Earth Systems and Resources Most Missed

Which geologic features is most likely responsible for the formation of these volcanoes?

• a convergent boundary where oceanic crust is being subducted

• a divergent boundary were new crust is forming a mid-ocean ridge

• a region where hot convection currents are rising through the mantle

• a hot spot where crust is thin enough to allow mantle material to rise to the surface

Earthquake epicenters were mapped for a 35 year period in the diagram above. The black dots marking the epicenters also represent what feature on Earth?

• hot spots

• rift zones

• plate boundaries

• sea-floor spreading

According to the map above which of the following BEST explains why the location of many volcanoes around the world occur along the Pacific Ring of Fire?

• The Pacific Ring of Fire is the location of many divergent plate boundaries

• The Pacific Ring of Fire is the location of many transform plate boundaries

• The Pacific Ring of Fire is the location of many convergent plate boundaries

• The Pacific Ring of Fire is the location of very few subduction zones

Which of the following is NOT evidence for motion of lithospheric plates and the theory of plate tectonics?

• Distribution of fossils on different continents

• Volcanic and seismic activity at plate boundaries

• Changes in land-forms such as mountains over geologic time

• All of the answer choices are evidence for the theory of plate tectonics

Which of the following accurately describes a process that could create sedimentary rocks from magma?

• slow cooling --> intrusive igneous rocks --> heat and pressure --> metamorphic rocks --> melting

• rapid cooling --> intrusive igneous rocks --> weathering --> erosion --> sediments --> deposition --> compaction/cementation

• rapid cooling --> extrusive igneous rocks --> weathering --> erosion --> sediments --> deposition --> compaction/cementation

• slow cooling --> extrusive igneous rocks --> surface exposure --> weathering --> erosion --> sediments --> deposition --> compaction/cementation

It is science time! You and your classmates have been challenged to identify six minerals. You begin with a glassy, pink mineral. The mineral can scratch glass. Based on these three properties, glassy, pink, and scratches glass, the mineral is MOST LIKELY

• calcite

• feldspar

• gypsum

• quartz

Carol and Maria spread some dirt out in a flat pan. Their classmate Ben blew over the dirt with a straw. Some of the dirt moved and formed ruts and bumps. They propped up one end of the pan with a board so the dirt looked like a big hill. Then the girls sprayed the dirt with some water in a spray bottle. More dirt moved as the water ran down the hill. Both the wind and the water modeled what process?

• deposition

• erosion

• gravity

• weathering

Which statement correctly identifies the most likely surface feature at point 1 and explains its formation?

• Point 1 represents a mountain because the plates are pulling apart, causing new land to rise upward

• Point 1 represents a mid-ocean ridge because the colliding plates are causing magma to rise and uplift the crust.

• Point 1 represents a volcano because the colliding plates are turning solid rock into magma that is rising to the surface.

• Point 1 represents an island hot spot because the plates are pulling apart, allowing magma to reach the surface and form new land.

Which statement best explains the conditions that cause volcanoes to form along the northern and southwestern edges of the Pacific Plate?

• The movement of material in the mantle causes the formation of new rock in these areas

• The mantle has convection currents that cause the crust of two plates to collide in these areas

• The downward movement of cooling magma causes earthquakes to release energy in these areas

• The collection of magma below the plate boundary causes a subduction zone to form in these areas

Students created a model of a structure they designed to minimize damage from an earthquake. The model is placed on a device called a shake table that simulates an earthquake.

What is the next step of the scientific engineering process after the students test their model?

• Determine if their design solved the problem

• Ask questions about the criteria and constraints

• Ask questions about the criteria and constraints

• Ask questions to determine the problems