Earth
1.
We might expect the Earth's core to be more dense than its
crust because
a. in
the early stage of Earth's formation, more dense materials would sink to the
center, while less dense materials would float at the surface
b. the
density of material in the crust is less than the overall average density of
the Earth
c. any
material would become more dense as it is compressed by the weight of material
above it
d. all
of the above
e. only
a and b above
2. The figure
below represents a seismic event occurring at point A inside a body having a
liquid core and a rocky mantle. Which
type of seismic wave will the seismograph station at point B detect?
a. P
waves
b. S
waves
c. both
P and S waves
3.
Chemical differentiation of the Earth
a. has
not occurred -- the Earth is chemically homogeneous
b. occurred
in the era about 4 to 4.5 billion years ago when the Earth was molten
c. occurred
only since homo sapiens has been
around
d. was
caused by the spin of the Earth, which concentrated the heavy elements like
iron at the equator.
4.
Evidence that the Earth’s interior was molten at one time is
found in
a. volcanic
activity along midoceanic ridges
b. the
composition of the atmosphere
c. the
layers of different density within the interior
d. all
of the above
e. only
a and b above
5.
The core of the Earth is probably made of
a. iron
and iron alloys
b. low
density silicates
c. high
density silicates
d. molten
rock
e. uranium
and lead
6.
The most common rocks on the Earth's surface are
a. oxides
b. halides
c. silicates
d. sulfides
e. none
of the above, since all are equally abundant.
7.
The method used to estimate the age of the Earth is
a. carbon-14
dating of organic materials
b. measuring
the amount of salt in the sea
c. estimating
the amount of erosion of mountains
d. radioactive
dating of rocks using elements with short half-lives
e. radioactive
dating of rocks using elements with long half-lives
8.
What is the source of most of the radiation that heats the
troposphere?
a. Sunlight
absorbed in the ionosphere.
b. Sunlight
absorbed in the ozone layer.
c. Reradiation
of sunlight from the Earth's surface.
d. Waste
heat from the decay of radioactive elements.
e. None
of the above.
9.
The level of the atmosphere which consists of charged
particles is the
a. troposphere
b. ionosphere
c. mesosphere
d. stratosphere
e. planosphere.
10.
The Earth's atmosphere interferes with astronomical
observations because
a. some
wavelengths are absorbed by the atmosphere
b. weather
may make observations impossible
c. it
makes stars twinkle
d. all
of the above
e. a
and b above
11.
The greenhouse effect
occurs because
a. carbon dioxide is transparent to
visible light and opaque to infrared radiation
b. carbon dioxide is transparent to
infrared radiation and opaque to ultraviolet radiation.
c. ozone is transparent to infrared
radiation and opaque to ultraviolet radiation.
d. ozone is transparent to visible
light and opaque to infrared radiation.
e. the sun emits more infrared
radiation than ultraviolet radiation.
12.
Suppose the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's
atmosphere decreased by a significant amount.
What would happen to the Earth's general environment?
a. X-rays
from space would reach the Earth's surface.
b. Ultraviolet
light from space would reach the Earth's surface.
c. The
average surface temperature would increase.
d. The
average surface temperature would decrease.
13.
What is believed to be the source of water in the Earth's
ocean?
a. water
in the rocks in the interior
b. water
in the atmosphere
c. water
in the polar caps
d. water
in primordial glaciers
14.
Large scale changes on the surface of the Earth are probably
caused by
a. wind
erosion
b. continental
drift
c. glaciation
d. water
erosion
e. micrometeoroid
impact
15.
Continental drift may be caused by
a. strong
winds
b. Earthquakes
c. convection
in the mantle
d. volcanoes
16.
Which of the following
is not produced by plate tectonics?
a. midocean rifts
b. rift valleys
c. the ring of fire
d. the Appalachian Mountains
e. Earth's magnetic field
17.
The Earth’s original atmosphere
a. had
no oxygen
b. consisted
of light elements like hydrogen and helium
c. escaped
into space
d. all
of the above
e. none
of the above
18.
Outgassing is
a. the adding of material to an object
an atom or molecule at a time.
b. the adding of material to an object
by collection of solid particles.
c. the release of gas from rocks as
they are heated.
d. the largest of the Galilean
satellites.
e. caused by the bombardment of the
solar wind.
19.
The second atmosphere
of Earth is believed to be
a. the remnants of the original gas
from the solar nebula attracted by the protoplanet
b. the result of the melting and
vaporizing of the glaciers from the last ice age.
c. composed primarily of hydrogen and
helium.
d. composed of gases that were baked
from the rocks sometime after the planet formed.
e. the result of a collision between
the sun and another star
20.
The source of oxygen for the Earth's atmosphere is probably
a. the
breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen
b. biological
activity, such as photosynthesis
c. outgassing
from the Earth's interior
d. the
release of carbon dioxide by volcanoes
21.
The Van Allen belts are
a. regions
on Earth, near the north and south poles, in which aurorae are observed
b. regions
near the Earth's equator where the gravitational field is minimized
c. zones
containing charged particles surrounding the Earth
d. regions
in the Earth's mantle where certain minerals occur with high abundance
22.
A magnetic dynamo is caused by a combination of convection
in a molten core and
a. rotation
b. cosmic
rays from space
c. lunar
tidal action
d. the
solar gravitational pull on the Earth's equatorial bulge.
23.
The Earth's magnetic field probably arises from
a. human
activity
b. circulation
in the Earth's atmosphere
c. currents
in the Earth's liquid, conducting core
d. currents
in the oceans
24.
The Earth is thought to have formed from
a. the
collapse of a single gas cloud
b. the
consolidation (accretion) of small bodies
c. gas
which was torn from the Sun
d. the
break-up of a much larger body.