Name ______Period ______
Midterm Review
Unit 1 Review
____ 1. Which of Earth’s spheres includes the oceans, groundwater, lakes, and glaciers?
a. / the atmosphere / c. / the biosphereb. / the hydrosphere / d. / the geosphere
____ 2. On the global grid, the prime meridian is at ____.
a. / 0 degrees latitude / c. / 0 degrees longitudeb. / 90 degrees latitude / d. / 90 degrees longitude
____ 3. How could two points 35 degrees north of the equator—one in North America and the other in China—be distinguished using map coordinates?
a. / by their elevation / c. / by their longitudeb. / by their map projection / d. / by their latitude
____ 4. A preliminary untested explanation that tries to explain how or why things happen in the manner observed is a scientific ____.
a. / law / c. / factb. / theory / d. / hypothesis
____ 5. A scientific idea that is well tested and widely accepted by the scientific community is called a scientific ____.
a. / hypothesis / c. / theoryb. / inquiry / d. / method
Unit 2 Review
____ 1. The geocentric model of the universe stated that ____.
a. / Earth revolved around the celestial sphereb. / the sun was the center of the universe
c. / Earth was a “wanderer”
d. / Earth was the center of the universe
____ 2. Using Tycho Brahe’s data, which scientist proposed three laws of planetary motion?
a. / Newton / c. / Galileob. / Kepler / d. / Copernicus
____ 3. The first early astronomer to propose a sun-centered solar system was ____.
a. / Galileo / c. / Copernicusb. / Newton / d. / Brahe
____ 4. Earth’s axis slowly but continuously points in different directions, a movement known as ____.
a. / retrograde motion / c. / rotationb. / revolution / d. / precession
____ 5. The turning or spinning of a body on its axis is known as ____.
a. / rotation / c. / precessionb. / revolution / d. / apogee
____ 6. Seasons are caused by ____.
a. / Earth’s rotation / c. / Earth’s tilted axisb. / precession / d. / Earth’s distance from the sun
____ 7. How old is the moon?
a. / much older than Earth / c. / much younger than Earthb. / about the same age as Earth / d. / older than the sun
____ 8. Which of the following is NOT characteristic of the Jovian planets?
a. / large size / c. / thin atmospheresb. / composed mainly of gases and ices / d. / located beyond the orbit of Mars
____ 9. The formation of the solar system from a huge cloud of dust and gases is called the ____.
a. / protoplanet theory / c. / planetesimal theoryb. / nebular theory / d. / solar theory
____ 10. The planet with the greatest temperature extremes is ____.
a. / Earth / c. / Marsb. / Venus / d. / Mercury
____ 11. Using the Doppler effect, astronomers can determine a star’s ____.
a. / temperature / c. / movement toward or away from Earthb. / chemical composition / d. / age
____ 12. The layer of the sun that radiates most of the light that reaches Earth is the ____.
a. / photosphere / c. / chromosphereb. / corona / d. / ionosphere
____ 13. Sunspots appear dark because they are ____.
a. / relatively cool / c. / deep holesb. / relatively hot / d. / solid areas
____ 14. The source of the sun’s energy is ____.
a. / chemical burning / c. / nuclear fusionb. / nuclear fission / d. / photosynthesis
____ 15. Our galaxy is called the ____.
a. / Local Group / c. / Andromedab. / Orion / d. / Milky Way
Unit 3 Review
____ 1. In Figure 3-1, what type of rock should occur in the part of the rock cycle labeled B?
a. / igneous / c. / lavab. / metamorphic / d. / Sedimentary
____ 2. In Figure 3-1, what type of rock should occur in the part of the rock cycle labeled F?
a. / igneous / c. / lavab. / metamorphic / d. / sedimentary
____ 3. What type of rocks are formed by processes powered by the sun?
a. / metamorphic rocksb. / sedimentary rocks
c. / igneous rocks
d. / No rocks are formed by energy from the sun.
