WorksheetsThe Development of Earth
Total questions: 21
Worksheet time: 2hrs 45mins
To understand Earth’s early atmosphere, scientists look to which of the following?
Mars and Venus
Jupiter and Saturn
Ceres and Pluto
volcanoes and earthquakes
After the Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago, several processes released heat that kept the surface a molten pool of metals. Which of the following IS NOT one of those processes?
radiation from the solar winds
unstable isotopes
chemical differentiation
impact accretion
bombardment of materials from space
Earth’s inner core is composed almost exclusively of:
iron with a small amount of nickel in the solid phase
iron and nickel in the liquid phase
oxygen and silicon-based rocks
liquid magma (lava)
Earth's outer core remains liquid because it experiences lower ____________ than the inner core.
pressure
temperature
density
mass
The ______________ is the thickest layer in Earth’s interior.
mantle
inner core
outer core
crust
The _________________ is the upper portion of the mantle. It comes in direct contact with the rigid rock layer overlying Earth’s surface, called the ________________.
asthenosphere, lithosphere
geosphere, pedosphere
atmosphere, hydrosphere
cryosphere, biosphere
The oldest rock ever found on Earth was recently discovered along in:
Canada.
Russia.
China.
Egypt.
Earth's earliest atmosphere was composed primarily of:
hydrogen and helium gases.
oxygen and nitrogen gases.
carbon dioxide and methane gases.
ozone and hydrochloric acid gases.
Many scientists propose that Earth’s “first atmosphere” developed from the release of gases from _____________ into the atmosphere.
volcanoes
earthquakes
meteoroids
rivers
The Earth contains two types of crust:
continental and oceanic
liquid and solid.
inner and outer.
moist and dry
Earth’s oceans formed when the continents began to separate or rift apart. When this happened, material from Earth’s molten interior rose to the surface and cooled, producing oceanic crust. As the process continued, water condensed out of the _____________, fell as rain, and flooded the rifted area.
atmosphere
lithosphere
cryosphere
inner planetary region
Which of the following processes produced Earth's oceanic crust?
Material from Earth’s molten interior rose to the surface and cooled.
Bombardment from asteroids pelted the Earth.
The continental crust melted to form oceanic crust.
Global flooding produced the crust of the oceans.
Oxygen in the atmosphere can be linked to ancient _______________ conducting the process of __________________.
blue-green bacteria, photosynthesis
aquatic bacteria, respiration
coral reef fish, photosynthesis
viruses, chemosynthesis
As the concentration of ______________ in the ocean diminished, the ocean began to release free oxygen into the atmosphere.
iron
hydrogen
helium
salt
Scientists are concerned by the recent increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. In the mid-1950s, scientists began to investigate how human activities affected the atmosphere. Roger Revelle and Charles Keeling decided to study changes in:
carbon dioxide gas.
oxygen gas.
global temperatures.
sea level.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide values decrease during the summer months when plants consume the gas during:
photosynthesis.
migration.
respiration.
dormancy.
Which of the following does the graph clearly indicate.
Atmospheric CO2 levels nave increased dramatically 50 years.
Humans have polluted the atmosphere in the last 50 years.
Global temperatures have increased in the last 50 years.
The graph shows all answers to be correct.
The concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere fluctuates over time. ________________________ provide a wealth of information on atmospheric chemistry.
Ice core samples
Weather balloons
Sea levels
Growth in human population
At times between glacial episodes, the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is _____________ than/as during glacial episodes.
greater
less
the same
not measurable
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA), Earth's average surface temperature is warming at a rate of about __________ every century.
1.7°C
0.7°C
2.7°C
0.007°C
Earth's earliest atmosphere lacked any free oxygen.
True
False
Unknown
