Catastrophic Events – Parts 1-3
Multiple Choice Question Bank
1. What is the thin blanket of gases that surrounds the Earth called?
a. Atmosphere
b. Lithosphere
c. Asthenosphere
d. Hydrosphere
2. Which of these gases does air contain?
a. Nitrogen only
b. Oxygen only
c. Water vapor only
d. Only a and b
e. a, b, and c.
3. Which statement is an accurate comparison of the temperature and amount of oxygen at the base of a mountain compared to the top of the mountain?
a. The base will be warmer and there will be more oxygen than the top
b. The base will be warmer and there will be less oxygen than the top
c. The base will be cooler and there will be less oxygen than the top
d. The base will be cooler and there will be more oxygen than the top
4. If equal masses of soil and water are placed under a lamp for 30 minutes, which would you expect to heat more rapidly?
a. The soil
b. The water
c. They would heat the same
d. They would not heat
5. A group of students wanted to find out what affect soil type would have on heating.
They set up a terrarium so there was sand in one side and potting soil in the other. They placed a 100 watt light bulb over the sand and a 75 watt light bulb over the potting soil. After 30 minutes they measured the temperature of the sand and soil and found that the sand was hotter. The students concluded that sand heats more easily than potting soil.
Why is this conclusion incorrect?
a. Students had more than one manipulated variable
b. Students had more than one controlled variable
c. Students had more than one responding variable
d. Students had no variables in this investigation
Use the following to answer questions 6-8:
A group of students wanted to find out what affect soil type would have on heating. They set up 2 terrariums, one with 1000grams of sand and another with 1000grams of potting soil. They placed both terrariums outside of the classroom in direct sunlight for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes they measured the temperature of the sand and potting soil and found that the soil was hotter. The students concluded that potting soil heats more easily than sand.
6. Which is the manipulated variable?
a. Amount of light
b. Length of time in the sun
c. Type of soil
d. Temperature of the soil
7. Which is the responding variable?
a. Amount of light
b. Length of time in the sun
c. Type of soil
d. Temperature of the soil
8. Which is the controlled variable?
a. Light bulb size
b. Length of time in the sun
c. Type of soil
d. Temperature of the soil
9. How does energy transfer throughout the atmosphere?
a. Winds blow the energy from the poles.
b. Temperature differences cause convection cycles.
c. The atmosphere is made of air and cannot transfer energy.
d. Cold air rises and warm air replaces it.
10. Which is always true about a day when there are strong winds?
a. There are lots of clouds
b. The air temperature is low
c. It is raining
d. The air is moving
e. All of the above
11. What is true about the evaporation of water?
a. It happens only during the daytime when the sky is clear
b. It happens only when water boils
c. It happens only when water changes from liquid to gas
d. It happens only water changes from a gas to a liquid
12. If you were flying in a puffy looking cloud, what you you see?
a. Smoke
b. Tiny water droplets
c. Cotton
d. All of the above are possible
13. Which of the following is not part of the water cycle?
a. Snow falling from clouds
b. Water evaporating from the ocean
c. Water absorbed by plants
d. Water in the ground
e. All of the above are part of the water cycle
14. Interactions between which of the following drive climate and weather?
a. The core and the mantle
b. The oceanic and continental plates
c. The Earth and outer space
d. The hydrosphere and the atmosphere
15. Which of the following houses would probably sustain the least damage during an earthquake?
a. A house built on sand
b. A house built on solid rock
c. A house built on compacted soil
d. A house built on an island
16. How do scientists study earthquakes?
a. By measuring radiation from the sun
b. By measuring the earth’s temperature with a thermometer
c. By measuring movements in the earth with a seismogram
d. By measuring waves in the oceans
17. Which of the following is a piece of evidence for plate tectonics?
a. The location patterns of earthquakes
b. The path of ocean currents
c. The Earth’s magnetic field
d. The tilt of the Earth on its axis
e. There is no scientific evidence
18. Which layer of the earth beneath the crust makes up about 83% of the Earth’s interior?
a. Core
b. Lithosphere
c. Mantle
d. Hydrosphere
19. Which part of the Earth has the highest density ?
a. Material in the inner core
b. Rock in the crust
c. Water in the ocean trenches
d. Sediments on the ocean floor
e. Gases in the lower atmosphere
Below is a diagram of the Earth’s interior.
20. What is layer 2?
a. crust
b. mantle
c. outer core
d. inner core
21. Why do most earthquakes in the United States occur on the west coast?
a. The west coast is along the equator
b. The west coast is in the center of a continental plate
c. The west coast is on a plate boundary
d. The west coast is located on a hot spot in the earth’s crust
22. What do scientists think the primary cause of mountain building is?
a. The cooling and shrinking of the Earth
b. The heating and expanding of the Earth
c. The Moon’s gravitational pull
d. Local climate factors
e. Plate tectonics
23. Where does the heat energy that causes convection in the mantle come from?
a. Earth’s core
b. Sun
c. Volcanoes
d. Global warming
24. What causes the continental plates to move?
a. Convection in the atmosphere
b. Convection in the mantle
c. Convection in the plate
d. Convection in the ocean
25. How does convection in the Earth cause volcanic eruptions?
a. Magma is heated causing it to rise, resulting in volcanic eruptions.
b. Magma is heated causing it to sink, resulting in volcanic eruptions.
c. Convection happens in the atmosphere, and doesn’t cause volcanic eruptions.
d. Solar energy transforms to heat energy and causes volcanic eruptions.
26. How can volcanic eruptions be constructive processes?
a. Lava erupts and burns down a forest.
b. Volcanic ash explodes into the atmosphere and blocks the sun.
c. Volcanoes suddenly erupt and form large waves.
d. Lava erupts, cools, and hardens to form new land.
27. What are the 3 basic rock types?
a. Granite, gabbro, and rhyloite.
b. Sedimentary, lava, and igneous.
c. Sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous.
d. Granite, feldspar, and obsidian.
28. How could a sedimentary rock change into an igneous rock?
a. It could be changed by a lot of pressure and heat into a new rock.
b. It could get heated so much that it melts and then cools to form a new rock.
c. It could get broken down by waves and become compacted into a new rock.
d. It could get broken down by wind and become compacted into a new rock.
29. Carlos has a metamorphic rock in his rock collection. Where did the rock most likely form?
a. In a volcano
b. In a swamp
c. On a coral reef
d. At the bottom of a river
e. Deep underground
30. If there were no weathering and erosion, which type of rock would be least common?
a. Sedimentary rock
b. Molten rock
c. Igneous rock
d. Metamorphic rock
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Draft May 2010