Fall Final Exam Study Guide
Chapters 1-13
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List the parts of scientific method.
Earth science is the scientific study of ______________________________
An idea that has been tested repeatedly and gains acceptance is called a ______________________________
What are the four main branches of Earth science?
Earth’s circumference is about 40,000 km, and its shape is ______________________________
Which of the following is NOT a possible source of Earth’s magnetic field? __________
a. sun’s magnetic field
c. magnetosphere
b. moon’s magnetic field
d. Earth’s core
According to the law of gravitation, gravity depends on __________________ and _______________________.
Which of the following is NOT an important energy source for Earth systems? ____________
a. sun
c. gravity
b. nitrogen
d. Convection
Which of the following elements is NOT involved in the cycling of energy and matter on Earth? ____________
a. phosphorus
c. gold
b. nitrogen
d. carbon
List the processes involved in the water cycle.
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
List the parts of the compositional structure of Earth.
List the parts of the structural layers of Earth.
Anything that has mass and takes up space is known as_______________________.
In a _______________________ system, the only thing exchanged with the surroundings is energy.
Because Earth’s interior is warmer than its surface layers, hot materials move toward the surface in a process
called _____
Approximately 70% of Earth’s surface is covered by the _____________________________.
17.
18. The two most common elements in Earth’s crust are ______________ and ____________________
19. Where does a compass needle point? _______________________________________________
20. In what units are latitude and longitude measured? ________________________, ________________________,
and ______________________________________
21. What measure is the prime meridian? ________________________________________
22. What symbol is used to show the cardinal directions on a map? ___________________________________
23. On a topographic map, the difference in elevation between one contour line and the next is indicated by the ____
24. The science of making maps is called _________________________________________________
25. Latitude uses parallel circles that measure _________________________________________________________
26. Longitude indicates measures ___________________________________________________________________
27. All matter is made up of _______________________________
28. An atom is made up of what 3 subatomic particles, include their charges?
29. Draw an atomic diagram showing the locations of the 3 subatomic particles
30. What name is given to an atom that has a different number of neutrons than other atoms of the same element?
______
31. What name is given to an atom that has lost or gained electrons? ____________________
32. What are counted in an atom to determine mass number? _______________________________
33. What is the atomic number of an element? _______________________________
34. Elements are arranged on the periodic table in order of ______________________________
35. When atoms combine they give or take or share their ______________________________
36. When elements and compounds combine to form new compounds, the reaction is described in a ____
37. How many atoms of sodium (Na) are there in the formula for table salt NaCl? ___________________________
38. Density, color, and boiling point are examples of ______________________________ properties.
39. In the chemical formula CO2, what does the small 2 mean? ______________________________
40. The attractive force between oppositely charged ions that result from the transfer of electrons from one atom to
another is known as a ______________________________ bond.
Fall Final Exam Study Guide
Chapters 1-13
41. List the four criteria for determining whether or not a substance is a mineral?
42. What are the two main groups of minerals? __________________________ and _________________________
43. What two elements must be present in a silicate? ______________________ and _________________
44. What mineral property involves iron? ____________
a. radioactivity
c. refraction
b. density
d. Magnetism
45. Unstable atomic nuclei decay over time into stable nuclei, causing a mineral to be _______________________
46. The color of a mineral in powdered form is called the mineral’s __________________________________
47. Light that is reflected from a mineral’s surface is called __________________________
48. Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to ________________________________________________________
