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Grade 7 Earth/Space Posttest
Select the best answer to each question.
____
1. The three compositional layers of Earth are the core, the mantle, and the crust. Which phrase best describes
the crust?
A.
B.
C.
D.
the innermost layer of Earth’s interior below the mantle
the thin and solid outermost layer of Earth
the hot, slow-flowing layer of Earth’s interior above the core
the layer of Earth on which the tectonic plates move
____
2. Eduardo was learning about the layers of Earth and he was having difficulty understanding the difference
between Earth’s crust and Earth’s lithosphere. Which statement best describes the difference between the
crust and the lithosphere?
A. The lithosphere contains both the crust and the uppermost rigid layer of the mantle.
B. The crust contains both the lithosphere and the uppermost rigid layer of the mantle.
C. The lithosphere is located beneath the crust, and contains the uppermost rigid layer of the
mantle.
D. The crust is located beneath the lithosphere, and contains the uppermost rigid layer of the
mantle.
____
3. This image shows a cross section of Earth’s inner structure, with lines marking the edges of layers that are
defined by their physical properties.
Each letter marks a separate layer of the solid Earth. What is the name of the layer that is marked by letter A?
A.
B.
C.
D.
____
lithosphere
inner core
outer core
asthenosphere
4. As a glacier moves along the ground, it transports rocks. These rocks pass over the ground and create
scratches in the bedrock. Which statement correctly describes these processes?
A. The transport of rocks and scratching of the bedrock are both examples of erosion.
B. The transport of rocks and scratching of the bedrock are both examples of weathering.
C. The transport of rocks is an example of erosion, and the scratching of the bedrock is an
example of weathering.
D. The transport of rocks is an example of weathering, and the scratching of the bedrock is an
example of erosion.
____
5. The diagram below shows a progression of steps where rock is exposed to water and changing temperature.
When Kate’s family visited her aunt in a very cold climate, Kate went on a winter hike. She saw huge
boulders that had cracks filled with ice. When she asked her aunt how that happened, her aunt explained how
water and ice could lead to the weathering of rocks. The rocks where she lived were metamorphic rocks, and
the cracks filled with ice showed that the rocks were slowly being broken down. Which statement best
describes the process by which water and ice can weather rocks?
A. If a small crack in a rock fills with water and then the water freezes, the change in
temperature can change metamorphic rock into igneous rock.
B. If a small crack in a rock fills with water and then the water freezes, the ice helps to bind
the sides of the crack together to prevent the rock from breaking apart.
C. If a small crack in a rock fills with water and then the water freezes, the expansion of that
water when it turns to ice pushes on the rock and expands the crack. This process is called
erosion.
D. If a small crack in a rock fills with water and then the water freezes, the expansion of that
water when it turns to ice pushes on the rock and expands the crack. Over time, the crack
will get big enough to break the rock apart.
____
6. River deltas form through erosion when rivers carrying large amounts of sediments broken down from
various rocks deposit them in the area where the river meets the ocean. Sediments can provide a diversity of
minerals and nutrients to the soils where the sediments are deposited. Delta regions are located in several
places around the world. What can you predict about the characteristics of these delta regions?
A. The delta regions should have fertile soil and successful agriculture.
B. The delta regions should have poor quality soil that cannot support agriculture.
C. The delta regions should experience frequent sub-surface events that influence the rock
cycle in those places.
D. The delta regions should experience mountain building as more and more sediments are
deposited in the delta region.
____
7. A geologist is studying three layers of sedimentary rock in an area. The layers have not shifted from their
original positions. The geologist records the relative ages of the rocks. The bottom layer is listed as the oldest.
The top layer is listed as the youngest. What did the geologist use to determine the relative ages of the rocks?
A. mineral content
B. radioactive decay
C. the law of superposition
D. the principle of unconformity
____
8. No Earth rocks as old as Earth itself are available to study because they are buried very deep, or have eroded
or melted away. But scientists have found a way to use radioactive dating to determine the age of Earth.
