Heavy elements like Pb (lead) and U (Uranium) were generated ________.
A) by humans in nuclear reactors
B) during the big band when the universe was formed
C) by the Sun and expelled to the solar system via the solar wind
D) during collapse of a star and subsequent nuclear synthesis in a supernova
Animals capable of moving independent of the ocean currents, by swimming or other
means of propulsion, are called ________.
A) nekton
B) plankton
C) benthos organisms
D) biomass
Which of these men formulated the Law of Universal Gravitation?
A) Sir Isaac Newton
B) Galileo
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Nicolaus Copernicus
E) Johannes Kepler
What is the relative humidity for the above conditions at 25oC?
A) 30%
B) 100%
C) 15%
D) 70%
As you go up in elevation, the temperature ________.
A) decreases
B) increases
C) stays constant
D) It depends on what atmospheric layer you are in.
E) none of the above
The San Andreas Fault in California and the Alpine Fault in New Zealand are examples
of ________.
A) normal faults
B) thrust faults
C) strike-slip faults
D) oblique-slip normal faults
Prominences and solar flares present dangers to astronauts primarily because ________.
A) they disrupt communications on earth
B) they pose a radiation danger from X-rays and gamma rays, but primarily from
high-energy particle emissions.
C) they can overheat the spacecraft.
D) they do not pose a danger to astronauts.
The seafloor spreading process at ridges produces what kind of faults?
A) normal faults
B) thrust fault
C) strike-slip faults
D) oblique-slip faults
Which one of the following is not true for minerals?
A) They have a specific, internal, crystalline structure.
B) They can be a liquid, solid, or gas.
C) Many have a specific, predictable chemical composition.
D) They can be identified by characteristic physical properties.
Hot springs are most numerous in which region of the United States?
A) Southeast
B) Midwest
C) West
D) Northeast
Water plays an important role in sculpting the landscape of continents because
________.
A) water is a major cause of erosion on land
B) water contributes to plant and animal life that strongly affects the landscape
C) water deposits sediments in areas like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National
Park where they landscape is changing rapidly
D) water moves through streams that are a major cause of mass wasting
E) ground water causes sinkholes and domes that change the landscape rapidly
What does Einstein’s formula e = mc2 have to do with the Sun?
A) It determines the energy released as the solar mass is converted to energy as matter
is intensely compressed in its interior.
B) It determines the energy released when 4 protons are fused to make a helium atom in
the interior of the Sun.
C) It relates to how much energy is carried away from the Sun when mass is ejected
from the Sun at the speed c.
D) The formula has nothing to do with the Sun
Which of the following is not a type of plate boundary?
A) hot spot
B) transform
C) convergent
D) divergent
What direction is the longshore current in the area pictured below?
A) left to right
B) right to left
C) top to bottom
D) impossible to tell from this figure
Ozone filters out most of the ________ radiation in sunlight.
A) infrared
B) gamma
C) ultraviolet
D) microwave
The greatest danger from pyroclastic flows is ________.
A) being incinerated by the hot gas and entrained magma.
B) being smothered by hot gases and ash.
C) being buried in ash.
D) not significant because they move so slowly they can be avoided.
At the start of the Triassic, most of the continents were above sea level, and sediments
from that time are often red because ________.
A) they contain extensive deposits of iron ore
B) they are a major source of uranium and red quartz
C) they include iron oxides
D) the dry climate baked clays to form hornfels
E) there are extensive dune fields
In the Southern Hemisphere, the winds associated with a low pressure system blow
________.
A) clockwise and toward the center
B) counterclockwise and toward the center
C) clockwise and outward from the center
D) counterclockwise and outward from the center
One significant difference between oceanic and continental crust in terms of the long
term evolution of the earth’s surface is that ________.
A) oceanic crust is less dense than continental crust
B) oceanic crust preserves a history of ancient deformation better than continental crust
C) continental crust is harder to subduct than oceanic crust
D) continental crust is more uniform in composition than oceanic crust
E) oceanic crust contains more radioactive elements that contribute to the heating of the
earth.
Where is the Coriolis force greatest?
A) low latitude
B) high latitude
C) anywhere air moves north or south
D) intermediate latitudes
Glossopteris, a fossil found in Africa, Australia, India, South America, and Antarctica,
is significant because ________.
A) it demonstrated that wind could not have dispersed the organism over such a large
area
B) it demonstrated that water could not have dispersed the organism over such a large
area
C) it demonstrated that all of the continents where the fossil is found must have been
tropical when the organism was alive
D) it demonstrated that all of the continents where the fossil is found must have been
cold when the organism was alive.
In 1980, ________ was the first Cascade Range volcano to erupt since Mt. Lassen in
1915-16.
