WorksheetsAstronomy - Earth Reviewer
Total questions: 50
Worksheet time: 25mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
Greenhouse gases (water molecules and carbon dioxide) generate heat to make our Earth warm.
a)
True
b)
False
2.
The uppermost layer of the Earth's structure is composed of mostly ____.
a)
silicates
b)
olivines
c)
metals
d)
oxygen and nitrogenoxygen and nitrogen
e)
All of these choices are correct.
3.
The ozone layer protects us from
a)
infrared radiation.
b)
ultraviolet radiation.
c)
gamma rays.
d)
cosmic rays.
4.
The composition of the Earth's atmosphere today is about 78% _____, 21% _____, and much less than 1% __________.
a)
oxygen; nitrogen; carbon dioxide and other gases
b)
nitrogen; carbon dioxide; oxygen and other gases
c)
oxygen; carbon dioxide; nitrogen and other gases
d)
nitrogen; oxygen; carbon dioxide and other gases
5.
The Earth's core is slightly hotter than the surface of the Sun.
a)
True
b)
False
6.
Silicates are minerals composed of silicon and oxygen.
a)
True
b)
False
7.
The interior layer just below the crust of the Earth is called the _______.
a)
inner core
b)
outer core
c)
mantle
d)
troposphere
8.
What causes the greenhouse effect?
a)
Water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb infrared radiation from the ground and reradiate the heat toward the surface.
b)
Water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb visible sunlight and warms the atmosphere.
c)
Ozone absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation and warms the atmosphere.
d)
Oxygen and nitrogen scatter sunlight which heats the atmosphere by its frictional passage.
e)
Fluorocarbons absorb infrared radiation from the Sun and heat the surface.
9.
Magnetic fields are created by moving charged particles.
a)
True
b)
False
10.
The early atmosphere of Earth had more methane and ammonia than what is present today. Where did these gases go?
a)
Sunlight broke methane and ammonia apart and the hydrogen escaped to space.
b)
Methane and ammonia dissolved in Earth's oceans.
c)
Plant life converted methane and ammonia to nitrogen and carbon through photosynthesis.
d)
Cometary and planetesimal impacts provided enough energy for these gases to escape to space.
11.
The early atmosphere of Earth had more methane and ammonia than what is present today. Where did these gases go?
a)
Sunlight broke methane and ammonia apart and the hydrogen escaped to space.
b)
Methane and ammonia dissolved in Earth's oceans.
c)
Plant life converted methane and ammonia to nitrogen and carbon through photosynthesis.
d)
Cometary and planetesimal impacts provided enough energy for these gases to escape to space.
12.
What causes the slow wobble of the Earth's rotational axis?
a)
The Sun and the Moon exert unbalanced gravitational forces on the Earth's equatorial bulge.
b)
Continents are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere, which creates an unbalanced rotation of the Earth.
c)
The Moon exerts a gravitational force on the Earth's tidal bulges, creating a wobble.
d)
The accumulation of ice at the poles during ice ages creates an unbalanced rotation of the Earth.
13.
In about 14,000 ad, the North Pole of the Earth will point at star ________.
a)
Polaris
b)
Antares
c)
Vega
d)
Thuban
14.
A pocket of air moving south in the Northern Hemisphere will be deflected ____ by the rotation of the Earth?
a)
to the west
b)
to the east
c)
upward to a higher altitude
d)
downward toward the surface
e)
to the south
15.
Precession is the slow change in direction of the Earth's rotation axis due to the gravitational interaction of the Sun and of the Moon with the Earth's equatorial bulge.
a)
True
b)
False
16.
What is happening when two plates are smashing into one another?
a)
Rifting causes mountains to be built up; earthquakes and volcanoes may also occur.
b)
Precession causes mountains to be built up; earthquakes and volcanoes may also occur.
c)
Subduction causes mountains to be built up; earthquakes and volcanoes may also occur.
d)
nothing
17.
What are the most common elements composing the Earth?
a)
hydrogen and helium
b)
carbon and nitrogen
c)
oxygen and silicon
d)
uranium and plutonium
18.
____ is the process in which hot mantle material drags sections of the Earth's crust apart, creating new crust.
a)
rifting
b)
subduction
c)
drifting
d)
conduction
e)
ridging
19.
What does the Greenhouse Effect cause?
a)
It shields us from the Sun's ultraviolet rays.
b)
It causes the Earth's surface and atmosphere to be warmer than they would be otherwise.
c)
It is the main source of the Earth's oxygen.
d)
It protects the surface of the Earth from cosmic rays.
e)
20.
The ___-type seismic waves can travel through liquids and solids. The ___-type seismic waves can travel through solids only.
a)
S; P
b)
S; S
c)
P; S
d)
P; P
21.
Why is the Moon's average surface temperature so much lower than the Earth's?
a)
The Moon has no atmosphere to help retain heat at its surface.
b)
The Moon is much smaller than the Earth and cooled more quickly.
c)
The Moon has no magnetic field to prevent infrared radiation from escaping.
d)
The Moon's rotation rate is much slower than the Earth's.
e)
The Moon reflects more of the Sun's energy than the Earth.
22.
Water vapor in the atmosphere can cause a greenhouse effect.
a)
True
b)
False
23.
Why are the Earth and other planets spherical while smaller bodies such as most asteroids are not?
a)
The larger mass of a planet produces enough gravity to pull it into a round shape.
b)
Asteroids were never molten, and so never underwent differentiation.
c)
The atmosphere of a planet is heavy enough to push the planet into a round shape.
d)
Earth and other planets formed from planetesimals pulled together by gravity into circular orbits.
e)
It is the nature of massive objects to pull themselves into spherica
24.