Which of the following would be the best way to determine the age of Earth?
A. Use radioactive dating to determine the age of the oldest fossils collected for study.
B. Use radioactive dating to determine the age of the oldest Earth rocks collected for study.
C. Use radioactive dating to determine when meteorites from elsewhere in the solar system
landed on Earth.
D. Use radioactive dating to determine the age of rocks from elsewhere in the solar system,
such as the moon, and determine the age of the entire solar system.
____
9. The diagram below shows several layers of rock in Earth’s crust. The letters point to peaks and a valley which
indicate that the law of superposition may not be sufficient for relative dating these layers of rock.
The rock layers here are not uniformly arranged, so the higher rock is not always younger. What process has
most likely changed these rock layers so that they are NOT arranged as flat horizontal layers?
A. tilting
B. faults
C. folding
D. intrusions
____ 10. By analyzing ice cores, scientists can learn how Earth’s climate has changed in the past. Other ways of
learning about the history of Earth’s climate include analyses of tree rings, lake sediments, mountain glaciers,
and ocean sediments. The figure below shows the time-frame of data that can be provided by each of these
types of analysis.
What can you conclude from this figure?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Ice cores provide climate information that goes back the furthest in time.
Ice cores provide climate information that goes back only to 1,000 years ago.
Ice cores provide climate information that goes back more than 100,000 years.
Ice cores provide climate information that cannot be obtained from any other sources that
scientists can study.
____ 11. The characateristics of mountains can be used as physical evidence of how Earth has changed over long
periods of time. When mountains are young and have recently formed, they have jagged edges and high
peaks. Since weathering and erosion are constantly changing Earth’s surface, which of the following are
differences between young and old mountain ranges?
A. Young mountains have more organisms living on them than older mountains do.
B. Young mountains have tall jagged peaks, and older mountains have lower rounded peaks.
C. Young mountains have lower rounded peaks, and older mountains have tall jagged peaks.
D. Young mountains have more fossilized organisms inside of them than older mountains do.
____ 12. Evan was considering attending a presentation by a famous geologist. Evan could not remember what the
geologist was going to talk about, but he saw a poster advertising the presentation. The poster presented
information about how folding and faulting can change layers of rocks, how volcanoes release magma to
Earth’s surface, and how weathering and erosion break down parts of Earth’s surface. After reading the
poster, Evan has a good idea of what the talk is about. Based on the poster, which concept is most likely to be
the topic of the geologist’s presentation?
A. Landforms change over time.
B. Living organisms can tell us about Earth’s history.
C. The fossil record can tell us how life on Earth has changed over time.
D. The composition of sedimentary rock varies throughout Earth’s history.
____ 13. Subduction occurs when one plate slides beneath another plate. The figure below shows the process of
subduction. Notice that the oceanic plate slides beneath the continental plate.
What happens when the crustal plates move as shown in the figure?
A.
B.
C.
D.
An ocean forms.
Volcanic mountain ranges form.
Sea-floor spreading occurs as the oceanic plate moves.
A transform boundary forms where the subduction occurs.
____ 14. Emily was working on a simple model to demonstrate one way that mountains can form. She wanted to model
two tectonic plates of the continental lithosphere colliding and pushing some of Earth’s crust up to become
mountains through folding. She wanted to show the bending in the layers of rock. Her materials are two slabs
of clay, each 2 centimeters (cm) thick, 12 cm long, and 12 cm wide, and a marker. Which of the following is
the best way for Emily to construct the model?
A. Align the two slabs of clay and then draw mountain chains on each with the marker.
B. Align the two slabs of clay and push them towards each other until they buckle and fold at
the edge where they meet.
C. Use the marker to draw lines along the edge of the clay that represent separate plates, then
align the two slabs of clay and push them towards each other so that one edge slides
underneath the other one.