A) Mt. Rainier
B) Mt. Shasta
C) Kilauea
D) Mt. St. Helens
Tropical cyclones (aka hurricanes in the Atlantic) are intense low-pressure systems
characterized by heavy rain and high winds. When a tropical cyclone passes an area,
however, there are generally several days of clear, dry weather. Why might this occur?
A) The hurricane carries a cold front with it, which carries dry air.
B) The cyclone has sucked up all the moist air around it, leaving dry air behind.
C) The cyclone must have an outflow aloft, which feeds descending air surrounding the
storm.
D) The spiral arms of the hurricane are storm fronts, and each carries descending air
behind it.
El Nio is a well-known weather phenomenon. In Ecuador and Peru, fisherman knew
about the phenomena long before it was well known because their fishing would be
very poor during El Nio conditions. Normally Peru and Ecuador have a remarkable
fishery because there is a prominent upwelling along the coast which produces
plantonic blooms that feed the entire ecosystem. This upwelling is driven by surface
wind conditions. From your knowledge of currents and wind conditions, which of the
following happens during El Nio conditions in this area?
A) The winds shift from south to north, along the coast, to west to east, across the coast.
B) The winds change from east to west (offshore flow) to onshore flow or weak winds
during El Nio conditions.
C) The winds shift from west to east (onshore flow) to offshore flow (east to west)
during El Nio conditions.
D) The winds shift from prevailing southwesterlies to stagnant, doldrum conditions
during El Nio.
On a Hertzprung-Russell Diagram, our Sun is classified as ________.
A) a yellow giant
B) a yellow dwarf
C) a mediocre star
D) a super star
E) an average star
________ has the great, dark spot on its surface.
A) Mars
B) Jupiter
C) Venus
D) Uranus
Which one of the following shows the correct order (left to right) of decreasing magma
viscosity?
A) rhyolite, andesite, basalt
B) andesite, rhyolite, basalt
C) basalt, rhyolite, andesite
D) basalt, andesite, rhyolite
Which the following denotes the positively charged particles in an atom’s nucleus?
A) protons
B) electrons
C) isotrons
D) neutrons
Why do humid tropical regions have only small variations in temperature throughout
the year?
A) The constant humidity maintains a relatively uniform temperature.
B) The canopy of trees in the rain forest shade the ground and reflect light all the time.
C) The winds associated with these systems rapidly redistribute the heat.
D) The location of this climatic region is limited to an area where the solar radiation
does not vary significantly.
E) The cloud cover and rain do not allow the temperatures to rise or fall significantly.
Oceanography is the study of the oceans and geology is the study of the earth, so what
is meteorology?
A) the study of meteors
B) the study of the Sun’s impact on the upper atmosphere
C) the study of the atmosphere
D) the study of how to be a TV newscaster
Downcutting (also known as rejuvenation) of a stream may be due to ________.
A) rising of sea level
B) uplift of land
C) a decreased gradient
D) thermal expansion
Early Earth was hot because ________.
A) there was still heat from the original big bang
B) gravitational collapse generates heat
C) a combination of collisions and radioactive decay produced heat
D) the Sun was much larger and heated the early planet
E) the moon’s formation from an giant impact produced heat
The steep, upper slopes of composite volcanoes are generally produced by ________.
A) large landslides
B) high-viscosity, low-volume silicic magmas that are erupted from the summit
C) satellite or parasitic cones that push up the top of the volcano to steep slopes
D) tilting of the summit by intrusion of high-viscosity magma directly below the
summit
Very large red stars, such as Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion, are called ________.
Fast moving currents of air found near the top of the troposphere are called ________.
Which form of chemical weathering specifically affects the iron contained in
ferromagnesian, rock-forming, silicate minerals?
Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the
relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit
the pattern.
What type of local wind pattern is illustrated in the diagram below?
________ refers to the change in temperature with depth in the ocean.
During the process of ________, plants release the gas ________.
Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the
relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit
the pattern.
The force that generates wind is known as the ________ force.
At the center of a hurricane is a relatively calm region called the ________.
Wood floats in water and rocks sink; thus, the density of ________ is the lower of the
two.
Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the
relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit
the pattern.
Western North America is the leading edge of the ________ plate.
Which term denotes the true soil above the zone of partly weathered bedrock?
Use one of the following five terms to fill in the blanks for the questions below:
Continental crust, Asthenosphere, Mantle, Lithosphere, Oceanic crust
________ averages roughly 7 km thick.
The most extensive mountain range on Earth extends for about 65,000 kilometers on
the ocean floor and is known as the ________.
Extensive deposits of ________ ore are found worldwide in Precambrian rocks.