The deflection of air and ocean currents from their original direction of motion due to the rotation of the Earth is called ____.
a)
the Coriolis Effect
b)
precession
c)
differentiation
d)
circulation
e)
revolution
25.
If Earth did not spin, the magnetic field around it would not exist.
a)
True
b)
False
26.
Olivine is the most common mineral in the Earth's mantle.
a)
True
b)
False
27.
Olivine is the most common mineral in the Earth's mantle.
a)
True
b)
False
28.
The ______ are two doughnut-shaped rings of charged particles trapped by the Earth's magnetic field.
a)
Aurora Borealis and the Aurora Australis
b)
Van Allen Radiation Belts
c)
jet streams
d)
convection cells
29.
Where do we find the youngest parts of the Earth's crust?
a)
ridges on the ocean floor
b)
subduction zones
c)
at the bases of mountains
d)
at the tops of mountains
e)
None of these choices are correct.
30.
From the center outward, the correct order of the zones of the Earth is
a)
solid core, mantle, liquid core, crust, atmosphere.
b)
liquid core, solid core, crust, mantle, atmosphere.
c)
solid core, liquid core, mantle, crust, atmosphere.
d)
liquid core, solid core, mantle, crust, atmosphere.
31.
Polaris is always the polestar.
a)
True
b)
False
32.
_________ and _________ are common in regions where subduction occurs.
a)
Rifts; polarity shifts
b)
Volcanoes; plate spreading
c)
Auroras; the Coriolis Effect
d)
Mountains; earthquakes
33.
How do earthquake-generated waves help scientists deduce the internal structure of the Earth?
a)
All of these choices are correct.
b)
Primary waves are detected at a seismometer when they pass through solid or liquid materials.
c)
Secondary waves are detected at a seismometer when they pass through solid materials.
d)
The path of waves bends as they travel through material of different density.
e)
Earthquake-generated waves can be detected and studied anywhere in the world.
34.
What do we mean when we say that a magnetic field has polarity?
a)
A magnetic field has a north and south "poles" or directions.
b)
A magnetic field is able to flip its poles over a long period of time.
c)
A planetary magnetic field is aligned with the geographic poles of the planet.
d)
A planetary magnetic field is strongest at the poles of the planet.
e)
None of these choices are correct.
35.
The heavier elements like iron and nickel are abundant on the Earth's surface and the silicates dominate at the center of the Earth.
a)
True
b)
False
36.
What is the dynamo model of the Earth's magnetic field?
a)
Earth's magnetic field is maintained by convection in the interior of the planet, as well as its rotation.
b)
Electric currents in the atmosphere (aurora) generate Earth's magnetic field.
c)
Currents in Earth's oceans maintain the planet's magnetic field.
d)
Earth's magnetic field changes too rapidly for it to be the generated in Earth's interior.
e)
None of these choices are correct.
37.
Within the mantle, how is heat transported outward away from the core?
a)
convection
b)
conduction
c)
radiation
d)
differentiation
e)
subduction
38.
What evidence do we have that the Earth's magnetic field reverses its polarity every 250,000 years?
a)
The direction of the magnetic field is "frozen" into new crust as it cools
b)
historical documents from ancient egypt and other civilizations
c)
Core samples from Antarctica show a regular change in polarity
d)
Earth's magnetic field strength and direction change constantly
e)
All of these choices are correct.
39.
Why is the core hot?
a)
from both the decay of radioactive atoms and the leftover heat
b)
from the steady decay of radioactive atoms in the rock
c)
from heat left over from the planet's birth
d)
The high pressure in the core drives the temperature higher
e)
None of these choices are correct.
40.
The central part of the Earth's core consists of iron-rich liquid.
a)
True
b)
False
41.
Why is the inner core solid even though it is hotter than the outer liquid core?
a)
This is not unusual: hotter things tend to be more solid.
b)
The great pressure at Earth's center forces the atoms in the core together, causing it to solidify.
c)
Radioactivity cause liquid materials to become solid.
d)
The dynamo effect causes ions in the Earth's interior to become solid.
e)
42.
The Earth's spin creates the day and night cycle, but does not affect the weather pattern.
a)
True
b)
False
43.
Density is calculated as
a)
mass times volume.
b)
mass divided by volume.
c)
volume divided by mass.
d)
mass times gravity.
44.
Ozone
a)
is an element.
b)
is a molecule consisting of two oxygen atoms and a hydrogen atom.
c)
is a molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms.
d)
is a molecule consisting of two oxygen atoms and a nitrogen atom.
45.
The process in which two tectonic plates meet and one slips beneath another is called _____.
a)
convection
b)
pangea
c)
subduction
d)
rifting
46.
About how hot is the core of the Earth?
a)
15 million K
b)
15,000 K
c)
6,500 K
d)
300 K
47.
How fast are the Earth's plates moving due to tectonic motion?
a)
a few kilometers per year
b)
a meters per year
c)
a few centimeters per year
d)
a few centimeters per century
48.
What is the approximate age of the Earth?
a)
4.5 billion years
b)
6,000 years
c)
1,000,000 years
d)
4.5 million years
e)
13.7 billion years
49.
What causes auroras?
a)
particles from the Sun colliding with and exciting atoms in our upper atmosphere
b)
sunlight reflected off meteor dust high in the atmosphere
c)
micro meteorites burning up as they sweep along the Earth's magnetic field
d)
fluorescence by upper atmospheric hydrogen atoms
e)
waves in the magnetic field creating an upper atmospheric laser-like effect
50.
The majority of the Earth's atmosphere is found within which atmospheric layer?
a)
troposphere
b)
stratosphere
c)
ozone layer
d)
van Allen Belts
e)
ionosphere
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