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Earth Science Final Exam Study Guide 2014
The final exam will be 100 multiple choice questions using a scantron to record your answers. The study guide
covers the concepts, ideas, and facts that will be on the final exam.
Astronomy
1. List, in order, the stages in the life cycle of a star with a mass similar to the sun.
Nebula- Protostar-Main Sequence- Red Giant- Planetary Nebula- White Dwarf
2. List, in order, the stages in the life cycle of a star with a mass greater than the sun.
Nebula- Protostar- Main Sequence- Red Supergiant- Supernova- Neutron star OR black hole
3. Compare and contrast the absolute and apparent magnitude of a star?
Absolute magnitude is the actual brightness of a star while apparent magnitude is the brightness of a star
as seen from Earth.
4. What two pieces of evidence support the Big Bang Theory?
Cosmic background radiation and redshift from galaxies
5. What is red shift?
Because galaxies are moving away from each other, they appear more red to the observer. This is because
the wavelength of the light is stretched out as it moves away.
6. True or false, a star with a lower luminosity means a brighter star.
7. What type of galaxy is the Milky Way? Spiral
Minerals
8. List the five criteria that qualify a substance as a mineral?
 Inorganic
 Definite chemical composition
 Solid
 Atoms arranged in crystal structure
 Naturally occuring
9. What are two most common elements in the Earth’s crust?
Silicon and oxygen
10. Explain the difference between cleavage and fracture.
Cleavage is the tendency for a mineral to break with flat sides while fracture is an irregular break
11. Why is color usually the least useful physical property in mineral identification?
Color is subjective and many minerals can occur in multiple colors.
12. What property describes how a mineral’s surface reflects light? Luster
13. The powdered form of a mineral is usually more useful than the exterior color. What is this powdered
form called? Streak
14. What are some tools used to test the hardness of a mineral?
Steel nail, finger nail, penny, glass
15. Use Mohs hardness scale to put these minerals in order from softest to hardest: apatite, calcite,
corundum, quartz, talc. Talc, Calcite, Quartz, Apatite, Corundum
16. What special properties or uses do the following minerals have?
a. Calcite: fizzes with HCl, Iceland spar will double refract, used in toothpaste
b. Quartz: used as glass, various colors
c. Halite: salt
d. Graphite: used in pencils, very soft
Rocks
17. How is metamorphic rock created? (pg118) heat and pressure
18. What processes create igneous rock? (pg118) cooling and crystallization of molten rock
19. What processes create sedimentary rock? (pg118) Compaction and cementation of sediments
20. What type of rock holds most of the earth’s fossils? (notes) sedimentary
21. Igneous rock that cools on Earth’s surface will cool quickly and results in small or no crystals. How do
geologists describe that texture of these rocks? (tasks)
Small crystals results in a fine texture and no crystals results in a glassy texture
22. How do geologists describe the texture of a rock that cools slowly below ground? (pg121) Coarse
23. What is the best way to determine if an igneous rock is mafic or felsic? (notes)
Mafic rocks are dark in color while felsic rocks are light in color
24. Compare and contrast magma and lava. (pg121)
Both are melted (molten) rock. Magma is located below the surface and lava in on Earth’s surface.
25. What is the difference between rocks and minerals?(pg118)
Rocks are made of one or more minerals.
26. Organic sedimentary rocks are made from living things. (notes)
27. If a metamorphic rock has gone through extreme pressure and is foliated, what does it look like?
(notes) Foliation is the appearance of stripes or bands of flattened minerals within a rock.
28. What process does rock go through to become sediments? (pg119)
Weathering, erosion, and deposition
29. What process does rock go through to become magma? (pg119)
melting
Weathering and Erosion
30. How does mechanical weathering differ from chemical weathering? (pg258&260)Mechanical
weathering is the physical breakdown of a rock and chemical weathering involves changes of the
composition
31. Describe the process of frost wedging. (pg258) Liquid water fills a crack and freezing. Because water
expands when frozen, the crack will widen.
32. Which agent of erosion causes abrasion? (pg 341) wind
33. Oxidation is an example of chemical weathering, what is a more common name for oxidation? (pg261)
rust
34. Weathering is the breakdown of rock while erosion is the removal and transport of materials (pg268).
35. What are the agents of erosion? Which accounts for the most erosion on Earth? (notes) Water moves
the most sediment on Earth. Other agents include wind, ice, and gravity.
36. Creep is the slow, imperceptible movement of soil down a slope (pg268).
37. Mass movement refers to the downward transportation of weathered materials by gravity (pg268).
38. Water erodes its channel is the shape of a “V” and glaciers erode its channel in the shape of a “U”
(pg287&324)
39. Where along a meander will erosion occur? Deposition? (notes) Erosion with occur on the outside of
a curve and deposition will occur on the inside of a curve.
Soil and Groundwater
40. Why is karst topography found in areas underlain by limestone bedrock? (pg311)
Limestone contains the mineral calcite. Calcite is easily chemically weathered by slightly acidic
groundwater. This creates caves and sinkholes.
41. How do sinkholes form? (pg311) Typically the water table drops (due to drought) and the roof of a
cave collapses.
42. How do stalactites and stalagmites form? (pg311) Stalactites form while water drips from the ceiling
and deposits a small amount of limestone. When the drop of water hits the floor of the cave it will
deposit more limestone, building up the stalagmite.
43. Permeable layers of rock and sediment that store and carry groundwater in enough quantity to supply
wells are called aquifers. (pg304)
44. Define porosity and permeability (pg300): Porosity is the amount of water that a rock can hold and
permeability is the ability for water to pass through the rock.
