Download Earth Systems 3209 - Heritage Collegiate

Earth Systems 3209
Test
Chapters 1 & 2
Name _______________
Multiple Choice. Choose the best answer for the following multiple choice questions. Write
the UPPERCASE letter of the correct answer on the answer sheet on p. 14.
1. The _____ strongly influences the other three "spheres" because without life their
makeups and natures would be much different.
a) atmosphere
b) hydrosphere
c) solid Earth
d) biosphere
2. Earth science attempts to relate our planet to the larger universe by investigating the science of
a) Geology
b) Oceanography
c) Meteorology
d) Astronomy
e) Biology
3. The science that studies the processes that produce weather and climate is
a) Geology
b) Oceanography
c) Meteorology
d) Astronomy
e) Biology
4. The global ocean covers __________ percent of Earth's surface.
a) 71
b) 38
c) 42
d) 65
e) 83
5. A scientific __________ is a preliminary untested explanation which tries to explain how or
why things happen in the manner observed.
a) estimate
b) law
c) fact
d) hypothesis
e) idea
6. The Earth "sphere," called the _______, includes the fresh water found in streams, lakes,
glaciers, as well as that existing underground.
a) atmosphere
b) biosphere
c) hydrosphere
d) solid earth
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7. The science that includes the study of the composition and movements of seawater, as well as
coastal processes, sea-floor topography, and marine life is:
a) Geology
b) Meteorology
c) Biology
d) Oceanography
e) Astronomy
8. Which one of the following is an example of a renewable resource?
a) solar energy
b) copper
c) aluminum
d) natural gas
e) coal
9. An understanding of Earth is essential for
a) location and recovery of basic resources
b) minimizing the effects of natural hazards
c) dealing with the human impact on the environment
d) all the above
10. This science is divided into two broad divisions-physical and historical.
a) Geology
b) Meteorology
c) Biology
d) Oceanography
e) Astronomy
11. Which one of the following is an example of a nonrenewable resource?
a) water energy
b) iron
c) chickens
d) lumber
e) cotton
12. In scientific inquiry, when competing hypotheses have been eliminated, a hypothesis
may be elevated to the status of a scientific _____________
a) estimate
b) idea
c) truth
d) theory
e) understanding why
13. The science whose name literally means "study of Earth" is _____
a) geology
b) meteorology
c) biology
d) oceanography
e) astronomy
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14. A scientific _________ is a generalization about the behavior of nature from which there
has been no known deviation after numerous observations or experiments.
a) explanation
b) idea
c) law
d) hypothesis
e) understanding
15. Scientific advancements can be made ______
a) by applying systematic steps
b) by accepting purely theoretical ideas which stand up to extensive investigation
c) from unexpected happenings during an experiment
d) all the above
16. The earth is approximately _______ billion years old.
a) 2.5
b) 4.6
c) 9.8
d) 3.0
e) 6.2
17. The cool, rigid layer of Earth that includes the entire crust as well as the uppermost
mantle is called the:
a) asthenosphere
b) lower crust
c) oceanic crust
d) Moho
e) lithosphere
18. The greatest concentration of metals occurs in Earth's:
a) crust
b) asthenosphere
c) mantle
d) core
e) lithosphere
19. The type of plate boundary where plates move together, causing one of the slabs of lithosphere
to be consumed into the mantle as it descends beneath an overriding plate, is called a _______
boundary.
a) divergent
b) transform
c) convergent
d) transitional
e) gradational
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20. The name given by Wegener to the supercontinent he believed existed prior to the current continents was .
a) Pangaea
b) Euroamerica
c) Panamerica
d) Atlantis
e) Pantheon
21. Beneath Earth's lithosphere, the hotter, weaker zone known as the _______ allows for motion of
Earth's rigid outer shell.
a) crust
b) outer core
c) oceanic crust
d) asthenosphere
e) Moho
22. The type of plate boundary where plates move apart, resulting in upwelling of material from the
mantle to create new sea floor, is a _______ boundary.
