Earth Science Review Questions

1. Which historical model of the solar system best matches what we know today?

a. geocentric modelb. heliocentric modelc. ptolemaic modeld. newtonian model

2. Which of the following statements about the Sun is CORRECT?

a. The visible surface of the sun is called the photosphere.b. Solar flares stream out into space and are absorbed by our

Earth’s magnetic field.c. When our Sun dies it will first become a red-giant and then

collapse into a white dwarf.d. Blackholes are made when small stars die.

3. Which of the following best describes the nebular theory?

a. Earth was produced when lighter particles surrounding a nebular cloud gathered together.

b. The Sun was made when many planetesimals collided.c. The collapsing sun formed a supernova that exploded to

form the planets.d. A spinning nebular cloud collapsed into itself to form the

sun and the planets were formed from collisions of outer debris.

4. The seasons of Earth are produced bya. the rotation of Earth as it relates to the Sun.b. the revolution of Earth as it relates to the Sun.c. the tilt of the Earth as it relates to the Sun.d. the position of the Earth in its orbit as it relates to the Sun.

5. An astronomer noticed that she could only see a slice of the right side of the Moon but noticed it was larger than usual as she viewed it through her telescope on a starry night. Which of the following best describes what she was seeing?

a. She saw a first quarter moon during perihelion.b. She saw a waxing crescent moon during apogee.c. She saw a waxing crescent moon during perigee.d. She saw a waning crescent moon during perigee.

6. Which of the following is a FALSE statement?a. Earth exhibits nutation within its precession along its plane

of the eliptic.b. When the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, we

have an event called a solar eclipse.c. A crater can be distinguished from a caldera by the presence

of smaller uplifted rock in the center.d. The highlands of the moon are accented by the regolith

which are believed to be ancient beds of lava.

7. Earth has been changing and developing for many years. Which of the following is CORRECT about the evolution of Earth?

a. Earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago as a very cold, inactive planet.

b. The atmosphere on early Earth consisted of methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen.

c. Alfred Wegner’s evidence of continental drift included the Pangaea puzzle, continuous species, and continuous mountain ranges and climates.

d. The movement of earthquake centers deeper and more inland at plate boundaries is evidence of the theory of natural selection.

8. Look at the illustration below. Which of the following statements best describes this type of boundary?

a. The illustration above shows a subduction zone.b. The illustration above shows an area where few volcanoes or earthquakes would occur.c. The illustration above shows the process of a transform fault.d. The illustration above shows a divergent boundary.

9. Refer to the illustration shown below. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. The illustration shows rocks that are older are near the center and younger near the continental edges.

b. The illustration shows sea-floor spreading which is decreasing the width of the Atlantic Ocean.

c. The illustration shows evidence of magnetic reversal which is the periodic flipping of the magnetic poles.

d. The illustration shows layering of soil in a process called sedimentation.

10. How were the Himalayan Mountains formed?a. The Himalayas were formed by Karst topography processes.b. The Himalayas were formed when India subducted beneath

the Eurasian plate.c. The Himalayas were formed when the Pacific plate

subducted beneath the North American plate.d. The Himalayas were formed when two continental plates

crashed into each other and neither subducted.

11. Which of the following best describes relative and/or absolute dating processes.

a. Relative dating is the use of the Law of Relativity in determining ages of rocks.

b. Absolute dating dates only fossils formed within the last 10,000 years.

c. Relative dating uses Carbon-dating for layers older than 5,000 years.

d. Relative dating compares one layer to another while absolute dating provides a more exact date.

12. According to the Laws of Superposition and Horizontality and the Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships, which of the following layers is the youngest?

A

B

C

D

13. Layers of soil are laid down in many ways. Which of the following ways would be LEAST likely to contain fossils?

a. layer put down by falling ash from a volcano eruptionb. layer put down by flowing lava from a volcano eruptionc. layer put down by settling of a dust cloudd. layer put down by the influx of a large body of water

14. A geologist found the following rock outcropping when a new road was built in his neighborhood. Which of the following would he be able to determine from applying the laws of superposition and horizontality?a. That the layers were originally vertical.b. The original height of the deformed layers.c. That the uppermost layer was deposited before the other layers were deformed.d. That erosion occurred before the uppermost layer was deposited.

15. Charles Darwin did not invent evolution but he did discover the mechanism for it. The best definition for evolution would be

a. Change over time by natural selection.b. Change over time by uniformitarianism.c. Change of species from smaller to larger.d. The fact that all humans come from monkeys.

16. What is the current geological era?a. Cenozoicb. Jurassicc. Quaternaryd. Holocene

17. Only a few organisms have the chance to become fossilized. Which of the following would most likely be preserved?

a. slug that dies in an ash stormb. leaves of a palm tree that are blown into the oceanc. worm that died in a floodd. mouse that died in a mudslide

18. Look at the following four sections of Earth. Which of the fossils (A, B, C, or D) would be considered an index fossil?

