Download Quiz # 7

Introductory Astronomy - Quiz # 7 - Spring 2007
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
__E__ 1. According to the theory of plate tectonics,
a. the continents are moving but the ocean floor is not, leading to great friction
b. the rubbing of the waters of the Earth across its crust is speeding up its rotation
c. the liquid metal inside the Earth is developing plates of solid metallic material, which
contribute to the Earth's magnetic field
d. earthquakes are caused by huge waves that come up from inside the molten core of the
Earth
e. slow motions within the mantle of the Earth slowly move large sections of the crust
around
__E__ 2. The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere is
a. oxygen
b. ozone
c. water vapor
d. argon
e. nitrogen
__D__ 3. The Moon is heavily cratered, but the Earth which "lives next door" is NOT. Why?
a. the magnetism of the Moon is more likely to attract metallic objects to hit it
b. all objects from space (no matter what their size) burn up in the Earth's atmosphere
c. the craters on the Moon are the result of active volcanoes; the Earth has few volcanoes
compared to the Moon
d. the active geology and weather on Earth destroy traces of impacts over millions of years
e. the Earth is heavily cratered, but all the craters are under the ocean
__D__ 4. Earthquake producing faults are much more likely to be found
a. in smooth continental desert areas
b. in the southern hemisphere of the Earth, where there is more water
c. where the Earth's magnetic field touches the planet's surface
d. on the boundaries of continental plates, where they meet other plates
e. you can't fool me, such faults are equally likely anywhere on the Earth's crust
__D__ 5. An important way that scientists have been able to study the interior of the Earth is by:
a. studying the exterior, which is made of exactly the same material
b. digging deep trenches at the bottom of the ocean, which is a lot closer to the planet's center
c. using spacecraft that can detect radio waves coming from the center
d. measuring how seismic waves are transmitted through the Earth
e. there is no way we can study's the Earth's deep interior at the present time
__A__ 6. The region around the Earth where charged particles are trapped and spiral around is called:
a. the magnetosphere
b. the atmosphere
c. the ozone layer
d. the mantle
e. the spirosphere
__B__ 7. The average temperature on planet Earth is higher than you would expect just from the heating of sunlight
alone. What is the explanation for this?
a. solid material hitting the Earth from space heats it up
b. carbon dioxide (and other gases) in the atmosphere cause a greenhouse effect
c. the rubbing of the continental plates warms up the Earth's surface
d. the heat given off by living things makes our planet warmer
e. we have no explanation for this higher temperature and that has scientists worried
__B__ 8. Regions where the continents or the sea floor are pulling apart are called
a. convection zones
b. rift zones
c. subduction zones
d. magnetospheric zones
e. enterprise zones
__C__ 9. In which region of the Earth's atmosphere have you spent most of your life?
a. the ionosphere
b. the stratosphere
c. the troposphere
d. the ozone layer
e. the mesosphere
__D__ 10. Which of the following is a way we believe that the early atmosphere of the Earth differed from the
atmosphere we have today?
a. there was little if any free oxygen early on
b. there was no ozone layer early on
c. there was probably more carbon dioxide early on than there is today
d. all of the above
e. none of the above