SSA Earth Review All Topics

SSA Earth Review All Topics

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Multiple Choice

Jason thinks that global climate change is not happening because a city in Northern Florida received snow one day in January. Which statement explains what is wrong with Jason's reasoning?

• Northern Florida would need to get snow for at least a week for this to be true.

• Jason has confused the weather for one day with the climate of a region.

• Jason does not realize that Southern Florida would also need to receive snow to make this true.

• The climate of Northern Florida would be unaffected since it's already warm in Florida.

Multiple Choice

The atmosphere surrounding Earth helps to maintain the various climates found around the world and keeps Earth from becoming extremely cold all over. How does the atmosphere help to keep Earth insulated and warm?

• The atmosphere creates heat as Earth moves through space, helping to insulate Earth.

• The atmosphere traps the heat generated by Earth's core and helps maintain Earth's climate.

• The atmosphere helps spread the warmth from the water near the equator to other parts of Earth.

• The atmosphere helps trap heat energy from the Sun and energy radiated from Earth to maintain the climate

Multiple Choice

Alise is trying to describe the climate of her home state, Florida, to a friend who lives in California. Which statement best describes the climate where she lives?

• It typically rains in the afternoon during the summer

• The average yearly temperature is 22°C (72°F).

• Yesterday the temperature was 32°C (90°F) and it was raining.

• It is usually hot at the beach

Multiple Choice

Which pair of Earth’s spheres interact the most when ocean waves break onto a beach?

• atmosphere and biosphere

• geosphere and atmosphere

• hydrosphere and biosphere

• geosphere and hydrosphere

Multiple Choice

Based on the northern location of England on the map, it appears that it would have a cold, harsh climate. In reality, England has a mild climate because of the warm Gulf Stream current in the Atlantic Ocean. How does the Gulf Stream current help keep England's climate mild?

• The warm water of the Gulf Stream warms the land of England where they meet.

• The warm Gulf Stream waters heat the air over the ocean, which then moves over England.

• The warm Gulf Stream waters make the air very humid, which results in a milder climate in England.

• The warm Gulf Stream waters attract the cold air from England, thus keeping England mild.

Multiple Choice

Convection currents in the atmosphere influence many weather patterns. What property of the air has the most influence on convection currents?

• the direction of the wind

• the velocity of the wind

• the temperature of the air

• the mass of the air

Multiple Choice

Wind is caused by which of the following?

• the gravity of the Sun

• the Moon's attraction to Earth

• the uneven heating of Earth's surface

• the changes in the ozone layer

Multiple Choice

If you visit the beach on a hot summer day you will probably feel a sea breeze coming off the water onto the land. Which of the following causes this sea breeze?

• During the day, solar radiation warms the land more than the water.

• The water is warmer than the land during the day.

• Earth is tilted toward the Sun, causing air to move inland from the water.

• Hurricanes that form in the oceans blow air into the shore.

Multiple Choice

In coastal areas, land and sea breezes may exist due to the uneven heating of the land and water. Which process is responsible for the breeze?

• conduction

• radiation

• convection

• refraction

Multiple Choice

In which atmospheric action can we see evidence of conduction?

• Radiation from the Sun heats the surface of the Earth

• The surface of the Earth heats the air that contacts it

• Cold air pushes warm air upward creating a current

• Air increases in density and sinks back towards the Earth

Multiple Choice

The processes involved in the rock cycle take place over millions of years. Which of the following describes a phase of the rock cycle that takes the longest to produce results?

• Rocks are eroded by wind and rain

• Eroded rocks travel by wind or moving water

• Rocks form layers of sediment and solidify into new rocks

• Rocks are pushed to Earth's surface by tectonic forces

Multiple Choice

Along the coast of New Orleans is a large Delta at the mouth of the Mississippi river where it dumps into the Gulf of Mexico. Which of the following will most likely take place at this site?

• Formation of metamorphic rock

• Creation of new ocean floors

• Deposits of material from upstream

• Chemical weathering of rocks through rusting

Multiple Choice

Both Ocala, Florida, and Lexington, Kentucky, are good places to raise racehorses, in part because of the limestone near the surface in both places. Calcium from the limestone helps make a horse's leg bones stronger and better able to withstand the pounding stress of running. Knowing that the Bluegrass Region around Lexington also sits on top of limestone, what other land features are also likely to be found there?