19. What is the name of the oldest fossils on Earth that existed about 2.7 billion years ago?

a. dinosaursb. archeostithsc. stromatolitesd. archaebacteria

20. Many anatomical structures are amazingly similar. What are the similar structures below called?

a. vestigial structuresb. homologous structuresc. embroyological structuresd. heterogenous structures

21. Comparative embryology is based upon what primary concept?

a. The development of the embryo tells the story of the evolution of that species.

b. The embryo from one organism is vastly different from the embryo of another organism.

c. People all have tails and gills.d. Species that are in the same family will have the same

development.

22. Which of the following is NOT a major point of Darwin’s theory of natural selection?

a. overproductionb. competitionc. variationd. environment

23. What is the class for the human species?a. Animaliab. Chordatac. Mammaliad. Primates

24. Ice ages are characterized bya. hot summers followed by colder than normal winters.b. a drop in average annual temperature to at least five

degrees below normal.c. decreased snowfall.d. nearly all of the Earth covered in glaciers.

25. Milankovitch proposed a set of events involving Earth that he believed contributed to the causes of an ice age. Which of the following was NOT one of his conditions?

a. changes in Earth’s orbitb. changes in the degree of Earth’s tiltc. Earth’s precessiond. Earth’s rotation

26. Which of the following is NOT happening to our Earth?a. Sea level is rising.b. Global average temperatures are increasing.c. World ocean is becoming more acidic.d. Ozone layer is decreasing.

27. What threat to the environment is the most direct cause of extinctions?

a. greenhouse effectb. air pollutionc. burning fossil fuelsd. habitat destruction

28. Which of the following environmental problems is CORRECTLY matched with its primary cause?

a. acid rain; turbidityb. ozone depletion; carbon dioxidec. soil depletion; CFCsd. water pollution; heat

29. Which of the following is FALSE regarding global warming?

a. Greenhouse gases are necessary to keep Earth warm, however burning fossil fuels is increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases.

b. Earth is now 1-2 degrees warmer than normal.c. The difference between current temperatures and the last

ice age is only 5 degrees Celcius.d. At the current rate of increase, global temperatures will

increase only 1 degree by 2100.

30. What is the chemical name for the fossil fuels like gasoline and oil?

a. methaneb. gasoholc. hydrocarbonsd. megacarbons

31. Which of the following is the correct order of layers of the atmosphere from the Earth outward toward space?

a. troposphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, thermosphereb. ionosphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, tropospherec. troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphered. troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

32. Which of the following statements regarding the gases in our atmosphere is CORRECT?

a. Earth’s atmosphere consists mostly of oxygen, although nitrogen is plentiful.

b. Oxygen cycles through the atmosphere from plants to animals as carbon dioxide.

c. Nitrogen enters the ground and is adapted for plant use by nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

d. Nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere by decomposer mushrooms.

33. Water is an important molecule both within our Earth and in the Earth’s atmosphere. Which of the following statements is CORRECT regarding how water changes?

a. Water vapor becomes solid water through a process called decomposition.

b. Liquid water becomes solid water through a process called flashing.

c. Solid water becomes water vapor through a process called sublimation.

d. Water vapor becomes liquid water through a process called evaporation.

34. Relative humidity is reported daily by meteorologists. Which of the following is the best definition of relative humidity?

a. Relative humidity is the amount of water in the air.b. Relative humidity is the amount of air mixed with the

amount of water.c. Relative humidity is the percentage of water in a certain

amount of air.d. Relative humidity is the amount of water in the air

compared with the amount of water the air can hold.

35. Which of the following weather conditions is produced when snow falls through a temperature inversion?

a. hailb. rainc. sleetd. snow

36. Rain drops are enlarged in clouds by the process calleda. coalescence.b. evaporation.c. correlation.d. sublimation.

37. Which of the following is NOT a requirement for the formation and maintenance of a hurricane?

a. warm ocean waterb. colliding windsc. upward flow of air from a central pointd. strong winds to push the hurricane along

38. The layers of the Earth from center outward area. inner core, outer core, magma chamber, crustb. core, mantle, crustc. inner core, outer core, magmasphere, crustd. inner core, outer core, mantle, crust

39. The lithosphere is best described asa. a thick layer of Earth that includes all of the mantle and crust.b. a thin layer of Earth that includes only the upper mantle and crust.c. a thick layer of Earth that includes only continental and oceanic crust.d. a thin layer of magma beneath the crust.

40. Continental plates and oceanic plates both float on top of a layer of moving magma. Each plate exhibits a certain amount of isostasy depending on

a. the balance between the weight of the plate and the buoyant force of the mantle.

b. the balance of motion due to slab pull and ridge push.c. the circulation of magma from surface to core.d. the amount of the plate that rises above the water.