
BONUS 9) Earth and Space - Short Answer What is the dominant gas of the Martian atmosphere?
ANSWER: CARBON DIOXIDE
BONUS9) Earth and Space - Short Answer What is the dominant gas of the Martian atmosphere?
ANSWER: CARBON DIOXIDE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What are the two most abundant components of Venus's atmosphere?
ANSWER: CARBON DIOXIDE AND MOLECULAR NITROGEN (ACCEPT: NITROGEN GAS, NITROGEN)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the naturally occurring radioactive isotope of carbon called?
ANSWER: CARBON-14 (ACCEPT: C-14)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Homo sapiens evolved during which geological era of the Geological Time Scale?
ANSWER: CENOZOIC
[BONUS] Short Answer: In what Era of the geological time scale did mammals and grasses become abundant?
ANSWER: CENOZOIC
TOSS-UP13) Earth and Space- Short Answer What is the name of the graben [grah-ben]that has the highest recorded temperature on Earth?
ANSWER: DEATH VALLEY
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What term is used to describe the advance of desert conditions into formerly non-desert areas?
ANSWER: DESERTIFICATION
[Bonus] Short Answer Used as a way to categorize rivers and streams, what is the term for the volume of water flowing through the cross-section of a channel over a given period of time?
ANSWER: DISCHARGE (ACCEPT: DISCHARGE RATE)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What unit equal to 0.01 millimeters thickness at STP is used to measure Earth's atmospheric ozone layer?
ANSWER: DOBSON UNIT
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the typical adjective used to describe a volcano that is not currently erupting but is considered likely to do so in the future?
ANSWER: DORMANT
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Which of the terrestrial planets in our solar system has the strongest magnetic field?
ANSWER: EARTH
BONUS 10) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer With regard to Earth's axis, what are the two principal reasons that the Sun's position in the sky traces an analemma [an-l-EM-uh] from a fixed position at the same time each day?
ANSWER: EARTH IS TILTED AND EARTH HAS A ELLIPTICAL ORBIT
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What protects Earth's atmosphere from being directly struck by solar wind?
ANSWER: EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD (ACCEPT: MAGNETOSPHERE)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What two underwater events can cause tsunamis?
ANSWER: EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS (ACCEPT: SUBMARINE LANDSLIDES, MASS WASTING EVENTS, LANDSLIDES)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What do scientists call the process by which trade winds in the Pacific weaken, allowing warmer water to move toward the west coast of South America?
ANSWER: EL NINO (ACCEPT: EL NINO SOUTHERN OSCILLATION OR ENSO)
Earth and Space - Short Answer What is the empirical formula and charge of the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron, also known as the fundamental building block of all silicate materials?
ANSWER: EMPIRICAL FORMULA: SiO4 , CHARGE: 4-
TOSS-UP9) Earth and Space- Short Answer What is the empirical formula and charge of the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron, also known as the fundamental building block of all silicate materials?
ANSWER: EMPIRICAL FORMULA: SiO4 , CHARGE: 4-
[BONUS] Short Answer: What moon of Saturn was shown by the Cassini space-craft to be spewing a watery, gassy plume from its geothermally heated south pole?
ANSWER: ENCELADUS
TOSS-UP9) Earth and Space- Short Answer What types of streams, usually found in deserts, only carry water in response to specific episodes of rainfall?
ANSWER: EPHEMERAL STREAMS
TOSS-UP 1) Earth and Space - Short Answer What term is used to describe the point on the surface, below which an earthquake originates?
ANSWER: EPICENTER
BONUS 20) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What kind of telescope mount requires motion along only one axis to track a celestial object?
ANSWER: EQUATORIAL
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the region around a spinning black hole in which the frame dragging effect is so strong that all objects are forced to rotate around the black hole?
ANSWER: ERGOSPHERE
TOSS-UP 24) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the region around a spinning black hole in which the frame dragging effect is so strong that all objects are forced to rotate around the black hole?
ANSWER: ERGOSPHERE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Cellulases [sel-yuh-LAY-ses], a group of enzymes that break down cellulose, such as is found in the walls of plants, are being used in the production of which alternative fuel?
ANSWER: ETHANOL
[bonus] Short Answer Arrange the following 4 layers of the Earth's atmosphere in order of INCREASING air pressure: stratosphere; exosphere; thermosphere; troposphere
ANSWER: EXOSPHERE; THERMOSPHERE; STRATOSPHERE; TROPOSPHERE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What effect predicted by general relativity was Gravity Probe B designed to detect?
ANSWER: FRAME DRAGGING
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name of the largest aquifer [AK-wuh-fer] in the United States that underlies most of the Midwest?
ANSWER: OGALLALA AQUIFER
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer By name or number, order the following three events from earliest to latest as two air masses of different densities develop into a mid-latitude cyclone: 1) cyclonic circulation, 2) wave development, 3) front development.
ANSWER: FRONT DEVELOPMENT, WAVE DEVELOPMENT, CYCLONIC CIRCULATION (ACCEPT: 3, 2, 1)
Earth and Space - Short Answer What is the term for the theoretical boundary separating the regions of the solar nebula where terrestrial planets and gas giants form?
ANSWER: FROST LINE (ACCEPT: SNOW LINE, ICE LINE)
TOSS-UP13) Earth and Space- Short Answer What is the term for the theoretical boundary separating the regions of the solar nebula where terrestrial planets and gas giants form?
ANSWER: FROST LINE (ACCEPT: SNOW LINE, ICE LINE)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the spectral type of the Sun?
ANSWER: G (ACCEPT: G2, G2V)
BONUS 18) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer An igneous rock which has crystallized deep below the Earth's surface has the following approximate composition: 70% pyroxene [py-ROK-seen], 15% plagioclase [play-jee-uh-klays], and 15% olivine. What is the name of this igneous rock?
ANSWER: GABBRO
Earth and Space - Short Answer What allotrope of carbon is known for its strong bonds within the plane, but weak bonds between planes?
ANSWER: GRAPHITE (DO NOT ACCEPT: GRAPHENE)
TOSS-UP 13) Earth and Space - Short Answer What force is primarily responsible for the collapse of molecular clouds into stars?
ANSWER: GRAVITY
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the common term for ocean currents that form large, rotating loops?
ANSWER: GYRES
BONUS 10) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the most common type of evaporite?
ANSWER: HALITE (ACCEPT: NaCl)
TOSS-UP13) Earth and Space- Short Answer What term refers to the outer limit of the Sun's electromagnetic influence?
ANSWER: HELIOPAUSE
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Which element was first discovered by observing its spectral lines in the solar atmosphere?
ANSWER: HELIUM
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What element is produced in a fusion of hydrogen within a star?
ANSWER: HELIUM
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Name the kind of equilibrium state, characterized by a balance between internal pressure and gravity, of the dense gas or fluid of any main sequence star.
ANSWER: HYDROSTATIC
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What climate proxy can paleoclimate researchers use to provide an uninterrupted climate record extending back hundreds of thousands of years, including information such as temperature, precipitation, chemistry, volcanic eruptions, and other climate indicators?
ANSWER: ICE CORE
BONUS 13) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is observed to reconstruct paleoclimate [paylee-oh-kly-mit] information, specifically based on historical concentrations of carbon dioxide gas?
ANSWER: ICE CORES
BONUS 10) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the word used to describe pebbles in a river that are overlapping and dip in the upstream direction?
ANSWER: IMBRICATION
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The region around Sweden has undergone elastic strain due to pressure from ancient ice cover. What will happen to the elevation of this region over the next 10,000 years?
ANSWER: INCREASE
BONUS 14) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The Himalayas are the result of the collision between which two tectonic plates?
ANSWER: INDIAN AND EURASIAN
TOSS-UP14) Earth and Space - Short Answer Detecting signatures of gravitational waves on the cosmic microwave background would lend support to what theory first proposed by Alan Guth?
ANSWER: INFLATION
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer In what wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation do greenhouse gases absorb and reradiate energy back to Earth's surface?
ANSWER: INFRARED (ACCEPT: IR)
BONUS 13) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name given to the type of stream that flows only during wet periods?
ANSWER: INTERMITTENT (ACCEPT: EPHEMERAL)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Imagine a parcel of air forced upward. If the environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic [ad-ee-uh-BAT-ik] rate, what is the vertical motion of the parcel?
ANSWER: IT WILL RISE
Earth and Space - Short Answer Landscapes that have been shaped by the dissolving power of water are said to exhibit what type of topography?
ANSWER: KARST
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name for the gravitational equilibrium [eekwuh-LIB-ree-uhm] points in the orbital plane of two bodies?
ANSWER: LAGRANGIAN POINT (ACCEPT: LAGRANGE POINT)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name of the deepest lake in Africa that was formed from continental rifting?
ANSWER: LAKE TANGANYIKA
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the most common element in Earth's crust?
ANSWER: OXYGEN
[Bonus] Short Answer: Order the following 4 Earth materials in order of INCREASING specific heat capacity: solid water; liquid water; granite; lead
ANSWER: LEAD; GRANITE; SOLID WATER; LIQUID WATER (Solution: lead = 0.03; granite = 0.2; solid water = 0.5; liquid water = 1.0 cal/gºC)
BONUS2) Earth and Space - Short Answer Most sinkholes are caused when what type of sedimentary rock is dissolved?
ANSWER: LIMESTONE
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the youngest volcano in the Hawaiian chain?
ANSWER: LOIHI
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What phenomenon is recorded in the changing orientation of iron-bearing minerals on the surface of the oceanic crust?
ANSWER: MAGNETIC POLE REVERSAL (ACCEPT: FLIPPED/ALTERNATING MAGNETIC FIELD)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Identify each of the following 3 rocks, respectively, as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary: marble; pumice; conglomerate
ANSWER: MARBLE = METAMORPHIC; PUMICE = IGNEOUS; CONGLOMERATE = SEDIMENTARY
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What type of event marks the end of major geologic eras such as the Paleozoic and Mesozoic?
ANSWER: MASS EXTINCTION (ACCEPT: MAJOR EXTINCTION)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Of the 8 planets in the solar system, which one likely has the lowest escape velocity with respect to its own gravity?
ANSWER: MERCURY
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer Name all the planets that exhibit a full range of phases as viewed from Earth.
ANSWER: MERCURY AND VENUS
BONUS13) Earth and Space - Short Answer Name all the planets that exhibit a full range of phases as viewed from Earth.
ANSWER: MERCURY AND VENUS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name for the great circle that passes through the northernmost point on the horizon and the zenith?
ANSWER: MERIDIAN
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer In what layer of Earth's atmosphere do most meteors experience the most heating?
ANSWER: MESOSPHERE
BONUS 2) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer During which era did the initial opening of the presentday Atlantic Ocean most likely occur?
ANSWER: MESOZOIC
BONUS 2) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The composition of what objects led to the inference that the core of the Earth is made of iron?
ANSWER: METEORITES OR CHONDRITES
BONUS Earth and Space - Short Answer What are the units used to measure helicity?
ANSWER: METERS SQUARED PER SECONDS SQUARED
BONUS7) Earth and Space - Short Answer What are the units used to measure helicity?
ANSWER: METERS SQUARED PER SECONDS SQUARED
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What are the two most massive galaxies in the Local Group?
ANSWER: MILKY WAY AND ANDROMEDA (ACCEPT: M31)
Earth and Space - Short Answer Some scholars believe that Algol was recognized as a variable star in ancient times. Other than possibly Algol, what was the first known variable star?
ANSWER: MIRA (ACCEPT: OMICRON CETI, O CETI)
TOSS-UP7) Earth and Space- Short Answer Some scholars believe that Algol was recognized as a variable star in ancient times. Other than possibly Algol, what was the first known variable star?
ANSWER: MIRA (ACCEPT: OMICRON CETI, O CETI)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What international agreement, initially drafted in 1987, was designed to phase out production of chlorofluorocarbons [klohr-oh-floor-oh-KAHRbuhns] that cause damage to the stratospheric ozone layer?
ANSWER: MONTREAL PROTOCOL
Short Answer: What is the specific name for the tides that occur during the first and third-quarter phases of the Moon and have the smallest range?
ANSWER: NEAP TIDES (ACCEPT: NEAP)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What theory states that our solar system formed from the compression of a giant, swirling cloud of gas and dust?
ANSWER: NEBULAR
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Giving your answer as morning, afternoon, evening, or night, when does most radiational cooling occur for any location in the U.S.?
ANSWER: NIGHT
Short Answer: As a percentage by volume in Earth's atmosphere, what are the two most abundant gases in Earth's atmosphere?
ANSWER: NITROGEN AND OXYGEN (in any order)
BONUS 18) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer List the three most common gases in dry atmosphere on Earth from highest percentage to least.
ANSWER: NITROGEN, OXYGEN, AND ARGON (ANSWERS MUST BE IN THIS ORDER)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What term is often used to describe a winter storm that strikes the East Coast of the United States, involving a low pressure system that picks up moisture from the ocean and often dumps snow on land?
ANSWER: NOR'EASTER
BONUS22) Earth and Space - Short Answer On what tectonic plate does most of the North American continent rest?
ANSWER: NORTH AMERICAN PLATE
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the collective term for the stellar process in which lighter nuclei fuse to build the nuclei of heavier elements than helium?
ANSWER: NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Which two spectral classes of main sequence stars have the smallest vertical velocity dispersion about the plane of the galaxy?
ANSWER: O AND B
BONUS22) Earth and Space - Short Answer What soil horizon is the loosest and is characterized by partly decayed organic matter?
ANSWER: O HORIZON
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer On a weather map, what type of frontal boundary is represented by alternating blue and red lines with blue triangles pointing toward the warmer air and red semicircles pointing toward the colder air?
ANSWER: STATIONARY (ACCEPT: STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY or STATIONARY FRONT)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer The Palmer Drought Severity Index is based on five factors: precipitation, evapotranspiration, the amount of water needed for soil recharge, the amount of runoff needed to keep bodies of water at normal levels and what other factor?
ANSWER: STORED SOIL MOISTURE (ACCEPT: SOIL MOISTURE)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Name all of the following 4 layers of the atmosphere where temperature typically increases as altitude increases: troposphere; stratosphere; mesosphere; thermosphere
ANSWER: STRATOSPHERE; THERMOSPHERE
Short Answer What type of volcano is made mostly of andesite and typically erupts violently and dangerously with pyroclastic flows, an example of which is Mount Fuji in Japan?
ANSWER: STRATOVOLCANO (ACCEPT: COMPOSITE VOLCANO)
TOSS-UP15) Earth and Space- Short Answer What phase of a star's lifetime on the HR diagram involves a hydrogen shell burning around an inert helium core?
ANSWER: SUBGIANT BRANCH
BONUS 14) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the geologic term for the sinking of large areas of land due to compaction of drained soil and rock layers?
ANSWER: SUBSIDENCE
TOSS-UP 7) Earth and Space - Short Answer What extremely luminous explosion of radiation occurs from the death of a massive star?
ANSWER: SUPERNOVA
TOSS-UP 14) EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer What is the term for wave activity between the line of breakers and the shore, produced as an ocean wave steepens and falls forward?
ANSWER: SURF
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer What is the name for the common ocean waves that are not driven by the wind but sustained by the energy they obtained by the sea?
ANSWER: SWELL(S)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the term for radiation emitted by an electron undergoing relativistic helical motion around a magnetic field?
ANSWER: SYNCHROTRON
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer By name or number, indicate in which of the following three locations the deflection of wind due to the Coriolis effect is strongest: 1) the mid-latitudes, 2) the poles, or 3) the equator.
ANSWER: THE POLES (ACCEPT: 2)
BONUS 24) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What quantity is used to compare the speed of light in different mediums?
ANSWER: THE REFRACTIVE INDEX
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer What is the most common name for the temperature-slope or depth interval over which temperature changes with depth in a lake?
ANSWER: THERMOCLINE
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the name of unsorted sediment that is directly deposited by glaciers?
ANSWER: TILL
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What is the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere called?
ANSWER: TROPOPAUSE
Short Answer: What is the name for the lowermost 12 to 18 kilometers of Earth's atmosphere?
ANSWER: TROPOSPHERE
BONUS 25) EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Uranus was discovered in 1781. Rounding down to the nearest whole number, how many complete revolutions around the Sun has it made since being discovered?
ANSWER: TWO
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Which class of supernova exhibits strong silicon lines but no hydrogen or helium lines?
ANSWER: TYPE IA
TOSS-UP14) Earth and Space - Short Answer What term is used to describe breaks in strata that represent periods during which deposition of sediments ceased and erosion removed previously formed rocks?
ANSWER: UNCONFORMITY
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Which two planets in our solar system are considered ice giants?
ANSWER: URANUS AND NEPTUNE
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Which planet takes more time to complete one rotation on its axis than to complete one revolution around the Sun?
ANSWER: VENUS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice For the mass-radius relation of white dwarfs, M is proportional to R to what power? W) -1/3 X) 1/3 Y) 1 Z) 3
ANSWER: W) -1/3
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Given the current climatic conditions on Earth, at which of the following locations would a glacier most likely form? W) 0° latitude at an elevation of 6,000 meters X) 15° N latitude at an elevation of 4,000 meters Y) 30° N latitude at an elevation of 3,000 meters Z) 45° N latitude at an elevation of 1,000 meters
ANSWER: W) 0° LATITUDE AT AN ELEVATION OF 6,000 METERS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice When the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies merge, which of the following is closest to the number of pairs of stars that are expected to collide? W) 1 X) 100 Y) 10,000 Z) 1,000,000
ANSWER: W) 1
BONUS 1) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice You are traveling west by jet and cross three time zone boundaries. If your watch reads 3:00 p.m. when you arrive, to what time should you reset it? W) 12:00 noon X) 6:00 p.m. Y) 12:00 midnight Z) 6:00 a.m.
