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Earth Science Quiz 1 2025

Total questions: 45

Worksheet time: 35mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
Which rock layer in the diagram seems to be the oldest?
a)
F
b)
E
c)
B
d)
A
2.

What is the importance of studying fossils?

a)

to provide information about how current life forms would exist in previous environmental conditions

b)

to provide information about how life and environmental conditions may have changed

c)

to provide information about how previous life forms would exist in current environmental conditions

3.

Geologists assume the newest rock layers are on top of the older ones, unless some type of disturbance occurs, in known as …

a)

Law of Inclusions

b)

Law of Crosscutting

c)

Law of Conservation

d)

Law of Superposition

4.

This chronological time chart is broken into different time chunks, like Eras and Periods

a)

Calendar

b)

Geological time scale

c)

Time chart

5.

Approximately how old is the Earth?

a)

4.6 billion years old

b)

4.6 million years old

c)

5 billion years old

d)

5 million years old

6.

Preserved remains of plant and animals from the remote past are called _______________.

a)

Rocks

b)

Dinosaurs

c)

Strata

d)

Fossils

7.

In which of the following eras did humans first appear in the fossil record?

a)

Precambrian

b)

Paleozoic

c)

Mesozoic

d)

Cenozoic

8.

Which of the following orders the rock layers accurately from oldest to youngest?

a)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

b)

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

c)

2, 3, 4, 5, 1

d)

1, 2, 3, 5, 4

9.

Look at the diagram, what layer did animal E first show up in?

a)

Layer #4

b)

Layer #5

c)

Layer #6

d)

Layer #8

10.

What type of rock are fossils found in?

a)

Metamorphic

b)

Sedimentary

c)

Igneous

d)

Marble

11.
Who is the person credited with developing the theory of continental drift?
a)
Harry Hess
b)
Galileo
c)
Alfred Wegener
d)
Newton
12.

Most tectonic plates have both oceanic and continental crust. How are they different?

a)

Oceanic is thinner and less dense than continental.

b)

Continental is thinner than more dense than oceanic.

c)

Continental is thicker and less dense than oceanic.

d)

Oceanic is thicker and more dense than continental.

13.
What is the force that moves the continents? 
a)
Conduction 
b)
Convection 
c)
Radiation 
d)
Conveyor belts 
14.
Glossopteris grew in warm, swampy areas proving Antarctica used to have a ________________climate.
a)
warm and wet
b)
hot and dry
c)
cold and icy
d)
temperate
15.

Wegner used the following as pieces of evidence...

a)

fit/shape of continents

b)

geologic and fossil

c)

climate

d)

all of the above

16.

What is the force that moves the continents?

a)

Conduction

b)

Convection

c)

Radiation

d)

Conveyor belts

17.

How long ago is Pangaea believed to have existed?

a)

200-300 million years ago

b)

1000-2000 years ago

c)

10,000-20,000 years ago

d)

20-30 billion years ago

18.
The thinnest layer of the Earth is the ___________.
a)
mantle
b)
crust
c)
core
19.
What is the thickest layer of the Earth?
a)
the crust
b)
the mantle
c)
the outer core
d)
the inner core
20.
What is the core made of?
a)
steel
b)
iron 
c)
aluminum
d)
iron and nickel
21.
Why is the inner core solid?
a)
its unknown
b)
what it's made of
c)
the pressure
d)
it is colder than the outer core
22.
What is the correct order (starting from the surface) of Earth's layers?
a)
crust, outer core, inner core, mantle
b)
mantle, outer core, inner core, crust
c)
crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
d)
outer core, inner core, crust, mantle
23.
Less dense materials rise to the top.
a)
True
b)
False
24.
Which layer of Earth has the GREATEST density?
a)
crust
b)
mantle
c)
outer core
d)
inner core
25.

As you travel from the crust to the core, how would temperature, pressure and density of the material change?

a)

They would all increase

b)

They would all decrease.

c)

Nothing, the layers are made of the same material throughout

d)

Temperature would decrease, but pressure and density would increase

26.

(_______________)- Land (Earth's core, mantle, mountains, sand, metals)

a)

Geosphere

b)

Hydrosphere

c)

Atmosphere

d)

Biosphere

27.