45. Define aquifer: (pg304) rock that can hold and store groundwater.
46. Create a diagram with the zone of aeration, zone of saturation, and water table (pg302).
47. List the composition and name for A, B, and C soil horizons.(pg265)
A horizon- top soil made of humus and other organic matter
B horizon- sub soil made from clay that has leached down through the A horizon
C horizon- Weathered bedrock from the R horizon
48. In what order does soil form? (notes) RCOAB
49. What is the rock that is the source of the soil commonly called? Parent rock
50. What is humus and where does it come from? (pg265)Organic material from decayed plants and
animals
Earth’s Layers
51. The Earth’s center is an inner core composed of solid iron and nickel. (pg72)
52. The outer core is composed of iron and nickel in the liquid state. (pg72)
53. What layer of Earth makes up the tectonic plates? (pg73) lithosphere
54. What is the difference between the Earth’s oceanic crust and continental crust?
Oceanic crust in thinner but denser because it is made out of basalt rock. Continental crust is thicker and
less dense because it is granitic.
55. What is the difference between Earth’s crust and the lithosphere?
Earth’s lithosphere includes the crust and part of the upper mantle that make the tectonic plates.
56. What layer of Earth does convection occur and move the plates along? (pg73)
asthensophere
Plate Tectonics
57. What evidence did Wegener use to come up with his idea of continental drift?(notes)
Fossils, Glacier striations, Fit of continents, Mountains
58. Define and sketch the three types of plate boundaries (pg176-178).
Divergent: when two plates moves apart.
Convergent: when two plates collide
Transform: when two plates slide past each other
59. The San Andreas is an example of a transform boundary, while the Andes Mountains are a product of
an O-C convergent boundary. (pg179)
60. What types of boundaries experience subduction? (pg177)
O-O convergent and O-C convergent
61. What type of boundary produces a mid-ocean ridge?(pg179)
Divergent
62. Around 250 million years ago, all the continents were welded together into one landmass known as
Pangaea.
63. Most volcanoes occur along plate boundaries (Ring of Fire), how is Hawaii different than most
volcanoes? (pg197)
Hawaii is a hot spot and is NOT located near a plate boundary.
64. Compare and contrast shield volcanoes, cinder cones, and composite volcanoes. (pg 202-203)
 Shield volcanoes are broad in shape and erupt with basaltic lava (mafic)
 Cinder cones are smaller and tend to occur on the sides of other volcanoes. Lava is thrown into the
air.
 Composite volcanoes are the most violent eruptions, alternating between lava flows and pyroclastic
material
65. Draw and label the diagram from pg 214, showing a fault, epicenter, and focus of an earthquake.
66. Compression stress will create a reverse fault. (pg240)
67. Tension stress will create a normal fault (pg280)
68. Compare both types of body waves, S and P waves. (pg215)
 Primary wave- faster, compressional stress, goes through all of Earth’s layers
 Secondary wave- slower, shear stress, only goes through solid layers
69. Once body waves reach the surface of earth they become more destructive and are called surface
waves (pg216).
70. What does the Richter scale measure? (pg220)
Magnitude (how much energy is released).
71. Where do most earthquakes and volcanoes occur?
Along and near plate boundaries
Geologic Time
72. What is the difference between a mold, cast, and trace fossil? (pg648)
 Mold-hollow depression in the rock
 Cast-copy made from the mold of a fossil
 Trace-indirect evidence of life (ex :footprint, bitemarks)
73. Define Relative Dating (pg650): placing events in the sequence they occurred
74. The Principle of Superpostion states that an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary strata, the older
rock layer will be at the bottom and the younger will be at the top (pg650).
75. According to scientists, how old is Earth? 4.6 byo (billion years old)
76. Define uniformitarianism (notes): all processes that shape Earth today also shaped the Earth in the
past.
77. Define Absolute Time(pg656): the actual date or age of rock or fossil found through radiometric
dating.
78. What is the difference between the parent isotope and the daughter isotope? (pg656) A parent
isotope is an unstable atoms that decays into a stable daughter isotope.
79. The half-life of carbon-14 is 5730 years. If bone sample being analyzed is 17190 years old, how many
half lives has the carbon-14 experienced? (pg657) three
80. What is the principle of cross-cutting relationships?(notes)
An intrusion or fault that cuts across the rock layers is older than what it intrudes.
81. Why is carbon-14 not used to date rocks? (pg658)
Carbon-14 is only found in organic materials
82. What is the largest geologic time interval, an eon, era, period or epoch? (pg 668)
Eon
83. What is the significance of cyanobacteria to Earth’s history?
1st life that introduced large amounts of oxygen into our atmosphere
Energy Resources and Virginia Provinces
84. Give three examples of a fossil fuel (pg148)
Coal, oil, gas
85. What the difference between a renewable and nonrenewable resource? (pg144)
Renewable resources are energy resources that are created faster than humans can consume. A
nonrenewable resource will run out or there is a finite amount.
86. Give three examples of a renewable resource (pg144).
Solar, wind, geothermal, tidal
87. How does Virginia get a majority its energy? coal
Tips for doing your best!!!!
1. Complete this review guide. Although the test will be multiple choice, answering these questions will
help you remember some big ideas and basic information.
2. Don’t wait until the night before your test to look at this study guide. I cannot answer your questions at
10:30 PM!!!
3. Be prepared with questions in class. You will have an opportunity to ask questions then
4. Eat breakfast before your test. You have heard this one before but studies have shown that your brain
works better when it has fresh fuel.
5. Do your best!!! You know this stuff. You just need to refresh your memory.