ES-Jun 2014 Q11-20

A fossil formed 11,400 years ago. Which percentage of the original amount of carbon-14 remains in the fossil?

• 100%
•  50%
• 25%
• 12.5%

A psychrometer is used to determine which weather variables?

• wind speed and wind direction
• percentage of cloud cover and cloud height
• air pressure and air temperature
• relative humidity and dewpoint

 In the Northern Hemisphere, surface winds around the center of a hurricane move

• clockwise and inward
• clockwise and outward
• counterclockwise and inward
• counterclockwise and outward

Equal areas of which surface will absorb the most insolation?

• partially melted snowfield
• blacktop parking lot
• white sand beach 
•  lake surface

A city located on the coast of North America has warmer winters and cooler summers than a city at the same elevation and latitude located near the center of North America. Which statement best explains the difference between the cities’ climates?

• Ocean surfaces change temperature more slowly than land surfaces.
• Warm, moist air rises when it meets cool, dry air
• Wind speeds are usually greater over land surfaces than over ocean surfaces
• Ocean surfaces have a lower specific heat than land surfaces.

Dry areas caused by sinking air and diverging surface winds are located at which two latitudes?

• 0° and 30° N
• 0° and 60° S
• 30° N and 30° 
• 60° N and 60° S

Which event is inferred by most scientists to be responsible for a climate change that has recently led to a decrease in the size of most glaciers?

•  a decrease in the rate of divergence of lithospheric plates along a mid-ocean ridge
• a decrease in the amount of insolation reaching Earth’s surface
•  an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere
•  an increase in the amount of vegetative cover in the tropics

The map below shows California and a section of the San Andreas Fault.
What is the primary geologic process occurring along the San Andreas Fault?

• transform movement
• spreading movement
• subduction
• convergence

 Compared to the oceanic crust, the continental crust is usually

•  thicker, with a less dense granitic composition
• thicker, with a more dense basaltic composition
•  thinner, with a less dense granitic composition
• thinner, with a more dense basaltic composition

Which mantle hot spot is located directly below a mid-ocean ridge plate boundary?

• Yellowstone
• Iceland
• Canary Islands
• Hawaii