D. Use the marker to draw lines along the edge of the clay that represent separate plates, then
align the two slabs of clay and push them towards each other until they buckle and fold at
the edge where they meet.
____ 15. Mark and Kevin were studying for their earth science test. They were focusing on ways that the movement of
tectonic plates can change the Earth’s surface. Mark was having trouble understanding the concept of uplift,
so Kevin offered to quiz him on whether different examples of movements in Earth’s crust were examples of
this process. Which of the following is an example of the process of uplift?
A. Old crust on the ocean floor is destroyed as it moves downward into a deep ocean trench.
B. Volcanic eruptions deposit new rock on Earth’s surface, eventually forming a mountain.
C. Two plates scrape against each other as they move in parallel but opposite directions at a
transform boundary.
D. When two oceanic plates collide, one oceanic plate sinks deep underneath the other.
____ 16. Humans can cause different types of environmental pollution. When household cleaners are dumped down the
drain and make their way into the water supply, which type of pollution has taken place?
A.
B.
C.
D.
air pollution
biological pollution
chemical pollution
thermal pollution
____ 17. The illustration below shows a factory releasing smoke that contains sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide gases.
In school, Samantha learned that these gases can cause acid precipitation that can harm organisms and erode
stone buildings. Which of the following is the most accurate description how gases from smoke and fumes
actually cause acid precipitation?
A. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are pushed down to Earth’s surface when rain falls.
B. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix with each other in the atmosphere. Then they form
sulfuric acid and nitric acid, two very strong acids.
C. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix with water in the atmosphere. Then they form
sulfuric acid and nitric acid, two strong acids which become part of the rainfall.
D. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix with groundwater under Earth’s surface. Then they
form sulfuric acid and nitric acid, two very strong acids, and evaporate into the
atmosphere.
____ 18. When soil becomes very dry, wind can cause huge dust storms that erode the soil. The roots of plants can
reduce the drying out of soil and can help keep it in place. Which statement best explains how human activity
could contribute to soil erosion?
A. When people farm the land, it is impossible to avoid over-farming the soil such that it
becomes polluted and new plants can’t grow there.
B. When people use careful farming practices, it is possible to maintain healthy soil such that
it will allow new plants to grow there, and thus avoid erosion.
C. When people over-use land by removing the natural plants and then over-farming the soil
so new plants can’t grow there, it is easier for soil to dry out and erode.
D. When people farm the land, it is impossible to avoid over-farming the soil such that new
plants can’t grow there, making it easier for soil to dry out and erode.
____ 19. The figure below shows a tectonically active area in the ocean.
The volcano in the diagram is associated with which of the following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
hot spot
rift zone
Ring of Fire
subduction zone
____ 20. Matthew was learning about the layers of Earth in his science class. When he learned that under Earth’s crust
is an enormous amount of hot molten rock, he wondered why volcanoes do not occur everywhere more
frequently. If hot rock rises, why don’t volcanoes happen all the time?
A. Hot molten rock that rises through the mantle is not the source of magma that flows from a
volcano.
B. Hot molten rock does not cause volcanoes because the hot molten rock sinks while the
cooler rock rises.
C. Hot molten rock that rises through the mantle continues rising as a volcano when there are
cracks in Earth’s crust or the crust is very thin.
D. Hot molten rock that rises through the mantle continues rising as a volcano only if there is
a large earthquake that exerts extra upward force on the rock.
____ 21. Kayla was hiking through the mountains looking at the lines created by different layers of rock. Many of
these lines were straight, but some were bent and some were broken. What process within Earth’s crust was
most likely responsible for the formation of the bent rock layers in these mountains?
A. gravity causing folding
B. shear stress causing folding
C. tension stress causing folding
D. compression stress causing folding
Grade 7 Earth/Space Posttest
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ANS: B
A is incorrect because the innermost layer of Earth’s interior is the core.
B is correct because the thin and solid outermost layer of Earth is the crust.