ANSWER: W) 12:00 NOON
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Even if nothing was done to clean up the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which of the following areas would likely remain unaffected by the oil floating on the surface? W) Brazil X) Florida Y) Cape Hatteras Z) Yucatan Peninsula
ANSWER: W) BRAZIL
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice A fault is an example of which of the following types of strain? W) Brittle X) Elastic Y) Plastic Z) Dilational
ANSWER: W) BRITTLE
BONUS Earth and Space - Multiple Choice According to Bowen's reaction series, which of these minerals is the first to crystallize in cooling magma? W) Calcium-rich plagioclase X) Quartz Y) Sodium-rich plagioclase Z) Muscovite
ANSWER: W) CALCIUM-RICH PLAGIOCLASE
BONUS 14) EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following geological periods is oldest? W) Cambrian X) Cretaceous Y) Tertiary Z) Devonian
ANSWER: W) CAMBRIAN
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following aberrations only occurs in refracting telescopes? W) Chromatic aberration X) Spherical aberration Y) Coma Z) Astigmatism
ANSWER: W) CHROMATIC ABERRATION
TOSS-UP9) Earth and Space- Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following clouds develops at the highest altitude? W) Cirrocumulus X) Nimbostratus Y) Stratocumulus Z) Stratus
ANSWER: W) CIRROCUMULUS
BONUS9) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true regarding the ocean floor? W) Continental shelves generally overlay oceanic crust X) The continental shelf tends to be fairly featureless Y) Continental shelves represent less than 10% of the total ocean area Z) Continental shelves are saturated with water
ANSWER: W) CONTINENTAL SHELVES GENERALLY OVERLAY OCEANIC CRUST
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following was a time when glaciation was minimal on Earth: W) Cretaceous Period X) Quaternary Period Y) Holocene Epoch Z) Pleistocene Epoch
ANSWER: W) CRETACEOUS PERIOD
Multiple Choice: An oligotrophic (read as: oh-lig-oh-TROW-fick) lake is one that is BEST defined as: W) deep, cold, and nutrient-poor X) deep, cold, and nutrient-rich Y) shallow, warm, and nutrient-poor Z) shallow, warm, and nutrient-rich
ANSWER: W) DEEP, COLD, AND NUTRIENT-POOR
BONUS 24) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT used as evidence for plate tectonic theory? W) Deposition of glacial dropstones in Australian bedrock X) Elevation and increased heat flow at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Y) Correlation of fossils between Africa and South America Z) Successively deeper earthquakes at the Peru-Chili trench
ANSWER: W) DEPOSITION OF GLACIAL DROPSTONES IN AUSTRALIAN BEDROCK
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The Intertropical Convergence Zone is NOT characterized by which of the following? W) Divergence X) Uplift Y) High cloud cover Z) Heavy precipitation
ANSWER: W) DIVERGENCE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following circumstances is linked most closely with the formation of sand dunes? W) Drying of a lake X) Transgression of the sea Y) Folded mountain formation Z) Heavy glacial erosion
ANSWER: W) DRYING OF A LAKE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following phenomena are responsible for orange and red sunsets? W) Dust particles in the atmosphere X) Ice crystals in the atmosphere Y) Water droplets in the atmosphere Z) Water vapor in the atmosphere
ANSWER: W) DUST PARTICLES IN THE ATMOSPHERE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following natural phenomena are associated with a patterned seasonal occurrence that ranges from May 15 to November 30? W) East Pacific Ocean hurricane season X) Continental U.S. tornado season Y) North Indian Ocean typhoon season Z) American Southwest monsoon season
ANSWER: W) EAST PACIFIC OCEAN HURRICANE SEASON
Multiple Choice What type of stream only bears water during and immediately after a rainstorm: W) ephemeral X) intermittent Y) perennial Z) dendritic
ANSWER: W) EPHEMERAL
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice The principle constituent of most granites is: W) feldspar X) muscovite Y) calcite Z) dolomite
ANSWER: W) FELDSPAR
[bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is an example of a U-shaped valley that is partially submerged: W) fjord X) arete Y) paternoster lake Z) hanging valley
ANSWER: W) FJORD
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following minerals has four planes of cleavage? W) Fluorite X) Calcite Y) Augite [AW-jyt] Z) Muscovite [MUHS-kuh-vyt]
ANSWER: W) FLUORITE
BONUS 6) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following surfaces has the highest albedo? W) Fresh snow cover X) Metallic roof on a skyscraper Y) Grass Z) Asphalt
ANSWER: W) FRESH SNOW COVER
[bonus] Multiple Choice A group of small volcanoes, called the petit spot volcanoes, was recently found. What makes this find so unusual is they are believed to be formed: W) from asthenosphere material squeezing through cracks caused by bending in Earth's crust X) from plumes rising rapidly from the boundary between Earth's core and mantle Y) at a convergent plate boundary Z) at a mid-ocean ridge
ANSWER: W) FROM ASTHENOSPHERE MATERIAL SQUEEZING THROUGH CRACKS CAUSED BY BENDING IN EARTH'S CRUST
9) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice A lunar eclipse can occur only during what phase of the moon? W) Full moon X) New moon Y) First quarter Z) Last quarter
ANSWER: W) FULL MOON
TOSS-UP 6) EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Groundwater that is rich in calcium and magnesium bicarbonates is termed: W) hard water X) soft water Y) well water Z) recharge water
ANSWER: W) HARD WATER
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Surface temperature of the Earth is NOT dependent upon which of the following? W) Heat loss from the interior of the Earth X) Amount of incident sunlight Y) Planet's reflectivity Z) Greenhouse effect of the atmosphere
ANSWER: W) HEAT LOSS FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE EARTH
BONUS 24) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice When the lunar surface is bombarded with solar wind, which of the following resources may be exploited from the Moon's surface? W) Helium for nuclear fusion X) Iron for steel Y) Sulfur for acids Z) Silicon for computer technologies
ANSWER: W) HELIUM FOR NUCLEAR FUSION
BONUS9) Earth and Space - Multiple ChoiceThe earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5° with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun. If the amount of tilt were increased to 40°, what would be expected in middle latitudes? W) Hotter summers and colder winters than at present X) Cooler summers and milder winters than at present Y) Hotter summers and milder winters than at present Z) Cooler summers and colder winters than at present
ANSWER: W) HOTTER SUMMERS AND COLDER WINTERS THAN AT PRESENT
BONUS 12) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following stellar reactions releases the most energy? W) Hydrogen to helium X) Helium to oxygen Y) Oxygen to silicon Z) Silicon to iron
ANSWER: W) HYDROGEN TO HELIUM
TOSS-UP2) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice The sun produces energy by what conversion of atomic nuclei? W) Hydrogen to helium X) Helium to hydrogen Y) Oxygen to carbon dioxide Z) Dioxide to oxygen
ANSWER: W) HYDROGEN TO HELIUM
Multiple Choice: The Coriolis effect causes northward flowing air currents in the Northern hemisphere to veer off course: W) in the direction of rotation X) in the direction opposite to rotation Y) to the left Z) at a 90º angle
ANSWER: W) IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Trilobites are index fossils that lived: W) in warm, ocean waters X) during the Achaean geological time Y) in desert environments Z) in lakes, rivers and streams
ANSWER: W) IN WARM, OCEAN WATERS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following layers of the atmosphere allows AM radio stations to transmit over great distances at night? W) Ionosphere [eye-ON-uh-sfeer] X) Stratosphere Y) Thermosphere Z) Troposphere
ANSWER: W) IONOSPHERE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following elements CANNOT be a source of fuel in nuclear fusion? W) Iron X) Oxygen Y) Nitrogen Z) Carbon
ANSWER: W) IRON
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Compared to felsic igneous rocks, mafic igneous rocks contain greater amounts of which of the following elements? W) Iron X) Aluminum Y) Potassium Z) Silicon
ANSWER: W) IRON
BONUS9) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice How does the intensity of light passing through an absorbing medium change as a function of optical depth? W) It decreases exponentially with the optical depth X) It decreases as the sixth power of the optical depth Y) It decreases as the cube of the optical depth Z) It decreases as the square of the optical depth
ANSWER: W) IT DECREASES EXPONENTIALLY WITH THE OPTICAL DEPTH
BONUS 8) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following describes a rock that is metamorphic and shows signs of foliation? W) It has bands of coarse intergrown crystals of various sizes X) It has particles of 0.01 centimeters to 1.0 centimeters cemented together Y) It has intergrown crystals less than 0.1 centimeter in size Z) It has intergrown crystals, mostly 2.0 centimeters in size
ANSWER: W) IT HAS BANDS OF COARSE INTERGROWN CRYSTALS OF VARIOUS SIZES
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following BEST explains why Mono Lake in California is hypersaline: W) it has no outlet and a high evaporation rate X) it is subject to extreme saltwater intrusion emanating from a vast system of underground aquifers Y) it is underlain by massive salt domes formed 250 million years ago Z) it has been subjected to periodic eruptions of volcanic ash
ANSWER: W) IT HAS NO OUTLET AND A HIGH EVAPORATION RATE
BONUS 24) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is true of ocean wave energy? W) It is the frictional effect of wind X) It is the strength of surface ocean currents Y) It transfers energy to the top 200 meters of the ocean Z) It occurs in shallow water and migrates outward
ANSWER: W) IT IS THE FRICTIONAL EFFECT OF WIND
BONUS 24) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following describes solifluction, the slow mass movement of soil resulting from freeze-thaw action? W) It occurs in soils found above permafrost, which prevents drainage X) It results in the rotational slip of sediments along a slope Y) It requires coarse, shallow soils developed over bedrock along steep slopes Z) It involves the gradual up and down motion of soil particles and net creep of soils downslope
ANSWER: W) IT OCCURS IN SOILS FOUND ABOVE PERMAFROST, WHICH PREVENTS DRAINAGE
Multiple Choice Which of the following is a man-made coastal structure that causes coastal erosion by blocking oceanic longshore drift: W) jetty X) barrier island Y) atoll Z) fringing reef
ANSWER: W) JETTY
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following rocks is most effective at neutralizing acid rain? W) Limestone X) Shale Y) Granite Z) Sandstone
ANSWER: W) LIMESTONE
Multiple Choice: Which of the following is a rock that is commonly made of microscopic shells: W) limestone X) schist Y) shale Z) quartzite
ANSWER: W) LIMESTONE
TOSS-UP17) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice Which sedimentary rock is impacted by ocean acidification as pH values fall? W) Limestone X) Sandstone Y) Shale Z) Mudstone
ANSWER: W) LIMESTONE
Multiple Choice Which of the following is a terminal moraine that resulted at the climax of the Wisconsin ice sheet: W) Long Island, New York X) the northern Bahamas Islands Y) Death Valley, California Z) Hudson Bay, Canada
ANSWER: W) LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK
Multiple Choice: Which of the following is NOT true: W) Los Angeles is moving towards San Diego at a current rate of 2 to 3 meters per year X) the source of all igneous rocks is molten magma Y) silicates are the most abundant group of minerals in Earth's crust and mantle Z) oceanic crust is generally thinner than continental crust
ANSWER: W) LOS ANGELES IS MOVING TOWARDS SAN DIEGO AT A CURRENT RATE OF 2 TO 3 METERS PER YEAR
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Estuaries off the coast of which of the following states demonstrate the greatest nutrient pollution? W) Louisiana X) Oregon Y) Maine Z) Texas
ANSWER: W) LOUISIANA
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is commonly accepted as the engine that most directly drives plate tectonic motion: W) mantle convection X) volcanic off-gassing Y) a molten iron core Z) gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun
ANSWER: W) MANTLE CONVECTION
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following most accurately provides the three necessary ingredients for thunderstorm formation? W) Moisture, lifting mechanism, instability X) Lifting mechanism, mountains, oceans Y) Stability, moisture, heat Z) Lifting mechanism, fronts, moisture
ANSWER: W) MOISTURE, LIFTING MECHANISM, INSTABILITY
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true: W) Mount Everest is a volcanic mountain X) shield volcanoes have surface slopes of only a few degrees Y) the depression on the top of a typical composite volcano is known as a crater Z) Mount Kilimanjaro is a stratovolcano
ANSWER: W) MOUNT EVEREST IS A VOLCANIC MOUNTAIN
9) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice At what altitude does the greatest variation in daily temperature occur? W) Near the ground X) 10 meters above the ground Y) 50 meters above the ground Z) 100 meters above the ground
ANSWER: W) NEAR THE GROUND
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice In which of the following silicate groups of minerals does olivine belong? W) Nesosilicates [nee-soh-SIL-i-kayts] X) Inosilicates Y) Sorosilicates Z) Phyllosilicates [fil-oh-SIL-i-kayts]
ANSWER: W) NESOSILICATES
BONUS17) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice If you are located at 40o North latitude, when will the Sun appear directly overhead? W) Never X) Once a year Y) Twice a year Z) Four times a year
ANSWER: W) NEVER
BONUS11 ) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Under what circumstances could the relative humidity exceed 100% without producing condensation in the air? W) No condensation nuclei X) Low dew point temperature Y) Super-adiabatic lapse rate Z) Low absolute humidity
ANSWER: W) NO CONDENSATION NUCLEI
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following faults forms in areas characterized by extensional tectonics? W) Normal X) Reverse Y) Thrust Z) Strike slip
ANSWER: W) NORMAL
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice At which of the following locations would an observer find the greatest force due to the Earth's gravity? W) North Pole X) Tropic of Cancer Y) Tropic of Capricorn Z) Equator
ANSWER: W) NORTH POLE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Consider the track of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Alabama's Dauphin Island suffered more extreme damage than other islands exposed to the storm. Based on the nature of hurricanes, what quadrant of the storm pounded Dauphin Island? W) Northeast X) Northwest Y) Southwest Z) Southeast
ANSWER: W) NORTHEAST
Multiple Choice: Which of the following is the largest global reserve of carbon on Earth: W) oceans X) soils Y) vegetation Z) atmospheric CO2
ANSWER: W) OCEANS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following minerals is NOT typically found in the rock granite? W) Olivine X) Plagioclase [PLAY-jee-uh-kays] Y) Quartz Z) Hornblende
ANSWER: W) OLIVINE
TOSS-UP20) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice According to Bowen's reaction series, which of the following minerals would crystallize at the highest temperature? W) Olivine X) Quartz Y) Muscovite Z) Orthoclase
ANSWER: W) OLIVINE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice When a strong south wind occurs along the west coast of North America, Ekman transport causes water to move to which of the following? W) Onshore X) Offshore Y) Alongshore to the south Z) Alongshore to the north
ANSWER: W) ONSHORE
[bonus] Multiple Choice Hematite belongs to which of the following mineral groups: W) oxide X) carbonate Y) halide Z) silicate
ANSWER: W) OXIDE (Solution: Fe2O3)
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following atmospheric gases is created naturally by the action of sunlight on molecular oxygen: W) ozone X) carbon monoxide Y) nitrous oxide Z) methane
ANSWER: W) OZONE
Multiple Choice Which of the following was the evidence that Alfred Wegener did not have that would have convinced the scientific community that his theory of continental drift was correct: W) paleomagnetic studies X) apparent fit of the continents Y) locations of ancient glacial deposits Z) comparative fossil studies
ANSWER: W) PALEOMAGNETIC STUDIES
Earth and Space - Multiple Choice In a landlocked area with multiple playas and sparse low-lying vegetation, what type of research would best reveal how the local climate has changed over the past several thousand years? W) Palynology X) Sclerochronology [sklair-oh-kraw-NAW-lah-jee] Y) Dendroclimatology [den-droh-klye-mah-TALL-ah jee] Z) Speleology [speel-ee-AWL-ah-jee]
ANSWER: W) PALYNOLOGY
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Continental margins facing the edges of diverging tectonic plates are called: W) passive margins X) Pacific-type margins Y) transform fault margins Z) active margins
ANSWER: W) PASSIVE MARGINS
[Bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is the global wind system that most influences weather in the U.S.: W) prevailing westerlies X) tropical easterlies Y) trade winds Z) polar easterlies
ANSWER: W) PREVAILING WESTERLIES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a term specifically given to water that replenishes an aquifer? W) Recharge X) Discharge Y) Hydraulic Z) Permeable
ANSWER: W) RECHARGE
BONUS 4) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following factors has the greatest influence on the weathering rate of Earth's surface bedrock? W) Regional climate X) Angle of insolation Y) Age of the bedrock Z) Local air pressure
ANSWER: W) REGIONAL CLIMATE
3) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice In a stable atmosphere, which of the following properties of an unsaturated air parcel will increase as the parcel is forced aloft? W) Relative humidity X) Mixing ratio Y) Saturation vapor pressure Z) Barometric pressure
ANSWER: W) RELATIVE HUMIDITY
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the mixed layer of the ocean? W) Relatively stratified in the vertical X) In direct contact with the atmosphere Y) Stirred by winds and convection Z) Varied depth with latitude and season
ANSWER: W) RELATIVELY STRATIFIED IN THE VERTICAL
[BONUS] Multiple Choice: Calcite belongs to which of the following mineral groups: W) oxide X) sulfate Y) carbonate Z) calcium silicate
ANSWER: Y) CARBONATE (Solution: CaCO3)
Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Saltwater desalination is a very energy-intensive process when practiced at large scale. What technology is predominantly used for saltwater desalination in the United States? W) Reverse osmosis X) Ion exchange Y) Salt precipitation Z) Solar distillation
ANSWER: W) REVERSE OSMOSIS
Multiple Choice Which of the following is the BEST example of an ocean current found in the intertidal littoral zone that flows seaward: W) rip current X) tidal bore Y) the Antarctic Circumpolar Current Z) equatorial tidal current
ANSWER: W) RIP CURRENT
BONUS14) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice What causes clouds of matter to flatten during the development of a protostar? W) Rotation X) Energy release Y) Gravity Z) Diffusion
ANSWER: W) ROTATION
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following both have very similar chemical compositions but exhibit different colors: W) ruby and sapphire X) opal and pearl Y) diamond and quartz Z) amber and citrine
ANSWER: W) RUBY AND SAPPHIRE
TOSS-UP 22) EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice What scale is used to classify the strength of hurricanes based on its greatest wind speed: W) Saffir-Simpson X) Beaufort Y) Modified Mercalli Z) Fujita
ANSWER: W) SAFFIR-SIMPSON
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is LEAST accurate regarding earthquakes: W) scientists agree that mega-quakes of magnitude 10 are very likely in the near future X) the world's greatest earthquake zone is the circum-Pacific seismic belt Y) Alaska has the greatest number of earthquakes in the U.S. Z) deep earthquakes are much less likely to be followed by aftershocks than shallow earthquakes
ANSWER: W) SCIENTISTS AGREE THAT MEGA-QUAKES OF MAGNITUDE 10 ARE LIKELY IN THE NEAR FUTURE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following sedimentary rocks is most likely to be changed to slate during regional metamorphism? W) Shale X) Conglomerate Y) Dolostone [DO-luh-stohn] Z) Breccia [BRECH-ee-uh]
ANSWER: W) SHALE
Multiple Choice Which of the following rocks typically has the SMALLEST grains: W) shale X) conglomerate Y) breccia Z) sandstone
ANSWER: W) SHALE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following characterizes tsunamis in the open ocean? W) Shallow water waves with long wavelengths and long periods X) Intermediate waves with long wavelengths and short periods Y) Deep water waves with short wavelengths and long periods Z) Deep water waves with long wavelengths and short periods
ANSWER: W) SHALLOW WATER WAVES WITH LONG WAVELENGTHS AND LONG PERIODS
BONUS 24) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following characterizes tsunamis in the open ocean? W) Shallow water waves with long wavelengths and long periods X) Intermediate waves with long wavelengths and short periods Y) Deep water waves with short wavelengths and long periods Z) Deep water waves with long wavelengths and short periods
ANSWER: W) SHALLOW WATER WAVES WITH LONG WAVELENGTHS AND LONG PERIODS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Kilauea [kee-lou-AY-ah] and Mauna Loa [MOU-nuh LOH-uh], are examples of which of the following types of volcanoes? W) Shield X) Composite Y) Cinder cone Z) Transform fault
ANSWER: W) SHIELD
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice When spreading centers reach above the ocean's surface, they typically form which of the following types of volcanoes: W) shield X) composite Y) stratovolcano Z) cinder cone
ANSWER: W) SHIELD
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following pairs of metamorphic rocks both result from the parent rock shale? W) Slate and hornfels X) Greenstone and phyllite Y) Quartzite and amphibolite [am-FIB-uh-lyt] Z) Marble and gneiss [NYS]
ANSWER: W) SLATE AND HORNFELS
BONUS15) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Areas of low pressure exist over the equatorial regions due to which of the following? W) Temperature X) Salinity Y) Coriolis forces Z) Circulation
ANSWER: W) TEMPERATURE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following factors is most important in controlling the density of seawater? W) Temperature X) Salinity Y) Pressure Z) Amount of oxygen in water
ANSWER: W) TEMPERATURE
Multiple Choice: In which of the following locations is oceanic crust converging with oceanic crust: W) the Aleutian Islands X) the Himalayan Mountains Y) the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Z) the East Pacific Rise
ANSWER: W) THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice When geologists find pillow basalts in ancient rock sequences, which of the following BEST explains their presence: W) the area was once underwater X) volcanic bombs and lapilli landed on snow or ice and quickly cooled Y) they hardened in mid-air, sometimes forming a tear-drop shape Z) nearby volcanoes erupted enormous quantities of ash
ANSWER: W) THE AREA WAS ONCE UNDERWATER
