Practice Regents

Seasonal changes on Earth are primarily caused by the 

• parallelism of the Sun’s axis as the Sun revolves around Earth 
• changes in distance between Earth and the Sun 
• elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun 
• tilt of Earth’s axis as Earth revolves around the Sun 

A ship is at a location of 40° S 77° W. Which type of surface ocean current and tectonic plate boundary are located beneath this ship? 

• warm ocean current and a transform boundary 
• warm ocean current and a convergen tboundary 
• cool ocean current and a transform boundary 
• cool ocean current and a convergent boundary 

What best explains why, in early spring, ice remains longer on Lake Erie than on the surrounding land areas when the air temperature is above freezing? 

• Water has a higher specific heat than land. 
• Energy is needed for water to evaporate. 
• Cool winds from the surrounding land cool the ice on the lake. 
• Air temperature does not affect water temperature. 

Which star is cooler and less luminous than the Sun? 

• Proxima Centuri
• Pollux
• Rigel
• 40  Eridani B

Which geologic event occured in New York State at about the same time as the extinction of dinosaurs and ammonoids? 

• formation of the Queenston Delta 
• deposition of the sands and clays underlying Long Island 
• initial opening of the Atlantic Ocean 
• advance and retreat of the last continental ice sheet 

What is the approximate density of a mineral with a mass of 262.2 grams that displaces 46 cubic centimeters of water? 

• 1.8 g/cm3 
• 5.7 g/cm3 
• 6.1 g/cm3 
• 12.2 g/cm3 

What is the color and type of rock that forms oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges? 

• light colored and igneous
• light colored and sedimentary 
• dark colored and igneous
• dark colored and sedimentary 

The geologic cross section below shows bedrock layers A through D. Line XY is a fault. 
The Fault most likely occurred after 

• all bedrock layers were formed
• layer C formed, bur before layer D formed
• layer A formed, but before layer B formed
• layer B formed, but before layer C formed 

The weather map below shows isobars labeled in millibars. Points A, B, C, and D are locations on Earth’s surface. Which location is probably experiencing the highest wind speeds?

• A
• B
• C
• D

The arrival time of the first earthquake P-wave at a seismograph station was 10:11:20 (hours:minutes:seconds). If the epicenter of the earthquake is 8000 km away, what was the approximate arrival time of the first S-wave from this earthquake? 

• 10:02:00
• 10:09:20
• 10:20:40
• 10:32:00