a) divergent
b) transform
c) convergent
d) transitional
e) gradational
23. The theory of plate tectonics holds that Earth's rigid outer shell consists of about _______ rigid
slabs.
a) five
b) fifteen
c) twenty-five
d) ten
e) twenty
24. The physical, chemical, and biological laws that operate today have also operated in the
geologic past" is a statement of the doctrine of
a) Uniformitarianism
b) Catastrophism
c) Paleontology
d) Universal Truth
e) Unity
25. The doctrine of _______ implies that Earth's landscape has been developed by worldwide
disasters over a short time span.
a) Uniformitarianism
b) Catastrophism
c) Suddenness
d) Destruction
e) Universal Time
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26. The greatest expanses of geologic time are referred to as
a) Eras
b) Eons
c) Systems
d) Periods
e) epochs
27. Nicolaus Steno proposed the most basic principle of relative dating, the law of
a) Superposition
b) Sequential Stacking
c) Suddenness
d) Secondary Intrusion
e) Succession
28. Which eon of the geologic time scale means "visible life"?
a) Phanerozoic
b) Hadean
c) Archean
d) Proterozoic
29. The doctrine of _______ was put forth by James Hutton in his monumental work Theory of
the Earth.
a) destruction
b) suddenness
c) universal time
d) catastrophism
e) uniformitarianism
30. The type of date that places events in proper sequence is referred to as a(n) _______ date.
a) sequential
b) relative
c) temporary
d) secondary
e) positional
31. Which one of the following is NOT an era of the Phanerozoic eon?
a) Proterozoic
b) Paleozoic
c) Mesozoic
d) Cenozoic
32. A date that pinpoints the time in history when something took place is known as a(n) _______
date.
a) relative
b) known
c) factual
d) exact
e) absolute
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33. The principle of fossil _______ states that fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and
determinable order.
a) inclusions
b) sequences
c) evolution
d) succession
e) superposition
34. Life on Earth began during the _______ Era.
a) Cenozoic
b) Paleozoic
c) Evolutionary
d) Mesozoic
e) Precambrian
35. Earth's original atmosphere consisted of gases expelled from within the planet during a process
known as
a) exhalation
b) venting
c) outgassing
d) expulsion
e) intrusion
36. The proposal that suggests that the bodies of our solar system condensed from an enormous
cloud is termed the _______ hypothesis.
a) formation
b) protosystem
c) big bang
d) nebular
e) nucleation
37. The beginning of the Paleozoic Era is marked by the appearance of the first life forms with:
a) legs
b) fins
c) lungs
d) cells
e) hard parts
38. The smallest divisions of the geologic time scale are referred to as:
a) Eras
b) Eons
c) Systems
d) Periods
e) epochs
39. Which era of the geologic time scale is often referred to as the "age of mammals"?
a) Cenozoic
b) Paleozoic
c) Mesozoic
d) Precambrian
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40. Which one of the following events is NOT associated with the Paleozoic Era?
a) establishment of land plants
b) evolution of amphibians
c) evolution of bony fishes
d) first flowering plants
e) extensive coal swamps
41. Which era of geologic time spans the largest percentage of Earth's history?
a) Precambrian
b) Paleozoic
c) Mesozoic
d) Cenozoic
42. With the perfection of the shelled egg, reptiles quickly became the dominant animals during the
_______ Era.
e) Cenozoic
f) Paleozoic
g) Mesozoic
h) Precambrian
43. Which one of the following is NOT a silicate mineral group?
a) Micas
b) Carbonates
c) Quartz
d) Feldspars
e) pyroxenes
44. The basic building block of the silicate minerals:
a) has the shape of a cube
b) contains 1 silicon atom and 4 oxygen atoms
c) always occurs independently
d) contains 2 iron atoms for each silicon atom
e) contains 1 oxygen atom and 4 silicon atoms
45. Which one of the following is NOT one of the eight most abundant elements in Earth's
continental crust?