49. Density is the ratio of ______________________
50. What three processes change the form of existing rock?
51. The name for this type of rock means “from fire” in Latin. _________________________________________
52. This type of rock has changed into another type of rock because of chemical processes or changes in temperature
and pressure is called ________________________________________
53. Give the two main categories of energy resources and describe what differentiates between them.
54. List the three types of fossil fuels.
55. Petroleum forms in permeable rock due to __________________________________________________
56. The most abundant fossil fuel in the world is ___________________________________
57. What happens during nuclear fission? ______________________________________________________
58. The source of 11% of the United States’ electricity is which nonrenewable energy resource? __________
59. The energy source in which a dam plays a key role is ________________________
60. Acid precipitation forms as a result of _________________________________
61. How is the energy that reaches Earth from the sun produced? __________________________
62. Coal deposits are formed by _____________________________________________________________
63. What is released in large amounts when coal with a high sulfur content is burned? ____________________
64. A fossil fuel formed by the remains of prehistoric organisms in shallow oceans and lakes is _________________
65. Fossil fuels consist mainly of what chemical compound? __________________________________
66. Petroleum and natural gas are most often mined from what type of rock? _________________________________
67. A well that is drilled to reach hot water heated by magma is harnessing __________________________________
68. The law of superposition explains that new layers of sedimentary rock _____________________
69. The principle that Earth’s history can be explained by current geologic processes is ______________
70. A fault or body of rock is younger than any other body of rock it cuts through according to the law of _________
71. The numeric age of an object is called _______________________________
72. Almost all fossils are discovered in ___________________________________
73. Amber is _________________________________________
74. Organisms that formed index fossils lived during _________________ spans of geologic time
75. The way fossils are formed in very dry places is called __________________________________
76. Why is radioactive decay used to determine the absolute age of rocks? ________________________.
77. List all ways that organisms can be fossilized. ____________________________________________
78. If the Cretaceous Period began about 146 Ma, this means it began __________________________________
79. Geologic time is divided into _____________eons.
80. Precambrian time consists of ______________________________________________
81. A geologic period is usually named for the place where its characteristic ______________ were first discovered
82. The gradual development of new organisms from preexisting organisms is called _________________________
83. Which of the geologic time period’s rock is characterized by severe damage? _____________________________
84. The division of geologic time that makes up about 88% of Earth’s history is called _________________________
85. Scattered landmasses on Earth merged into a supercontinent during __________________________________
86. The Devonian Period is also known as the Age of ______________________________
Fall Final Exam Study Guide
Chapters 1-13
87. According to the impact hypothesis, dinosaurs became extinct when
______________________________________
88. The Cenozoic Era is known as the Age of _______________________________
89. The Precambrian rock record is difficult to interpret because __________________________ has altered the
original order of rock layers.
90. The appearance of many new life-forms during the first period of the Paleozoic Era was probably aided by the
development of __________________________________________________________________
91. The most common Precambrian fossils are ________________________
92. The first period of the Mesozoic Era was called the ____________________________ Period.
93. The end of the Permian Period was marked by __________________________________________
94. What happened when temperatures decreased during the ice ages of the Cenozoic Era? _______________
95. On a geologic column, the oldest rocks are located where? _________________________________________
96. Mountain ranges created during the Cenozoic Era include the __________________________________________
97. Scientists have most accurately determined the absolute ages of rock layers by using _____________ dating
methods.
98. A variety of life-forms appeared in the Cambrian Period due to ____________________ covering the continents.
99. What can a scientist assume about the formation of a rock layer that matches a similar layer in a geologic column?
100. Dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the _____________________________________
101. Dinosaurs first appeared during the ____________________________________________
102. You exist during the __________________________________________________________________
103. What is the crack in the ocean floor through which magma rises? ___________________________
104. How does sediment that is closer to a mid-ocean ridge compare to sediment that is farther away?
_______________
105. Magnetic patterns on the ocean floor were puzzling because they showed
__________________________________
106. Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift was finally confirmed by evidence supporting the idea of
