planet earthstandardized test prep planet earth preview understanding concepts reading skills...

Planet Earth Standardized Test Prep

Planet Earth

Preview• Understanding Concepts • Reading Skills• Interpreting Graphics


Understanding Concepts

1. If a geologist dug a shaft down to the bottom of

the lithosphere, how deep into Earth would the

shaft go?

A. to the bottom of the crust

B. through the crust and partway into the mantle

C. to the bottom of the mantle

D. through the mantle and into Earth’s core


Understanding Concepts, continued

2. Which type of wave coming from an

earthquake’s epicenter travels the fastest and

reaches detection stations first?

F. longitudinal wave

G. transverse wave

H. standing wave

I. surface wave



3. In the Mississippi Delta, minerals eroded from

riverbanks upstream are deposited in the soil

of a wide floodplain. What type of rock does

this process create?

A. sedimentary rock

B. igneous rock

C. metamorphic rock

D. progressive rock



4. An earthquake that measures 6 on the Richter

scale is how many times as powerful as one

that measures 3?

F. 3

G. 30

H. 900

I. 27,000



5. What is the difference between lava and

magma?



5. What is the difference between lava and

magma?

Answer: Magma is under the surface of Earth, lava

is above the surface of Earth.



6. What do mid-oceanic ridges, rift valleys,

volcanoes, and mountain ranges have in

common?



6. What do mid-oceanic ridges, rift valleys,

volcanoes, and mountain ranges have in

common?

Answer: They all may form at the boundaries of tectonic plates.


Reading SkillsGAZING INTO THE DEEP

The deepest valley ever discovered is an undersea trench called the Mariana Trench. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Indonesia and south of Japan. The Mariana Trench is located at the boundary of two tectonic plates. As the tectonic plates slowly grind into each other, the Pacific plate flexes and slips underneath the Philippine plate. This movement creates a deep valley at the plate boundary. Nearby the Mariana Trench are the Mariana Islands, a ridge of volcanic islands created by the same subduction forces. As the Philippine plate is thrust upward, its crust buckles and magma comes up through the cracks. This process creates the volcanic islands. Although there are only 15 volcanic summits above sea level in the Mariana Islands, they are just the southernmost tip of a submerged mountain range. The range extends more than 2,500 km from Guam to near Japan and parallels the border between the tectonic plates.


Reading Skills, continued7. What can you tell about the lithosphere

containing the Pacific plate from the information in the passage?

A. The Pacific plate is larger than the Philippine plate.

B. The lithosphere of the Pacific plate is denser than the lithosphere of the Philippine plate.

C. The lithosphere of the Pacific plate is moving away from the lithosphere of the Philippine plate.

D. The boundary between the Pacific plate and the Philippine plate is a transform fault boundary.


Interpreting GraphicsThe graphic below shows the steps of the rock cycle. Use this graphic

to answer questions 8–9.


Interpreting Graphics, continued

8. Which of the processes on the flow chart takes

place only under conditions of great heat and

pressure?

F. metamorphism

G. lithification

H. weathering

I. melting



9. Which of the processes named in the flow chart

can take place above the surface of Earth?



9. Which of the processes named in the flow chart

can take place above the surface of Earth?

Answer: cooling and weathering


Interpreting GraphicsThe graphic below displays the paths taken by primary (P) waves and

secondary (S) waves. Use this graphic to answer questions 10–11.



10. Through which layer of Earth can both P waves and S waves travel?

A. the shadow zone

B. the mantle

C. the outer core

D. the inner core



11. How would knowing the wave patterns shown in the graphic help locate the epicenter of anearthquake?



11. How would knowing the wave patterns shown in the graphic help locate the epicenter of anearthquake?

Answer: Seeing where the P and S waves stop on the other side of the planet should indicate the location of the epicenter.

planet earthstandardized test prep planet earth preview understanding concepts reading skills...

Documents

surface wave slide

progressive rock slide

graphics slide

type of rock

metamorphic rock

igneous rock

sedimentary rock

transverse wave