Lesson 1 Questions

  1. LISTWhat are the five categories into which mountains are classified?
  2. DESCRIBEHow does a fold mountain form?
  3. CONTRASTHow is the formation of a fault-block mountain different from the formation of fold mountains?
  4. INFERWhy is a mountain with sharp jagged peaks probably younger than a mountain with rounded peaks?
  5. DESCRIBE What is the connection between dome mountains and plate boundaries?
  6. SEQUENCE What are the steps in the formation of a mid-ocean ridge?
  7. RECALLHow did the Catskill Mountains form?
  8. GENERALIZEHow are erosion mountains different from other types of mountains?
  9. CLASSIFYHow are dome mountains different from other types of mountains?
  10. LOCATE Where could you go in California to find volcanic mountains?
  11. SYNTHESIZE Why do the Coastal Ranges include pieces of the ocean floor?

Lesson 2 Questions

  1. RECALLWhich type of fault occurs where two tectonic plates move apart from each other?
  2. EXPLAINWhat do faults have to do with earthquakes?
  3. HYPOTHESIZEIf a strike-slip fault often moves a little bit, is the fault more likely or less likely to be the site of a destructive earthquake than a fault that slips farther less often? Explain.
  4. NAMEWhich waves formed by an earthquake travel the fastest?
  5. COMPARECompare the movement of two types of body waves.
  6. EVALUATEHow are seismic waves similar to ripples from a stone dropped into water?
  7. CAUSE AND EFFECTWhat happens when stress builds up along a fault?
  8. SUMMARIZEHow is the movement of surface waves different from the movement of both P-waves and S-waves?
  9. CONCLUDEWhere in California would most earthquakes occur?
  10. EVALUATE Why do L-waves generally cause the most extensive damage?
  11. CAUSE AND EFFECTCompare the surface movements caused by P-waves and S-waves.
  12. IDENTIFY What do scientists use to measure the ground motion during earthquakes?
  13. SEQUENCE In what order are waves recorded on a seismogram?
  14. DEDUCE Why is the drum of a seismograph attached to the bedrock of the Earth’s surface?
  15. INFER Why is the network of instruments that monitors earthquakes very extensive in California?

Lesson 3 Questions

  1. EXPLAINIf you know the focus of an earthquake, how can you find its epicenter?
  2. ANALYZEHow does the difference of the speed of P-waves and S-waves help scientists determine the earthquakes epicenter?
  3. RECALLWhat scale is used for earthquake intensity?
  4. EVALUATEWhich is a more precise way to measure the strength of an earthquake—intensity or magnitude? Why do you think so?
  5. LIST What are some of the effects of earthquakes?

Lesson 3 Questions Continued….

  1. IDENTIFY Where is earthquake shaking the strongest?
  2. APPLYSomeone builds a home on land that was reclaimed from a bay with soil and rock landfill. She thinks her home is safer from earthquakes than a friend’s home that is several miles closer to a fault. Is she correct? Why?
  3. MAIN IDEA What affects the damage done by an earthquake?
  4. GIVE AN EXAMPLEWhat is one way to make a house safer in an earthquake?
  5. EXPLAINWhy was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake more damaging than the 1989 Loma Prieta quake?
  6. ANALYZE Why is it a bad idea to build a house of bricks in an earthquake prone area?
  7. EVALUATEWill well-built structures that sit on stable bedrock at an epicenter suffer any damage from an earthquake?
  8. RECALLWhat is a tsunami?
  9. SUMMARIZEHow are tsunamis detected?
  10. MAIN IDEAWhat causes a tsunami?

Lesson 4 Questions

  1. RECALLWhat types of materials come from a volcano during an eruption?
  2. COMPAREWhat is the difference between magma and lava?
  3. INFER Why does melted magma rise through the crust to the surface at convergent plate boundaries?
  4. DESCRIBE What causes explosive volcanic eruptions?
  5. CONTRASTHow are cinder cone volcanoes different from other types of volcanoes?
  6. TELL WHYWhy would you expect a gentle eruption from a volcano with thin lava?
  7. COMPARE AND CONTRASTWhy do composite volcanoes erupt more violently than shield volcanoes?
  8. NAMEWhat is another name for a composite volcano?
  9. IDENTIFYA volcano is composed almost entirely of lava. It is large, but its sides slope very gently, and it does not erupt explosively. What types of volcano is this?
  10. CLASSIFY What characteristics of a volcano would you use to classify it?
  11. CATEGORIZE AND CLASSIFY During Mount Pinatubo’s last eruption in the Philippines, it exploded violently, sending lava down its sides and ash into the air. What type of volcano do you think this is?
  12. EXPLAIN What happened to the town of Pompeii in A.D. 79?
  13. EVALUATE How did the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens change the land around it?
  14. GENERALIZE Can a dormant volcano be a threat to land and people around it?
  15. DESCRIBEWhat is the connection between Mount Saint Helens in Washington and California volcanoes?
  16. APPLYIs Lassen Peak extinct or dormant?
  17. EVALUATE Why didn’t Lassen Peak’s last eruption affect many people?

Lesson 4 Questions Continued….

  1. APPLY If a volcano erupted on a windy day, how might the direction of the wind affect the decision about which areas people must leave or evacuate?
  2. RECALL How do volcanoes form at hot spots?
  3. SUMMAERIZEHow did the Hawaiian Islands grow as a chain of several islands?
  4. PREDICTWill Loihi, the new island forming southeast of Hawaii, be the last island in the Hawaiian Islands chain?