Earth Structures Study Guide

Earth Structures Review

Open Ended

Label the layers of the Earth:

Open Ended

2. Which of the following options best matches each earth layer with its correct description in the chart? 

 Inner Core; Mantle; Outer Core; Lithosphere

Lithosphere, Inner Core, Mantle, Outer Core

Open Ended

Label the diagrams below as divergent, convergent or transform plate boundaries. Indicate how these plates move using arrows and describe what features may result from their motion.

Open Ended

Read the examples below and classify each as physical or chemical weathering: 

Multiple Choice

Over time, erosion wears away rock surfaces. After millions of years, why hasn't erosion completely worn away the rocks on Earth?

• Glaciers have moved rocks to different locations

• New rocks are constantly being formed.

• Bits of rocks are frozen in ice and under water.

• Erosion can only wear away part of a rock.

Multiple Choice

How do plants prevent erosion?

• They shield the soil from the wind

• Their leaves hold more water

• Their roots hold soil in place

• Their leaves shield the soil from rain

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of chemical weathering?

• clearing land for farming

• hurricane

• groundwater runoff

• acid rain

Multiple Choice

The peaks of a young mountain are sharp and jagged while the peaks of an old mountain are rounded down. What causes this change?

• wind erosion

• deforestation

• groundwater runoff

• acid rain

Fill in the Blanks

Open Ended

Examine the rock cycle diagram.

List all of the processes that must occur to change:

Igneous rocks into sedimentary rocks

Open Ended

Examine the rock cycle diagram.

List all of the processes that must occur to change:

Sedimentary rocks into metamorphic rocks

Open Ended

Examine the rock cycle diagram.

List all of the processes that must occur to change:

Metamorphic rocks into sedimentary rocks

Multiple Choice

What kind of rock forms directly from cooling magma or lava?

• igneous

• sedimentary

• metamorphic

• all of the above

Open Ended

 Using the diagram above, indicate which plate tectonic motion is responsible for the following:

a) Metamorphic rock melts into magma.

Open Ended

 Using the diagram above, indicate which plate tectonic motion is responsible for the following:

b) Igneous rock breaks into sediment

as a result of an uplift.

Multiple Choice

Which process is most responsible for forming metamorphic rocks?

• cementing and crystallization of sediments

• melting and cooling of magma

• application of intense heat and pressure

• weathering and erosion

Multiple Choice

What type of rock are fossils typically found in? 

• igneous

• metamorphic

• sedimentary

• particle

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT an example of how mountain building (Uplift) affect the rock cycle?

• Mountains are built when convergent plates collide creating sediments which leads to the formation of sedimentary rocks

• Mountains are built when thicker oceanic plates subduct under thinner continental plates causing rocks to melt into magma as they sink deep under the earth

• Mountains are built when transform plates slide past each other creating sediments which leads to the formation of sedimentary rocks

• Mountains are built when convergent plates collide exposing rocks from below the surface to weathering and erosion

Multiple Choice

How does a volcanic eruption change the Earth's surface?

• It creates igneous rock

• It creates sedimentary rock

• It makes an area uninhabitable

• It creates metamorphic rock

Open Ended

Using the Law of Superposition and other geological principles place the following layers of the geologic column in order from oldest to youngest.  Explain how you did this.

Multiple Choice

Which option best compares and contrasts relative and absolute dating in the chart below?

• Relative Dating: (1) Yes; (2) No; (3) No; (4) Yes 

   Radioactive Dating: (1) No; (2) Yes; (3) Yes; (4) No

• Relative Dating: (1) Yes; (2)Yes; (3) No; (4) No

   Radioactive Dating: (1)No; (2) Yes; (3) Yes; (4) No

Find the link below on your Science Class Canvas Page or ​Type the link below into a new window on your computer or phone to complete the matching activity for landform and human impact:

​

​Weblink: quizlet.com/627968460/match

​

Multiple Choice

Sediment from mountains many miles away is continually being transported to Florida. Which is the best explanation as to how this sediment moved so far away from where the mountains are now?

• The sediment was placed in Florida by humans.

• The sediment was transported and deposited by streams and rivers.

• This range of mountains used to be much farther south than it is now.

• Rocks form smaller, easily transported sediment on the southern side of mountains.

Multiple Choice

The picture below shows a landform of densely packed ice that is always in motion. What is this landform and how have landforms like this affected the shape of Florida?

• It is a glacier, which is a melting landform that has reduced the size of Florida over time.

• It is a frozen lake, which is a melting landform that receded and formed Florida's peninsula shape.

• It is a frozen river, which is a landform that carved Florida's coast as its frozen edges moved along it.

• It is an ice cap, which is a landform that once floated and knocked off a part of Florida to form Florida's panhandle.

Multiple Choice

The image below shows how a river can change over time. Which natural process most likely contributes to the bending of the river?

• deposition

• water current

• sedimentation

• mechanical weathering

Multiple Choice

In which situation would a scientist prefer to use the Law of Superposition 

over radioactive dating?

• to determine which mountain peak on Earth’s surface is the nearest

• to determine the exact age of a human skeleton found in an ancient tomb

• to determine which layer of sedimentary rocks at the bottom of a lake is oldest

• to determine whether two dinosaurs whose fossils are found on different continents lived

  in the same time period

Multiple Choice

In 1997 a team of scientists discovered three fossilized skulls and other artifacts at a dig site in Ethiopia, Africa. Since it is difficult to determine the age of once-living organisms, the scientists used radioactive dating on the igneous rocks that surrounded the remains to determine their age. Why would scientists use radioactive dating in order to determine the age of the fossil they discovered?

• Radioactive dating is an easier and less expensive method than applying the law of

  superposition for approximating the age of igneous rocks.

• Radioactive dating is specific and gives the exact date that a rock was formed while the

  law of superposition gives an approximate estimate of ages.

• Radioactive dating gives an approximate estimate of the age of the igneous rocks, while

  the law of superposition will only reveal which is younger or older.

• Radioactive dating determines whether the igneous rocks are older or younger than

  deeper layers of rocks, while the using the law of superposition depends on tectonic

  events.