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The dissolving ability of water is related to which of the following? W) The attraction between the water molecule's positive and negative charges and charges on other atoms X) Its ability to form hydrogen bonds with other molecules Y) Its ability to transmit energy from water molecule to water molecule Z) Its low viscosity
ANSWER: W) THE ATTRACTION BETWEEN THE WATER MOLECULE'S POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CHARGES AND CHARGES ON OTHER ATOMS
BONUS 18) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following prevents limestone from forming below 5000 meters in the open ocean? W) The conditions of the overlying water at that depth cause a net dissolution of calcite X) The organisms that form limestone are not found in pelagic environments Y) The complex deep ocean ecosystem results in the consumption of limestone-forming organisms Z) Ocean temperature along abyssal plains is cold enough to prevent compaction and cementation of sediments
ANSWER: W) THE CONDITIONS OF THE OVERLYING WATER AT THAT DEPTH CAUSE A NET DISSOLUTION OF CALCITE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the most commonly accepted theory for the creation of Earth's moon? W) The Earth collided with a large proto-planet X) The Earth captured a proto-planet due to gravity Y) The Earth rotated too fast and spun off a large piece Z) The Earth and the Moon condensed together
ANSWER: W) THE EARTH COLLIDED WITH A LARGE PROTO-PLANET
BONUS 24) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The word "solstice" means "sunstop." Which of the following does this reference? W) The Sun's daily change in declination stops and reverses direction X) The Sun literally stops in our sky for a brief but measurable time Y) The Earth reaches the point where the Sun shines directly on the equator, restarting the solar calendar Z) The ancient belief that the Earth orbited the Sun
ANSWER: W) THE SUN'S DAILY CHANGE IN DECLINATION STOPS AND REVERSES DIRECTION
[bonus] EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is one of the main reasons why geologists believe that the second greatest earthquake risk to the U.S. lies along the New Madrid Fault in Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee: W) the underlying geology is loose sand and mud deposited by the Mississippi River X) it overlies a deep transform fault margin much like the San Andreas fault Y) it lies over a fast-moving modern plate boundary Z) it lies over a deep, subterranean hot spot
ANSWER: W) THE UNDERLYING GEOLOGY IS LOOSE SAND AND MUD DEPOSITED BY THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
[bonus] Multiple Choice A ship accidentally loses a cargo of floating rubber balls off the East coast of Japan. If they follow the prevailing currents, in which of the following locations will most of them likely FIRST wash on shore: W) the western coast of North America X) the eastern coast of Australia Y) the western coast of Australia Z) the south-central coast of Alaska
ANSWER: W) THE WESTERN COAST OF NORTH AMERICA
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is true of galaxies that are more distant from us? W) They are moving away faster X) They are expanding more Y) They are generally larger Z) They possess more heavy elements
ANSWER: W) THEY ARE MOVING AWAY FASTER
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following happens to the shells of snails and limpets as seawater becomes increasingly acidic: W) they begin to dissolve X) they become thicker Y) they develop much later in the organism's life Z) they become darker
ANSWER: W) THEY BEGIN TO DISSOLVE
BONUS Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Greenschists and blueschists both derive from mafic parent rocks. Why do they have different mineral compositions? W) They formed at different pressures and temperatures X) They crystallized at different rates Y) Greenschists are acidic Z) Blueschists were exposed to oxygen
ANSWER: W) THEY FORMED AT DIFFERENT PRESSURES AND TEMPERATURES
BONUS 6) EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following descriptions is NOT true of eskers: W) they were formed above glaciers by the widening of crevasses X) they are low, steep-sided ridges of sand and gravel Y) deposits were laid down by running water Z) their deposits are roughly sorted and bedded
ANSWER: W) THEY WERE FORMED ABOVE GLACIERS BY THE WIDENING OF CREVASSES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice During an El Niño event, the thermocline [THUR-muhklyn] in the eastern equatorial Pacific is which of the following, compared to normal? W) Thicker X) Thinner Y) The same Z) Either thicker or thinner depending on the salinity
ANSWER: W) THICKER
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The Coriolis effect causes objects moving in the Northern Hemisphere to veer in which of the following ways? W) To the right, or clockwise when viewed from above X) To the left, or counterclockwise when viewed from above Y) In an upward direction Z) In a downward direction
ANSWER: W) TO THE RIGHT, OR CLOCKWISE WHEN VIEWED FROM ABOVE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following organisms was NOT present in the Jurassic? W) Triceratops X) Ichthyosaurs [IK-thee-uh-sawrs] Y) Dinoflagellates [din-uh-FLAJ-uh-layts] Z) Ginkgoes [GING-kohs]
ANSWER: W) TRICERATOPS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following are thought to form the mantle of the Earth: W) ultramafic rocks X) felsic rocks Y) silicic rocks Z) mafic rocks
ANSWER: W) ULTRAMAFIC ROCKS
TOSS-UP2) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following planets is mostly composed of hydrogen, helium, and methane? W) Uranus X) Mercury Y) Mars Z) Venus
ANSWER: W) URANUS
BONUS 14) EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Distinctly and finely stratified layers of silt and clay deposited in lakes of glacial origin are known as: W) varves X) moraines Y) drumlins Z) eskers
ANSWER: W) VARVES
TOSS-UP23) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice What is one possible evolutionary adaptation that animals may have acquired to sense seismic activity? W) Vibration triggered early warning responses X) Heightened sensitivity to light Y) Heightened sensitivity to temperature changes along the fault plane Z) Air pressure sensitivity
ANSWER: W) VIBRATION TRIGGERED EARLY WARNING RESPONSES
BONUS 13) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Under which of the following circumstances does ocean depth affect ocean wave motion? W) When ocean depth falls below half the wavelength of a wave X) When the ocean wave has a period exceeding 20 seconds Y) When the ocean waves are impacted by tides Z) When the ocean floor has high relief, regardless of the depth
ANSWER: W) WHEN OCEAN DEPTH FALLS BELOW HALF THE WAVELENGTH OF A WAVE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice In the oceans, waves and surf currents are generated by: W) wind X) El-Nino Y) salinity and temperature gradients Z) the Intertropical Convergence Zone
ANSWER: W) WIND
BONUS13) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice What determines when a tropical depression or storm is given hurricane status? W) Wind speed X) Central pressure Y) Diameter Z) Movement velocity
ANSWER: W) WIND SPEED
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Aeolian sandstones are produced primarily by sand grain motion as a result of: W) river currents X) ocean currents Y) glacial transports Z) winds
ANSWER: W) WINDS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Tree growth is often very stunted and gnarly at the tree line of high mountains in North America. Known as Krummholz formations, this is primarily caused by: W) winds X) subsidence Y) lowered atmospheric pressure Z) low sunlight levels
ANSWER: W) WINDS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Tree growth is often very stunted and gnarly at the tree line of high mountains in North America. Known as Krummholz formations, this is primarily caused by: W) winds X) subsidence Y) lowered atmospheric pressure Z) low sunlight levels
ANSWER: W) WINDS
[bonus] Multiple Choice In which of the following locations would you MOST easily find a treasure-trove of rhyolitic rock: W) Yellowstone National park X) Hawaii Y) evaporate deposits in Death Valley, California Z) the mid-Atlantic ridge
ANSWER: W) YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
TOSS-UP4) Earth and Space - Short Answer On a weather map, what type of front is represented by a line with red semicircles extending from one side?
ANSWER: WARM FRONT
BONUS 7) Earth and Space - Short Answer What greenhouse gas has the greatest abundance in the atmosphere?
ANSWER: WATER VAPOR
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer What are the two most abundant dissolved gases released by magma?
ANSWER: WATER VAPOR (ACCEPT: WATER) AND CARBON DIOXIDE
Short Answer: Giving your answer as north, south, east, or west, from what general direction does the jet stream flow?
ANSWER: WEST
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Most solar radiation is emitted in short wavelengths. Visible wavelengths fall in which of the following ranges in micrometers? W) 0.1 - 0.4 X) 0.4 - 0.7 Y) 0.7 - 1.0 Z) 1.0 - 1.3
ANSWER: X) 0.4 - 0.7
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice A rising parcel of air reaches the lifting condensation level at 2,000 meters at a dew point temperature of 15ºC. At 3,000 meters, the temperature of this parcel of air will on average be: W) 15ºC X) 10ºC Y) 6ºC Z) 3ºC
ANSWER: X) 10ºC (Solution: wet-adiabatic lapse rate ~ 5ºC/1000 meters)
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Many of the driest locales on Earth are situated between which of the following latitudes: W) 0º to 15º X) 15º to 30º Y) 30º to 45º Z) 45º to 60º
ANSWER: X) 15º to 30º
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice According to the United Nations, what is the global warming potential of methane on a 100 year time scale? W) 1 X) 21 Y) 150 Z) 310
ANSWER: X) 21
Multiple Choice It is estimated that the supercontinent Pangaea began to break up at the end of the Triassic Period about how many years ago: W) 2.5 billion years X) 225 million years Y) 5 million years Z) 150,000 years
ANSWER: X) 225 MILLION YEARS
TOSS-UP9) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice What is the approximate mass of the object Sagittarius A-star in solar masses? W) 4 x 10 to the 2nd power X) 4 x 10 to the 6th power Y) 4 x 10 to the 10th power Z) 4 x 10 to the 16th power
ANSWER: X) 4 x 10 to the 6th POWER
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Assuming that you start with 100% U-238 and the U238 decays to Pb-206, how many half-lives are needed to yield 625 atoms of U-238 and 19,375 atoms of Pb-206? W) 4 X) 5 Y) 6 Z) 8
ANSWER: X) 5
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Most terrestrial plants grow best in soil with a pH range of: W) 4.5 to 5.5 X) 6.0 to 7.0 Y) 7.0 to 8.0 Z) 7.5 to 8.5
ANSWER: X) 6.0 TO 7.0
TOSS-UP9) Earth and Space- Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following is closest to the number of days of the world's supply of precipitation that is stored as water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere at any moment? W) 1 X) 7 Y) 28 Z) 365
ANSWER: X) 7
[bonus] Multiple Choice The "dead zone' that has been occurring off the central Oregon coast since 2002 and recently expanding is thought to be caused by which of the following: W) toxic sulfur gas from undersea vents X) abnormal upwelling processes due to highly variable winds Y) an increased presence of invasive predatory species Z) toxic release of waste products from oil refineries
ANSWER: X) ABNORMAL UPWELLING PROCESSES DUE TO HIGHLY VARIABLE WINDS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following best describes why Neptune is blue? W) A sub-surface ocean below a layer of ice X) Absorption of light by methane in its atmosphere Y) Blue-shifted due to its orbit Z) Hydrocarbon haze
ANSWER: X) ABSORPTION OF LIGHT BY METHANE IN ITS ATMOSPHERE
BONUS Earth and Space - Multiple Choice A red breccia contains a high percentage of large angular feldspar grains. In what type of depositional environment would you expect it to have formed? W) Beach X) Alluvial fan Y) Deep ocean trench Z) River delta
ANSWER: X) ALLUVIAL FAN
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following soil additives would be most efficient at increasing the acidity of a slightly alkaline soil: W) ground chalk X) aluminum sulfate Y) calcium sulfate Z) calcium carbonate
ANSWER: X) ALUMINUM SULFATE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Where do the strongest winds in Antarctica, which can reach 200 miles per hour, originate? W) Antarctic east coast X) Antarctic polar plateau Y) Antarctic circumpolar wave Z) Weddell Sea
ANSWER: X) ANTARCTIC POLAR PLATEAU
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice On July 4, under modern conditions, the planet is at which of the following in relation to the Sun? W) Perihelion [per-uh-HEE-lee-uhn] X) Aphelion [a-FEE-lee-uhn] Y) Perigee [PER-i-jee] Z) Apogee [A-puh-jee]
ANSWER: X) APHELION
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following minerals is NOT a polymorph of Al2SiO5? W) Andalusite [an-dl-OO-syt] X) Aragonite [uh-RAG-uh-nyt] Y) Sillimanite [SIL-uh-muh-nyt] Z) Kyanite [KAY-uh-nyt]
ANSWER: X) ARAGONITE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following did NOT occur during the Mesozoic era? W) Formation of the Coast Range batholith X) Assembly of Pangaea Y) Birth of the Atlantic Ocean Z) Subduction of the Pacific Plate
ANSWER: X) ASSEMBLY OF PANGAEA
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The Columbia River Gorge primarily cuts through what type of rock? W) Granite X) Basalt Y) Sandstone Z) Schist [SHIST]
ANSWER: X) BASALT
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following are intrusive masses of igneous rock that extend downward to unknown depths and do not show signs of a definite floor: W) laccolith X) batholith Y) sill Z) volcanic neck
ANSWER: X) BATHOLITH
BONUS 1) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following statements best explains how conglomerates differ from breccias [BRECH-ee-uhs]? W) Conglomerates are comprised of interlocking crystals rather than sediments X) Breccias are comprised of less mature sediments Y) Conglomerates are formed at higher elevations Z) Breccias are formed through metamorphic processes
ANSWER: X) BRECCIAS ARE COMPRISED OF LESS MATURE SEDIMENTS
BONUS 2) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Cayes [KAYS] are small sandy islands formed on the surface of coral reefs in tropical areas like the coast of Belize. The sand on these cayes is primarily composed of which of the following? W) Silicate X) Calcium carbonate Y) Sulfide Z) Halide
ANSWER: X) CALCIUM CARBONATE
[BONUS] Multiple Choice: In which period of the Geological Time Scale did trilobites first appear: W) Permian X) Cambrian Y) Devonian Z) Silurian
ANSWER: X) CAMBRIAN
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The Burgess Shale, in the Canadian Rockies, is best known for which of the following fossils? W) Proterozoic terrestrial plant [prot-er-uh-ZOH-ik] X) Cambrian marine Y) K/T boundary dinosaur Z) Peat bog human
ANSWER: X) CAMBRIAN MARINE
BONUS Earth and Space - Multiple Choice A breccia lens, shatter cones, tektites and spherulites can be found in which of the following areas? W) Cape Cod, Massachusetts X) Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Y) Honolulu, Hawaii Z) Yellowstone, Wyoming
ANSWER: X) CHESAPEAKE BAY, VIRGINIA
TOSS-UP20) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following minerals is the most economically important ore for mining and extraction of the element mercury? W) Calcite X) Cinnabar Y) Chabazite Z) Cristobalite
ANSWER: X) CINNABAR
[BONUS] Multiple Choice: Typically, thin veils or sheets of white fibrous clouds composed entirely of ice crystals which can sometimes cover the whole sky are called: W) alto-cumulus X) cirro-stratus Y) nimbo-stratus Z) alto-stratus
ANSWER: X) CIRRO-STRATUS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the term for the hygroscopic [hy-gruh-SKOP-ik] atmospheric particles that are precursors to clouds? W) Stratospheric aerosols X) Cloud condensation nuclei Y) Aqueous particles [AY-kwee-uhs] Z) Stratospheric condensation nuclei
ANSWER: X) CLOUD CONDENSATION NUCLEI
Multiple Choice Which of the following BEST describes the largest size of sediment particle that can be transported by a particular flow in a river: W) discharge X) competency Y) capacity Z) bed load
ANSWER: X) COMPETENCY
TOSS-UP19) Earth and Space- Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following air masses is the densest? W) Continental tropical X) Continental polar Y) Maritime tropical Z) Maritime pola
ANSWER: X) CONTINENTAL POLAR
BONUS 20) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The analysis of which of the following fossil types from ancient vertebrates provides important information about the diet and biota of ancient environments? W) Tracks X) Coprolite Y) Burrows Z) Fulgurite [FUHL-gyuh-ryt]
ANSWER: X) COPROLITE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following organisms were NOT extinct by the end of the Cretaceous [kri-TAY-shuhs] period? W) Ichthyosaurs [IK-thee-uh-sawrs] X) Cycliophora [sy-KLEEUH-fruh] Y) Quetzalcoatlus [ket-sahl-koh-AHT-luhs] Z) Plesiosaurs [PLEE-see-uh-sawrs]
ANSWER: X) CYCLIOPHORA
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a symptom of desertification? W) Lowering of the water table X) Decreased rate of erosion Y) Increased salinity in natural waters and soils Z) Progressive destruction of vegetation
ANSWER: X) DECREASED RATE OF EROSION
BONUS 13) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the age of the most abundant surface bedrock in the Finger Lakes region of New York State? W) Cambrian X) Devonian Y) Pennsylvanian Z) Permian
ANSWER: X) DEVONIAN
TOSS UP- Multiple Choice: Boundaries that form where lithospheric plates are breaking apart to move away from each other are called: W) transform boundaries X) divergent margin boundaries Y) suture zone boundaries Z) subduction boundaries
ANSWER: X) DIVERGENT MARGIN BOUNDARIES
TOSS-UP4) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Unconformities in the geologic record can form because of which of the following? W) Continuous deposition X) Erosion Y) Volcanism Z) Wind-blown deposition
ANSWER: X) EROSION
[bonus] Multiple Choice Deposited by subglacial streams, ridges of sand and gravel that form beneath the ablation zone of a glacier are called: W) cirques X) eskers Y) horns Z) kames
ANSWER: X) ESKERS
Multiple Choice Which of the following is a physical weathering process caused by a chemical change where there is a weakening and scaling off of successive layers to produce a rounded rock: W) frost action X) exfoliation Y) abrasion Z) plant and animal action
ANSWER: X) EXFOLIATION
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The curve that the position of the Sun at noon traces on the sky over the course of a year most closely resembles which of the following? W) Line X) Figure 8 Y) Ellipse Z) Circle
ANSWER: X) FIGURE 8
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The shells of which of the following zooplankton groups are used in carbon-14 dating of ocean sediments? W) Polycistina X) Foraminifera [fuh-ram-uh-NIF-er-uh] Y) Acantheria [uh-kan-THUH-ree-uh] Z) Ciliata [sil-ee-AY-tuh]
ANSWER: X) FORAMINIFERA
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following characteristics changes most significantly in local water bodies when rock salt is sprayed on icy winter roads? W) Water temperature X) Freezing temperature Y) pH Z) Phosphate concentration
ANSWER: X) FREEZING TEMPERATURE
[bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a silicate: W) mica X) galena Y) olivine Z) potassium feldspar
ANSWER: X) GALENA
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is best classified as a plutonic intrusive rock: W) obsidian X) granite Y) basalt Z) pumice
ANSWER: X) GRANITE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following geometries is inconsistent with a flat universe? W) Infinite X) Toroidal [toh-ROID-l] Y) Horn Z) Conical
ANSWER: Y) HORN
BONUS 2) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice If two black holes orbit one another at a distance of a few Schwarzschild radii [RAY-dee-eye], their orbits will slowly shrink until they merge. By which of the following processes does this occur? W) Dynamic friction X) Gravitational radiation Y) Third-body interactions Z) Drag from the accretion disks
ANSWER: X) GRAVITATIONAL RADIATION
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a sedimentary rock that forms as a result of precipitation during evaporation of seawater? ]W) Conglomerate X) Gypsum Y) Basalt Z) Shale
ANSWER: X) GYPSUM
BONUS9) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice The Galápagos Islands consist of a single active volcano among volcanic islands whose ages increase westward. Based on this knowledge, what geologic scenario is creating the islands? W) Subduction X) Hot spot Y) Sea floor spreading Z) Continental rifting
ANSWER: X) HOT SPOT
TOSS-UP 5) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following is a warm core, low pressure system? W) Anticyclone X) Hurricane Y) Nor'easter Z) Mid-latitude cyclone
ANSWER: X) HURRICANE
Multiple Choice Orthoclase feldspar primarily weathers by which of the following processes to form clay minerals: W) abrasion X) hydrolysis Y) exfoliation Z) dissolution
ANSWER: X) HYDROLYSIS
[bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is a geothermal process that has mostly led to concentrated stores of copper and zinc in the Earth's crust: W) soil leaching X) hydrothermal precipitation Y) igneous cooling Z) evaporation of water
ANSWER: X) HYDROTHERMAL PRECIPITATION
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice A halo around the Sun or Moon is different than a corona around the Moon in that the halo is produced by what? W) Water droplets in a cloud X) Ice crystals in a cloud Y) Reflection of sunlight Z) Refraction of sunlight
ANSWER: X) ICE CRYSTALS IN A CLOUD
TOSS-UP11 ) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice Which of the following glacial features can result from calving? W) Drumlins X) Icebergs Y) Striations Z) Moraines
ANSWER: X) ICEBERGS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice In general, the probability of flooding decreases when there is an increase in the amount of which of the following? W) Precipitation X) Infiltration Y) Runoff Z) Snow melt
ANSWER: X) INFILTRATION
Multiple Choice: Which of the following BEST describes Earth's current climate type: W) glacial X) interglacial Y) pre-ice age Z) post-ice age
ANSWER: X) INTERGLACIAL
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following correctly generalizes how crystal size compares between extrusive and intrusive rocks? W) Extrusive rocks have larger crystals X) Intrusive rocks have larger crystals Y) Extrusive and intrusive rocks have comparable sizes of crystals Z) Crystal size is variable and unpredictable
ANSWER: X) INTRUSIVE ROCKS HAVE LARGER CRYSTALS
BONUS 13) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Native to Asia, the Burmese python was brought to the United States for sale as a pet. Owners released their Burmese pythons into the wild of the Florida Everglades, creating ecological problems in that habitat. Which best describes the Burmese Python? W) Non-competitive species X) Invasive species Y) Keystone species Z) Primary succession
ANSWER: X) INVASIVE SPECIES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true about the outer core of the Earth? W) It is composed of iron and nickel X) It is highly viscous and ductile Y) Its temperature is greater than 4000 degrees Celsius Z) It is the source of Earth's magnetic field
ANSWER: X) IT IS HIGHLY VISCOUS AND DUCTILE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is true about the Antarctic ice sheet? W) It covers all land features in Antarctica X) It is over 4.2 kilometers thick in some areas Y) It is approximately 10 times as large in area as the Greenland ice sheet Z) It is nearly as large as the contiguous U.S.
