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Earth Science
Final Exam Study Guide
Name ___________________________ Class ___________________ Date _____________
Multiple Choice
Write the letter that best answers the question or completes the statement.
1. The particles produced in volcanic eruptions are called
a. volcanic stocks.
b. calderas.
c. laccoliths.
d. pyroclastic materials.
2. Which of the following plays a major part in determining the form of a volcano?
a. magma composition
c. nearness of other volcanoes
b. elevation above sea level
d. local soil type
3. Magma forms when solid rock in the crust and upper mantle
a. cools.
c. crystallizes.
b. vaporizes.
d. partially melts.
4. At divergent plate boundaries in the ocean, magma rises and melts because of
a. increased silica content of magma.
b. intrusive plutons at the boundary.
c. a decrease in pressure.
d. higher temperatures at the surface.
5. As the temperature of lava increases,
a. it can flow a much shorter distance.
b. its viscosity increases.
c. it begins to harden.
d. its viscosity decreases.
6. Which of the following is NOT a factor in how violently or quietly a volcano erupts?
a. magma’s depth inside a volcano’s vent
c. magma’s temperature
b. magma’s concentration of dissolved gases
d. magma’s composition
7. What kind of plate boundary occurs where two plates grind past each other without destroying the
lithosphere?
a. divergent boundary
c. convergent boundary
b. transform fault boundary
d. transitional boundary
8. Which of the following is a geographic example of a transform fault boundary?
a. the San Andreas Fault
c. the Mariana Arc
b. the East African Rift valley
d. the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
9. What causes the thermal convection that drives plate motion?
a. seafloor spreading
c. gravity
b. differences in temperature and density
d. subduction
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10. Which of the following is used to determine earthquake risk?
a. changes in the color of rocks near faults
b. strain in rocks near faults
c. hydrogen gas emissions near fractures
d. height of ocean waves after earthquakes
11. Liquefaction occurs when
a. mud slides downhill and buries buildings.
b. loose, saturated soil turns into liquid that can’t support buildings.
c. large waves wash over coastal areas and destroy structures.
d. earthquakes occur in the ocean and damage ships at sea.
12. Violent shaking from an earthquake can cause soil and rock on slopes to move and cause a
a. fault.
c. landslide.
b. sinkhole.
d. tsunami.
13. A tsunami can occur when there is vertical movement at a fault under
a. a mountain range.
c. a small inland lake.
b. the ocean floor.
d. the San Andreas Fault.
14. Most earthquakes are produced by the rapid release of which kind of energy stored in rock subjected
to great forces?
a. kinetic
c. thermal
b. elastic
d. mechanical
15. What is a fault?
a. the place on Earth’s surface where structures move during an earthquake
b. another name for an earthquake
c. a place on Earth where earthquakes cannot occur
d. a fracture in Earth where movement has occurred
16. What is an earthquake’s epicenter?
a. any spot along the nearest fault
b. the place on the surface directly above the focus
c. the spot below the focus
d. a spot halfway between the focus and the surface
17. A travel-time graph can be used to find the
a. epicenter of an earthquake.
b. strength of an earthquake.
c. damage caused by an earthquake.
d. focus of an earthquake.
18. What measurement for earthquake do scientists use most often today?
a. moment magnitude scale
c. seismic scale
b. Richter scale
d. epicenter magnitude scale
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Final Exam Study Guide
19. An earthquake’s magnitude is a measure of the
a. damage it causes.
c. size of surface waves it produces.
b. amount of shaking it produces.
d. size of seismic waves it produces.
20. Where do most earthquakes occur?
a. in the mountains of Africa
b. around the edge of the Atlantic Ocean
c. around the edge of the Pacific Ocean
d. on the western lowlands of Europe
21. What is material deposited directly by a glacier?
a. a kettle
c. till
b. a drumlin
d. stratified drift
22. What is the loosening and lifting of blocks of rock by glaciers?
a. plucking
c. abrasion
b. wastage
d. till
23. One characteristic of glacial movement is that
a. all glaciers, regardless of size, move at about the same rate.
b. new snowfall accumulates in a zone at the bottom of the glacier.
c. the zone of wastage is at the top of the glacier.
d. how the glacier moves depends on the balance between accumulation and wastage.