• sand dunes, lakes, and springs

• prairies, swamps, and marshes

• sinkholes, caves, and aquifers

• shallow rivers, flat land, and quartz sand

Multiple Choice

In some places, timber companies remove all the trees from entire hillsides when they are harvesting logs, and farmers till the soil in the fall and leave the ground bare of plants until it is time to plant in spring. What is the most likely effect of doing either of these things?

• Plants will sprout better

• Erosion will happen faster

• Soil will stay cooler

• Decomposition will speed up

Multiple Choice

Many places, like the Grand Canyon are the result of a combination of processes that continue to shape Earth, like the water cycle and the rock cycle. Which of the following is responsible for the formation of the Grand Canyon?

• Too much rain soaking into the ground slows the rate of new rock formation

• Evaporation of water removes moisture from rock layers in the canyon walls.

• Large amounts of flowing water increase the rate of weathering and erosion.

• Decreased rainfall makes the rocks hard and brittle, so that they crumble into pebbles

Multiple Choice

Weathering is the division and separation of particles by both mechanical and chemical forces. What is an example of a mechanical force in nature that could cause weathering in rocks?

• rapid temperature change

• mining operations

• acid rain

• passage of time

Multiple Choice

Why is it most likely that fossils will be found in sedimentary rock rather than igneous or metamorphic rock?

• Molten sedimentary rock burns up living organisms and fossilizes them as it cools

• Animals can dig into sedimentary rock, and some are trapped inside and fossilize

• Sedimentary rock breaks apart most easily, so fossils inside are seen more often

• Animal remains can get trapped and fossilize as the layers of sedimentary rock form

Multiple Choice

When archaeologists were looking for remains of the first British settlement in America at Jamestown, Virginia, they had to dig more than a meter into the ground before they began finding things the settlers had left, such as pottery, buttons, glass bottles, and wooden posts. Why did they have to dig so deep to find these things?

• The settlers must have buried their trash in deep pits for these things to be so far down

• Over time, soil layers built up over the remains of the settlement and buried it

• When the settlers had to leave, they hid their valuables underground

• The weight of the houses they built made the items sink into the ground

Multiple Choice

Jason lives on a ranch in Wyoming. There is a large sedimentary rock outcrop on the ranch. He found one fossil embedded in the rock near the top of the outcrop and another embedded in the rock almost at the bottom of the outcrop. What do their positions tell him about the two fossils?

• The lower fossil is older than the upper fossil

• The upper fossil is older than the lower fossil

• The upper fossil must be that of a climbing animal

• The lower fossil must have washed down from the top

Multiple Choice

Sometimes the layers in a rock face look as if they have been bent or broken. What is the most likely cause of this?

• uneven deposition of sediment as the rock formed

• folding and faulting in an earthquake

• weathering and erosion of some rock layers

• lava flows in a volcanic eruption

Multiple Choice

What would be the most effective way for a scientist to get an idea of the actual age of a rock?

• Measure the relative amounts of radioactive elements in it

• Judge its position in the rock face relative to that of other rocks

• Measure the amounts of different forms of carbon it contains

• Estimate how much of it has worn away since it formed originally

Multiple Choice

The oldest rocks on Earth are found in Canada near the center of the North American Plate. Where would be the most likely place to find very young rocks?

• in Northern India, where the plates are colliding

• in the Hawaiian Islands, where a plate passes over a hot spot

• .in Southern California, where two plates are sliding past each other

• in the middle of the South American Plate, where there is no plate boundary

Multiple Choice

With the use of satellites, we are able to measure the exact heights of landforms such as mountains. Scientists have discovered that mountains in the Himalayas get taller by several centimeters each year. What is causing this?

• The continued force of two tectonic plates colliding pushes the mountains higher each year.

• Large amounts of sediment get blown to the tops of the mountains each year

• The volcanoes in the mountains add layers of lava each year when they erupt

• Underground roots from continued tree growth at the mountain base increases their height over time

Multiple Choice

The Earth is made up of several different layers, and each layer has different properties. Which layer of the Earth is the least dense?

• mantle

• inner core

• outer core

• lithosphere

Multiple Choice

The tectonic plates that make up the surface of the Earth slowly move and interact with each other. Which of the following is NOT a result of tectonic plates moving on the surface of the Earth?

• earthquakes

• volcanoes

• mountain ranges

• erosion

Multiple Choice

The surface of the Earth is made of several tectonic plates that move at a very slow rate. What causes the plates to move?

• explosions within the Earth's mantle

• convection currents within the Earth's mantle

• expansion of the Earth's core pushing on the tectonic plates

• contraction of the Earth's core pulling on the tectonic plates