1. Why can't an ecosystem's energy pyramid be inverted (that is, upside down)?
2. Identify a natural cycle other than the rock cycle.
3. Igneous rocks are the most common of the three types of rocks. Yet they are not often observed because they are typically buried under
(a) metamorphic rocks.
(b) sedimentary rocks.
(c) minerals.
4. During the early stages of Earth's development, when the entire planet was molten, there were no rocks. What kind of rocks must have been the first to form?
a. igneous
b. sedimentary
c. metamorphic
5. An igneous rock can be transformed into a metamorphic rock by
a. weathering, erosion, deposition, then compaction to become a sedimentary rock, then heat and pressure.
b. being squeezed by great tectonic forces such as occur at a convergent plate boundary.
c. being heated by magma flowing nearby.
d. all of these.
6. A factory emits steam into the air. How could those same water molecules eventually reside in the ocean? In a river? In groundwater? In a bear's body?
7. Snow becomes glacial ice when it is subjected to
a. decreasing temperature.
b. pressure.
c. rain.
d. plastic deformation.
8. Which process in the water cycle requires enormous energy input from the Sun?
a. precipitation
b. evaporation
c. condensation
d. percolation