STAAR Earth Science

Choose the list that best describes how fossil fuels are formed.

• Organism growth, burial, volcanic eruptions

• Faults in Earth's crust, burial, glacier formation

• Organism growth, burial, compaction

• Erosion burial, earthquakes

Which diagram shows compaction which leads to the formation of sedimentary rock?

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Erosion is major process in the formation of sedimentary rock. What is erosion?

• Rocks are broken into smaller pieces that remain the in same location.

• Pressure compacts layers of sediment and turns them into rock.

• Pieces of soil or rock are carried from one place to another.

• Sediment falls to the bottom of a lake to form sedimentary layers.

Plants are growing on the surface of this pond. How do plants like these form fossil fuels?

• Dead plants sink to the bottom and get buried by sediment for millions of years.

• Dead plants sink to the bottom and get consumed by decomposers.

• Dead plants produce carbon dioxide for the fish, which form fossil fuels.

• Dead plants get buried for millions of years and form fossils that attract carbon.

Students pour 2 centimeters of light colored sand into a clear container. Then pour in 1 cm of gravel. Finally they pour 2 cm of colored sand. What characteristic of sedimentary rock does this model show?

• Sedimentary rock is cemented bits of rock.

• Sedimentary rock is made of layers.

• Limestone is a type of sedimentary rock.

• Sedimentary rock is found in Texas.

The model below shows layers of sediment on the floor of an ocean. Which is the best explanation of how these layers can become rock over years?

• Sand in the sediment melts and turns into rock.

• The weight of the water compacts the sediment into rock.

• Changing water temperatures turn sand in the sediment into rock.

• Pollution caused by humans turns the sediment into rock.

Monahans Sandhills State Park in Texas has 4,000 acres of sand dunes. Some as tall as a 6 story building. Which is the most likely way that sand dunes were formed?

• rainstorms

• tornadoes

• earthquakes

• strong winds

The shape of a delta can change over time. The size and shape of this delta over time are NOT likely to be changed by -

• The amount and size of tides along the shore

• The amount and size of sediments carried by the river and streams.

• The amount of fishing in the delta

• The amount and size of waves from the ocean that reach the shore.

The picture below shows a canyon in Northern Arizona. Which best describes how this canyon was most likely formed?

• Floods eroded the sandstone away from the canyon walls.

• Glaciers eroded the canyon rock as they melted and moved.

• Ice wedged into cracks in the rock and weathered the canyon.

• Wind blew large rocks that smashed against the canyon walls.

This wide U-shaped valley is shown in the picture. It was most likely formed by -

• Floods eroded the sediment away.

• Glaciers eroded the sediment as it melted and moved.

• Wind blew large rocks that smashed against the canyon walls.

• A hurricane carried away sediment