Assignment:
1. The Moon's orbital plane is inclined to Earth's orbital plane by
a. 0°.
b. 5°.
c. 23.5°.
d. 30°
2. When a meteor strikes Earth's surface, it is called a(n) ______________.
a. asteroid
b. star
c. planet
d. meteorite
e. ball
3. A high tide is occurring at Charleston, South Carolina (45°W, 64°N). Which listed longitude is experiencing a low tide occurring?
a. 135°E
b. 65°E
c. 45°E
d. 45°W
e. 145°W
4. Short-period comets, such as Halley's comet, are believed to come from ______________.
a. the Kuiper Belt
b. the Oort cloud
c. the asteroid belt
d. Earth
5. Moonquakes are believed to have caused the Moon's
a. rays.
b. craters.
c. rills
d. plains (maria).
6. The first-quarter Moon sets at approximately
a. midnight.
b. noon.
c. 6 P.M.
d. 6 A.M.
7. The asteroid belt is between the orbits of
a. Earth and Mars.
b. Mars and Jupiter.
c. Earth and Venus.
d. Jupiter and Saturn.
8. Eighty-eight prominent groups of stars in the sky are called the _______________.
a. constellations
b. local groups
c. clusters
d. galaxies
9. Which of the following has the most moons?
a. Mercury
b. Venus
c. Earth
d. Mars
10. The Sun is
a. a self-luminous sphere.
b. energized by nuclear fusion.
c. a plasma.
d. all of the above.
11. The celestial prime meridian is an imaginary half-circle running from the north celestial pole to the south celestial pole and crossing perpendicular to the celestial equator at the point of the
a. autumnal equinox.
b. summer solstice.
c. vernal equinox.
d. winter solstice.
12. Spring tides occur close to the time of ______________ moon.
a. the new
b. the first-quarter
c. both the new and the full
d. the last-quarter
13. In a star, the balance between the inward force of gravity and the outward force of thermal and radiation pressure is called
a. the neutrino bonding point.
b. hydrostatic equilibrium.
c. the plasma equality condition.
d. strong nuclear binding.
14. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is what type?
a. Spiral
b. Irregular
c. Elliptical
d. Regular spiral
15. Six trillion miles is equivalent in distance to one ______________.
16. An incredibly dense star so massive that light cannot escape from its surface is called a(n) ______________.
17. The next phase in the life cycle of the Sun will be
a. the formation of a red giant.
b. a move to the main sequence.
c. collapse to a white dwarf.
d. a supernova explosion.
18. A(n) ______________is denser than a neutron star.
19. About 80% of the mass of the atmosphere and most of the clouds and water vapor are located in the
a. stratosphere.
b. troposphere.
c. mesosphere.
d. thermosphere.
20. Some of Earth's artificial satellites orbit in the
a. stratosphere.
b. troposphere.
c. mesosphere.
d. thermosphere.
e. exosphere.
21. The ozone layer causes a temperature increase in the
a. thermosphere.
b. mesosphere.
c. troposphere.
d. stratosphere.
22. Cloud dissipation results from
a. an inverted lapse rate.
b. hygroscopic nuclei.
c. supercooled vapor.
d. descending air.
23. Relative humidity is measured with a(n) ______________.
24. The inventor of the mercury barometer was
a. Newton.
b. Galileo.
c. Bergeron.
d. Torricelli.
25. A line drawn through locations of equal atmospheric pressure is a(n)
a. equipress.
b. anemometer.
c. wind vane.
d. isobar.
26. Clouds described as "artist's brushes" or "mare's tails" belong to what cloud family?
a. Middle
b. Low
c. High
d. None of these
27. Vertical air movements are referred to as ______________.
28. An usually results in
a. more rainfall for South America.
b. warmer water in the western Pacific.
c. less rainfall for Australia.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
29. The dome of water associated with a hurricane making landfall is called a
a. storm surge.
b. tide.
c. tidal wave.
d. flood.
30. Lightning damage comes chiefly from ______________ discharge.
a. intracloud
b. air
c. cloud-to-cloud
d. cloud-to-ground
31. A class of pollutants formed at high temperatures (nearly complete combustion) in the presence of air is
a. sulfur oxides.
b. carbon oxides.
c. iron oxides.
d. nitrogen oxides.
32. A form of precipitation that results from convection cycles in clouds is
a. sleet.
b. rain.
c. hail.
d. fog.
33. The greatest cause of hurricane deaths is
a. the storm surge.
b. panic.
c. the eye.
d. high winds.