24. Which of the following is true about ice sheets?
a. They are the smallest type of glacier.
b. They flow in all directions.
c. They usually flow down valleys.
d. They are found only in high mountain areas.
25. Deflation affected the Dust Bowl in the 1930s by
a. creating rock pinnacles.
b. building up sand dunes.
c. depositing loess.
d. lowering the land.
26. Desert pavement is created as a result of
a. abrasion.
b. deflation.
c. blowouts.
d. water erosion.
27. Why is rock weathering generally reduced in the desert environment?
a. Rocks are very scarce in deserts.
c. Moisture is lacking and organic acids are
scarce.
b. Most rocks are buried deep within the soil.
d. The soil is so well developed.
28. In the desert, ephemeral streams
a. run continuously, although the amount of flow varies.
b. run only after it rains.
c. are actually dried stream beds that no longer carry water.
d. carry water underground.
29. What causes the rust-colored tint of some desert landscapes?
a. chemical weathering
c. flash flooding
b. mechanical weathering
d. the intense heat of the sun
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30. Abrasion changes the desert surface by
a. creating blowouts.
b. cutting and polishing exposed rock surfaces.
c. depositing loess across the landscape.
d. creating a stony surface layer.
31. What causes abrasion in a desert?
a. wind
b. flowing water
c. humidity
d. friction from rocks
32. Windblown silt that blankets a landscape is called
a. a blowout.
b. a sand dune.
c. desert pavement.
d. loess.
33. When wind creates a sand dune, the sheltered side of the dune
a. forms a gentle incline.
b. has the same incline as the windward side.
c. is steeper than the windward side.
d. continues to rise higher than the windward side.
34. Over time, how do sand dunes tend to migrate?
a. perpendicular to the movement of the wind
b. in the same direction as the wind blows
c. toward the wind
d. in random directions
35. The age of rock compared to the ages of rock layers.
a. relative
c. petrified
b. extinct
d. absolute
36. A break or crack in Earth’s lithosphere along which the rocks move
a. cast
c. mold
b. fault
d. carbon
37. The remains or traces of living things preserved in rock
a. index
c. fossil
b. sediment
d. decay
38. Subdivisions of the periods of the geologic time scale
a. epoch
c. period
b. era
d. index
39. A place where an old, eroded rock surface is in contact with a new rock layer
a. petrified
c. unconformity
b. intrusion
d. extrusion
40. An igneous rock layer formed when lava flows onto Earth’s surface and hardens
a. intrusion
c. carbon
b. extrusion
d. petrified
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41. Fossil that is a copy of an organism’s shape
