Science STAAR Category

The model below shows two continental plates. The folded mountains in this model form at which type of plate boundary?

• Transform boundary
• Divergent boundary
• Subduction boundary
• Convergent boundary

The satellite photograph below shows a large meteorite crater that is 1200m in diameter and 170m deep. This crater is located in a flat, arid part of northeastern Arizona. How will this crater most likely change over time? 

• It will get deeper as it fills with water.
• It will rise up like a volcanic crater.
• It will become less deep as the rim erodes
• It will widen as it fills with lava.

Which of these locations on Earth experiences the least change in the number of daylight hours throughout the year?

• Equator
• North Pole
• Tropic of Cancer
• Tropic of Capricorn

What is one condition that is necessary for a hurricane to form?

• Warm ocean water
• A strong cold front
• Cold ocean water
• A strong warm front

The thick black lines on the map below show the locations of mid-ocean ridges. Which geologic feature is most likely to form at a mid-ocean ridge?

• Peninsula
• Volcano
• Delta
• Plateau

A section of a topographic map is shown below. What is the difference in elevation in meters between Point X and Point Y on the map? 

• 1240m
• 1600m
• 400m
• 360m

A student sets up the investigation shown below. The movement of colored water through the gravel best models _____. 

• condensation of water vapor
• surface runoff of precipitation
• conservation of water
• pollution of groundwater

Earth would not have seasons if it ____. 

• no longer tilted on its axis
• stopped rotating on its axis
• took an additional month to orbit the sun
• revolved around the sun in the opposite direction

Scientists recently discovered that rocks collected from the Franklin Mountains in West Texas and rocks collected from mountains in eastern Antarctica were exactly the same age. Further research showed that the rocks were chemically and geologically the same and came from the same magma source. This discovery provides evidence of ____. 

• coastal erosion
• plate tectonics
• ocean currents
• glacial melting

The satellite image below shows a ship channel between South Padre Island and Boca Chica beach in South Texas. Sand is sometimes removed from the ship channel through a process called dredging to make it easier for ships to travel through. Recently sand from the bottom of the channel was moved to area beaches. Without this transfer of sand, what would most likely occur in this area in the future? 

• The ship channel would become deeper, and the island would move west toward the mainland. 
• The ship channel would become shallower, and the beaqch would become narrower. 
• The ship channel would become narrower, and the island would become completely covered with water. 
• The ship channel would become wider, and the island would sink into the Gulf of Mexico.