_____________
107. Tectonic plates can include both ____________________and ____________________crust.
108. The Pacific Ring of Fire is a zone of ____________________
109. The Himalaya Mountains were formed in a collision at a ____________________boundary
110. An example of a transform boundary is the ____________________
111. What often forms when large terranes and continents collide? ____________________
112. Madagascar has unique species of plants and animals because ________________________________________
113. Modern climates are a result of past movements of ____________________
114. In 150 million years, where may Los Angeles be in relation to San Francisco’s current location?
_______________
115. According to Wegener, what happened about 250 million years ago concerning the supercontinent
_____________
116. Which of the following was NOT a piece of evidence Wegener found to support his hypothesis?
a. debris from glaciers in southern Africa
b. mountains of similar age in North America and Scotland
c. tracks of continents plowing through ocean floor rock
d. identical Mesosaurus fossils in South America and Africa
Fall Final Exam Study Guide
Chapters 1-13
117. The study of paleomagnetism was key in proving Wegener’s hypothesis because it provided evidence of
________
118. The theory that explains why and how continents move is called ____________________
119. .Frequent earthquakes in an area may indicate ____________________
120. Convection, ridge push, and slab pull work together to produce ____________________
121. What is one way tectonic plate movement affects climate? ________________________________________
122. Panthalassa was the large ____________________that surrounded Pangaea.
123. The splitting of Pangaea into two continents is part of ____________________
124. The most conclusive proof for continental drift was provided by evidence of ____________________
125. To assign ages to sea-floor rocks, scientists used ____________________time scale.
126. Tectonic plates are blocks of ____________________
127. At the center of a mid-ocean ridge is a ____________________
128. .An example of a divergent boundary that can be seen from an airplane is ______________________________
129. Deep-ocean trenches form at ____________________boundaries.
130. What occurs at a transform boundary? __________________________________________________________
131. .Built-up heat from the mantle that weakens lithosphere causes ____________________
132. One result of the collision that formed Pangaea was ______________
133. Isostatic adjustments occur in ___________________________
134. The asthenosphere is within the ___________________________
135. What is isostasy? ___________________________________________________________________________
136. Folded mountains form when ___________________________ collide.
137. When the oceanic and continental lithospheres collide,
_________________________________________________
138. What happens when two oceanic plates collide? ___________________________________________________
139. What type of mountain is formed when higher blocks fault? ___________________________
140. What happens when two continental plates collide? ___________________________
141. The type of stress that squeezes and shortens a body is ___________________________
142. What is subduction? ______________________________________________________
143. The same stresses that form folded mountains also form ___________________________
144. What type of mountain is most likely to form when plates with edges that have oceanic lithosphere collide?
______________________________________________________
145. List the types of mountains?_________________________________________________________________
146. What happens when oceanic and continental plates collide?
______________________________________________
147. The type of stress that distorts a body by pushing parts of the body in opposite directions is
____________________
148. A dome mountain is a mountain formed by pressure from
_______________________________________________
149. What type of fault results when the rock on either side of a fault plane slides horizontally in response to shear
stress? ______________________________________________________
150. A volcanic mountain is formed by ______________________________________________________
151. The lower boundary of Earth’s crust is called the ___________________________
152. Because Earth’s interior is warmer than its surface layers, hot materials move toward the surface in a process
called ___________________________
153. The composition of Earth’s interior affects ______________________ of seismic waves.
154. What are the fastest body waves? _______________________________
155. Earthquakes generally occur at plate boundaries, where stress on rocks is ________________
Fall Final Exam Study Guide
Chapters 1-13
156. On the modified Mercalli scale, how is intensity XII described? ______________________
157. A modern seismograph consists of ______________________sensing devices.
158. During a major earthquake, buildings ____________________________________________
159. How do scientists find the epicenter of an earthquake? _______________________________
160. Why do earthquakes usually occur at plate boundaries? _______________________________
161. What causes tsunamis? ___________________________________________________
162. Which of the following do scientists study in their efforts to forecast earthquakes? ___________________
163. List the areas of major volcanic activity? ________________________________________________
164. This area is both a major earthquake zone and volcano zone. ______________________________
165. What forms on the ocean floor in a subduction zone? _____________________________________
166. List some indications that signal a volcanic eruption? _____________________________________
167. Volcanic ash, dust, blocks, bombs, and lapilli are all ______________________________________
168. The eruption of Mount St. Helens was __________________________________________________
169. Which of the following is NOT a tectonic setting where volcanoes form? ________________________