ANSWER: X) IT IS OVER 4.2 KILOMETERS THICK IN SOME AREAS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice If Omega is exactly one, which of the following is TRUE about the universe? W) It will expand forever at an accelerating rate X) It will expand forever, but the speed of its expansion will slowly approach zero Y) It will eventually collapse upon itself Z) It will eventually be destroyed by a black hole
ANSWER: X) IT WILL EXPAND FOREVER, BUT THE SPEED OF ITS EXPANSION WILL SLOWLY APPROACH ZERO
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the single most important factor that generally sets a northern limit to tree growth, such as in the areas of transition between taiga and tundra in Alaska: W) high-winter winds X) lack of summer warmth Y) lack of spring moisture Z) lack of soil nutrients
ANSWER: X) LACK OF SUMMER WARMTH
BONUS 8) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following steps in atoll formation is the most mature? W) Erupting volcanic island X) Lagoon Y) Volcanic island with barrier reef Z) Volcanic island with fringing reef
ANSWER: X) LAGOON
TOSS-UP11 ) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice The rate at which temperature decreases with increasing altitude is known as the: W) Temperature slope X) Lapse rate Y) Temperature sounding Z) Thermocline
ANSWER: X) LAPSE RATE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following are likely to form in the crater of a stratovolcano following a catastrophic eruption, such as what happened several times in Mount Saint Helens: W) cinder cones X) lava domes Y) flood basalts Z) spatter cones
ANSWER: X) LAVA DOMES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the number two killer among thunderstorm hazards? W) Large hail X) Lightning Y) Flash flooding Z) Tornadoes
ANSWER: X) LIGHTNING
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the name given to soil that forms over millions of years from weathering of crystalline bedrock? W) Advanced X) Mature Y) Transported Z) Parent
ANSWER: X) MATURE
BONUS3) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice What two layers of the atmosphere have the least influence over weather? W) Troposphere and tropopause X) Mesosphere and thermosphere Y) Stratosphere and troposphere Z) Stratosphere and thermosphere
ANSWER: X) MESOSPHERE AND THERMOSPHERE
BONUS 18) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following pairs of minerals could be contained in the rocks gabbro and granite? W) Calcite and dolomite [py-ROK-seen] X) Mica [MY-kuh] and amphibole [AM-fuh-bohl] Y) Orthoclase and olivine Z) Plagioclase [PLAY-jee-uh-klays] and nepheline [NEF-uh-lin]
ANSWER: X) MICA AND AMPHIBOLE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Meteorologists think of wind as circulation patterns which are divided into 4 "scales of motion". A land-breeze circulation is grouped into which of the following categories: W) mesoscale X) microscale Y) medium scale Z) synoptic
ANSWER: X) MICROSCALE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice In which of the following lakes in North America would you typically find a thriving community of halophiles and alkaliphiles: W) Lake Michigan X) Mono Lake, California Y) Great Slave Lake, Canada Z) Lake Powell, Utah/Arizona
ANSWER: X) MONO LAKE, CALIFORNIA
Earth and Space - Multiple Choice What is the optical depth of the solid Earth at visible wavelengths? W) Zero X) Much greater than one Y) Much less than one Z) One
ANSWER: X) MUCH GREATER THAN ONE
TOSS-UP19) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice What is the optical depth of the solid Earth at visible wavelengths? W) Zero X) Much greater than one Y) Much less than one Z) One
ANSWER: X) MUCH GREATER THAN ONE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a common mineral in igneous rock but rather an accessory that typically occurs in small amounts: W) quartz X) muscovite Y) plagioclase Z) orthoclase
ANSWER: X) MUSCOVITE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Ocean tides of diminished range are called: W) spring tides X) neap tides Y) diurnal tides Z) semi-diurnal tides
ANSWER: X) NEAP TIDES
BONUS 5) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice A total solar eclipse can occur only during what phase of the moon? W) Full moon X) New moon Y) First quarter Z) Last quarter
ANSWER: X) NEW MOON
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following occurs as a rapidly advancing cold front overtakes a closed off warm front? W) Gliding X) Occlusion Y) Collapse and dissipation of low Z) Subsidence
ANSWER: X) OCCLUSION
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT generally characteristic of a passive continental margin: W) relatively wide continental shelf X) oceanic trench Y) terrigenous sediment Z) continental rise
ANSWER: X) OCEANIC TRENCH
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The lack of transmission of earthquake S-waves through what layer of the Earth is evidence that it is liquid? W) Mantle X) Outer core Y) Inner core Z) Lithosphere
ANSWER: X) OUTER CORE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice The Earth's greenhouse effect is primarily caused by which of the following: W) incoming solar ultraviolet light is absorbed by the ozone layer X) outgoing infrared solar radiation is trapped by the lower atmosphere Y) incoming infrared solar radiation is trapped by the magnetic field Z) outgoing X-rays are absorbed by the troposphere and reflected to the Earth's surface
ANSWER: X) OUTGOING INFRARED SOLAR RADIATION IS TRAPPED BY THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Extremely small crystal grains in an igneous [IGnee-uhs] rock are an indication that the crystals formed in which of the following ways? W) Under high pressure X) Over a short period of time Y) From an iron-rich magma Z) Deep below the surface of the Earth
ANSWER: X) OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
BONUS 6) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The gemstones ruby and sapphire are a part of which of the following mineral groups? W) Carbonates X) Oxides Y) Sulfates Z) Silicates
ANSWER: X) OXIDES
[BONUS] Multiple Choice: Which of the following is a compressional elastic seismic wave that causes rock particles to move back and forth parallel to wave direction: W) Rayleigh-wave X) P-wave Y) S-wave Z) L-wave
ANSWER: X) P-WAVE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice What is the shape of the orbit of a long period comet that has exactly as much kinetic energy as the absolute value of its gravitational potential energy? W) Circle X) Parabola Y) Hyperbola Z) Ellipse
ANSWER: X) PARABOLA
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice When sampling for organic matter in seawater, any organic matter retained by a 0.2 micrometer pore filter is classified as: W) dissolved organic carbon X) particulate organic carbon Y) detrital organic carbon Z) live or dead marine algae
ANSWER: X) PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a foliated metamorphic rock composed of very fine-grained mica: W) marble X) phyllite Y) quartzite Z) schist
ANSWER: X) PHYLLITE (Solution: marble = non-foliated; quartzite = non-foliated; schist = well-developed foliation)
BONUS2) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following provides the most accurate description of carrying capacity? W) Population below the carrying capacity will increase primary succession X) Population above the carrying capacity cannot be sustained indefinitely Y) Population above the carrying capacity will always run out of space Z) Population above the carrying capacity will always result in excessive CO2 levels
ANSWER: X) POPULATION ABOVE THE CARRYING CAPACITY CANNOT BE SUSTAINED INDEFINITELY
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice The overall charge at the top and bottom, respectively, of a towering cumulonimbus cloud during a thunderstorm is: W) positive, positive X) positive, negative Y) negative, positive Z) negative, negative
ANSWER: X) POSITIVE, NEGATIVE
BONUS7) Earth and Space - Multiple ChoiceAn isobar on a weather map is a line that connects equal points of: W) Wind speed X) Pressure Y) Temperature Z) Relative humidity
ANSWER: X) PRESSURE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The Sun has already completed nearly one half of its main sequence stage. Which of the following will occur next? W) White dwarf X) Red giant Y) Pulsar Z) Neutron star
ANSWER: X) RED GIANT
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT an example of a native element? W) Platinum X) Ruby Y) Gold Z) Diamond
ANSWER: X) RUBY
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Hurricanes are rated on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Tornadoes are rated on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. How are these ratings determined? W) Saffir-Simpson is based on central pressure and Enhanced Fujita is based on damage X) Saffir-Simpson is based on wind speed and Enhanced Fujita is based on damage Y) Both are based on damage Z) Both are based on vorticity
ANSWER: X) SAFFIR-SIMPSON IS BASED ON WIND SPEED AND ENHANCED FUJITA IS BASED ON DAMAGE
TOSS-UP5) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice Which of the following choices is an example of a transform plate boundary? W) Marianas Trench X) San Andreas Fault Y) Great Rift Valley Z) Ural Mountains
ANSWER: X) SAN ANDREAS FAULT
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following two organisms that still exist today first appeared in the recovery period directly after the Permian-Triassic extinction? W) Marsupial wombats and wallabies X) Sea urchins and sea stars Y) Sharks and rays Z) Magnolias and grasses
ANSWER: X) SEA URCHINS AND SEA STARS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is produced by gas-to-particle conversion in the atmosphere? W) Primary particulate matter X) Secondary particulate matter Y) Tertiary aerosols Z) Primary aerosols
ANSWER: X) SECONDARY PARTICULATE MATTER
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The observation that the mean luminosity of more distant stars tends to be higher than the mean luminosity of nearby stars in a flux-limited sample is an example of which of the following kinds of bias? W) Eddington X) Selection Y) Confirmation Z) Hindsight
ANSWER: X) SELECTION
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is generated from temperature changes in the atmosphere? W) Latent heat X) Sensible heat Y) Potential temperature Z) Irradiate heat
ANSWER: X) SENSIBLE HEAT
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice In special relativity, Lorentz contraction states that for an object moving relative to an observer, the observer will measure the object's length to be which of the following? W) Longer X) Shorter Y) Exactly the same Z) Impossible to tell
ANSWER: X) SHORTER
[Bonus] Multiple Choice: Which of the following are the most important and abundant rock-forming minerals: W) carbonates X) silicates Y) iron sulfides Z) sulfates
ANSWER: X) SILICATES
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following types of terrace is carved into bedrock? W) Fill X) Strath Y) Alluvium [uh-LOO-vee-uhm] Z) Accretion
ANSWER: X) STRATH
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following volcanoes form in ocean-continent and ocean-ocean convergent plate boundaries? W) Shield X) Stratovolcanoes Y) Hot spot volcanoes Z) Basaltic volcanoes
ANSWER: X) STRATOVOLCANOES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The Volcanic Explosivity Index rated the Toba eruption as an 8, the highest rating. Which of the following environments was the most likely tectonic setting for this eruption? W) Hot spot X) Subduction zone Y) Triple junction Z) Mid-ocean ridge
ANSWER: X) SUBDUCTION ZONE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following form elements heavier than iron? W) Black holes X) Supernovas Y) Meteor impacts Z) Star formation
ANSWER: X) SUPERNOVAS
Multiple Choice Which of the following is TRUE: W) deserts often occur on the windward sides of mountains X) taiga biomes are characterized by long severe winters and short summers Y) the most fertile soils are typically found in tropical forests Z) pedocal soil types are most likely be found in wet, humid environments
ANSWER: X) TAIGA BIOMES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY LONG SEVERE WINTERS AND SHORT SUMMERS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Thermohaline circulation in the ocean is controlled most by which of the following? W) Temperature and pressure X) Temperature and salinity Y) Salinity and precipitation Z) Salinity and sea ice formation
ANSWER: X) TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the most abundant sediment in the oceans? W) Hydrogenous [hy-DROJ-uh-nuhs] X) Terrigenous Y) Biogenous Z) Cosmogenous
ANSWER: X) TERRIGENOUS
TOSS-UP5) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice Which of the following is a reasonable conclusion from the observation that particles found in the Sun's chromosphere are more ionized than ions found in the photosphere? W) The photosphere and the chromosphere are composed of different ions X) The chromosphere is hotter than the photosphere Y) The photosphere is magnetically opposite the chromosphere Z) The chromosphere is cooler than the photosphere
ANSWER: X) THE CHROMOSPHERE IS HOTTER THAN THE PHOTOSPHERE
BONUS 18) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Glacial striations indicate which of the following? W) The absolute age of a glacial event X) The direction of glacial advancement Y) The direction of glacial retreat Z) The thickness of the glacier
ANSWER: X) THE DIRECTION OF GLACIAL ADVANCEMENT
Multiple Choice The time interval between the generation of P and S waves from its arrival at a seismometer is BEST translated as: W) the magnitude of the earthquake X) the distance to the epicenter Y) the wave height of a potential tsunami Z) the distance to the nearest fault zone
ANSWER: X) THE DISTANCE TO THE EPICENTER
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Of the history of the universe, which of the following best represents the period of time Earth has existed? W) Since the beginning X) The last one-third Y) The last one-hundredth Z) The last one-thousandth
ANSWER: X) THE LAST ONE-THIRD
BONUS 14) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is unlikely, given the Moon's current orbital plane? W) Solar eclipses visible from Earth X) The Moon passing directly over the poles Y) Lunar eclipses visible from Earth Z) Variations in the lunar path across the sky
ANSWER: X) THE MOON PASSING DIRECTLY OVER THE POLES
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding NOAA and NASA's prediction for the next solar cycle? W) The peak is expected in May 2013 X) The peak will have a higher than average number of sunspots Y) The peak will lead to magnetic storms around Earth's poles Z) The peak will be associated with increases in solar radio emissions
ANSWER: X) THE PEAK WILL HAVE A HIGHER THAN AVERAGE NUMBER OF SUNSPOTS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Plate tectonics have often been linked to changes in global climate. During the middle Cenozoic era, South America became separated from Antarctica and a circumpolar current formed. Which of the following was NOT caused by this separation? W) A permanent ice cap formed on Antarctica X) The temperature gradient lessened between the South Pole and the Equator Y) Earth's average temperature decreased Z) Thermohaline [thuhr-moh-HAY-lyn] circulation of the southern hemisphere Atlantic Ocean intensified
ANSWER: X) THE TEMPERATURE GRADIENT LESSENED BETWEEN THE SOUTH POLE AND THE EQUATOR
[bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true about Earth's water: W) more fresh water exists underground than in streams and lakes X) the total amount of water in the global system varies greatly from year to year Y) ground water can take thousands or millions of years to recharge naturally Z) a rock is permeable if water can pass through it
ANSWER: X) THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF WATER IN THE GLOBAL SYSTEM VARIES GREATLY FROM YEAR TO YEAR (Solution: the amount of water on Earth is constant)
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following BEST determines the maximum height of open ocean waves and is the point where breaking white caps form in a fully developed sea: W) the cohesive forces in water molecules are overcome and the waves break apart X) the waves are losing as much energy as breaking white caps as they are receiving from the wind Y) the trough moves a little bit faster than the crest and the wave becomes unstable Z) the waves have reached a maximum period
ANSWER: X) THE WAVES ARE LOSING AS MUCH ENERGY AS BREAKING WHITE CAPS AS THEY ARE RECEIVING FROM THE WIND
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following BEST describes a small lake in an arctic environment that is likely to be surrounded by a ring of so-called drunken trees leaning toward the lake: W) paternoster lake X) thermokarst Y) tarn Z) fen
ANSWER: X) THERMOKARST
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following statements is NOT true about shallow living coral reefs? W) They serve as centers of biodiversity X) They are generally found in temperate waters Y) They are threatened by climate change Z) They can be assessed using towed diver surveys
ANSWER: X) THEY ARE GENERALLY FOUND IN TEMPERATE WATERS
[bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true of isotherms: W) they are more widely spaced over the equatorial regions X) they are more closely spaced over North America in the summer than in the winter Y) they tend to be linear in form in the Southern Hemisphere south of 40º latitude Z) they are lines that connect places with the same average temperature
ANSWER: X) THEY ARE MORE CLOSELY SPACED OVER NORTH AMERICA IN THE SUMMER THAN IN THE WINTER
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is true about the sediments found at the farthest edges of an alluvial fan? W) They are metal rich X) They are relatively fine-grained Y) They are the most angular Z) They are chemically altered by their unique environment
ANSWER: X) THEY ARE RELATIVELY FINE-GRAINED
BONUS15) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Under the Cascade Mountains, some upwelling magma has cooled below the surface, forming plutons. Which of the following is true of these plutons? W) They are older than the surrounding bedrock X) They are younger than the surrounding bedrock Y) They are ultra-mafic Z) They are fine-grained
ANSWER: X) THEY ARE YOUNGER THAN THE SURROUNDING BEDROCK
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice During the Earth's equinoxes, which of the following is NOT true? W) Daytime and nighttime are equal in length X) They occur at the perihelion and aphelion of Earth's orbit Y) They occur during fall and spring Z) The Sun is directly overhead at the equator
ANSWER: X) THEY OCCUR AT THE PERIHELION AND APHELION OF EARTH'S ORBIT
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true about tides? W) They are long-period waves that move through the oceans in response to forces exerted by the Moon and Sun X) They originate in the oceans and progress toward the coastlines Y) A horizontal movement of water often accompanies the rising and falling of the tide Z) The weakest currents occur before or near the time of the high and low tides
ANSWER: X) THEY ORIGINATE IN THE OCEANS AND PROGRESS TOWARD THE COASTLINES
[bonus] Multiple Choice Strike-slip faults MOST commonly occur in which of the following: W) areas of continental collision X) transform fault margins Y) subduction zones Z) divergent plate boundaries
ANSWER: X) TRANSFORM FAULT MARGINS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Mammals first evolved during what geologic period? W) Permian X) Triassic Y) Cretaceous [kri-TAY-shuhs] Z) Paleocene [pay-lee-uh-SEEN]
ANSWER: X) TRIASSIC
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is best used to date the age of the Earth to about 4.5 billion years old: W) uranium-235 X) uranium-238 Y) potassium-40 Z) carbon-14
ANSWER: X) URANIUM-238
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice The combination of lingering air and abundance of particulates and other pollutants in the air over cities produces what is commonly known as the: W) urban depletion area X) urban dust dome Y) urban frontal zone Z) urban overcast zone
ANSWER: X) URBAN DUST DOME
BONUS 14) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following should NEVER occur? W) Mercury at inferior conjunction X) Venus at opposition Y) Mars at eastern quadrature Z) Jupiter at conjunction
ANSWER: X) VENUS AT OPPOSITION
TOSS-UP1) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice Which of the following processes help to form new mountains? W) Lithification X) Volcanic eruptions Y) Earthquakes Z) Denudation
ANSWER: X) VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice While most scientists believe global warming will cause soils of northern latitudes to emit more carbon dioxide, one recent study predicted they would sequester more carbon in the future. Which of the following mechanisms could explain this? W) Warmer temperatures accelerate soil respiration X) Warmer temperatures promote vegetation growth, which fixes more carbon Y) Warmer temperatures dry out soils Z) Warmer temperatures cause vegetation to grow and die faster, which puts more carbon into the soil and accelerates soil respiration
ANSWER: X) WARMER TEMPERATURES PROMOTE VEGETATION GROWTH, WHICH FIXES MORE CARBON
Multiple Choice: Which of the following is considered the principal volcanic gas: W) carbon dioxide X) water vapor Y) sulfur dioxide Z) methane
ANSWER: X) WATER VAPOR
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following best describes where the salt in ocean water comes from? W) Melting of glacial ice X) Weathering of continental rocks Y) Decomposition of plants and animals Z) Precipitation of salty rain
ANSWER: X) WEATHERING OF CONTINENTAL ROCKS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is nearest the percentage of the Earth's surface that is covered by glaciers? W) 1% X) 5% Y) 10% Z) 20%
ANSWER: Y) 10%
BONUS Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following would best approximate the temperature, in kelvins, of a star with very strong Balmer absorption lines? W) 30,000 X) 20,000 Y) 10,000 Z) 5000
ANSWER: Y) 10,000
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The interstellar medium is primarily composed of two components, a warm ionized phase and a cool neutral phase. Which of the following is approximately the temperature in Kelvin of the cool phase? W) 1 X) 10 Y) 100 Z) 1000
ANSWER: Y) 100
BONUS 10) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice A major belt of asteroids is located between Mars and Jupiter. Which of the following is the approximate average distance in millions of kilometers between the Sun and this major asteroid belt? W) 110 X) 220 Y) 390 Z) 850
ANSWER: Y) 390
BONUS20) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice According to the Saffir-Simpson scale, a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 67 meters per second is considered to be what category? W) 2 X) 3 Y) 4 Z) 5
ANSWER: Y) 4
BONUS20) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice How fast, in miles per hour, can a tsunami travel over the open ocean? W) 20 X) 100 Y) 500 Z) 1000
ANSWER: Y) 500
TOSS-UP23) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice A line of brown semicircles on a weather map indicates: W) A warm front X) A cold front Y) A dry line Z) Smog
ANSWER: Y) A DRY LINE
TOSS-UP1) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice A line with alternating blue triangles and red semicircles on a weather map indicates: W) A warm front X) A cold front Y) A stationary front Z) An occluded front
ANSWER: Y) A STATIONARY FRONT