C is incorrect because the hot, slow-flowing layer of Earth’s interior above the core is the mantle.
D is incorrect because the layer of Earth on which the tectonic plates move is the asthenosphere, which is part
of the mantle.
STA: SC.7.E.6.1
2. ANS: A
A is correct because the lithosphere contains these two layers.
B is incorrect because the crust is a part of the lithosphere.
C is incorrect because both the crust and the uppermost rigid layer of the mantle make up the lithosphere.
D is incorrect because the crust is external to the uppermost layer of the mantle, and both make up the
lithosphere.
STA: SC.7.E.6.1
3. ANS: A
A is correct because letter A is pointing to the outermost layer of the solid Earth, which is called the
lithosphere.
B is incorrect because the inner core is marked by letter E.
C is incorrect because the outer core is marked by letter D.
D is incorrect because the asthenosphere is marked by letter B.
STA: SC.7.E.6.1
4. ANS: C
• A is incorrect because only the transport of rocks is an example of erosion.
• B is incorrect because only the scratching of the bedrock is an example of weathering.
• C is correct because erosion is the transport of materials from one location to another. Weathering is a
process that breaks down or disintegrates rock, which happens as the bedrock is scratched.
• D is incorrect because the transport of rocks is an example of erosion, and the scratching of the bedrock is an
example of weathering.
STA: SC.7.E.6.2
5. ANS: D
A is incorrect because cold temperature does not change metamorphic rock into igneous rock.
B is incorrect because ice pushes the sides of the rock apart rather than binds them together.
C is incorrect because erosion is part of the process that moves rock from one place to another, and then
Kate’s process is an example of weathering.
D is correct because ice takes up more space than water, and ice can push rock apart when it forms in cracks.
STA: SC.7.E.6.2
6. ANS: A
A is correct because the minerals and nutrients would increase soil quality in those regions.
B is incorrect because minerals and nutrients would increase rather than decrease soil quality.
C is incorrect because the deposition of sediments should have no influence on sub-surface events.
D is incorrect because mountain building does not result from the building up of sediments.
STA: SC.7.E.6.2
7. ANS: C
• A is incorrect because minerals are not used to determine the relative ages of rocks.
• B is incorrect because the geologist determined the relative ages, not the absolute ages.
• C is correct because the law states that an undisturbed sedimentary rock layer is older than the layers above
it and younger than the layers below it.
• D is incorrect because an unconformity takes place when there is a break in the geologic record.
STA: SC.7.E.6.3
8. ANS: D
A is incorrect because the oldest fossils available for study are not as old as Earth itself.
B is incorrect because the oldest Earth rocks available for study are not as old as Earth itself.
C is incorrect because knowing when rocks from elsewhere in the solar system landed on Earth does not
provide information about when Earth formed.
D is correct because the oldest rocks from elsewhere in the solar system indicate the age of the solar system,
which is the same as the age of Earth.
STA: SC.7.E.6.3
9. ANS: C
A is incorrect because tilting causes rock layers to become slanted rather than wavy up and down.
B is incorrect because faults cause cuts across layers in Earth’s crust, resulting in sharp breaks between layers.
C is correct because folding causes bending of layers of rock as they are squeezed together with peaks and
valleys at different heights in different places.
D is incorrect because intrusions form when magma is injected into cracks in rock, and then cools, forming
column-like shapes.
STA: SC.7.E.6.3
10. ANS: C
• A is incorrect because information provided by ocean sediments goes back further in time than information
provided by ice cores.
• B is incorrect because ice cores can provide information that goes back more than 100,000 years.
• C is correct because the line representing ice cores extends past the point marked 100,000 years on the
timeline.
• D is incorrect because the figure lists other sources of information, including tree rings and ocean sediments.
STA: SC.7.E.6.4
11. ANS: B
A is incorrect because more weathering would provide better soil for plants to grow, so older mountains
would have more organisms living on them.
B is correct because as young mountains age, the jagged peaks would erode away.
