Deck 8: Earth As a Planet

Question 1

A spot where magma rises to the surface can be seen as a

A) volcano
B) fault
C) subduction zone
D) continental plate
E) swamp

Answer 1

volcano

Question 2

Any rock in the Earth's crust that has cooled from an originally molten state is called

A) metamorphic
B) sedimentary
C) igneous
D) silicate
E) subducted

Answer 2

igneous

Question 3

Scientists now understand that the Earth consists of layers, with the densest materials in the core. What allowed the differentiation of the Earth's layers to happen?

A) a giant rock from space hit the Earth and made a huge hole almost to the center, through which material could move
B) continental drift and plate tectonics made this happen
C) the early Earth must have been so hot it was like a liquid and heavier things sank to the middle
D) this is one of the things that happened in the last few thousand years because of global warming
E) this is an unsolved problem; scientists have no good ideas about this at all

Answer 3

the early Earth must have been so hot it was like a liquid and heavier things sank to the middle

Question 4

According to the theory of plate tectonics,

A) the continents are moving but the ocean floor is not, leading to great friction
B) the rubbing of the waters of the Earth across its crust is speeding up its rotation
C) the liquid metal inside the Earth is developing plates of solid metallic material, which contribute to the Earth's magnetic field
D) earthquakes are caused by huge waves that come up from inside the molten core of the Earth
E) slow motions within the mantle of the Earth move large sections of the crust around

Question 5

Which part of the Earth has the greatest density?

A) oceanic crust
B) continental crust
C) mantle
D) core
E) Bayonne, New Jersey

Question 6

An important way that scientists have been able to study the interior of the Earth is by:

A) studying the exterior, which is made of exactly the same material
B) digging deep trenches at the bottom of the ocean, which is a lot closer to the planet's center
C) using spacecraft that can detect strong radio waves coming from the center
D) measuring how seismic waves are transmitted through the Earth
E) there is no way we can study's the Earth's deep interior at the present time

Question 7

The largest part of the Earth is its

A) oceanic crust
B) continental crust
C) mantle
D) core
E) atmosphere

Question 8

Which of the following statements about the Earth's magnetosphere is FALSE?

A) it contains particles that come mainly from the solar wind
B) it is generated by circulating liquid metal inside the Earth's core
C) it was first detected in space by the Explorer 1 satellite
D) it extends into space over a region much bigger than the diameter of the Earth
E) its shape and size are the same on the sides facing toward and away from the Sun

Question 9

Rocks that have not been chemically modified by being significantly heated are called

A) sedimentary
B) lava
C) metamorphic
D) primitive
E) igneous

Question 10

The Van Allen belt is

A) a region of trapped charged particles in the Earth's magnetosphere
B) a region where the ultraviolet light from the Sun is blocked from getting further down
C) a region where industrial pollution has made a smoggy layer in the atmosphere
D) a zone of small orbiting meteorites high above the Earth, which fall down from time to time
E) a piece of clothing worn by astronomers after they get their PhD's
Section 8.2: Earth's Crust

Question 11

For scientists, one bar is

A) equal to the distance from one end of a continental plate to another
B) the pressure with which 1 square centimeter of the Earth's atmosphere presses down at the surface
C) the average height of the ozone layer above the Earth (before we began to deplete it)
D) the density of the material at the center of the Earth (in solid form)
E) a place to relax after a long day of making models of the Earth

Question 12

If no one has ever visited the core of the Earth, how do we know that it is made of metals?

A) core material seeps up through volcanoes in the crust
B) circulating liquid metals in the core set up a large (measurable) magnetic field
C) spectroscopy allows us to tell what the core is made of by analyzing the light we receive
D) the amount of radioactivity shows metals must be present; only metals are radioactive
E) you can't fool me; there is NO evidence that the Earth's core has metals

Question 13

The region around the Earth where charged particles are trapped and spiral around is called:

A) the magnetosphere
B) the atmosphere
C) the ozone layer
D) the mantle
E) the spirosphere

Question 14

In which region of the Earth's atmosphere have you spent most of your life?