Multiple Choice: The zone of aeration is BEST described as pores in rock or soil that contain: W) only water X) only oil Y) air and water Z) oil and water
ANSWER: Y) AIR AND WATER
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is generally NOT true of the alpine versus arctic tundra biomes: W) alpine tundra does not contain permafrost whereas arctic tundra does contain permafrost X) alpine tundra is warmer and has a longer growing season than arctic tundra Y) alpine tundra has a lower species diversity than arctic tundra Z) alpine tundra has less severe winters than arctic tundra
ANSWER: Y) ALPINE TUNDRA HAS A LOWER SPECIES DIVERSITY THAN ARCTIC TUNDRA
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is generally NOT true of the alpine versus arctic tundra biomes: W) alpine tundra does not contain permafrost whereas arctic tundra does contain permafrost X) alpine tundra is warmer and has a longer growing season than arctic tundra Y) alpine tundra has a lower species diversity than arctic tundra Z) alpine tundra has less severe winters than arctic tundra
ANSWER: Y) ALPINE TUNDRA HAS A LOWER SPECIES DIVERSITY THAN ARCTIC TUNDRA
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a problem that affects most plants growing in very acidic soil: W) iron deficiency X) accumulation of excess salt in their foliage Y) aluminum toxicity to their roots Z) excess calcium and magnesium ion uptake
ANSWER: Y) ALUMINUM TOXICITY TO THEIR ROOTS
BONUS 16) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following internal layers of the Earth allows for isostacy [eye-SOS-tuh-see] of the crust? W) Outer core X) Inner core Y) Asthenosphere Z) Lithosphere
ANSWER: Y) ASTHENOSPHERE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The image resolution of a large optical telescope is most directly related to which of the following? W) Focal length of the objective X) Diameter of the objective Y) Atmospheric conditions of the observing site Z) Astigmatism of the optical system
ANSWER: Y) ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS OF THE OBSERVING SITE
BONUS16) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice In South Africa sedimentary rocks of Archean age have been found with rounded pyrite pebbles, which are not found in sedimentary rocks today. What is the most likely reason for this? W) Pyrite is no longer formed on Earth's surface X) Liquid water was not present during the Archean Y) Atmospheric oxygen levels were very low in the Archean Z) Atmospheric pressure was lower in the Archean
ANSWER: Y) ATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN LEVELS WERE VERY LOW IN THE ARCHEAN
BONUS13) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice In which city would you be able to see cirrus clouds at an altitude of 3,000 meters above the surface? W) Ft. Lauderdale, Florida X) Honolulu, Hawaii Y) Barrow, Alaska Z) New York, New York
ANSWER: Y) BARROW, ALASKA
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The metamorphism of a sandstone rock will cause the rock to do which of the following? W) Melt X) Contain more fossils Y) Become denser Z) Occupy a greater volume
ANSWER: Y) BECOME DENSER
BONUS17) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Cloud seeding with silver iodide is based upon what process? W) Haber process X) Sublimation Y) Bergeron process Z) Chemical vapor deposition
ANSWER: Y) BERGERON PROCESS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following theories describes the random movement of small particles in the atmosphere? W) Diffusion X) Reynolds number Y) Brownian motion Z) Kinetic
ANSWER: Y) BROWNIAN MOTION
BONUS17) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following gases is released when calcite effervesces with acid? W) Hydrogen gas X) Oxygen gas Y) Carbon dioxide Z) Carbon monoxide
ANSWER: Y) CARBON DIOXIDE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Why did Charles Keeling's carbon dioxide graphs show an up and down pattern each year? W) More carbon dioxide was generated by heating processes during the winter X) The air is denser in the winter, causing carbon dioxide to become diluted Y) Carbon dioxide is absorbed during the growth season and released through decay during the fall and winter Z) Warmer summer continents release more carbon dioxide than during colder winters
ANSWER: Y) CARBON DIOXIDE IS ABSORBED DURING THE GROWTH SEASON AND RELEASED THROUGH DECAY DURING THE FALL AND WINTER
[bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is TRUE regarding climate: W) monsoon climates typically lack seasonal precipitation X) a prolonged rain-shadow effect would most likely produce a tropical climate Y) chaparral vegetation predominates in Mediterranean climates Z) grassland steppes predominate in humid, mid-latitude conditions
ANSWER: Y) CHAPARRAL VEGETATION PREDOMINATES IN MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following mineral properties is most reliable for identification? W) Color X) Density Y) Cleavage Z) Luster
ANSWER: Y) CLEAVAGE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following rocks would most likely be created within a fluvial environment? W) Dolostone X) Granite Y) Conglomerate Z) Limestone
ANSWER: Y) CONGLOMERATE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Moving away from the ridges, oceanic crust becomes which of the following? W) Hotter and younger X) Hotter and older Y) Cooler and older Z) Cooler and younger
ANSWER: Y) COOLER AND OLDER
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following features forms because parts of a glacier move at varying speeds and in different directions? W) Moraines X) Moulan Y) Crevasses Z) Arêtes [uh-REYTS]
ANSWER: Y) CREVASSES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following desert landforms is NOT formed through the process of abrasion? W) Yardang X) Wind bridge Y) Desert pavement Z) Inselberg
ANSWER: Y) DESERT PAVEMENT
Multiple Choice The catastrophic dust bowl of the 1930's was caused by which of the following processes: W) isostatic adjustment X) basal slip Y) desertification Z) mass wasting
ANSWER: Y) DESERTIFICATION
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a coarse-grained igneous rock primarily containing plagioclase feldspar, amphibole and biotite: W) gabbro X) basalt Y) diorite Z) granite
ANSWER: Y) DIORITE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice During La Niña events, which of the following is most likely? W) Drought in northeast Brazil X) Drought in most of Australia Y) Drought in the southwestern U.S. Z) Wetter than normal in Oregon and Washington
ANSWER: Y) DROUGHT IN THE SOUTHWESTERN U.S.
TOSS-UP4) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice In about twelve thousand years, the star Vega will be the North Star, not Polaris, due to which of the following: W) Jupiter's gravity X) Earth's tilted axis Y) Earth's axial precession Z) Earth's nutation
ANSWER: Y) EARTH'S AXIAL PRECESSION
BONUS14) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice There are caves found in Bend, Oregon, just east of Mt. Jefferson. Based on their location, what type of rocks do you suspect make up these caves? W) Sedimentary X) Intrusive Igneous Y) Extrusive Igneous Z) Metamorphic
ANSWER: Y) EXTRUSIVE IGNEOUS
Multiple Choice Which of the following is the BEST example of a non-point source pollution: W) leaching from a landfill X) a leaking septic tank Y) fertilizer runoff from agricultural fields Z) chemical spills at a mining site
ANSWER: Y) FERTILIZER RUNOFF FROM AGRICULTURAL FIELDS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the rate at which atmospheric gases and particles are moved across a surface? W) Vertical dispersion X) Turbulence Y) Flux Z) Stratospheric transport
ANSWER: Y) FLUX
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is an example of a negative feedback cycle? W) The polar climate warms, permafrost melts, microbes digest vegetation and release methane, the methane further warms polar climate X) The polar climate warms, sea ice melts, albedo lowers, and polar climate further warms Y) Global warming causes more water to evaporate from the surface, which condenses into clouds that then reflect more sunlight back to space, which cools the Earth Z) Global warming causes the southwestern U.S. to become even drier, reduced evaporation leads to fewer clouds so the Earth's albedo remains low, thus warming the climate
ANSWER: Y) GLOBAL WARMING CAUSES MORE WATER TO EVAPORATE FROM THE SURFACE, WHICH CONDENSES INTO CLOUDS THAT THEN REFLECT MORE SUNLIGHT BACK TO SPACE, WHICH COOLS THE EARTH
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following pairs correctly matches the U.S. geographic location and its typical tidal pattern? W) West Coast - semidiurnal X) West Coast - diurnal Y) Gulf of Mexico - diurnal Z) East Coast - mixed semidiurnal
ANSWER: Y) GULF OF MEXICO - DIURNAL
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following surface ocean currents transports warm water to higher latitudes? W) Labrador Current X) Falidand Current Y) Gulf Stream Z) West Wind Drift
ANSWER: Y) GULF STREAM
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following minerals is white or colorless, has a hardness of 2.5, and splits with cubic cleavage? W) Calcite X) Pyrite Y) Halite Z) Mica [MY-kuh]
ANSWER: Y) HALITE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following types of sedimentary rock is never formed through biochemical processes? W) Limestone X) Coal Y) Halite Z) Chert
ANSWER: Y) HALITE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Although the crystal habit of quartz is widely variable, its most common habit is: W) orthorhombic X) cubic Y) hexagonal Z) triclinic
ANSWER: Y) HEXAGONAL
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT necessary for a cloud to form? W) Saturated air X) Water vapor Y) High altitude Z) High humidity
ANSWER: Y) HIGH ALTITUDE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice In which of the following regions of the world's oceans are you most likely to find the greatest uniformity in density changes with increasing depth: W) equator X) tropics Y) high latitudes Z) desert latitudes
ANSWER: Y) HIGH LATITUDES (Solution: at high polar latitudes, change is nearly constant)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following properties of felsic melts makes them more viscous than mafic melts? W) Higher temperature X) Higher volatile content Y) Higher silica content Z) Erupting at a higher elevation
ANSWER: Y) HIGHER SILICA CONTENT
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Liquid water can store more heat energy than an equal amount of any other naturally occurring substance because liquid water has which of the following characteristics? W) It expands when cooled X) It has its greatest density at 4° Celsius Y) It has higher specific heat Z) It can be changed into a solid or a gas
ANSWER: Y) IT HAS HIGHER SPECIFIC HEAT
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following statements is NOT true about the Gulf of Maine? W) It is highly fertile X) A gyre [JYUHR] circulates nutrients and pollution through the Gulf Y) It is among the deepest gulfs in the world Z) It is sub-arctic, but has a wide range in water temperature
ANSWER: Y) IT IS AMONG THE DEEPEST GULFS IN THE WORLD
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following statements is NOT true about upwelling? W) It is associated with good fishing X) Water that rises to the surface as a result of upwelling is typically colder and richer in nutrients Y) It is caused when offshore wind causes surface water to build up along a coastline Z) It occurs in the open ocean and along coastlines
ANSWER: Y) IT IS CAUSED WHEN OFFSHORE WIND CAUSES SURFACE WATER TO BUILD UP ALONG A COASTLINE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is TRUE regarding the Hadley cell: W) it creates an area of high pressure along the equator X) it is an open ocean circulation at 30º north and south latitudes Y) it originates at the equator with strong solar heating Z) it is the only air circulation that is not affected by the Coriolis effect
ANSWER: Y) IT ORIGINATES AT THE EQUATOR WITH STRONG SOLAR HEATING
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following scenarios could strengthen a hurricane? W) It travels over Hispaniola X) It moves into a region with strong upper-level winds Y) It passes over an area of warm surface waters Z) It encounters a polar front
ANSWER: Y) IT PASSES OVER AN AREA OF WARM SURFACE WATERS
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true of breccia rock: W) it is sedimentary X) its color is variable Y) its texture consists of rounded pebbles, cobbles and boulders Z) fragments may be any type of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks
ANSWER: Y) ITS TEXTURE CONSISTS OF ROUNDED PEBBLES, COBBLES AND BOULDERS (Solution: constituent clasts are angular)
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following rocks is MOST porous: W) marble X) granite Y) limestone Z) slate
ANSWER: Y) LIMESTONE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following factors does NOT directly impact the climate of a geographic location? W) Elevation X) Ocean currents Y) Longitude Z) Latitude
ANSWER: Y) LONGITUDE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Nimbostratus [nim-boh-STRAT-uhs] clouds are considered what type of clouds, based on their height in the atmosphere? W) High-level X) Mid-level Y) Low-level Z) Ground-level
ANSWER: Y) LOW-LEVEL
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following classes of stars does NOT have radiative zones? W) A X) G Y) M Z) O
ANSWER: Y) M
BONUS15) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice The reasons why the Earth's core is believed to be largely molten iron do not include arguments that involve which of following? W) Density of iron X) Conductivity of iron Y) Magnetic properties of iron Z) Abundance of iron in the universe
ANSWER: Y) MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF IRON
BONUS11 ) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice A backdoor cold front is most likely to occur in which of the following states? W) Florida X) California Y) Maine Z) Michigan
ANSWER: Y) MAINE
Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding the planet Mercury? W) Mercury is more massive than Ganymede X) Mercury has a magnetic field generated by a liquid iron core Y) Mercury is synchronously tidally locked with the Sun Z) Craters on Mercury's north pole are known to contain water ice
ANSWER: Y) MERCURY IS SYNCHRONOUSLY TIDALLY LOCKED WITH THE SUN
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the most common type of ocean tide throughout the world and is the type found along the U.S. Pacific coast: W) diurnal X) semidiurnal Y) mixed Z) zonal
ANSWER: Y) MIXED
BONUS Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following regions of an active galactic nucleus is the most distant from the supermassive black hole? W) Accretion disk X) Broad line region Y) Narrow line region Z) Obscuring torus
ANSWER: Y) NARROW LINE REGION
BONUS 8) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the dominant cooling mechanism in a core-collapse supernova? W) X-rays and gamma-rays X) Synchrotron emission Y) Neutrinos Z) Electron evaporation
ANSWER: Y) NEUTRINOS
BONUS Earth and Space - Multiple Choice When do eclipses of the sun occur? W) Full moon X) Anytime Y) New moon Z) First or last quarter
ANSWER: Y) NEW MOON
BONUS1) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice When do eclipses of the sun occur? W) Full moon X) Anytime Y) New moon Z) First or last quarter
ANSWER: Y) NEW MOON
TOSS-UP3) Earth and Space- Multiple ChoiceWhich of the following is a cloud type that, by definition, produces precipitation? W) Stratocumulus X) Altostratus Y) Nimbostratus Z) Altocumulus
ANSWER: Y) NIMBOSTRATUS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice If a climate report shows the difference in surface air pressure between the Azores and Iceland, what phenomenon is it measuring? W) El Nino Southern Oscillation X) Pacific Decadal Oscillation Y) North Atlantic Oscillation Z) Arctic Oscillation
ANSWER: Y) NORTH ATLANTIC OSCILLATION
BONUS 10) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following features is NOT associated with subduction zone geology? W) San Joaquin Valley, California X) Accreted terrains of coastal California Y) North Carolina barrier islands Z) Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington
ANSWER: Y) NORTH CAROLINA BARRIER ISLANDS
BONUS5) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following surfaces has the lowest albedo? W) Ice X) Desert Sand Y) Ocean Z) Tundra
ANSWER: Y) OCEAN
[bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true of seismic waves: W) P and S waves can travel through solids X) S waves cannot travel through Earth's outer core Y) S-wave and P-waves cancel each other out in the shadow zone Z) seismographs typically record P waves before S waves
ANSWER: Y) S-WAVE AND P-WAVES CANCEL EACH OTHER OUT IN THE SHADOW ZONE
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following scenarios made navigation difficult for early sailors and, according to legend, caused them to sacrifice their horses? W) Sailing from east to west between a subtropical high and subpolar low X) Sailing adjacent to the intertropical convergence zone Y) Sailing through the middle of a subtropical high Z) Sailing from west to east at 23.5° latitude
ANSWER: Y) SAILING THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF A SUBTROPICAL HIGH
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT evidence that liquid water was once present on Mars? W) Large flood channels X) Sedimentary layering Y) Sand dunes Z) Eroded craters
ANSWER: Y) SAND DUNES
BONUS 18) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice A galaxy shows a strong bar and very loosely-wound spiral arms. Which of the following would most likely be its class? W) S0 X) SBa Y) SBc Z) Sb
ANSWER: Y) SBc
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a good index fossil? W) Easy to identify X) Geographically widespread Y) Slow evolution Z) Easy to preserve
ANSWER: Y) SLOW EVOLUTION
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is characteristic of a deep residual soil? W) Unaltered bedrock X) An immature soil Y) Soil that has been weathering for a long period of time Z) Soil derived from rocks exposed to the hydrosphere and atmosphere
ANSWER: Y) SOIL THAT HAS BEEN WEATHERING FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME
TOSS-UP7) Earth and Space- Multiple ChoiceAn outflow of charged particles from the sun that escapes the sun's outer atmosphere is called: W) Solar discharge X) Solar flare Y) Solar wind Z) Solar gust
ANSWER: Y) SOLAR WIND
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice During a Nor'easter, areas far to the east of the storm center will feel which of the following storm-generated winds: W) northeasterly X) southeasterly Y) southwesterly Z) northwesterly
ANSWER: Y) SOUTHWESTERLY
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Andesitic magmas typically erupt above: W) hot spots X) divergent plate boundaries Y) subduction zones Z) fissure eruptions
ANSWER: Y) SUBDUCTION ZONES
3) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice All the elements that are more massive than iron were formed by what astronomical phenomenon? W) Nova X) White dwarf Y) Supernova Z) Black hole
ANSWER: Y) SUPERNOVA
Toss-up Multiple Choice A wind blowing from 135° equates to the wind coming from which direction? W) Northeast X) Northwest Y) Southeast Z) Southwest
ANSWER: Y) Southeast
BONUS3) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following explains why the number and intensity of wave cyclones is greatest during the late fall, winter and spring months? W) Air is drier X) Density of the air is greatest Y) Temperature contrasts are greater Z) Temperatures are below freezing
ANSWER: Y) TEMPERATURE CONTRASTS ARE GREATER
BONUS13) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice When using a psychrometer and the two temperatures read are nearly identical, what conclusion would you reach? W) Your instrument reading is accurate X) A change in temperature is forecast Y) The air has a high relative humidity Z) The dew point temperature is very low
ANSWER: Y) THE AIR HAS A HIGH RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Multiple Choice A hurricane originating in the Eastern tropical Atlantic is driven westward by: W) the intertropical convergence zone X) the prevailing westerlies Y) the easterly trade winds Z) the doldrums
ANSWER: Y) THE EASTERLY TRADE WINDS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Alfred Wegener believed that which of the following caused the continents to move? W) Strong earthquakes X) Strong winds Y) The spinning of the Earth Z) The rotation of the Earth's magnetic field
ANSWER: Y) THE SPINNING OF THE EARTH
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the definition of dew point? W) The ratio of actual water vapor compared to saturated water vapor in the air X) The ratio of liquid water to water vapor in the air Y) The temperature at which the air is saturated with water vapor Z) The temperature at which water evaporates into the air
ANSWER: Y) THE TEMPERATURE AT WHICH THE AIR IS SATURATED WITH WATER VAPOR
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Scientists currently believe that modern birds descended from what organisms? W) Pterosaurs [TER-uh-sawrs] X) Ornithopods Y) Therapods Z) Sauropods
ANSWER: Y) THERAPODS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true of satellites in geostationary orbits? W) They are in the line-of-sight of more than one third of the Earth's surface X) They are useful for weather monitoring and communications Y) They provide excellent views of the polar regions Z) They can receive transmissions from free-floating balloons, buoys, and remote automatic data collection stations
ANSWER: Y) THEY PROVIDE EXCELLENT VIEWS OF THE POLAR REGIONS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The rest frame lifetime of a muon is 2.2 microseconds. Muons are produced in the upper atmosphere by collisions with cosmic rays. The light travel time from the upper atmosphere to the ground is about 150 microseconds. Nevertheless, a substantial fraction of muons produced in the upper atmosphere are observed on the ground. For an observer on the ground, which of the following principles best explains this phenomenon? W) Length contraction X) Atmospheric scintillation Y) Time dilation Z) Pair production
ANSWER: Y) TIME DILATION
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following processes leads directly to the formation of topsoil and subsoil in the A and B horizons? W) Erosion and deposition X) Erosion and leaching Y) Weathering and leaching Z) Weathering and deposition
ANSWER: Y) WEATHERING AND LEACHING
TOSS-UP16) Earth and Space - Multiple ChoiceWhat is the term for the lowest temperature that can be attained by evaporating water into the air? W) Minimum temperature X) Wind chill temperature Y) Wet bulb temperature Z) Dry bulb temperature
ANSWER: Y) WET BULB TEMPERATURE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice In which of the following ways does the mineral biotite differ from the mineral muscovite? W) Biotite contains silica while muscovite does not X) Muscovite contains potassium while biotite does not Y) While both contain aluminum, only biotite contains magnesium Z) While both contain sodium, only muscovite contains aluminum
ANSWER: Y) WHILE BOTH CONTAIN ALUMINUM, ONLY BIOTITE CONTAINS MAGNESIUM
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a ubiquitous trace mineral found in many igneous, metamorphic and clastic sedimentary rocks, and has been used to date Earth's oldest rocks at 4-plus billion years: W) titanite X) tremolite Y) zircon Z) beryl
ANSWER: Y) ZIRCON
BONUS22) Earth and Space - Short Answer The Columbia River Basalts are thought to be related to what major magma source found east of the basalt deposits?