34. The pollutant primarily responsible for acid rain is
a. NO2.
b. CO2.
c. O3.
d. SO2.
35. Lightning between a cloud and the surrounding air is called ______________.
36. Flashes from unseen lightning are called ______________.
37. Which of the following is not one of the three types of plate boundaries?
a. Diverging
b. Converging
c. Fault-block
d. Transform
38. S waves and P waves are earthquake body waves. S and P stand for
a. sudden and post.
b. sigma and pi.
c. slow and proper.
d. secondary and primary.
39. Earth's continental crust ranges in thickness from about
a. 98 to 140 km.
b. 19 to 40 km.
c. 5 to 26 km.
d. 8 to 16 km.
40. The lowest places on Earth's surface are called ______________ trenches.
41. What type of faulting results from compressional stresses?
a. Reverse
b. Abnormal
c. Strike-slip
d. Normal
42. The lowest places on Earth's surface are called __________ trenches.
a. plateau
b. mid-oceanic
c. deep-sea
d. none of these
43. When an earthquake occurs, the location on Earth's surface above the point of initial energy release is called the earthquake's
a. fault line.
b. focus.
c. epicenter.
d. none of the above.
44. Another name applied to the grain size in a rock is
a. specific gravity.
b. porosity.
c. texture.
d. streak.
45. When an earthquake occurs, the location on Earth's surface above the point of initial energy release is called the earthquake's ______________.
46. The ______________ scale gives an absolute measure of the energy released by an earthquake.
47. Rocks solidified from molten material above ground are classified as ______________ igneous rocks.
a. extrusive
b. intrusive
c. superior
d. inferior
48. A common scale for denoting a mineral's hardness is the
a. Ores scale.
b. Mohs scale.
c. Homs scale.
d. Ohms scale.
49. Which igneous rock has light color (high silica content) and large grains (coarse texture)?
a. Gabbro
b. Granite
c. Rhyolite
d. Basalt
50. Which of the following is not a metamorphic rock?
a. Sandstone
b. Schist
c. Slate
d. Marble
51. A(n) ______________ is a cohesive aggregate of one or more minerals.
52. The sedimentary rock known as ______________ consists of deposits of calcium carbonate (calcite).
53. The chemical alteration of preexisting rocks by chemically reactive, hot-water solutions is called ______________ metamorphism.
54. A river's suspended and bed loads may accumulate at its mouth and form
a. a delta.
b. a meander.
c. a stream.
d. none of the above.
55. An important agent in chemical weathering is
a. carbonic acid.
b. permafrost.
c. wind.
d. frost.
56. By which of the following characteristics is a desert defined?
a. High winds
b. High temperature
c. Lack of precipitation
d. Hot days and cold nights
57. A(n) ______________ is the surface expression of magma that originates in the asthenosphere and deeper.
58. A material's capacity to transmit fluids is called its
a. permeability.
b. solifluction.
c. drift.
d. porosity.
59. The formation of which of the following is not directly caused by erosive wave action?
a. Wave-cut cliffs
b. Sea stacks
c. Pocket beaches
d. Sea caves
60. ______________ is the downslope movement of surface materials as a result of gravity and of the agents that cause such movement.
61. Regions on Earth that have the driest climates are known as ______________.
62. Collapsed cavern ceilings can cause ______________ to appear on the land's surface.
63. The oldest evidence of life on Earth dates back to about how many years ago?
a. 65 million
b. 3.8 million
c. 3500 million
d. 570 million
64. A number of epochs is called a(n)
a. eon.
b. period.
c. millennia.
d. era.
65. The Quarternary is a(n)
a. epoch.
b. era.
c. eon.
d. period.
66. Earth's second largest ocean is the ______________ Ocean.
67. Starting with a sample of pure parent radionuclide, what would be the ratio of the parent radionuclide to its daughter after one half-life has elapsed?
a. 1 to 1
b. 1 to 2
c. 1/2 to 1
d. 2 to 1
68. In which of the following eons do we live?
a. Phanerozoic
b. Hadean
c. Proterozoic
d. Archean
69. Which occurrence is associated with the demise of the dinosaurs?
a. The Great Dying
b. The Cambrian explosion
c. The breakup of Pangaea
d. The K-T event
70. The Petrified National Forest is found in the state of ______________.
71. We live in the ______________ eon.
72. The actual age of rock layers and geologic events is referred to as ______________ geologic time.