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Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
Chapter 1 – Introduction to Earth Science
1. The long dimension of an object or the distance from end to end is _____.
length
2. _____ refers to the correctness of a measurement.
accuracy
3. A noting and recording of facts is called a(n) _____.
observation
4. A _____ is a possible explanation or answer to a question.
hypothesis
Chapter 7 – Plate Tectonics
5. The part of the Earth that is a liquid is the
outer core.
6. Which layer makes up most of the Earth’s mass?
mantle
7. Which layer of the Earth do we live on?
crust
8. The soft layer of the mantle on which pieces of the lithosphere move is called the
Asthenosphere.
9. Inside the Earth, pressure and temperature _____ with depth.
Increase
10. Earth’s lightest materials make up the
crust.
11. Continental mountain ranges are usually associated with
convergent boundaries.
Semester Exam Study Guide
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12. Mid-ocean ridges are associated with
divergent boundaries.
13. The San Andreas fault, which separates the North American Plate from the Pacific Plate near
Los Angeles, is an example of a
transform boundary.
14. Fossils of Mesosaurus, an early land-dwelling reptile, have been found in Antarctica, India, and
South Africa. The distribution of these fossils suggests that these areas were once
connected to one another.
15. When two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally, the boundary between them is
called a
transform boundary.
16. Wegener's continental drift theory suggests that at about 245 million years a supercontinent
existed called
Pangaea.
17. ____ is the process by which new oceanic lithosphere is created as older materials are pulled
away.
Sea-floor spreading
18. When two tectonic plates move away from one another, the boundary between them is called
a
divergent boundary.
19. What appears to cause movement of Earth's tectonic plates?
convection currents below the lithosphere
20. If a fault occurs in an area where a rock layers have been folded, which type of fault is it likely
to be?
reverse
21. A type of fault in which the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall is called a
normal fault.
Semester Exam Study Guide
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22. The type of stress that forms as a result of transform boundaries is called
shearing.
23. When a fold is shaped like a bowl, with the fold in a downward direction, it is called a (n)
syncline.
24. The type of stress that occurs when rock is squeezed from both sides is called
compression.
25.
Which type of stress is shown above?
tension
26.
What type of fold is shown above?
anticline
27.
Which type of fault is shown above?
strike-slip
Semester Exam Study Guide
28.
Name: _______________________________
Which type of fault is shown above?
reverse
29.
Which type of mountain is shown above?
fault-block
30. The Basin and Range topography of Nevada is recognized for
valleys and mountains.
31. What would happen if convection stopped in the asthenosphere?
Moutains would stop growing taller.
Chapter 8 - Earthquakes
32. Which type of seismic wave travels the fastest?
a P wave
33. Which type of seismic wave is the most destructive?
a surface wave
34. What is the minimum number of seismograph stations that is necessary to locate the epicenter
of an earthquake?
three
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
35. A tracing of earthquake motion is called a
seismogram
36. Seismologists find an earthquake's start time by comparing seismograms and noting the
difference in arrival times of
P waves and S waves.
37. When rock suddenly returns to its undeformed shape and causes an earthquake is called
elastic rebound.
38. Which type of seismic wave is illustrated above?
a surface wave
39. Which point in the illustration represents the focus of the earthquake?
point D
Chapter 9 - Volcanoes
40. Mount St. Helens, in Washington, covered the city of Spokane with tons of ash. Its eruption
would most likely be described as
explosive, producing pyroclastic material.
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
41. Where are volcanoes most likely to form?
along plate boundaries
42. As you move northwest through the Hawaiian Islands, the age of the islands increases. The
older islands are northwest of the newer islands because they
formed first and were moved away from the hot spot.
43. In a(n) ____ eruption, a continuous stream of lava pours quietly from the crater of a volcano.
nonexplosive
44. ____ are built out of layers of lava from repeated nonexplosive eruptions.
Shield volcanoes
45. A theory that helps to explain the causes of both earthquakes and volcanoes is the theory of
plate tectonics.
46. In the diagram above, which type of boundary is occurring?
a convergent boundary
47. In the diagram above, what is being formed at B?
volcanoes
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
Chapter 3 - Minerals
48. Minerals are classified into which two groups?
silicates and nonsilicates
49. Metallic, submetallic, and nonmetallic are descriptions of a mineral's
luster.
50. Mineral ores are
nonrenewable resources.
51. Which of the following is NOT a mineral?
a
diamond
c.
quartz
b.
a fossil
d.
salt
52. You have a mineral that you are fairly certain is magnetite. Which test should show that it really
is magnetite?
It should attract metal, such as iron.
53. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a mineral?
a.
crystalline structure
c.
living
b.
solid
d.
formed in nature
54. Because of factors such as weathering and impurities, ____ usually is NOT a reliable indicator
of a mineral's identity.
color
55. Pure substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances are called _____.
elements.
56. On Moh's hardness scale, which of the following minerals is the hardest?
diamond
57. The removal of minerals or other materials from deep within the Earth is called _____
deep mining.