ANSWER: YELLOWSTONE HOTSPOT
Earth and Space - Short Answer What stadial, also referred to as the Big Freeze, was a period of cold climatic conditions approximately 12,000 years ago?
ANSWER: YOUNGER DRYAS
TOSS-UP14) Earth and Space - Short Answer What stadial, also referred to as the Big Freeze, was a period of cold climatic conditions approximately 12,000 years ago?
ANSWER: YOUNGER DRYAS
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice If the air temperature is 0ºF and the wind speed is 10 miles per hour, which of the following is closest to the wind chill, in degrees Fahrenheit: W) 10 X) 0 Y) -10 Z) -20
ANSWER: Z) -20
[BONUS] Multiple Choice: About what percent of all glaciers in the world are retreating today: W) 25% X) 50% Y) 75% Z) 100%
ANSWER: Z) 100%
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the average approximate length of time in years between Earth's magnetic pole reversals? W) 3 X) 300 Y) 3,000 Z) 300,000
ANSWER: Z) 300,000
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice During the past 500,000 years, there have been how many periods of major glaciation on Earth: W) 2 X) 3 Y) 4 Z) 5
ANSWER: Z) 5
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is closest to the percentage of incoming solar radiation that is absorbed by the ocean and land? W) 5% X) 15% Y) 20% Z) 50%
ANSWER: Z) 50%
BONUS1) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following is closest to the average pH of marine water? W) 4.18 X) 6.19 Y) 7.56 Z) 8.16
ANSWER: Z) 8.16
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is LEAST accurate about minerals: W) calcite has a hardness of 3 on most of its surfaces but a hardness of 4 along the crystal face perpendicular to its long axis X) the Moh's scale measures the absolute hardness of minerals Y) a mineral's chemical composition largely determines its crystal shape and cleavage pattern Z) a mineral's color is the same as its streak
ANSWER: Z) A MINERAL'S COLOR IS THE SAME AS ITS STREAK
TOSS-UP13) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice Identify the fog that forms as warm moist air passes over a cooler surface? W) Adiabatic fog X) Radiation fog Y) Frontal fog Z) Advection fog
ANSWER: Z) ADVECTION FOG
[bonus] Multiple Choice Looking down on the Earth in the Northern Hemisphere, which of the following BEST describes the circulation of air above an anticyclone: W) air spiraling inward in a counter-clockwise direction X) air spiraling outward in a counter-clockwise direction Y) air spiraling inward in a clockwise direction Z) air spiraling outward in a clockwise direction
ANSWER: Z) AIR SPIRALING OUTWARD IN A CLOCKWISE DIRECTION
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Why do tornadoes occur with the lowest frequency near dawn? W) The ground surface is moist, cooling the ground X) The differential between land and air temperatures is at its peak Y) Cloud formation in the early morning hours is rare Z) Air temperature is lowest and radiation deficits are highest
ANSWER: Z) AIR TEMPERATURE IS LOWEST AND RADIATION DEFICITS ARE HIGHEST
BONUS7) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice When the air is saturated with moisture, which of the following statements is false? W) Relative humidity is equal to 100% X) Air temperature is equal to the dew point temperature Y) Air temperature is equal to the wet bulb temperature Z) An increase in temperature will produce condensation
ANSWER: Z) AN INCREASE IN TEMPERATURE WILL PRODUCE CONDENSATION
Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a type of meteorite: W) chondrites X) achondrites Y) stoney-irons Z) andesites
ANSWER: Z) ANDESITES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following stream types best describes the Columbia River along the Columbia River Gorge? W) Meandering X) Braided Y) Ephemeral Z) Antecedent
ANSWER: Z) ANTECEDENT
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a tree that is very well-adapted to surviving above shallow permafrost: W) cottonwood X) white pine Y) aspen Z) black spruce
ANSWER: Z) BLACK SPRUCE
BONUS Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following is not a type of metamorphism? W) Regional X) Impact Y) Burial Z) Catastrophic
ANSWER: Z) CATASTROPHIC
BONUS3) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following is not a type of metamorphism? W) Regional X) Impact Y) Burial Z) Catastrophic
ANSWER: Z) CATASTROPHIC
TOSS-UP11 ) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice What stars provide a distance scale to the galaxies? W) Quasars Y) Pulsars Y) Red Giants Z) Cepheid Variables
ANSWER: Z) CEPHEID VARIABLES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following best describes surface airflow in a northern hemisphere middle-latitude cyclone? W) Divergent and clockwise X) Divergent and counterclockwise Y) Convergent and clockwise Z) Convergent and counterclockwise
ANSWER: Z) CONVERGENT AND COUNTERCLOCKWISE
Multiple Choice Which of the following typically requires warm, clear, shallow water characterized by low nutrient concentration and a hard coastal substrate to develop: W) barrier island X) estuary Y) lagoon Z) coral reef
ANSWER: Z) CORAL REEF
BONUS 14) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Meteorologists use the Enhanced Fujita Scale to determine the strength of a tornado by assessing which of the following? W) Winds of the tornado X) Minimum barometric pressure of the tornado Y) Vorticity of the tornado Z) Damage left behind from the tornado
ANSWER: Z) DAMAGE LEFT BEHIND FROM THE TORNADO
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following causes basal sliding of glaciers? W) Melting of basal ice due to heat from friction as the glacier moves along bedrock X) Changes in gravity as the glacier increases in mass Y) Differences in the amount of friction linked to variable surface conditions under the glacier Z) Decrease in friction due to melting from pressure of overlying ice
ANSWER: Z) DECREASE IN FRICTION DUE TO MELTING FROM PRESSURE OF OVERLYING ICE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Evidence of past climate conditions is best reviewed by studying which of the following? W) Modern ocean chemistry X) Metal sulfides Y) Mid-ocean ridges Z) Deep sea sediments
ANSWER: Z) DEEP SEA SEDIMENTS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice A meromictic lake has layers of water that typically: W) intermix once a year X) intermix each spring and autumn Y) intrtmix only when the winds are favorable Z) do not intermix
ANSWER: Z) DO NOT INTERMIX
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Radial velocity surveys are biased towards discovering which of the following kinds of exoplanets? W) Face-on systems close to the Earth X) High albedo planets with large semi-major axes Y) Systems with large mass ratios that are close to the Earth Z) Edge-on systems with small semi-major axes
ANSWER: Z) EDGE-ON SYSTEMS WITH SMALL SEMI-MAJOR AXES
TOSS-UP EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following types of moraines does NOT parallel ice flow: W) medial X) lateral Y) double lateral Z) end
ANSWER: Z) END
BONUS2) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Trees growing on the edge of a river's meander are most likely to fall into the river due to: W) Deposition on the inside of the meander X) Deposition on the outside of the meander Y) Erosion on the inside of the meander Z) Erosion on the outside of the meander
ANSWER: Z) EROSION ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE MEANDER
BONUS4) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following is true of the eyewall replacement cycles of a hurricane? W) Maximum sustained wind speeds tend to increase in the eyewall X) A smaller eye expands outward and replaces a larger eye Y) The core of strongest wind tends to become more compact Z) Eyewall replacement cycles are common when a hurricane reaches a Category 5 status
ANSWER: Z) EYEWALL REPLACEMENT CYCLES ARE COMMON WHEN A HURRICANE REACHES A CATEGORY 5 STATUS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a medium or coarse-grained rock that consists primarily of plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene and is essentially the plutonic equivalent of basalt: W) diorite X) rhyolite Y) andesite Z) gabbro
ANSWER: Z) GABBRO
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Detrital rocks are classified based on which of the following? W) Mineral composition X) Grain size only Y) The conditions in which they formed Z) Grain shape, grain size, and sorting
ANSWER: Z) GRAIN SHAPE, GRAIN SIZE, AND SORTING
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Some quasars exhibit multiple images. What phenomenon explains this observation? W) Structure doubling X) Faraday rotation Y) Wormholes Z) Gravitational lensing
ANSWER: Z) GRAVITATIONAL LENSING
BONUS 6) EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice The governing factor that controls flow within the Hydrologic System is: W) humidity X) capillary pressure Y) vapor pressure Z) gravity
ANSWER: Z) GRAVITY
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice If the intent is to neutralize soil acidity, the mixing of which of the following materials in the soil would be the LEAST effective: W) ground limestone X) ground oyster shells Y) pure CaCO3 Z) gypsum
ANSWER: Z) GYPSUM (Solution: gypsum is CaCO4)
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Halos and rings around the Moon in the night sky are most often caused by which of the following: W) nucleation particles in the stratosphere X) small water droplets in nimbostratus clouds Y) temperature inversions Z) ice crystals in cirrus clouds
ANSWER: Z) ICE CRYSTALS IN CIRRUS CLOUDS
[BONUS] Multiple Choice: In which of the following locations would you typically expect the average salinity of surface sea water to be the HIGHEST: W) at the mouth of the Mississippi River X) in the waters above the Arctic Circle Y) in the Black Sea Z) in the Dead Sea
ANSWER: Z) IN THE DEAD SEA
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice In which of the following locations is it possible to find an esker formed during the Pleistocene [PLY-stuh-seen] epoch? W) Maryland X) West Virginia Y) Tennessee Z) Iowa
ANSWER: Z) IOWA
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following statements about the Moon best describes why we only see one side of the Moon from Earth? W) It does not rotate X) It has a side that is always dark Y) It does not revolve Z) It has the same period for rotation and revolution
ANSWER: Z) IT HAS THE SAME PERIOD FOR ROTATION AND REVOLUTION
Multiple Choice Which of the following is LEAST accurate about the composition and structure of Earth's atmosphere: W) at the uppermost boundary of the troposphere, air temperature begins to increase with increasing altitude X) the ozone layer absorbs UV radiation from the Sun Y) there are about one-third as many gas molecules in the air atop Mt. Everest compared to sea level Z) it is divided into four distinct layers based primarily on pressure gradients
ANSWER: Z) IT IS DIVIDED INTO FOUR DISTINCT LAYERS BASED PRIMARILY ON PRESSURE GRADIENTS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following best describes the absorption characteristics of dust in the interstellar medium? W) Its effects are strongest in radio wavelengths X) It absorbs light at all wavelengths with about the same efficiency Y) It preferentially absorbs optical light at redder wavelengths Z) It preferentially absorbs optical light at bluer wavelengths
ANSWER: Z) IT PREFERENTIALLY ABSORBS OPTICAL LIGHT AT BLUER WAVELENGTHS
BONUS 4) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is true of sandstone formed from a long-term paleodesert? W) It would exhibit clearly graded bedding X) It would have preserved ripples but not dunes Y) It would appear black due to the dark iron-rich minerals present Z) It would contain well rounded grains and have high quartz content
ANSWER: Z) IT WOULD CONTAIN WELL ROUNDED GRAINS AND HAVE HIGH QUARTZ CONTENT
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following classes of objects is distributed around the Sun with spherical symmetry? W) Asteroids X) Trans-Neptunian objects Y) Kuiper belt objects [KY-per] Z) Long-period comets
ANSWER: Z) LONG-PERIOD COMETS
BONUS16) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Compared with Earth, Mars has: W) A denser atmosphere X) A shorter year Y) More surface water Z) Lower average surface temperature
ANSWER: Z) LOWER AVERAGE SURFACE TEMPERATURE
BONUS11 ) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding the moon? W) The dividing line between darkness and light on the moon is called the terminator X) The moon is tidally locked to the Earth Y) Maria are mostly composed of basaltic minerals Z) Many moon rock samples are sedimentary
ANSWER: Z) MANY MOON ROCK SAMPLES ARE SEDIMENTARY
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Placodonts, which lived during the Triassic Period, were a group of: W) meat-eating land reptiles X) flying reptiles Y) small, lightweight, plant-eating reptiles Z) marine reptiles
ANSWER: Z) MARINE REPTILES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice In which of the following states are you most likely to find glacially transported sediment from North America's last major glacial maximum? W) Virginia X) Colorado Y) California Z) Michigan
ANSWER: Z) MICHIGAN
Multiple Choice Which of the following is a brief yet destructive windstorm marked by cool moist air descending from a thunderstorm that is sometimes mistaken for a tornado because of the damage it produces: W) Chinook X) zephyr Y) dust devil Z) microburst
ANSWER: Z) MICROBURST
TOSS-UP15) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice Remnants of the energy released by the Big Bang are now distributed across the Universe as which of the following? W) X-rays X) Ultraviolet Y) Infrared Z) Microwaves
ANSWER: Z) MICROWAVES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Based on current scientific data, the most widely accepted cause of past ice ages is which of the following? W) Volcanic aerosols in the atmosphere from major eruptions X) Increased absorption of carbon dioxide by the oceans and land masses Y) A decrease in solar intensity such as during the Maunder Minimum Z) Milankovitch cycles
ANSWER: Z) MILANKOVITCH CYCLES
(General Science) Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true: W) long-term variation in Earth's insolation is partially caused by precession X) there has yet to be any scientifically well-documented case of a human whose immune system has eradicated HIV from their body Y) Candida albicans is a common fungal infective agent in humans Z) most scientific evidence supports the belief that C3 plants evolved from C4 plants
ANSWER: Z) MOST SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE BELIEF THAT C3 PLANTS EVOLVED FROM C4 PLANTS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following cloud types is classified as a low cloud: W) altostratus X) cirrostratus Y) cumulonimbus Z) nimbostratus
ANSWER: Z) NIMBOSTRATUS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice As a hurricane approaches the east coast of Florida from the east, the storm surge waves would be greatest at which of the following? W) Northeast of the eye X) Southeast of the eye Y) Southwest of the eye Z) Northwest of the eye
ANSWER: Z) NORTHWEST OF THE EYE
BONUS5) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice What forces maintain neutron stars against gravitational collapse? W) Electromotive forces X) Frictional forces Y) Intermolecular forces Z) Nuclear forces
ANSWER: Z) NUCLEAR FORCES
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The most explosive type of volcanism would be expected in which of the following locations? W) Mid-ocean ridge X) Hot spot on an oceanic plate Y) Continental rift zone Z) Ocean-continent subduction zone
ANSWER: Z) OCEAN-CONTINENT SUBDUCTION ZONE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice The San Andreas Fault and collision of India with Asia occurred in what geologic period? W) Cambrian X) Permian Y) Cretaceous [kri-TAY-shuhs] Z) Oligocene [OL-i-goh-seen]
ANSWER: Z) OLIGOCENE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Although scientists are unable to obtain samples by drilling, they believe the predominant mineral in the mantle is: W) iron pyrite X) potassium feldspar Y) quartz Z) olivine
ANSWER: Z) OLIVINE
BONUS19) Earth and Space - Multiple ChoiceWhen is a strong temperature inversion most likely to form? W) On a warm, windy night X) On a cool, windy night Y) On a rainy night with light winds Z) On a clear night with light winds
ANSWER: Z) ON A CLEAR NIGHT WITH LIGHT WINDS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following BEST describes how planets are distinguishable from stars in the night sky? W) Planets appear brighter than stars X) Planets appear redder than stars Y) Planets appear bigger than stars Z) Planets have periods of retrograde motion while stars do not
ANSWER: Z) PLANETS HAVE PERIODS OF RETROGRADE MOTION WHILE STARS DO NOT
[Bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true: W) sea levels dropped during the Pleistocene glaciation making the Bering Strait a land bridge X) large animals such as the mastodon and dire wolves became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene Y) the Holocene may be an interglacial stage Z) recent ice ages are thought to be controlled by uniformitarian cycles
ANSWER: Z) RECENT ICE AGES ARE THOUGHT TO BE CONTROLLED BY UNIFORMITARIAN CYCLES
[bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true of seismic waves: W) the modified Mercalli scale measures earthquakes based on direct observations of damage X) the actual underground point of origin of an earthquake is called the hypocenter Y) the typical velocity of a P-wave near the Earth's surface is about 5 kilometers per second Z) S-waves cause the most damage during an earthquake
ANSWER: Z) S-WAVES CAUSE THE MOST DAMAGE DURING AN EARTHQUAKE (Solution: surface waves cause the most damage)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true regarding seismic waves through the Earth: W) P-waves travel through the mantle X) S-waves travel through the mantle Y) P-waves travel through the outer core Z) S-waves travel through the outer core
ANSWER: Z) S-WAVES TRAVEL THROUGH THE OUTER CORE (Solution: S-waves cannot travel through liquids and the outer core is liquid)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following are clastic in origin: W) chalk X) coal Y) gypsum Z) sandstone
ANSWER: Z) SANDSTONE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a sedimentary rock: W) slate X) marble Y) basalt Z) sandstone
ANSWER: Z) SANDSTONE
[BONUS] Multiple Choice: Which of the following is NOT a process that makes up the Earth's hydrologic cycle: W) precipitation X) condensation Y) transpiration Z) sedimentation
ANSWER: Z) SEDIMENTATION
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a feature produced by wave erosion? W) Sea cave X) Sea stack Y) Sea arch Z) Shoal
ANSWER: Z) SHOAL
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice When rain freezes into pellets while falling to the ground during a winter storm, the most accurate forecast would have predicted: W) hail X) snow Y) freezing rain Z) sleet
ANSWER: Z) SLEET
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice How does the Sound Fixing and Ranging (SOFAR) channel support our study of climate change? W) The deep SOFAR channel is populated with organisms extremely sensitive to ocean temperature change X) World War II submarines gathered rich and extensive data sets about the SOFAR channel that can be compared with current data Y) Video monitoring of marine mammal mating behavior is useful because mating behavior in this region is impacted by temperature Z) Speed of sound is temperature-dependent in the SOFAR channel
ANSWER: Z) SPEED OF SOUND IS TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT IN THE SOFAR CHANNEL
BONUS13) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following is true about spiral galaxies? W) Their spiral arms are dark due to the presence of cool, red stars X) They are the rarest type of galaxy in the observable universe Y) They originate from supernova explosions Z) Spiral galaxies with patchy arms are called flocculent spirals
ANSWER: Z) SPIRAL GALAXIES WITH PATCHY ARMS ARE CALLED FLOCCULENT SPIRALS
[bonus] Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true about ocean tides: W) the Moon's influence on Earth's tides is about 2-times greater than the Sun's influence X) a complete tidal day is about 24 hours 50 minutes long Y) some coastlines have 2 high tides and 2 low tides each lunar day whereas some have only have 1 high tide and 1 low tide each lunar day Z) spring high tides typically have greater ranges in the Northern Hemisphere during summer than during winter
ANSWER: Z) SPRING HIGH TIDES TYPICALLY HAVE GREATER RANGES IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE DURING SUMMER THAN DURING WINTER (Solution: during winter at perihelion, Earth is closer to the Sun)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following types of volcanic eruptions is distinguished primarily by its eruption of basaltic and andesitic magma from its vent, producing incandescent bombs that fall near the vent, eventually building a small cone of tephra: W) Plinian X) Hawaiin Y) Pelean Z) Strombolian
ANSWER: Z) STROMBOLIAN
BONUS14) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice By which of the following mechanisms do pulsar magnetic fields emit gamma rays? W) Nuclear fission X) Compton scattering Y) Cyclotron radiation Z) Synchrotron radiation
ANSWER: Z) SYNCHROTRON RADIATION
BONUS Earth and Space - Multiple Choice As Earth's temperature rises, sea levels will also rise due to the melting of continental ice. Why won't this effect be canceled by increased evaporation of seawater from the oceans? W) The thermohaline [thermo-HAY-line] circulation will slow down X) When ice sheets melt, they release latent heat Y) Saltwater evaporates much more slowly than freshwater Z) The atmosphere is a much smaller water reservoir than the ocean