a) Oxygen
b) Aluminum
c) Hydrogen
d) Iron
e) calcium
46. Atoms of the same element possess the same number of
a) Isotopes
b) Protons
c) Compounds
d) Ions
e) neutrons
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47. Atoms containing the same numbers of protons and different numbers of neutrons are
a) Isotopes
b) Protons
c) Compounds
d) Ions
e) neutrons
48. Which subatomic particle is most involved in chemical bonding?
a) Electrons
b) Protons
c) Nucleus
d) Ions
e) neutrons
49. The number of _______ in an atom's nucleus determines which element it is.
a) Electrons
b) Protons
c) Isotopes
d) Ions
e) neutrons
50. Oxygen comprises about _______ percent by weight of Earth's continental crust.
a) 12
b) 47
c) 85
d) 27
e) 63
51. The smallest particle of an element that still retains all the element's properties is a(n)
a) compound
b) atom
c) isotope
d) rock
e) neutron
52. Atoms that gain or lose electrons become
a) electrons
b) protons
c) compounds
d) ions
e) neutrons
53. When two or more elements bond together in definite proportions they form a(n)
a) rock
b) atom
c) nucleus
d) ion
e) compound
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54. The sum of the neutrons and protons in an atom's nucleus is the atom's
a) specific gravity
b) atomic number
c) isotope number
d) atomic mass
e) energy-levels
55. Radioactivity occurs when
a) unstable nuclei disintegrate
b) electrons change energy-levels
c) ions form
d) atoms bond
e) a mineral is cleaved
56. The property which is a measure of the resistance of a mineral to abrasion or scratching is
a) crystal form
b) cleavage
c) hardness
d) streak
e) fracture
57. The property which involves the color of a mineral in its powdered form is
a) crystal form
b) cleavage
c) hardness
d) streak
e) fracture
58. The tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding is called
a) luster
b) cleavage
c) bonding
d) crystal form
e) fracture
59. Minerals that break into smooth curved surfaces, like those seen in broken glass, have a unique
type of fracture, called _______ fracture.
a) conchoidal
b) rounded
c) uneven
d) irregular
e) vitreous
60. The basic building block of the silicate minerals is the silicon-oxygen
a) cube
b) octagon
c) sphere
d) tetrahedron
e) rhombohedron
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61. Most silicate minerals form from
a) other minerals
b) erosion
c) water
d) radioactive decay
e) molten rock
62. Which major rock-forming mineral is the chief constituent of the rocks limestone and marble?
a) gypsum
b) mica
c) calcite
d) halite
e) feldspar
63. The scale used by geologists to measure the hardness of a mineral is called _______ scale.
a) Mohs
b) Richters
c) Playfairs
d) Smiths
e) Bowens
64. Which nonsilicate mineral group contains the ores of iron?
a) Oxides
b) Sulfates
c) Carbonates
d) Sulfides
e) halides
65. Which one of the following statements concerning minerals is NOT true?
a) naturally occurring
b) definite chemical structure
c) solid
d) formed of atoms
e) organic
True/False. For the, following true/false questions, if a statement is not completely true
(T), mark it false (F).
1. ____The life-giving gaseous envelope surrounding Earth is called the atmosphere.
2. ____The biosphere is a dynamic mass of water that is continually on the move from the
oceans to the atmosphere, precipitating back to the land, and running back to the ocean.
3. ____Although some renewable resources such as aluminum can be used over and over
again, others, such as oil, cannot be recycled.
4. ____The aim of physical geology is to understand the origin of Earth and the
development of the planet since its formation.
5. ____Science is based on the assumption that the natural world behaves in a(n) unpredictable
manner.
6. ____To determine what is happening in the natural world, scientists collect facts through
observation and measurement.
7. ____The light and very thin outer skin of Earth is called the mantle.
8. ____All life on Earth is included in the biosphere.
