Plant material that accumulates and hardens on the floor of a swamp is known as peat. If a layer of sediments accumulates on top of the peat, its weight, after thousands of years, can compress the peat to form coal. Which of the following types of coal probably formed from the greatest pressure?

• Anthracite (the hardest coal)
• Bituminous coal (softer than anthracite)
• Subbituminous coal (softer than bituminous)
• Lignite (the softest coal)

Which planet rotates the fastest?

• Mercury
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn

The canyon shown in the picture was most likely formed by -

• a volcano
• high winds
• earthquakes
• running water

Scientists use the rock cycle to describe the processes by which -

• all different types of fossils were transformed into rock
• one type of rock can be changed into another type of rock
• tectonic plates shift around the earth's surface
• mineral crystals and compositions are identified

The mountain shown is composed of deformed sedimentary layers. They are located near a tectonic plate boundary and are still increasing in elevation due to -

• colliding tectonic plates
• seafloor spreading of tectonic plates
• subduction of a tectonic plate
• transform faulting of a tectonic plate

In which of these general areas would you expect volcanoes to occur? 

• Areas with limestone formations and water flowing underground 
• Near areas of tectonic plate subduction such as the Pacific’s Ring of Fire 
• Near continental-continental boundaries where mountain-building occurs
•  At all kinds of tectonic plate boundaries

All of the following are examples of mass movement EXCEPT 

• Rockfalls 
• Creep 
• Seafloor spreading 
• Mudslides

1.1.1  How long does it take the Earth to rotate once on its axis? 

• 24 hours  
• 28 days  
• 365 ¼ days  
• 26,000 years

The four agents of erosion are water, _____, ice, and gravity.  What goes in the blank? 

• Bacteria 
• Volcanoes 
• Sunlight 
• Wind

The point from which an earthquake originates is called the -

• focus
• epicenter
• fault line
• shockwave