a. trace
b. cast
Final Exam Study Guide
c. mold
d. carbon
42. A fossil in which minerals replaced all or part of an organism
a. petrified
c. index
b. cast
d. mold
43. Describes a type of organism that no longer exists anywhere on Earth
a. extinct
c. absolute
b. petrified
d. index
44. Fossils tell the relative ages of the rock layers in which they occur
a. cast
c. index
b. absolute
d. mold
45. One of the units of geologic time into which geologist divide eras
a. period
c. era
b. epoch
d. century
46. A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are
pressed an cemented together
a. petrified
c. intrusive
b. sedimentary
d. carbon
47. A type of fossil that provides evidence of the activities of ancient organisms
a. trace
c. index
b. relative
d. fossil
48. The process by which all the different kinds of living things have changed over time
a. extinction
c. evolution
b. period
d. extrusion
49. A fossil formed when an organism buried in sediment dissolves, leaving a hollow area
a. cast
c. index
b. mold
d. fossil
50. The age of a rock given as the number of years since the rock formed
a. absolute
c. index
b. relative
d. epoch
51. Time periods in Earth’s history broken into four segments
a. era
c. epoch
b. period
d. century
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52. Change over time
a. adaptation
b. intrusion
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c. evolution
d. extrusion
53. Law that states younger rocks are found on top of older rocks
a. superposition
c. evolution
b. adaptation
d. epoch
54. Method of determining the age of a fossil
a. radioactive dating
b. index
c. decay
d. absolute
55. Mutation that occurs that helps a species to survive
a. index
c. adaptation
b. fossil
d. extrusion
56. Subdivisions of time in earth’s history
a. epoch
b. century
c. era
d. period
57. What percentage of Earth’s surface is covered by water?
a. 45 percent
c. 71 percent
b. 51 percent
d. 85 percent
58. Which of the world’s oceans is the largest and deepest?
a. Arctic Ocean
c. Indian Ocean
b. Atlantic Ocean
d. Pacific Ocean
59. Which of these features is NOT found on the ocean floor?
a. mountain
c. river
b. volcano
d. plain
60. What does sonar equipment measure?
a. the density of the ocean’s water
b. the depth of the ocean floor
c. the sound produced by bottom-dwelling ocean creatures
d. the shape of the ocean surface
61. Scientists use satellites to measure the
a. ocean floor depth.
b. size of underwater features.
c. sea-surface height.
d. ocean’s salinity.
62. Which of the following areas is NOT one of the three main regions of the ocean floor?
a. ocean floor basin
c. continental rock
b. continental margins
d. mid-ocean ridge
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Final Exam Study Guide
63. Abyssal plains are very flat features that form when
a. volcanoes spread lava on the ocean bottom.
b. turbidity currents deposit sediments on the ocean floor.
c. ocean waters flood plains on land.
d. plates diverge on the ocean floor, causing seafloor spreading.
64. The three types of ocean floor sediments are classified according to their
a. color.
c. particle size.
b. origin.
d. hardness.
65. What are the two major energy sources obtained from the ocean floor?
a. oil and manganese
c. natural gas and coal
b. calcium carbonate and halite
d. oil and natural gas
66. Gas hydrates are compact chemical structures made of natural gas and
a. halite.
c. manganese.
b. water.
d. petroleum.
67. Which offshore resources are second only to petroleum in economic value?
a. salts and gypsum
c. calcium carbonate and copper
b. manganese nodules and halite
d. sand and gravel
68. Which of the following is a source of dissolved substances in the ocean?
a. chemical weathering of rocks
b. evaporation of water from the seas and ocean
c. excretions from marine organisms
d. melting icebergs and sea ice
69. Which of the following processes does NOT decrease the salinity of seawater?
a. runoff
c. evaporation
b. solar radiation
d. weathering
70. Differing amounts of solar radiation across Earth’s latitude affect the ocean’s
a. salinity in the thermocline.
c. temperature at the surface.
b. density at the surface
d. density in the thermocline.
71. Which of the following occurs when the ocean’s salinity increases?
a. Density increases.
c. Temperature increases.
b. Density decreases.
d. Temperature decreases.
72. Which of the following is the most important factor affecting seawater density?
a. chemical weathering
c. temperature
b. solar radiation
d. latitude
73. The three-layered structure of the open ocean does NOT exist
a. in middle latitudes.
c. in low latitudes.
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Final Exam Study Guide
b. in high latitudes.
d. at the equator.
74. One of the main differences between plankton and nekton is that plankton
a. are unable to swim.
c. drift with ocean currents.
b. are much larger than nekton.
d. cannot photosynthesize.
75. Where would you most likely find benthos organisms?
a. in the surface mixed zone
c. on or in the ocean bottom
b. in the pycnocline
d. traveling in ocean currents
76. Which of the following is a characteristic of life at the abyssal zone?
a. Many seaweeds are attached to the seafloor.
b. No photosynthesis occurs.
c. No food can be found here.
d. Warm-water organisms are plentiful.