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9. ____A scientific theory is a well-tested and widely accepted view that scientists agree best
explains certain observable facts.
10. ____ The lithosphere is situated below the asthenosphere.
11. ____ Earth's inner core is a solid metallic sphere.
12. ____The lithosphere consists of both crustal rocks and a portion of the upper mantle.
13. ____Beneath Earth's lithosphere is the hotter and weaker zone known as the asthenosphere.
14. ____The largest single rigid slab of Earth's outer shell is the Pacific plate.
15. ____Along a transform plate boundary, plates grind past each other without creating or
destroying lithosphere.
16. ____Lithospheric plates are thickest in the ocean basins.
17. ____Acceptance of the concept of uniformitarianism means the acceptance of a very short
history for Earth.
18. ____To state that a rock is 120 million years old is an example of applying a(n) absolute date.
19. ____The rates of geologic processes have undoubtedly varied through time.
20. ____Catastrophists believed that Earth was only a few thousand years old.
21. ____Widespread occurrence of abundant, visible life marks the beginning of the Phanerozoic
eon.
22. ____Among the major contributions of geology is the concept that Earth history is exceedingly
long.
23. ____The "present is the key to the past" summarizes the basic idea of catastrophism.
24. ____The enormous cloud from which the solar system formed was composed mostly of the
gases hydrogen and nitrogen.
25. ____The Devonian Period is often called the "age of fishes."
26. ____The smallest division of geologic time is a(n) period.
27. ____The dominant animals of the Mesozoic Era were amphibians.
28. ____Melting of Earth's interior allowed the denser elements to sink to the center.
29. ____The first appearance of mammals was during the Mesozoic Era.
30. ____The beginning of the Cenozoic Era is marked by the appearance of the first life forms with
hard parts.
31. ____Ions form when atoms gain or lose neutrons.
32. ____Protons have an opposite electrical charge from electrons.
33. ____Nearly eighty minerals have been named.
34. ____Only eight elements compose the bulk of the rock-forming minerals.
35. ____The elements silicon and carbon comprise nearly three-fourths of Earth's continental crust.
36. ____The most common mineral group is the silicate group.
37. ____The structure of the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron consists of four oxygen atoms surrounding
a smaller silicon atom.
38. ____Each silicate mineral group has a particular silicate structure.
39. ____Silicate minerals tend to cleave through the silicon-oxygen structures.
40. ____Nonsilicate minerals make up about one-tenth of the continental crust.
41. ____The mineral calcite is a sulfide mineral.
42. ____Quartz is the mineral from which plaster and other similar building materials are
composed.
43. ____Reserves are already-identified mineral deposits from which minerals can be extracted
profitably.
44. ____Luster is the external expression of a mineral's internal orderly arrangement of atoms.
45. ____Cleavage is defined by the number of planes exhibited and the angles at which they meet.
46. ____Vitreous, pearly, and silky are types of metallic lustres.
47. ____Isotopes of the same element have different mass numbers.
48. ____A(n) ion is composed of two or more elements bonded together.
49. ____The number of protons in an atom's nucleus determines its atomic number.
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50. ____Uncombined atoms have the same number of neutrons as protons.
51. ____Individual electrons are located at given distances from an atom's nucleus in regions called
energy levels.
52. ____A(n) compound is the smallest particle of matter that has all the characteristics of an
element.
53. ____A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid that possesses a definite chemical
structure.
54. ____Quartz is softer than calcite.
Word Choice. Complete each of the following statements by crossing out the INCORRECT
response.
1. The earth's crust is [thinnest/thickest] beneath the oceans.
2. The [lithosphere/asthenosphere] consists of partially melted rock.
3. The earth's [lithosphere/asthenosphere] is rigid.
4. Tectonic plates are large segments of Earth's [lithosphere/asthenosphere].
5. Most large tectonic plates containing continental crust [also/do not] contain oceanic crust.
6. Most divergent plate boundaries are associated with [continental/oceanic] ridges.
7. Tectonic plates are [flexible/rigid] slabs of Earth materials.
8. Continental crust is [thicker/thinner] than oceanic crust.
9. In the geologic time scale, [eons/eras/periods] represent the greatest expanses of time.
10. [James Ussher/James Hutton] put forth the fundamental principle of geology known as
uniformitarianism.