____ 4. Where is the energy source found that drives the processes that form igneous and metamorphic rocks?
a. / the sun / c. / Earth’s interiorb. / the wind / d. / moving water
____ 5. Which of the following represents the correct order of the processes involved in sedimentary rock formation?
a. / erosion, weathering, compaction, cementation, depositionb. / compaction, cementation, deposition, weathering, erosion
c. / deposition, cementation, compaction, erosion, weathering
d. / weathering, erosion, deposition, compaction, cementation
____ 6. Which of the following is NOT an agent of metamorphism?
a. / heat / c. / pressureb. / running water / d. / a hydrothermal solution
____ 7. Whenever the characteristics and chemical composition of weathered materials have been altered, they have undergone ____.
a. / chemical weathering / c. / mass movementb. / mechanical weathering / d. / frost wedging
____ 8. Which of these factors affects the rate of weathering?
a. / climateb. / chemical composition of the exposed rock
c. / surface area of the exposed rock
d. / all of the above
____ 9. The factor that has the greatest effect on soil formation is ____.
a. / climate / c. / timeb. / parent material / d. / slope orientation
____ 10. What are the proportions of clay, silt, and sand shown at point B?
a. / clay: 40 percent; silt: 30 percent; sand: 30 percentb. / clay: 60 percent; silt: 20 percent; sand: 20 percent
c. / clay: 10 percent; silt: 80 percent; sand: 10 percent
d. / clay: 20 percent; silt: 40 percent; sand: 40 percent
____ 11. The process responsible for moving material downslope under the influence of gravity is called ____.
a. / erosion / c. / mass movementb. / weathering / d. / soil formation
____ 12. Which of the following is a landform created by wave erosion?
a. / estuary / c. / sea archb. / tombolo / d. / breakwater
____ 13. What feature connects an island to the mainland or to another island?
a. / jetty / c. / sea stackb. / tombolo / d. / breakwater
____ 14. Which of the following is designed to prevent or slow shoreline erosion?
a. / groin / c. / seawallb. / beach nourishment / d. / all of the above
Unit 4 Review
____ 1. When an earthquake occurs, energy radiates in all directions from its source, which is called the ____.
a. / epicenter / c. / faultb. / focus / d. / seismic center
____ 2. Most earthquakes are produced by the rapid release of which kind of energy stored in rock subjected to great forces?
a. / chemical / c. / elasticb. / thermal / d. / mechanical
____ 3. A seismogram shows that P waves travel ____.
a. / at the same speed as surface wavesb. / more slowly than S waves
c. / at the same speed as S waves
d. / faster than S waves
____ 4. What is the minimum number of seismic stations that is needed to determine the location of an earthquake’s epicenter?
a. / two / c. / fourb. / one / d. / three
____ 5. According to Figure 8-1, when will the first P wave be received, if an earthquake epicenter is approximately 1800 kilometers from the seismic station?
a. / 3.5 minutes after the earthquakeb. / 5.5 minutes after the earthquake
c. / 6.6 minutes after the earthquake
d. / 10.5 minutes after the earthquake
____ 6. In areas where unconsolidated sediments are saturated with water, earthquakes can turn stable soil into a fluid through a process called...
a. / tidal effect / c. / liquefactionb. / fault creep / d. / underwater landslide
____ 7. One kind of evidence that supports Wegener’s hypothesis is that ____.
a. / the same magnetic directions exist on different continentsb. / major rivers on different continents match
c. / land bridges still exist that connect major continents
d. / fossils of the same organism have been found on different continents
____ 8. A tectonic plate consists of ____.
a. / the crust and uppermost mantleb. / the oceanic and continental crust only
c. / the crust and entire mantle
d. / the asthenosphere only
____ 9. What kind of plate boundary occurs where two plates grind past each other without destroying or producing lithosphere?
a. / divergent boundary / c. / transitional boundaryb. / convergent boundary / d. / transform fault boundary
____ 10. A divergent boundary at two oceanic plates can result in a ____.
a. / rift valley / c. / continental volcanic arcb. / volcanic island arc / d. / subduction zone
____ 11. What type of boundary occurs where two plates move together, causing one plate to descend into the mantle beneath the other plate?
a. / transform fault boundary / c. / convergent boundaryb. / divergent boundary / d. / transitional boundary
____ 12. New ocean crust is formed at ____.
a. / divergent boundaries / c. / continental volcanic arcsb. / convergent boundaries / d. / transform fault boundaries
____ 13. What type of plate boundary is illustrated in Figure 9-1?
a. / transform fault boundaryb. / divergent boundary
c. / convergent oceanic-oceanic boundary
d. / convergent oceanic-continental boundary
____ 14. What layer of Earth is labeled C in Figure 9-1?
a. / asthenosphere / c. / oceanic crustb. / continental lithosphere / d. / continental crust
____ 15. Oceanic lithosphere is destroyed at ____.
a. / transform fault boundaries / c. / ocean ridgesb. / divergent boundaries / d. / convergent boundaries