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
58. In addition to reclamation, a good way to reduce the environmental effects of mining is to
recycle materials.
59. Which statement best describes minerals?
a.
Rocks are made of minerals.
c.
Minerals can be solid, liquid or gas.
b.
Minerals are made of rocks.
d.
Crystals made by people are minerals.
60. Which mineral is softer than a fingernail?
gypsum
61. Which mineral can scratch a wire nail?
corundum
Chapter 4 – Rocks
62. A type of rock that forms deep within the Earth when magma solidifies is called
igneous.
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
63. A type of rock that forms under high temperature and pressure but is not exposed to enough
heat to melt the rock is
metamorphic.
64. The layering that occurs in sedimentary rock is called
stratification.
65. Chemical sedimentary rock forms when
minerals crystallize from a solution.
66. What causes the breakdown of rock?
weathering
67. Earth scientists classify the three main types of rock into smaller groups according to
composition and texture.
68. Granite is coarse-grained and generally contains light-colored minerals. It is an example of
felsic igneous rock.
69. Fast-cooling lava will most likely form ____ igneous rock.
fine-grained
70. Most volcanic lava rock is
extrusive.
71. Fossils are the remains or traces of plants and animals that have been preserved in ____ rock.
sedimentary
72. Which type of rock can change into metamorphic rock?
all types of rock
73. How do you classify the texture of metamorphic rock?
foliated or nonfoliated
74. Throughout the rock cycle many processes take place (e.g. weathering, sedimentation,
melting). What happens to the total amount of material?
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
Chapter 6 - Fossils
75. What event might mark the end of an era on the geologic time scale?
A global climate change that causes the appearance or disappearance of life-forms.
76. What is the age of the Earth?
4.6 billion years old
77. Why are deserts, tar pits, and ice good places to find body fossils?
Bacteria and other decomposers cannot thrive in these environments.
78. The law of superposition states that, in horizontal layers of sedimentary rock, each layer is
older than the layer above it and younger than the layer below it.
79. Why do geologists use the geologic time scale to measure geologic time, instead of years or
centuries?
because the time span of Earth's history is so great
80. The diagram below represents a cross-section of several rock layers containing fossils.
Which of the following layers of rock is most likely the youngest? The layer containing
mammals.
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
81. Which rock layer is the oldest?
C
82. Nearly all of the fossils found to date have been found in
sedimentary rocks.
83. Shells and bones of animals fossilize well because they
contain hard parts.
84. What best explains why fossils are found nearly exclusively in sedimentary rock?
As organisms die they settle into the layers of the sediment and become buried.
85. A student finds a fossil of a fish and concludes that the fossil must be made of sedimentary
rock. What evidence supports the student’s conclusion?
Nearly all fossils form in sedimentary rock.
86. The presence of coral fossils in some of Nevada’s bedrock indicates that
areas of the state of Nevada were once covered with seas.
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
87. What would be the most likely explanation if an amphibian fossil were found in Antarctica?
The area must have been a moist and warm environment at one point in time.
88. Several layers of the Earth are exposed. The oldest rock layer is most likely to be
at the bottom layer.
89. The term used to identify a fossil that is produced from an animal that was geographically
widespread, abundant, and lived a relatively short period of time is a(n)
index fossil.
Chapter 10 – Weathering
90. Chemical weathering is most rapid in areas that are
warm and wet.
91. The dissolving of a rock in water is an example of
chemical weathering.
92. After thousands of years of weathering, the soft outer parts of an ancient volcano have worn
away, leaving the harder, more resistant rock of Devils Tower behind. This is a spectacular
example of differential weathering.
93. Which of the following would most likely occur if soil were to lose its nutrients?
a.
Plants would not be able to grow.
c.
There would not be acid precipitation.
b.
Weathering would not occur.
d.
Parent rock would break down.
94. Which statement best describes the topsoil in desert climates?
a.
b.
c.
d.
It is thick and fertile.
The heavy wind erosion leaves no topsoil.
It is moist and rich in humus.
It is dry but rich in humus.
95. ____ produces a reddish soil, as seen at Red Rock Canyon State Park.
The oxidation of iron
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
96. How does young soil compare to soil that has been around a long time?
Young soil contains less humus than old soil.
97. Which of following terms best describes the process of plate tectonic, the rock cycle,
weathering, and erosion?
a.
Instantaneous
c.
Rapid
b.
Gradual
d.
Insignificant
98. What would you find at A horizon?
topsoil
99. As rainwater from the surface travels from A horizon to D horizon, ____ occurs.
leaching
Semester Exam Study Guide
Name: _______________________________
100.
Use the diagram showing plastic beads of different sizes sorted into three beakers to
answer the following question.
Soil composed of which of the following particle sizes would allow for the greatest amount of
water retention during a drought?
a.
Small particle size (beaker A)
c.
b.
Medium particle size (beaker B) d.
Large particle size (beaker C)
They will all retain the same amount of water.