ANSWER: Z) THE ATMOSPHERE IS A MUCH SMALLER WATER RESERVOIR THAN THE OCEAN
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true of what occurs during an equinox: W) equal length of day and night except at the poles X) the Earth is not tilted with respect to the ecliptic Y) the Sun is directly overhead at the equator Z) the Moon is directly overhead at the poles
ANSWER: Z) THE MOON IS DIRECTLY OVERHEAD AT THE POLES
[BONUS] Multiple Choice: Which of the following is NOT true about volcanoes: W) stratovolcanoes are typically found at convergent plate boundaries X) 80% of all magma erupted by volcanoes on Earth is basaltic Y) Mount Kilimanjaro is a stratovolcano Z) the Ring of Fire is dominated by volcanoes that erupt basaltic magma
ANSWER: Z) THE RING OF FIRE IS DOMINATED BY VOLCANOES THAT ERUPT BASALTIC MAGMA
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice For the June solstice, which of the following statements is NOT true? W) The northern hemisphere experiences the day with the longest period of sunlight X) There are 24 hours of sunlight in the Arctic Circle Y) Earth is further from the Sun than it is at the winter solstice Z) The Sun is directly overhead at noon in the Arctic Circle
ANSWER: Z) THE SUN IS DIRECTLY OVERHEAD AT NOON IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
[BONUS] Multiple Choice: Which of the following MOST directly modulates the intensity of incoming solar radiation through the course of a year: W) the eccentricity of Earth's orbit X) the time for 1 orbit of Earth around the Sun Y) Earth's rapid rotation about its axis Z) the tilt of Earth's axis
ANSWER: Z) THE TILT OF EARTH'S AXIS
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true of basalt and gabbro: W) they formed from magma at the same temperature X) they are derived from basaltic magma Y) they formed from magma with the same silica content Z) they are both intrusive igneous rocks
ANSWER: Z) THEY ARE BOTH INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS (Solution: basalt = extrusive; gabbro = intrusive)
Multiple Choice Which of the following BEST describes the downward movement of typical alpine glaciers: W) they move by mass wasting and surface creep X) they move much like a brick sliding down a board Y) they flow fastest where the ice is thinnest Z) they slide along the base and flow like a fluid
ANSWER: Z) THEY SLIDE ALONG THE BASE AND FLOW LIKE A FLUID
TOSS-UP15) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice Which of the following is true regarding all members of our solar system? W) They have always existed X) They were formed thousands of years ago from elements that have always existed Y) They were formed millions of years ago, when the elements and each body were created at the same time Z) They were formed billions of years ago from elements that were created in many previously existing stars
ANSWER: Z) THEY WERE FORMED BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO FROM ELEMENTS THAT WERE CREATED IN MANY PREVIOUSLY EXISTING STARS
BONUS 16) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following drives the volcanism on Jupiter's moon, Io? W) Solar radiation X) Plate tectonics Y) Meteor impacts Z) Tidal forces
ANSWER: Z) TIDAL FORCES
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Isotelus rex [i-SOH-te-luhs REKS] was discovered in 1998 and is the largest found fossil of what organism? W) Dinosaur X) Whale W) Fish Z) Trilobite
ANSWER: Z) TRILOBITE
Multiple Choice Which of the following is LEAST accurate regarding paleontology: W) endothermic mammals thrived during the Cenozoic Era X) the fossil records of birds is poor because of their thin bones and lack of teeth Y) the mastodon was a Proboscidian mammal of the Cenozoic Era Z) trilobites are an important index fossil of the Mesozoic Era
ANSWER: Z) TRILOBITES ARE AN IMPORTANT INDEX FOSSIL OF THE MESOZOIC ERA
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is igneous and pyroclastic in nature, and is of variable composition: W) pumice X) obsidian Y) gabbro Z) tuff
ANSWER: Z) TUFF
(General Science) Multiple Choice As an alternative name, galvanic corrosion is MOST commonly called: W) pitting corrosion X) intergranular corrosion Y) stress corrosion Z) two-metal corrosion
ANSWER: Z) TWO-METAL CORROSION
Multiple Choice: Glacial till is: W) sorted and stratified X) sorted and unstratified Y) unsorted and stratified Z) unsorted and unstratified
ANSWER: Z) UNSORTED AND UNSTRATIFIED
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Scoria is most typically described as having which of the following textures: W) phaneritic X) fragmental Y) porphyritic Z) vesicular
ANSWER: Z) VESICULAR
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following best describes the luster of quartz: W) dull X) silky Y) metallic Z) vitreous
ANSWER: Z) VITREOUS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following volcanic hazards can have worldwide climatic consequences? W) Lahars X) Pyroclastic flows Y) Volcanic tremors Z) Volcanic tephra
ANSWER: Z) VOLCANIC TEPHRA
TOSS-UP16) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice A chinook wind causes which of the following? W) Cooling and moistening of air X) Cooling and drying of air Y) Warming and moistening of air Z) Warming and drying of air
ANSWER: Z) WARMING AND DRYING OF AIR
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Because of Earth's rotation and shape, ocean currents are intensified along which of the following borders of all oceans: W) northern X) southern Y) eastern Z) western
ANSWER: Z) WESTERN
BONUS18) Earth and Space - Multiple Choice What is the relationship between the ages of stellar populations and their scale heights above the galactic disk? W) Younger stellar populations have a larger scale height X) Scale height is independent of stellar population age Y) The oldest and youngest stellar populations have a larger scale height than populations of intermediate age Z) Younger stellar populations have a smaller scale height
ANSWER: Z) YOUNGER STELLAR POPULATIONS HAVE A SMALLER SCALE HEIGHT
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is both fluorescent and radioactive: W) calcite X) halite Y) talc Z) zircon
ANSWER: Z) ZIRCON
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: What is the third most common gas naturally found in the Earth's clean, dry atmosphere?
ARGON
TOSS-UP13) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice In a soil profile, the oxidation of primary iron-bearing minerals results in which of the following? W) The soil becoming coarser grained X) The soil profile becoming redder Y) The soil profile becoming shallower Z) Does not change the soil profile
Answer: X) THE SOIL PROFILE BECOMING REDDER
TOSS-UP17) Earth and Space- Multiple Choice Type Ia supernovae are said to be standardizable candles because their intrinsic luminosity can be determined after taking what other factor into account? W) H alpha line width X) Si II line width Y) Decay time Z) Lyman alpha line width
Answer: Y) DECAY TIME
Coral polyps extract what compound out of seawater to form hard external skeletons?
CALCIUM CARBONATE (ACCEPT: LIMESTONE)
Crater Lake in Oregon occupies what type of volcanic feature?
CALDERA
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer: When a meteoroid enters the earth's atmosphere, it glows. Sometimes, the earth meets a number of meteoroids, creating a meteor shower. Most streams and swarms of meteoroids are believed to be fragments of what celestial body?
COMET
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: What is the general name for the myriad of suspended particles or aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere that allow rain droplets to undergo coalescence?
CONDENSATION NUCLEI
Based on compositional boundaries, name the three different layers that make up the structure of the solid portion of the planet Earth?
CORE, MANTLE, CRUST (accept in any order)
Bonus: You are in a Northern Hemisphere region experiencing zonal air flow with a low pressure system to your north. Which direction would you need to face if you wanted to place your back to the oncoming wind?
EAST
Short Answer By name or number, put the following four choices in chronological order from earliest to most recent: 1) occurrence of humans, 2) existence of Pangaea, 3) formation of the Great Lakes, 4) extinction of the dinosaurs.
EXISTENCE OF PANGAEA, EXTINCTION OF DINOSAURS, OCCURRENCE OF HUMANS, FORMATION OF THE GREAT LAKES (ACCEPT: 2, 4, 1, 3)
Bonus: COROT [KOH-roh]was a mission run by the European Space Agency to find what type of celestial objects?
EXOPLANETS (ACCEPT: EXTRASOLARPLANETS, PLANETS)
Toss-Up Earth and Space- Short Answer: What force is primarily responsible for the collapse of molecular clouds into stars?
Gravity
What band of tall clouds and thunderstorms, also known among sailors as the doldrums, occurs at low latitudes between the Northern and Southern hemisphere trade winds?
INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE (ACCEPT: ITCZ)
Over 200 million years ago, the continents as we know them existed as one landmass called Pangaea [pan-JEE-uh]. About 200 million years ago, this landmass divided into two landmasses. What are the names of these two landmasses?
LAURASIA AND GONDWANA (ACCEPT: GONDWANA LAND)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: Identify each of the following 3 rocks, respectively, as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary: marble; pumice; conglomerate
MARBLE = METAMORPHIC; PUMICE = IGNEOUS; CONGLOMERATE = SEDIMENTARY
When subjected to intense heat and pressure, limestone becomes which non-foliated metamorphic rock?
Marble
TOSS-UP3) Earth and Space- Short Answer What term is used to describe the formation of mountains?
Orogeny
What subsurface phenomenon, defined as soil that is perennially frozen, occurs beneath much of the state of Alaska and, as it melts, causes extensive damage of roads, trains, and pipelines?
PERMAFROST (ALSO ACCEPT: PERENNIALLY CRYOTIC SOIL; DO NOT ACCEPT: CRYOTIC SOIL OR CRYOSOL)
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: What type of fog frequently forms in valleys when the wind is light and the ground cools until the dew point is reached?
RADIATION FOG (ACCEPT: RADIATION or RADIATIONAL)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Of the 3 basic types of magma on Earth, which one generally has the LOWEST eruptive temperature?
RHYOLITIC (ACCEPT: RHYOLITE)
In what constellation is our Galactic center located?
SAGITTARIUS
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: On a weather map, what type of frontal boundary is represented by alternating blue and red lines with blue triangles pointing toward the warmer air and red semicircles pointing toward the colder air?
STATIONARY (ACCEPT: STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY or STATIONARY FRONT)
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer Name all of the following 4 layers of the atmosphere where temperature typically increases as altitude increases: troposphere; stratosphere; mesosphere; thermosphere
STRATOSPHERE; THERMOSPHERE
Short Answer In the atmosphere, what ion is formed by the oxidation of sulfur oxides?
SULFATE (ACCEPT: SO4 2- )
What features on the Sun, caused by strong magnetic fields, vary in number with an 11 year cycle?
SUNSPOTS
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: What is the name for the common ocean waves that are not driven by the wind but sustained by the energy they obtained by the sea?
SWELL(S)
Bonus: What element is the second most abundant in the Earth's crust, but is NOT commonly found on Earth in its elemental form?
Silicon
Toss-up Earth and Space- Short Answer: What extremely luminous explosion of radiation occurs from the death of a massive star?
Supernova
The precession of the equinoxes is due principally to the torque induced on the Earth by what celestial body?
THE MOON
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer: What is the most common name for the temperature-slope or depth interval over which temperature changes with depth in a lake?
THERMOCLINE
What mass movement of ocean water is referred to as the ocean conveyer belt?
THERMOHALINE CIRCULATION
EARTH SCIENCE Short Answer The aurora occur high in what layer of Earth's atmosphere?
THERMOSPHERE
At what type of plate boundary is there no destruction or creation of lithosphere due to the relative motion being in the horizontal direction?
TRANSFORM (ACCEPT: CONSERVATIVE; DO NOT ACCEPT: STRIKE-SLIP, WHICH IS A CLASSIFICATION FOR FAULTS RATHER THAN PLATE BOUNDARIES)
EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer Excluding dwarf galaxies, what is the most distant galaxy in the local group?
TRIANGULUM GALAXY (ACCEPT: M33, NGC 598)
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Cirrus clouds are typically found at elevations of: W) 20,000 feet and above X) 10,000 to 20,000 feet Y) 5,000 to 10,000 feet Z) 2,000 to 5,000 feet
W) 20,000 FEET AND ABOVE
Bonus: The Hubble Deep Field is an image of a seemingly emptyspot in the sky in what constellation?
URSA MAJOR(DO NOT ACCEPT:BIG DIPPER)
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Short Answer: The Earth's tilt wobbles over a period of approximately 26,000 years. In 10,000 to 13,000 years, what bright star will the axis point to next?
VEGA
What is the nearest galaxy cluster?
VIRGO
Short Answer What geologic features of Io are responsible for loading Jupiter's atmosphere with heavy ionized particles?
VOLCANOES
Bonus Earth and Space- Multiple Choice: You are travelling west by jet and cross three time zone boundaries. If your watch reads 3:00 p.m. when you arrive, to what time should you reset it? W) 12:00 noon X) 6:00 p.m. Y) 12:00 midnight Z) 6:00 a.m.
W) 12:00 noon
Which of the following gases is most likely to escape from a planet's atmosphere? W) Hydrogen X) Helium Y) Methane Z) Ammonia
W) HYDROGEN
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following minerals occurs in small amounts in many igneous rocks, is black and shiny, often occurs in small hexagonal blocks, and is soft with good cleavage: W) biotite X) olivine Y) plagioclase Z) quartz
W) BIOTITE
Which of the following countries has lost the greatest land area of forest to deforestation over the past decade?W) BrazilX) EcuadorY) ZimbabweZ) Venezuela
W) BRAZIL
Bauxite, the hydroxide ore of aluminum, is mined primarily from deposits in tropical areas. What process causes these deposits to form? W) Chemical weathering X) Magmatic intrusion Y) Lake turnover Z) Metasomatism
W) CHEMICAL WEATHERING
Multiple Choice Which of the following most accurately describes the dominant air mass over Nebraska in January? W) Cold, dry, continental X) Cold, humid, maritime Y) Warm, dry, continental Z) Cold, humid, aquatic
W) COLD, DRY, CONTINENTAL
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following BEST describes an air mass that originates in northern Mexico, moves into the Great Plains and stagnates, resulting in severe drought: W) continental tropical X) continental polar Y) maritime tropical Z) maritime polar
W) CONTINENTAL TROPICAL
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following was a time when glaciation was minimal on Earth: W) Cretaceous Period X) Quaternary Period Y) Holocene Epoch Z) Pleistocene Epoch
W) CRETACEOUS PERIOD
Which of the following is the mechanism by which strain energy is released during earthquakes? W) Elastic rebound X) Solution-collapse Y) Hydrostatic pressure Z) Volcanic degassing
W) ELASTIC REBOUND
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: The principle constituent of most granites is: W) feldspar X) muscovite Y) calcite Z) dolomite
W) FELDSPAR
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following BEST explains why Mono Lake in California is hypersaline: W) it has no outlet and a high evaporation rate X) it is subject to extreme saltwater intrusion emanating from a vast system of underground aquifers Y) it is underlain by massive salt domes formed 250 million years ago Z) it has been subjected to periodic eruptions of volcanic ash
W) IT HAS NO OUTLET AND A HIGH EVAPORATION RATE
How does the synodic period of the moon relate to its sidereal period?W) Its synodic period is two days longerX) Its synodic period is one day shorterY) Its synodic period is one day longerZ) Its synodic period is two days shorter
W) ITS SYNODIC PERIOD IS TWO DAYS LONGER
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is commonly accepted as the engine that most directly drives plate tectonic motion: W) mantle convection X) volcanic off-gassing Y) a molten iron core Z) gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun
W) MANTLE CONVECTION
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT a mechanism of physical and chemical weathering? W) Mass wasting X) Glaciation Y) Frost wedging Z) Groundwater
W) MASS WASTING
Bonus: Which of the following best explains how and why galaxies in the universe are moving relative to each other? W) Most galaxies are moving away from each other because space is expanding X) All galaxies are moving toward each other because space is contracting Y) Most galaxies are moving away from each other because space is contracting Z) All galaxies are moving toward each other because space is expanding
W) MOST GALAXIES ARE MOVING AWAY FROM EACH OTHER BECAUSE SPACE IS EXPANDING
Bonus: Which of the following is a reason that long-term preservation of deep sea carbonates is rare?W) Most ocean crust and overlying sediments are subducted X) Most parts of the deep ocean floor lie above the carbonate compensation depthY) There is little carbonate-forming material occurring in ocean water Z) Carbonates react with silicates in the deep ocean
W) MOST OCEAN CRUST AND OVERLYING SEDIMENTS ARE SUBDUCTED
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is NOT true: W) Mount Everest is a volcanic mountain X) shield volcanoes have surface slopes of only a few degrees Y) the depression on the top of a typical composite volcano is known as a crater Z) Mount Kilimanjaro is a stratovolcano
W) MOUNT EVEREST IS A VOLCANIC MOUNTAIN
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following atmospheric gases is created naturally by the action of sunlight on molecular oxygen: W) ozone X) carbon monoxide Y) nitrous oxide Z) methane
W) OZONE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is LEAST accurate regarding earthquakes: W) scientists agree that mega-quakes of magnitude 10 are very likely in the near future X) the world's greatest earthquake zone is the circum-Pacific seismic belt Y) Alaska has the greatest number of earthquakes in the U.S. Z) deep earthquakes are much less likely to be followed by aftershocks than shallow earthquakes
W) SCIENTISTS AGREE THAT MEGA-QUAKES OF MAGNITUDE 10 ARE LIKELY IN THE NEAR FUTURE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: When spreading centers reach above the ocean's surface, they typically form which of the following types of volcanoes: W) shield X) composite Y) stratovolcano Z) cinder cone
W) SHIELD
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: When geologists find pillow basalts in ancient rock sequences, which of the following BEST explains their presence: W) the area was once underwater X) volcanic bombs and lapilli landed on snow or ice and quickly cooled Y) they hardened in mid-air, sometimes forming a tear-drop shape Z) nearby volcanoes erupted enormous quantities of ash
W) THE AREA WAS ONCE UNDERWATER
Bonus: In the distant future, the Andromeda Galaxy will collide with the Milky Way. Which of the following would a hypothetical alien presently living in Andromeda observe about Balmer lines from our galaxy? W) Their wavelengths are shorter than expected X) Their wavelengths are longer than expected Y) Their frequencies are lower than expected Z) They are not subject to Zeeman splitting
W) THEIR WAVELENGTHS ARE SHORTER THAN EXPECTED
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following happens to the shells of snails and limpets as seawater becomes increasingly acidic: W) they begin to dissolve X) they become thicker Y) they develop much later in the organism's life Z) they become darker
W) THEY BEGIN TO DISSOLVE
Bonus: Which of the following is NOT true of tropical forest soils in relation to temperate forest soils? W) Tropical forest soils are richer in nutrients X) Tropical forest soils experience more intense leaching Y) Temperate forest soils retain more organic matter Z) Temperate forest soils are thicker
W) TROPICAL FOREST SOILS ARE RICHER IN NUTRIENTS
What layer of the Earth's atmosphere contains approximately 75% of its air mass? W) Troposphere X) Mesosphere Y) Stratosphere Z) Thermosphere
W) TROPOSPHERE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following are thought to form the mantle of the Earth: W) ultramafic rocks X) felsic rocks Y) silicic rocks Z) mafic rocks
W) ULTRAMAFIC ROCKS
Which of the following is most directly associated with Andean-type plate margins? W) Volcanic arcs X) Extensional faulting Y) Rift valleys Z) Hot spot activity
W) VOLCANIC ARCS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: In the oceans, waves and surf currents are generated by: W) wind X) El-Nino Y) salinity and temperature gradients Z) the Intertropical Convergence Zone
W) WIND
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Aeolian sandstones are produced primarily by sand grain motion as a result of: W) river currents X) ocean currents Y) glacial transports Z) winds
W) WINDS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Tree growth is often very stunted and gnarly at the tree line of high mountains in North America. Known as Krummholz formations, this is primarily caused by: W) winds X) subsidence Y) lowered atmospheric pressure Z) low sunlight levels
W) WINDS
Bonus: A stream is referred to as a "gaining stream" when its surface is below what groundwater feature?