(_______________)- Water (oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, glaciers)

a)

Geosphere

b)

Hydrosphere

c)

Atmosphere

d)

Biosphere

28.

(_______________)- Air (oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, zone, wind)

a)

Geosphere

b)

Hydrosphere

c)

Atmosphere

d)

Biosphere

29.

(_______________)- Life (plants, animals, insects, humans)

a)

Geosphere

b)

Hydrosphere

c)

Atmosphere

d)

Biosphere

30.

23. According to the evidence on the chart, which of the following lived in this area at the same time as dinosaurs?

a)

ferns

b)

pine trees

c)

shark

d)

squirrel

31.

In which kind of rock do we usually find a fossil?

a)

sedimentary rock

b)

metamorphic rock

c)

igneous rock

32.
How do scientists know that there are different layers inside Earth?
a)
Studying meteorites
b)

Samples from inside Wells

c)
Going into deep mines
d)
Tracking earthquake waves
33.
Which of the following orders the rock layers accurately from youngest to oldest?
a)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
b)
5, 4, 3, 2, 1
c)
2, 3, 4, 5, 1
d)
1, 2, 3, 5, 4
34.

According to the theory of continental drift, why do the coastlines of Africa and South America appear to fit together so well?

a)

Africa and South America used to be joined together, but split apart long ago.

b)

Africa and South America are drifting towards each other and will soon fit together perfectly.

c)

Ocean currents on either side of the Atlantic have eroded the coastlines into the same shape.

d)

The theory does not explain why the coastlines seem to match.

35.

What evidence supports the idea that all the continents were once joined together?

a)

Similar rocks found on different continents.

b)

Mountains created by colliding continents.

c)

Evidence of glaciers in unexpected places.

d)

All of the above.

36.

Lystrosaurus was a slow-moving, plant-eating reptile that lived over 250 million years ago. Fossils of Lystrosaurus have been found in the brown areas shown below. How is this explained by the existence of Pangaea?

a)

Lystrosaurus swam across the oceans from one continent to another.

b)

Lystrosaurus drifted on rafts of vegetation from one continent to another.

c)

Land bridges once crossed oceans to connect Africa, Antarctica, and India.

d)

Africa, Antarctica, and India used to be joined together into a single landmass.

37.

Wegener found fossils of land reptiles on two different continents. This was important because

a)

Land reptiles are often found all over the world, showing that they can survive in most climates

b)

Land reptiles cannot swim, so the continents must have been connected for them to get across

c)

Land reptiles are never moved around the Earth by humans, so they must have travels to these continents by themselves

d)

Land reptiles fossilized much better than other animal species

38.

Wegener found fossils of ancient ferns on Antarctica, this shows

a)

That some ferns can survive temperatures well below freezing

b)

That humans put ferns on Antarctica millions of years ago

c)

That Antarctica drifted from a warmer climate where plants could grow

d)

That fossils can be formed in cold climates

39.

Why was Wegener's hypothesis not accepted?

a)

He could not explain what force was moving the continents

b)

He was a meteorologists, so no one took him seriously

c)

He did not have enough types of fossils to support his theory

d)

Because scientists thought Harry Hess' theory was better

40.

Wave that can travel through solids only.

a)

P Waves

b)

S Waves

41.

What layer of the earth are you entering at C on the graph?

a)

crust

b)

mantle

c)

outer core

d)

inner core

42.

How are the two types of waves different from each other?

a)

Within the earth, P waves can travel through solids and liquids, whereas S waves can only travel through solids.

b)

Within the earth, S waves can travel through solids and liquids, whereas P waves can only travel through solids.

43.

Why did the S-Wave stop moving at a depth of 2900 km?

a)

Because the medium changed from solid to liquid

b)

Because P-waves cannot travel through liquids

c)

The seismograph station cant read S waves

d)

S waves move faster than a seismograph can detect

44.

Which is true about oceanic crust?

a)

It is thinner and less dense than continental crust.

b)

It is thinner and more dense than continental crust.

c)

It is thicker and more dense than continental crust.

d)

It is thicker and less dense than continental crust.

45.

Which is true about continental crust?

a)

It is thinner and more dense than oceanic crust.

b)

It is thinner and less dense than oceanic crust.

c)

It is thicker and more dense than oceanic crust.

d)

It is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust.