Earth & Environmental Study Guide
Midterm/Semester Exam
The exam will have about 60 multiple choice questions. The purpose of this study guide is
not to simply give answers or list facts, but to be a guide as to what you should have
learned by the test and what you should be studying from now until then.
NAME: BLOCK:
Safety and the Scientific Method
1. Define Earth Science.
2. List the main areas studied in Earth Science
3. Define and explain each of the following terms:
a. general question (problem)
b. hypothesis
c. experimental design
d. independent variable
e. dependent variable
f. control group
g. data collection (during the actual experiment)
h. conclusion (analysis and interpretation)
4. What base units used to measure length/distance? volume/capacity? mass/weight?
5. Given something to measure, identify the best SI unit to use. Here are some examples:
a. the length of your fingernail
b. the mass of a feather
c. the amount of gas a car’s fuel tank can hold
d. driving distance from Denver to Houston
e. the mass of your backpack when its full of books
f. the volume of atmosphere (air) in the space shuttle
g. What is density (define and give a formula)?
6. Density:
A. A rock has a density of 5.5g/cm3. What is its volume if it weighs 3.5 g?
B. A rock has a density of 3.1g/cm3. What is its mass if the volume is 2.5 cm3?
C. A rock has a mass of 45g and a volume of 15 cm3. What is the density?
Work and Answers:
A. B. C.
Maps
In this section, be able to:
*use a map with lines of latitude and longitude, give the coordinates of any city.
*given the latitude and longitude coordinates, find/identify a spot on a map
*Identify and use contour lines on a topographical map
7. What is a topographical map?
8. Define contour lines
9. What do closely spaced contour lines indicate?
10. How can direction of streamflow be determined from a topographic map?
Rocks, Soils, Mass Movements
In this section, be able to:
*use the charts and graphs in your book (pgs 67, 74, 79, 84, 133, 134, 138)
11. What are the three types of rock and how are each formed? (see rock cycle)
12. Give the two forces that drive the rock cycle and explain how they change rocks and
form new rocks.
13. Explain the interrelationships between the 3 different types of rock (how one rock may become another type of rock, including how a metamorphic rock may become a different
type of metamorphic rock, or sedimentary to sedimentary, etc.
14. What is the difference between an intrusive igneous rock and extrusive igneous rock?
15. List and explain the 4 textures of igneous rock.
16. Compare and contrast conglomerate with breccia.
17. What are the two major classifications of sedimentary rocks?
18. What are the three agents of metamorphism?
19. What is the difference between foliated and non-foliated metamorphic rocks?
20. Describe the difference between chemical and mechanical weathering.
21. Identify and describe the major types of mechanical weathering
22. Identify and describe the major types of chemical weathering
23. Identify the 4 components of soil.
24. Describe how soils are categorized by texture.
25. What are the 5 factors of soil formation?
a. d.
b.
c.
e.
26. Which of these 5 is the most important? Why?
27. Identify & describe the soil horizons.
28. What is a mass movement?
29. Define the following types of mass movements:
1. Creep
2. Slump
3. Earthflow
4. Mudflow
5. Which of these is the slowest?
30. What are ways to stabilize the slopes?
Plate Tectonics and Earth Quakes
In this section, be able to
*identify the types of boundaries seen given an unlabeled diagram similar to those on pgs 259, 261, and 262 (both diagrams) in your book.
31. List and describe the various types of plate boundaries.
Diagram What processes (land formations) are created?
DivergentBoundary
Transform
Boundary
Convergent
Boundary / Ocean-Ocean
Ocean-Continent
Continent-Continent
32. Briefly describe Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis and the evidence that supports it.
33. How does the theory of continental drift differ from the theory of plate tectonics?
34. What is the lithosphere? What layers of the Earth make up the lithosphere?
35. What is a subduction zone and what types of features will be found there?
36. Identify & describe the 3 major forms of evidence for plate tectonics as given by your book.
37. Describe what causes plate motion according to the theory of plate tectonics.
38. Identify the stresses that cause earthquakes.
39. What is the difference between a focus and an epicenter? label the diagram.
40. How can triangulation be used to find the focus of an earthquake? (Include
the relationship between the speed of the p and s waves in your explanation.
41. Fill in the following:
Earthquake Wave Movement Where does it move?
42. Define and apply each of the following vocabulary words dealing with earthquakes
1. Epicenter
2. Focus
3. Fault
4. Seismograph
5. Seismogram
43. List and describe the 3 types of volcanoes (include the type of volcanic eruption expected for each).
Volcano Type How is it built? Physical Characteristic Famous Examples
44. Identify and label the volcano’s parts in the
diagram to the right
45. What is the ring of fire? Where is it?
Why does it occur there?
46. What is Pyroclastic flow?
47. Explain why volcanoes are known as the Earth’s cooling vents.
48. What are 3 characteristics of lava that affect the explosiveness of an eruption?
49. What combination of those factors produces the most explosive eruptions?
50. Which type of volcano generally has the most explosive eruptions?
Natural Resources
51. What is the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources?
52. Complete the following chart regarding resources.
Resource / Source / Advantage / Disadvantage / Renewable or NonrenewableFossil fuels
Solar
Wind
Hydroelectric
Geothermal
Nuclear
Fuel cells
Biomass/Biofuels
Biodiversity/Biomes
53. What is the difference between abiotic factors and biotic factors. Give an example of each.
54. What are 4 reasons for the loss of biodiversity?
55. What is a species?
56. Fill in the rest of the diagram with the following terms (the most complex has been done for you): community, population, organism, ecosystem
57. What are ways that humans can
help preserve biodiversity?
58. Fill out the chart below regarding the various biomes of the world.
Biome / Location / Average Temp / Average Rainfall / Animals and PlantsDeciduous Forest
Desert
Grassland
Taiga
Tropical Rainforest
Tundra