Download Quiz # 6

Spring 2010
Quiz 6
UCGEN1750
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1. Which of the following points about our planet's atmosphere is FALSE?
a. it is slowly leaking atoms into space from its outermost regions
b. warm air rises and cool air descends within it, setting up circulating currents of air
c. its mass is a substantial part of the mass of the Earth
d. one of its layers helps keep much of the ultraviolet radiation from space from reaching the
surface
e. it is made mostly of nitrogen
2. Regions where the continents or the sea floor are pulling apart are called
a. subduction zones
b. magnetospheric zones
c. enterprise zones
d. convection zones
e. rift zones
3. In which region of the Earth's atmosphere have you spent most of your life?
a. the mesosphere
b. the troposphere
c. the stratosphere
d. the ionosphere
e. the ozone layer
4. The Van Allen belt is
a. a region where industrial pollution has made a smoggy layer in the atmosphere
b. a region of trapped charged particles in the Earth's magnetosphere
c. a zone of small orbiting meteorites high above the Earth, which fall down from time to
time
d. a piece of special clothing worn by astronomers after they get their PhD's
e. a region where the ultraviolet light from the Sun is blocked from getting further down
5. The Moon is heavily cratered, but the Earth which "lives next door" is NOT. Why?
a. the active geology and weather on Earth destroy traces of impacts over millions of years
b. all objects from space (no matter what their size) burn up in the Earth's atmosphere
c. the magnetism of the Moon is more likely to attract metallic objects to hit it
d. the craters on the Moon are the result of active volcanoes; the Earth has few volcanoes
compared to the Moon
e. the Earth is heavily cratered, but all the craters are under the ocean
6. An important way that scientists have been able to study the interior of the Earth is by:
a. measuring how seismic waves are transmitted through the Earth
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. studying the exterior, which is made of exactly the same material
e. there is no way we can study's the Earth's deep interior at the present time
7. According to the theory of plate tectonics,
a. earthquakes are caused by huge waves that come up from inside the molten core of the
Earth
b. the liquid metal inside the Earth is developing plates of solid metallic material, which
contribute to the Earth's magnetic field
c. the continents are moving but the ocean floor is not, leading to great friction
d. slow motions within the mantle of the Earth slowly move large sections of the crust
around
e. the rubbing of the waters of the Earth across its crust is speeding up its rotation
____ 8. 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. carbon dioxide (and other gases) in the atmosphere cause a greenhouse effect
b. solid material hitting the Earth from space heats it up
c. the rubbing of the continental plates warms up the Earth's surface
d. we have no explanation for this higher temperature and that has scientists worried
e. the heat given off by living things makes our planet warmer
____ 9. If no one has ever visited the core of the Earth, how do we know that it is made of metals?
a. the amount of radioactivity shows metals must be present; only metals are radioactive
b. you can't fool me; there is NO evidence that the Earth's core has metals
c. core material seeps up through volcanoes in the crust
d. circulating liquid metals in the core set up a large (measurable) magnetic field
e. spectroscopy allows us to tell what the core is made of by analyzing the light we see from
it
____ 10. Earthquake producing faults are much more likely to be found
a. in the southern hemisphere of the Earth, where there is more water
b. on the boundaries of continental plates, where they meet other plates
c. in smooth continental desert areas
d. you can't fool me, such faults are equally likely anywhere on the Earth's crust
e. where the Earth's magnetic field touches the planet's surface
Spring 2010
Quiz 6
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
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UCGEN1750