A) the ionosphere
B) the stratosphere
C) the troposphere
D) the ozone layer
E) the mesosphere

Question 15

The process of convection involves

A) the slow upward flow of warmer material and downward flow of cooler material
B) the trapping of charged particles in a magnetic zone
C) ultraviolet rays changing regular oxygen into ozone
D) water shaping deep cuts into the Earth's crust, such as the Grand Canyon
E) the electrocution of prisoners convicted of really terrible crimes

Question 16

Regions where the continents or the sea floor are pulling apart are called

A) convection zones
B) rift zones
C) subduction zones
D) magnetospheric zones
E) enterprise zones

Question 17

The person who came up with the continental drift theory that led to our modern understanding of plate tectonics was

A) James Van Allen
B) Milutin Milankovich
C) Charles Richter
D) Alfred Wegener
E) John Continental

Question 18

Earthquake producing faults are much more likely to be found

A) in smooth continental desert areas
B) in the southern hemisphere of the Earth, where there is more water
C) where the Earth's magnetic field touches the planet's surface
D) on the boundaries of continental plates, where they meet other plates
E) you can't fool me, such faults are equally likely anywhere on the Earth's crust

Question 19

Mountains on Earth often have sharp peaks and edges to them, while mountains on the Moon look smooth and kind of dull in comparison. What gives the Earth's mountains their dramatically sharp shapes?

A) rocks falling from space hit the mountains and shape them
B) water and ice flow over the Earth's mountains and erode them
C) the Earth's magnetic field is responsible for all the shapes on the surface
D) earthquakes in the mountain regions break big mountains into smaller ones
E) this is an unsolved problem in science
Section 8.3: Earth's Atmosphere

Question 20

The type of rock we find predominant in the crust of the Earth's continents is called:

A) magnetospheric rock
B) granite
C) lava
D) basalt
E) metal

Question 21

In 1980, scientists suggested that the great mass extinction of 65 million years ago (which ended the reign of dinosaurs) may have been caused by a large impact from space. What discovery gives a big boost to this idea?

A) the discovery of some possible traces of life in a meteorite from Mars
B) the discovery of a crater (about a mile across) near Flagstaff, Arizona
C) the discovery of a buried crater (about 200 km across) near Chicxulub, Mexico
D) the discovery of volcanoes on a moon of Jupiter's
E) the discovery of enormous trenches on the ocean floor

Question 22

According to the fossil record, how old is the oldest evidence of life forms on the surface of the Earth?

A) 6000 years
B) a few million years
C) 65 million years
D) about 3.5 billion years
E) you can't fool me, there is no way to measure the ages of ancient fossils

Question 23

Which of the following is a way we believe that the early atmosphere of the Earth differed from the atmosphere we have today?

A) there was little if any free oxygen early on
B) there was no ozone layer early on
C) there was probably more carbon dioxide early on than there is today
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 24

Which of the following points about our planet's atmosphere is FALSE?

A) it is slowly leaking atoms into space from its outermost regions
B) its mass is a substantial part of the mass of the Earth
C) warm air rises and cool air descends within it, setting up circulating currents `
D) it is made mostly of nitrogen
E) one of its layers helps keep much of the ultraviolet radiation from space from reaching the surface

Question 25

Today, a significant amount of new gas is joining the atmosphere of the Earth from what source:

A) Earth is capturing gas clouds from space as it orbits the Sun
B) much more water is evaporating from the oceans than is condensing back into water
C) volcanoes release gas that was trapped within the Earth
D) large meteorites that land on the Earth release a great deal of gas
E) the discussions in state legislatures about creationism and evolution

Question 26

An increase in the Earth's temperature by several degrees Celsius would result in:

A) a huge increase in the rate of motion of the continental plates and far more earthquakes
B) an increase in the Earth's magnetism, increasing the size of the VanAllen belts
C) the melting of many glaciers, a rise in sea levels, and more flooding of towns near the coasts of the continents
D) a new ice age
E) the Moon coming closer to the Earth

Question 27

The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere is

A) oxygen
B) ozone
C) water vapor
D) argon
E) nitrogen

Question 28

What relatively recent event shows that impacts continue to happen in our solar system even today?