11. Catastrophism states that the forces that shaped the major features of Earth were [the same as/
different from] the current causes.
12. The rates of natural processes [do/do not] vary at different times and different places.
13. Uniformitarianism requires that Earth be [older/younger] than the age required by
catastrophism.
14. Placing events in proper sequence is known as [relative/absolute] dating.
15. Most of the divisions of geologic time are based upon the [life forms/geologic formations]
present at the time.
16. Life began to colonize the land during the [Paleozoic/Mesozoic] Era.
17. Earth's early atmosphere was composed chiefly of gases expelled from [the oceans/molten
rock].
18. The [Paleozoic/Precambrian] encompasses most of Earth's history.
19. The number of protons in an atom's nucleus determines its [atomic number/mass number]; while
the [atomic number/mass number] is the sum of the neutrons and protons in the nucleus.
20. The [nucleus/atom] is the smallest particle of matter that has all characteristics of an element.
21. Isotopes of the same element have different [atomic/mass] numbers, the same [atomic/mass]
number, and very [similar, different] chemical behavior.
22. Adjectives such as metallic, glassy, and earthy are used to describe the mineral property called
[luster/color].
23. Minerals that do not exhibit cleavage when broken are said to [crystallize/fracture].
24. All silicate minerals contain the elements oxygen and [silicon/aluminum] joined together in the
form of a [triangle/tetrahedron].
25. The crystal structure of a mineral has a direct influence on the mineral's [luster/cleavage].
26. The most prominent mineral in the carbonate group of minerals is [calcite/quartz].
27. The mineral name for table salt is [hematite/halite]; and the major constituent of the rock limestone is [calcite/gypsum].
28. An ore of iron is the mineral [pyrite/hematite]; while the primary ore of lead is [galena,
sphalerite].
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Written Questions: Answer all questions on this paper.
1. In the table below, match the following minerals to their use/description.
Mineral
____Diamond
____Graphite
____Fluorite
____Chalcopyrite
____Biotite
____Barite
____Pyrite
____Quartz
____Gypsum
____Sulphur
____Corundum
____Sphalerite
____Gold
____Talc
____Calcite
____Muscovite
____Magnetite
Use/Description
A. Six-sided crystals. Use to make glass.
Hardness about 7. Fractures instead of cleaves.
B. Magnetic. Ore of iron.
C. “Fool’s Gold”. Metallic Lustre. Used in
costume jewelry.
D. Soapy feel. Soft
E. Soft. Used to make plaster and gyproc.
F. Double refraction. 3 planes of cleavage. Sides
meet at 75 .
G. Used to make steel. 4 planes of cleavage.
H. Hardest natural substance. Composed entirely
of carbon. Used as an abrasive
I. Sheet cleavage. Darker in color.
J. Sheet cleavage. Lighter in color.
K. Specific gravity 20. Native element. Use in
jewelry.
L. Gemstone. Used as an abrasive.
M. Ore of zinc. Streak smells like rotten eggs.
N. Ore of copper.
O. Drilling mud.
P. Yellow color. Used in sulfa drugs.
Q. Soft. Made entirely of carbon. Used as a
lubricant and for pencil leads.
2. In the diagram below, rock types/materials are indicated by numbers and processes are
indicated by letters. Indicate the rock types/materials and processes for the rock cycle
diagram by completing the table below.
Rock Type/Materials
1. Magma
2.
3.
4.
5.
Process
A.
B. Weathering and Erosion
C.
D.
E.
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3. Why don't most mineral samples visibly demonstrate their crystal form?
Answer Sheet for Multiple Choice (UPPERCASE letters please!!!)
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