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TCI - Scales of Change on Earth's Surface

Total questions: 21

Worksheet time: 11mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

An example of a small scale change is __________

a)

a landslide covering houses in mud.

b)

a volcano erupting and depositing lava around it.

c)

a wave rubbing sand against a rock, weathering it.

d)

an earthquake causing a cliff to fall into the ocean.

2.

How long does it take small changes to create something big like the Namib Desert?

a)

a week

b)

a year

c)

millions of years

d)

hundreds of years

3.

When rock is broken down in place it is called _________, but if material is removed, it is called _________.

a)

weathering; erosion

b)

breaking; transportation

c)

sanding; sedimentation

d)

reacting; deposition

4.

Which of the following is NOT a way ice would play a role in small scale changes?

a)

A glacier grates over a boulder slowly, weathering the rock.

b)

An ice shelf breaks off Antarctica and crashes into the ocean.

c)

As ice slowly melts on a mountainside, it slides some topsoil downhill.

d)

A small piece of a glacier melts, dropping the small stones it had picked up as it moved.

5.

How are sand dunes formed?

a)

Eroded sand is carried by the wind and deposited.

b)

A large flood leaves the sand behind in wave shapes.

c)

Beetles walk across the sand and it forms big ripples.

d)

The ground beneath the dunes is already shaped like hills.

6.

Mountain ranges are formed over hundreds of millions of years through the process of _________.

a)

uplift

b)

erosion

c)

deposition

d)

weathering

7.

In which way do continents NOT change?

a)

They move about 1-3 cm/year.

b)

Forces underneath the crust cause uplift.

c)

Gravity pulls the crust inward, causing depressions.

d)

Waves erode rock and change the shape of coastlines.

8.

Sandstone is formed by __________.

a)

chemical weathering of limestone

b)

uplift of deep crustal rock to the surface

c)

stone being eroded by sand over millions of years

d)

sand being deposited in layers that are compacted together

9.

Limestone caves are formed through the process of __________ when a chemical reaction causes the limestone to dissolve into water.

a)

erosion

b)

deposition

c)

chemical weathering

d)

mechanical weathering

10.

What is the difference between magma and lava?

a)

There is no difference.

b)

Magma is solid rock and lava is molten rock.

c)

Magma is molten rock and lava is solid rock.

d)

Magma is below ground and lava is above ground.

11.

What is an asteroid?

a)

Any rock in orbit around the Earth.

b)

Anything that falls from space and hits the Earth.

c)

A chunk of rock the size of a mountain in orbit around the sun.

d)

A huge chunk of ice that travels through the whole solar system.

12.

What is NOT an effect of an asteroid hitting Earth?

a)

A huge crater is formed.

b)

There is an explosion like a bomb.

c)

Lots of dust is ejected into the atmosphere.

d)

Earth’s temperature raises for weeks from the energy released.

13.

Which of the following catastrophic events can last the longest?

a)

landslide

b)

flash flood

c)

earthquake

d)

volcanic eruption

14.

Flash floods are caused by __________.

a)

tornadoes

b)

landslides

c)

earthquakes

d)

heavy rainfall

15.

Landslides may be caused by __________, which may ____________. (Choose the BEST option).

a)

strong winds; push lots of soil downhill

b)

earthquakes; move unstable ground

c)

wildfires; burn away trees holding soil in place

d)

high temperatures; decrease the amount of water in the soil, destabilizing the area.

16.

On what time scale does fossil preservation occur?

a)

days

b)

years

c)

billions of years

d)

thousands of years

17.

What is a hoodoo?

a)

a religious artifact

b)

a type of mushroom cap

c)

a legendary goblin native to Utah

d)

a type of unusual rock formation

18.

How are hoodoos formed?

a)

The rock forms around fossilized trees.

b)

They are carved by ancient peoples for use in religious ceremonies.

c)

The rock at the top is more resistant to weathering, so it protects the rock underneath it.

d)

Wind patterns cut columns out of the rock and the “cap” rocks fall on top of the columns from above.

19.

Why are hoodoos significant to scientists?

a)

Because of their unusual shape, they prove that there are unnatural forces at work.

b)

Because of their unusual shape, they prove that we do not understand all the processes at work.

c)

They’re found all over the world, proving that natural processes act the same way all over Earth.

d)

They’re only found in Utah, proving that natural processes do not act uniformly across Earth.

20.

The natural processes that happen now have always happened and will continue to happen. This idea is called ________.

a)

sameness

b)

unvaryism

c)

constantism

d)

uniformitarianism

21.

Changes to Earth’s surface happen at _______ time scales and _______ spatial scales.

a)

all; all

b)

only fast; only small

c)

only slow; only small

d)

only fast; large and small