A) a large asteroid hit a town near San Francisco and made an enormous crater
B) a comet (which broke into more than 20 pieces) hit the planet Jupiter in 1994
C) one of the moons of Mars collided with Mars and made a huge explosion, sending pieces throughout the solar system
D) Pluto collided with another planet, and broke into two pieces
E) the Mt. Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines erupted in June 1991

Question 29

The Moon is heavily cratered, but the Earth which "lives next door" is NOT. Why?

A) the magnetism of the Moon is more likely to attract metallic objects to hit it
B) all objects from space (no matter what their size) burn up in the Earth's atmosphere
C) the craters on the Moon are the result of active volcanoes; the Earth has few volcanoes compared to the Moon
D) the active geology and weather on Earth destroy traces of impacts over millions of years
E) the Earth is heavily cratered, but all the craters are under the ocean

Question 30

One way in which the ozone layer is useful for life forms on the Earth's surface is that it

A) presses down on the continental plates, and makes it more difficult for them to slip
B) keeps the heat of the Sun from escaping, making the Earth a bit warmer
C) is so thick that meteors from space all burn up there, regardless of size
D) absorbs ultra-violet light, preventing much of it from reaching the surface
E) glows brilliantly at sunset, making scenes that lovers can enjoy

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT evidence that objects from space collide with the Earth?

A) the devastation that happened in 1908 near the Tunguska river in Siberia
B) Meteor Crater in Arizona
C) the crater at the top of the Mount St. Helens volcano
D) the Chicxulub crater buried near Mexico
E) you can't fool me; all the above are the results of cosmic impacts

Question 32

In terms of numbers, the most common life-forms on Earth are

A) humans
B) fish
C) microscopic creatures, too small to see with our eyes
D) birds
E) insects

Question 33

Which of these did the June 1908 impact event in Siberia and the 2013 event in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk have in common?

A) they both produced a large crater, which has become a tourist attraction
B) they both killed a lot of innocent people
C) they both went completely unnoticed by people (and we only know about them from instruments in space)
D) they both exploded high in the atmosphere and produced a shock wave that reached the ground
E) you can't fool me, those events had nothing in common

Question 34

Today, scientists believe that the main reason the Earth has had periodic ice ages is:

A) slow changes in the tilt of our planet's axis of rotation
B) the grinding of continental plates against each other over the centuries
C) changes in the composition of the Earth's atmosphere that affect the ozone layer
D) the fact that the Moon is slowly moving toward the Earth and drawing off heat
E) no one has any good theories about the cause of the ice ages
Section 8.4: Life, Chemical Evolution, and Climate Change

Question 35

The average temperature on planet Earth is higher than you would expect just from the heating of sunlight alone. What is the explanation for this?

A) solid material hitting the Earth from space heats it up
B) carbon dioxide (and other gases) in the atmosphere cause a greenhouse effect
C) the rubbing of the continental plates warms up the Earth's surface
D) the heat given off by living things makes our planet warmer
E) we have no explanation for this higher temperature and that has scientists worried
Section 8.5: Cosmic Influences on the Evolution of Earth

Question 36

Scientists have been concerned about a set of industrial chemicals called CFC's (chlorofluorocarbons) because they:

A) seep into the groundwater and increase the chances of earthquakes
B) rise into the atmosphere and keep the Earth's heat from escaping
C) rise into the atmosphere and destroy ozone
D) rise into the atmosphere and absorb x-rays from space, which we need down here
E) increase the chances of volcanic eruptions where the Earth's crust is thin