C is incorrect because this is the opposite of the expected trend.
D is incorrect because both ages of mountains would have similar amounts of fossilized organisms inside of
them because fossils were there before the mountains formed.
STA: SC.7.E.6.4
12. ANS: A
A is correct because all of the examples are of how the physical part of Earth evolves over time.
B is incorrect because the examples are not about living things.
C is incorrect because the examples are about physical changes, not about fossils.
D is incorrect because the examples are not about what minerals are in the rocks.
STA: SC.7.E.6.4
13. ANS: B
A is incorrect because the ocean existed before the plates collided.
B is correct because magma from the mantle rises to Earth’s surface and erupts as lava from volcanoes.
C is incorrect because the figure does not show a divergent boundary between two oceanic plates.
D is incorrect because the figure shows a convergent boundary.
STA: SC.7.E.6.7 | SC.7.E.6.5
14. ANS: D
A is incorrect because causing the clay to fold is a better model of how mountains form.
B is incorrect because the model done this way would not indicate what was happening with each plate.
C is incorrect because one plate going under another plate does not show mountain building by folding.
D is correct because this plan represents which part of the clay comes from each slab and also shows folding.
STA: SC.7.E.6.5
15. ANS: B
A is incorrect because as old crust is destroyed in deep ocean trenches, no rock is moving upward there.
B is correct because as volcanic eruptions deposit magma to cool into igneous rock, the additional rock causes
the rising land, or mountain formation.
C is incorrect because as two plates move in this way there is no rise of land.
D is incorrect because when this type of movement occurs, some land is sinking, but other land is not
necessarily rising.
STA: SC.7.E.6.5
16. ANS: C
A is incorrect because the household cleaners poured down the a drain pollute the water supply, not the air.
B is incorrect because biological pollution occurs when dead organisms are placed in water sources.
C is correct because household cleaners consist of chemical substances such as ammonia and sodium
hypochlorite.
D is incorrect because household cleaners do not generally cause a change in water temperature.
STA: SC.7.E.6.6
17. ANS: C
A is incorrect because sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide change to acids before they fall back to Earth’s
surface with the rain.
B is incorrect because sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix with water, not with each other.
C is correct because sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide become acids when they mix with water, then fall back
to Earth with the rain.
D is incorrect because sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide rise and mix with the atmosphere, not with
groundwater under Earth’s surface.
STA: SC.7.E.6.6
18. ANS: C
A is incorrect because farming does not inevitably cause pollution.
B is incorrect because although this statement is true, it does not explain how human activity could contribute
to soil erosion.
C is correct because this sequence of events can lead to soil erosion.
D is incorrect because it is possible to farm the land without over-farming the soil.
STA: SC.7.E.6.6
19. ANS: A
A is correct because the diagram shows the development of a volcano above a rising magma plume that is
stationary with respect to the moving plate.
B is incorrect because the diagram only shows the movement of a single plate and not the boundary between
two diverging plates at which a rift zone would form.
C is incorrect there is the diagram does not show any plate boundaries, on which the Ring of Fire is based.
D is incorrect because the diagram only shows the movement of one plate and noth the boundary between two
converging tectonic plates.
STA: SC.7.E.6.5 | SC.7.E.6.7
20. ANS: C
A is incorrect because magma is hot molten rock that rises from the mantle of Earth.
B is incorrect because hot rock rises and cooler rock sinks in the mantle.
C is correct because volcanoes cannot occur where there is thick crust unless there are cracks in the crust.
D is incorrect because volcanoes can occur without the extra force generated by a large earthquake.
STA: SC.7.E.6.7
21. ANS: D
A is incorrect because gravity is not a force that leads to folding.
B is incorrect because shear stress would not push rock towards each other, causing folding.
C is incorrect because tension stress pulls rock apart rather than pushes rock towards each other, causing
folding.
D is correct because compression pushes rock towards each other, causing folding.
STA: SC.7.E.6.7