WATER TABLE
Bonus Earth and Space- Short Answer: What greenhouse gas has the greatest abundance in the atmosphere?
Water Vapor
Multiple Choice According to data from the Voyager I and II spacecrafts, at what range, in astronomical units, is the heliopause from the Sun? W) 0 to 100 X) 100 to 200 Y) 200 to 300 Z) 300 to 400
X) 100 to 200
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Many of the driest locales on Earth are situated between which of the following latitudes: W) 0º to 15º X) 15º to 30º Y) 30º to 45º Z) 45º to 60º
X) 15º to 30º
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Most terrestrial plants grow best in soil with a pH range of: W) 4.5 to 5.5 X) 6.0 to 7.0 Y) 7.0 to 8.0 Z) 7.5 to 8.5
X) 6.0 TO 7.0
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following soil additives would be most efficient at increasing the acidity of a slightly alkaline soil: W) ground chalk X) aluminum sulfate Y) calcium sulfate Z) calcium carbonate
X) ALUMINUM SULFATE
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice: A compressional tectonic environment can result in all of the following, except: W) Folded mountains X) Basin and range Y) Volcanoes Z) Reverse faults
X) BASIN AND RANGE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following are intrusive masses of igneous rock that extend downward to unknown depths and do not show signs of a definite floor: W) laccolith X) batholith Y) sill Z) volcanic neck
X) BATHOLITH
Which of the following minerals has only one plane of cleavage? W) Hornblende X) Biotite Y) Potassium feldspar Z) Augite [AW-jite]
X) BIOTITE
Which of the following cloud types is strongly associated with thunderstorms? W) Cirrocumulus [seer-oh-KYOOM-you-lus] X) Cumulonimbus [KYOOM-yoo-loh-NIM-bus] Y) Altostratus Z) Stratocumulus
X) CUMULONIMBUS
Boundaries that form where lithospheric plates are breaking apart to move away from each other are called W) transform boundaries X) divergent margin boundaries Y) suture zone boundaries Z) subduction boundaries
X) DIVERGENT MARGIN BOUNDARIES
The majority of Earth's freshwater is found in which of the following? W) The Pacific Ocean X) Ice and snow Y) Subsurface streams Z) The atmosphere as water vapor
X) Ice and snow
Bonus Earth and Space Multiple Choice: Native to Asia, the Burmese python was brought to the United States for sale as a pet. Owners released their Burmese pythons into the wild of the Florida Everglades, creating ecological problems in that habitat. Which best describes the Burmese Python? W) Non-competitive species X) Invasive species Y) Keystone species Z) Primary succession
X) Invasive Species
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is the single most important factor that generally sets a northern limit to tree growth, such as in the areas of transition between taiga and tundra in Alaska: W) high-winter winds X) lack of summer warmth Y) lack of spring moisture Z) lack of soil nutrients
X) LACK OF SUMMER WARMTH
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following are likely to form in the crater of a stratovolcano following a catastrophic eruption, such as what happened several times in Mount Saint Helens: W) cinder cones X) lava domes Y) flood basalts Z) spatter cones
X) LAVA DOMES
Which of the following isa fine-grained, typically buff-colored sediment deposited by wind? W) Evaporite X) Loess [LOH-ess]Y) GlazeZ) Humus [HYOO-muss]
X) LOESS
The Jurassic period occurred during which era? W) Cenozoic X) Mesozoic Y) Paleozoic Z) Neoproterozoic
X) MESOZOIC
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Meteorologists think of wind as circulation patterns which are divided into 4 "scales of motion". A land-breeze circulation is grouped into which of the following categories: W) mesoscale X) microscale Y) medium scale Z) synoptic
X) MICROSCALE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: In which of the following lakes in North America would you typically find a thriving community of halophiles and alkaliphiles: W) Lake Michigan X) Mono Lake, California Y) Great Slave Lake, Canada Z) Lake Powell, Utah/Arizona
X) MONO LAKE, CALIFORNIA
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is NOT a common mineral in igneous rock but rather an accessory that typically occurs in small amounts: W) quartz X) muscovite Y) plagioclase Z) orthoclase
X) MUSCOVITE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: The Earth's greenhouse effect is primarily caused by which of the following: W) incoming solar ultraviolet light is absorbed by the ozone layer X) outgoing infrared solar radiation is trapped by the lower atmosphere Y) incoming infrared solar radiation is trapped by the magnetic field Z) outgoing X-rays are absorbed by the troposphere and reflected to the Earth's surface
X) OUTGOING INFRARED SOLAR RADIATION IS TRAPPED BY THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE
Which of the following is the most important feature characterizing the stratosphere? W) Clouds X) Ozone Y) Ions Z) Dust
X) OZONE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice When sampling for organic matter in seawater, any organic matter retained by a 0.2 micrometer pore filter is classified as: W) dissolved organic carbon X) particulate organic carbon Y) detrital organic carbon Z) live or dead marine algae
X) PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a foliated metamorphic rock composed of very fine-grained mica: W) marble X) phyllite Y) quartzite Z) schist
X) PHYLLITE
Which of the following minerals isa crystalline form of silicon dioxide? W) Mica X) Quartz Y) Calcite Z) Feldspar
X) QUARTZ
Bonus: Global warming leads to positive feedbacks that accelerate the greenhouse effect. Which of the following is an example of this? W) Plants photosynthesize more efficiently in a CO2-rich atmosphere X) Reduced snow cover allows more solar radiation to warm the ground Y) More CO2is sequestered by rock weathering in a warmer atmosphere Z)A warmer Earth loses more radiation to space
X) REDUCED SNOW COVER ALLOWS MORE SOLAR RADIATION TO WARM THE GROUND
Multiple Choice Why are there so many more land fossils than marine fossils in early Mesozoic rocks? W) Less continental mass existed then X) Shorelines were inundated with terrigenous sediment from mountains Y) Shallow seas were abundant Z) More continental mass existed then
X) SHORELINES WERE INUNDATED WITH TERRIGENOUS SEDIMENT FROM MOUNTAINS
Multiple Choice Which of the following will NOT result from variations in the Moon's orbital plane with respect to the Earth? W) The Moon will continue to cause solar eclipses X) The Moon will pass over the Earth's North Pole Y) There will continue to be lunar eclipses Z) The apparent path of the Moon in the sky will vary
X) THE MOON WILL PASS OVER THE EARTH'S NORTH POLE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following BEST determines the maximum height of open ocean waves and is the point where breaking white caps form in a fully developed sea: W) the cohesive forces in water molecules are overcome and the waves break apart X) the waves are losing as much energy as breaking white caps as they are receiving from the wind Y) the trough moves a little bit faster than the crest and the wave becomes unstable Z) the waves have reached a maximum period
X) THE WAVES ARE LOSING AS MUCH ENERGY AS BREAKING WHITE CAPS AS THEY ARE RECEIVING FROM THE WIND
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following BEST describes a small lake in an arctic environment that is likely to be surrounded by a ring of so-called drunken trees leaning toward the lake: W) paternoster lake X) thermokarst Y) tarn Z) fen
X) THERMOKARST
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice: Which of the following statements is true about the Andes mountains? W) They are folded mountains X) They are volcanic mountains Y) They are near a spreading center Z) They are found along a transform boundary
X) THEY ARE VOLCANIC MOUNTAINS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is best used to date the age of the Earth to about 4.5 billion years old: W) uranium-235 X) uranium-238 Y) potassium-40 Z) carbon-14
X) URANIUM-238
Multiple Choice What is the approximate average impact speed, in miles per hour, of a piece of orbital debris that strikes the Earth? W) 5,000 X) 10,000 Y) 20,000 Z) 30,000
Y) 20,000
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice: The tectonic environment of Iceland is: W) A subduction zone X) Folded mountains Y) A mid-ocean ridge Z) A mid-plate hot spot
Y) A MID-OCEAN RIDGE
Which of the following geologic eons lasted the longest? W) Hadean X) Archean [ar-KEE-en] Y) Proterozoic [proh-tair-oh-ZOH-ik] Z) Phanerozoic [fah-NAIR-oh-zoh-ik]
Y) PROTEROZOIC
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is generally NOT true of the alpine versus arctic tundra biomes: W) alpine tundra does not contain permafrost whereas arctic tundra does contain permafrost X) alpine tundra is warmer and has a longer growing season than arctic tundra Y) alpine tundra has a lower species diversity than arctic tundra Z) alpine tundra has less severe winters than arctic tundra
Y) ALPINE TUNDRA HAS A LOWER SPECIES DIVERSITY THAN ARCTIC TUNDRA
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a problem that affects most plants growing in very acidic soil: W) iron deficiency X) accumulation of excess salt in their foliage Y) aluminum toxicity to their roots Z) excess calcium and magnesium ion uptake
Y) ALUMINUM TOXICITY TO THEIR ROOTS
Bonus: Which of the following best describes the composition of Earth's core? W) 78% silicon oxide X) Mainly iron silicates Y) An iron-nickel alloy Z) Mainly iron and potassium compounds
Y) AN IRON-NICKEL ALLOY
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true of an El Nino: W) when an El Nino is present, fish are less abundant off the west coast of South America X) El Ninos typically come along every 4 to 5 years Y) during a peak El Nino, strong high pressure will be present in the eastern Pacific with lower pressure to the west Z) El Nino affects global weather patterns
Y) DURING A PEAK EL NINO, STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE PRESENT IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC WITH LOWER PRESSURE TO THE WEST
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is the best way to get a good view of a meteor shower? W) Watch it during a full moon X) Watch it from a city Y) Get as far away from urban light pollution as possible Z) Wear light clothing
Y) GET AS FAR AWAY FROM URBAN LIGHT POLLUTION AS POSSIBLE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Although the crystal habit of quartz is widely variable, its most common habit is: W) orthorhombic X) cubic Y) hexagonal Z) triclinic
Y) HEXAGONAL
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: In which of the following regions of the world's oceans are you most likely to find the greatest uniformity in density changes with increasing depth: W) equator X) tropics Y) high latitudes Z) desert latitudes
Y) HIGH LATITUDES
Which ofthe followinglaws expresses the increase in redshift of a galaxy's spectral lines with distance?W) Doppler's LawX) Cepheid's LawY) Hubble's LawZ) Kepler's Law
Y) HUBBLE'S LAW
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is TRUE regarding the Hadley cell: W) it creates an area of high pressure along the equator X) it is an open ocean circulation at 30º north and south latitudes Y) it originates at the equator with strong solar heating Z) it is the only air circulation that is not affected by the Coriolis effect
Y) IT ORIGINATES AT THE EQUATOR WITH STRONG SOLAR HEATING
Bonus: NASA's QuickSCAT satellite mappedwinds over all of Earth's oceans. Which of the following is NOT true of this satellite? W) It bounced microwaves off the ocean surface X) It retrieved both wind direction and speed Y) Its orbit was geosynchronous Z) It was powered by solar arrays
Y) ITS ORBIT WAS GEOSYNCHRONOUS
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is NOT true of breccia rock: W) it is sedimentary X) its color is variable Y) its texture consists of rounded pebbles, cobbles and boulders Z) fragments may be any type of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks
Y) ITS TEXTURE CONSISTS OF ROUNDED PEBBLES, COBBLES AND BOULDERS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is the most common type of ocean tide throughout the world and is the type found along the U.S. Pacific coast: W) diurnal X) semidiurnal Y) mixed Z) zonal
Y) MIXED
Which of the following planets has rings? W) Mars X) Mercury Y) Neptune Z) Venus
Y) NEPTUNE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Panning is a simple mining technique that is used for extracting gold deposited in: W) banded gold formations X) evaporite deposits Y) placer deposits Z) lode deposits
Y) PLACER DEPOSITS
Which of the following best describes the relationship between the ages of the Earth, the Sun, and the Universe? W) The Universe is about 3 times as old as the Sun, which is about 3 times as old as the Earth X) The Universe is the same age as the Sun, which is about 3 times as old as the Earth Y) The Universe is about 3 times as old as the Sun and the Earth, which are the same age Z) The Universe, the Earth, and the Sun are all the same age
Y) THE UNIVERSE IS ABOUT 3 TIMES AS OLD AS THE SUN AND THE EARTH, WHICH ARE THE SAME AGE
What is the boundary that traps moisture and the associated weather in the troposphere? W) Mesosphere X) Mesoboundary Y) Tropopause Z) Stratopause
Y) TROPOPAUSE
Bonus: Which of the following coasts parallelsa nearby tectonic plate boundary? W) East Coast of North America X) WestCoast of Australia Y) West Coast of South America Z) West Coast of Africa
Y) WEST COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is a ubiquitous trace mineral found in many igneous, metamorphic and clastic sedimentary rocks, and has been used to date Earth's oldest rocks at 4-plus billion years: W) titanite X) tremolite Y) zircon Z) beryl
Y) ZIRCON
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice During the past 500,000 years, there have been how many periods of major glaciation on Earth: W) 2 X) 3 Y) 4 Z) 5
Z) 5
The only continent without conditions favorable for the formation of tornadoes is W) South America X) Australia Y) Asia Z) Antarctica
Z) ANTARCTICA
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a tree that is very well-adapted to surviving above shallow permafrost: W) cottonwood X) white pine Y) aspen Z) black spruce
Z) BLACK SPRUCE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is a fine-grained silica-rich sedimentary rock that is made primarily of microcrystalline quartz: W) shale X) potash Y) dolostone Z) chert
Z) CHERT
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Mount Vesuvius in Italy is a typical: W) mud volcano X) caldera Y) cinder cone Z) composite volcano
Z) COMPOSITE VOLCANO
Bonus: Which of the following is a NOT a way in which scientists test the reliability of computer models of future climate? W) Comparing model predictions of recent past climate to observed records X) Comparing model predictions of distant past climate to proxy records Y) Checking for consistency between the outputs of many differently constructed models Z) Confirming that models have accurately predicted local weather events each year
Z) CONFIRMING THAT MODELS HAVE ACCURATELY PREDICTED LOCAL WEATHER EVENTS EACH YEAR.
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice A meromictic lake has layers of water that typically: W) intermix once a year X) intermix each spring and autumn Y) intrtmix only when the winds are favorable Z) do not intermix
Z) DO NOT INTERMIX
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is a medium or coarse-grained rock that consists primarily of plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene and is essentially the plutonic equivalent of basalt: W) diorite X) rhyolite Y) andesite Z) gabbro
Z) GABBRO
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Halos and rings around the Moon in the night sky are most often caused by which of the following: W) nucleation particles in the stratosphere X) small water droplets in nimbostratus clouds Y) temperature inversions Z) ice crystals in cirrus clouds
Z) ICE CRYSTALS IN CIRRUS CLOUDS
BONUS EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice: The source of energy that drives a tsunami wave onto a shore originated: W) From the gravitational attraction between the Earth and the Moon X) Along the ocean floor Y) From tidal waves Z) In Earth's interior
Z) IN EARTH'S INTERIOR
Multiple Choice Sinkholes, disappearing streams, and caves are found in which of the following types of regions? W) Marshes X) Glaciated alpine Y) Outwash plains Z) Karst topography
Z) KARST TOPOGRAPHY
Which of the following conditions is common to both warm and cold fronts?W) Steady barometer readingsX) Divergence of surface windsY) Decreasing precipitation ratesZ) Lifting of warm air over a cold air mass
Z) LIFTING OF WARM AIR OVER A COLD AIR MASS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice: Consider two beaches, both with source material from the same granitic mountains. The beach located further from the mountains would have: W) Dark, more angular particles X) Dark, rounder particles Y) Pink, more poorly sorted sediments Z) Lighter-colored, more well-rounded, finer particles
Z) LIGHTER-COLORED, MORE WELL-ROUNDED, FINER PARTICLES
BONUS 17) EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice Which of the following classes of objects is distributed around the Sun with spherical symmetry? W) Asteroids X) Trans-Neptunian objects Y) Kuiper belt objects [KY-per] Z) Long-period comets
Z) Long-period comets
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Placodonts, which lived during the Triassic Period, were a group of: W) meat-eating land reptiles X) flying reptiles Y) small, lightweight, plant-eating reptiles Z) marine reptiles
Z) MARINE REPTILES
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following cloud types is classified as a low cloud: W) altostratus X) cirrostratus Y) cumulonimbus Z) nimbostratus
Z) NIMBOSTRATUS
EARTH AND SPACE Multiple Choice What cloud type is characterized by a formless cloud layer that is almost uniformly dark gray? W) Cumulonimbus [kyoo-myuh-loh-NIM-buhs] X) Altocirrus Y) Cumulus Z) Nimbostratus [nim-boh-STRAT-uhs]
Z) Nimbostratus [nim-boh-STRAT-uhs]
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Although scientists are unable to obtain samples by drilling, they believe the predominant mineral in the mantle is: W) iron pyrite X) potassium feldspar Y) quartz Z) olivine
Z) OLIVINE
Which of the following elements most often limitsprimary production in freshwater lakes? W) Oxygen X) Calcium Y) Carbon Z) Phosphorus
Z) PHOSPHORUS
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following is NOT true regarding seismic waves through the Earth: W) P-waves travel through the mantle X) S-waves travel through the mantle Y) P-waves travel through the outer core Z) S-waves travel through the outer core
Z) S-WAVES TRAVEL THROUGH THE OUTER CORE
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following are clastic in origin: W) chalk X) coal Y) gypsum Z) sandstone
Z) SANDSTONE
Which of the following is a sedimentary rock? W) Scoria X) Granite Y) Basalt Z) Shale
Z) SHALE
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: When rain freezes into pellets while falling to the ground during a winter storm, the most accurate forecast would have predicted: W) hail X) snow Y) freezing rain Z) sleet
Z) SLEET
Bonus:Which of the following is NOT characteristic of currents found on the western boundary of oceanic gyres, relative to other ocean currents?W) WarmX) DeepY) NarrowZ) Slow-moving
Z) SLOW-MOVING
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following types of volcanic eruptions is distinguished primarily by its eruption of basaltic and andesitic magma from its vent, producing incandescent bombs that fall near the vent, eventually building a small cone of tephra: W) Plinian X) Hawaiin Y) Pelean Z) Strombolian
Z) STROMBOLIAN
Which of the following is true about radiometric dating?W) All parent material in a mineral is converted to the daughter productX) When the quantities of parent and daughter products are equal, two half-lives have transpiredY) The number of radioactive atoms that decay during one half life is always the sameZ) Thepercentage of radioactive atoms that decay during one half life is always the same
Z) THE PERCENTAGE OF RADIOACTIVE ATOMS THAT DECAY DURING ONE HALF LIFE IS ALWAYS THE SAME
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is NOT true of basalt and gabbro: W) they formed from magma at the same temperature X) they are derived from basaltic magma Y) they formed from magma with the same silica content Z) they are both intrusive igneous rocks
Z) THEY ARE BOTH INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is igneous and pyroclastic in nature, and is of variable composition: W) pumice X) obsidian Y) gabbro Z) tuff
Z) TUFF
BONUS EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Scoria is most typically described as having which of the following textures: W) phaneritic X) fragmental Y) porphyritic Z) vesicular
Z) VESICULAR
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice Which of the following best describes the luster of quartz: W) dull X) silky Y) metallic Z) vitreous
Z) VITREOUS
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Because of Earth's rotation and shape, ocean currents are intensified along which of the following borders of all oceans: W) northern X) southern Y) eastern Z) western
Z) WESTERN
EARTH SCIENCE Multiple Choice: Which of the following is both fluorescent and radioactive: W) calcite X) halite Y) talc Z) zircon
Z) ZIRCON