77. Which of the following characteristics is NOT used to divide the ocean into marine life zones?
a. availability of sunlight
c. water depth
b. distance from the shore
d. Salinity
78. Because the photic zone is the part of the ocean into which sunlight penetrates, it includes all of the
following marine life zones EXCEPT
a. the benthic zone.
c. the abyssal zone.
b. parts of the pelagic zone.
d. all of the neritic zone.
79. A region’s photosynthetic productivity is influenced most significantly by
a. availability of nutrients and amount of solar radiation.
b. mean temperature and maximum depth.
c. the type of organisms that live there.
d. distance from the intertidal zone and average depth.
80. Productivity in polar oceans is limited primarily by
a. temperature.
c. numbers of organisms.
b. lack of nutrients.
d. availability of solar energy.
81. The transfer of energy between algae and herbivores is about
a. 1 percent.
c. 5 percent.
b. 2 percent.
d. 10 percent.
82. Which of the following organisms is most likely to survive?
a. the producers in a food web
c. a herbivore in a food chain
b. the top carnivore in a food chain
d. the top carnivore in a food web
83. What causes ocean surface currents?
a. gravitational attraction
b. friction between the ocean and wind on its surface
c. ocean movements associated with earthquakes
d. changes in water density
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Final Exam Study Guide
84. Currents affect climate by
a. making ocean water evaporate.
b. transferring heat and cold between the tropics and polar regions.
c. changing the density of water in the tropics.
d. transferring heat from the polar regions to the tropics.
85. What is the importance of upwelling?
a. It brings warm water from the tropics to the poles.
b. It decreases winds along exposed coastlines.
c. It helps warm the North Atlantic gyre.
d. It brings dissolved nutrients to the ocean’s surface.
86. What causes density currents to form in the Mediterranean Sea?
a. condensation
c. transpiration
b. evaporation
d. upwelling
87. Most ocean waves get their energy from
a. the sun.
b. plate movement.
c. the moon’s gravitational attraction.
d. the wind.
88. Which of the following factors does NOT help determine the height, length, and period of a wave?
a. wind speed
c. temperature
b. fetch
d. how long the wind blows
89. When waves grow so tall that they topple over, they form ocean breakers called
a. whitecaps.
c. tsunamis.
b. fetch.
d. crests.
90. Energy moves through waves in a(n)
a. convection current.
b. circular motion.
c. oscillating motion.
d. straight line.
91. What is the vertical distance between a trough and a crest?
a. wave height
c. wave speed
b. wavelength
d. wave period
92. The force that produces tides is
a. gravity.
b. friction.
c. centripetal force.
d. acceleration.
93. Ocean tides result largely from the gravitational attraction of the
a. sun.
c. closest neighboring planets.
b. core of Earth.
d. moon.
94. Which processes carve shoreline features?
a. erosion and abrasion
c. deposition and sedimentation
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Final Exam Study Guide
b. transportation and condensation
d. abrasion and evaporation
95. How does refraction cause wave crests to move when the waves approach the shore?
a. at right angles to the shore
b. about 80 degrees in relation to the shore
c. nearly parallel to the shoreline
d. about 45 degrees in relation to the shore
96. Longshore currents move sediment as they
a. move parallel to the shore.
b. run along the ocean bottom.
c. pound against coastal headlands.
d. flow in circular patterns in ocean basins
97. Which of the following is NOT a depositional shoreline feature?
a. wave-cut platform
c. tombolo
b. spit
d. barrier island
98. Where do baymouth bars form across bays?
a. where there is no longshore current nearby
b. where strong currents move in and out daily
c. where sea stacks stand on both sides of the entrance
d. where currents are weak
99. Barrier islands form as the direct result of
a. erosion.
b. precipitation.
c. deposition.
d. abrasion.
100. What is a structure built parallel to the shore that shields the coast from breaking waves?
a. groin
c. wave barrier
b. seawall
d. tombolo