Middle School Science

What is epicenter?

• The point on the Earth's surface directly above the origin of an earthquake.

• The point where seismic waves are generated.

• The location of the earthquake's epicenter in the ocean.

• The depth at which an earthquake occurs.

Which of the following are examples of physical weathering? Select all answers that apply.

• Rocks are moved from one location to another by water flowing downhill.

• Rocks lifted by swift water fall down and strike other rocks, breaking off tiny pieces.

• Hydrolysis of feldspar when it combines with water to form clay.

• Surface materials are removed from a rock by erosion and the pressure on the rock decreases. The rock expands and fractures.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Which of the following processes occurs when water seeps into the ground and reacts with feldspar in granite rocks, turning the rocks into clay?

• chemical weathering

• deposition

• physical weathering

• erosion

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

Which of the following geological processes is most likely to move rock from below the surface of the Earth to the surface?

• 
  weathering

• the water cycle

• tectonic shifting

• volcanic activity

Answer explanation

Volcanic activity takes rock from below the Earth through a volcanic eruption and ejects the rock onto the surface of the Earth.

Tectonic shifting is the movement of the plates that make up the Earth's crust. Tectonic shifting can drag rocks down below the Earth in subduction. Uplift would result in rocks moving up, but it's not as likely to move up rocks as volcanic activity.

Which of the following best explains how metamorphic rocks are formed?

• Molten magma cools and hardens inside the Earth.

• Weathered rock is eroded, deposited, and cemented to form new rock.

• Hot lava cools and hardens outside the Earth.

• Rocks are changed by heat, with or without high pressure, deep inside the Earth.

Answer explanation

Metamorphic rock forms deep inside the Earth. Contact metamorphic rock forms under high temperatures. Regional metamorphic rock forms under high heat and pressure.

As the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate bump past one another, energy is built and stored as potential energy. When that energy is released, what event is most likely to occur?

• volcanic eruption

• an earthquake

• trench formation

• 
  mountain formation

Answer explanation

Energy stored as the result of a plate bumping into another is released as an earthquake

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

What is the Ring of Fire?

• a circle of volcanoes at convergent plate boundaries around the Pacific basin

• a circle of volcanoes at divergent plate boundaries around the Indian ocean

Answer explanation

The Pacific basin is ringed by convergent plate boundaries which produce a ring of volcanoes around the basin. This ring of volcanoes and accompanying earthquakes is called the Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire is not at divergent plate boundaries and is not around the Indian ocean.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

After a "warm-up" exercise about the water cycle, Mr. Ortiz intends to ask his students some questions to start their thinking. Of the following questions, which is the best guiding question to ask in order to arouse student curiosity?

• What is the difference between freshwater and saltwater?

• Why does it rain?

• Which is the biggest body of water on Earth?

• What do you know about the water cycle?

Answer explanation

A question about why something happens is most likely to arouse student curiosity.

A question about something students do not understand is not a productive way to arouse curiosity.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

Inquiry-based instruction starts with a guiding question. Of the following, which is the best guiding question to use during a study of light and color?

• Why do red objects look red?

• What is color?

• 
  Can lighting change the color of a surface?

• If variously colored lights shine on a red surface, what happens to the color of the surface?

Answer explanation

This is a good guiding question. It is nontrivial, will elicit discussion, and probably cannot be answered without an investigation.

Which of the following activities is the best example of an inquiry-based activity?

• Students are given an assortment of objects made of various materials. Students use magnets to test hypotheses about which materials are magnetic.

• Students describe a magnetic material. Students use a table of properties of magnetic substances and classify various objects as either magnetic or non-magnetic.

• Students read a selection about magnetism in their textbooks. Students work with partners to discuss the selection and answer questions about magnetism,

• Students watch a video about the earth's magnetic field. Students complete a worksheet as they watch the video.

Answer explanation

This activity involves students forming their own hypotheses and testing those hypotheses on their own.

Tags

NGSS.3-5-ETS1-3

NGSS.3-PS2-3