Earth’s Structure and Processes Test 1
1.
A
B
C
D
What are the only things found in the lithosphere?
Piedmont and Sandhills region
oceans and rivers
barrier islands and beaches
crust and parts of the mantle
2. Below the uppermost brittle, rigid Earth layer there is a soft, plastic-like layer that contains hot, slowly flowing
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B
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D
material. What is this layer called?
outer core
asthenosphere
inner core
lithosphere
3.
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B
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D
The crust and uppermost part of the Earth’s mantle form a brittle, rigid layer. What is this layer called?
outer core
asthenosphere
atmosphere
lithosphere
4.
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B
C
D
What is the correct order of the three interior layers of Earth from outermost layer to innermost layer?
core, mantle, crust
mantle, core, crust
crust, mantle, core
crust, core, mantle
5.
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B
C
D
What are the two most common elements in Earth’s crust?
oxygen and silicon
oxygen and hydrogen
carbon and iron
carbon and sulfur
6.
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B
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D
As you go deeper and deeper into Earth’s interior, what happens to the pressure and temperature?
both decrease
pressure increases and temperature decreases
temperature increases and pressure decreases
both increase
7.
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B
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D
Which answer describes Earth’s crust?
the thinnest layer of Earth
the thickest layer of Earth
made of molten iron and nickel
made of solid, compressed, melted metals
8.
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B
C
D
Which answer describes Earth’s outer core?
the thinnest layer of Earth
the thickest layer of Earth
made of molten iron and nickel
made of solid, compressed, melted metals
9.
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B
C
D
Which answer describes Earth’s mantle?
the thinnest layer of Earth
the thickest layer of Earth
made of molten iron and nickel
made of solid, compressed, melted metals
10.
A
B
C
D
Which pair matches a type of seismic wave with its correct abbreviation?
E - Coastal
K - Convergent
P – Primary
X – Tectonic
11.
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How do surface waves compare to other seismic waves?
Surface waves are the longest lasting.
Surface waves are the most common.
Surface waves are the most damaging.
Surface waves are the fastest moving.
12.
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What are the three types of seismic waves produced by earthquakes?
primary, secondary, tertiary
primary, secondary, surface
surface, underground, oceanic
surface, underwater, atmospheric
13. Which type of seismic wave moves through solid rock and moves at a right angle to primary waves, causing rocks to
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move up and down and side to side?
surface
primary
secondary
tertiary
14. Earthquake waves travel faster through Earth’s mantle than through the crust. What does this information tell us
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about Earth’s mantle?
The mantle is less dense than the crust.
The mantle is the same density as the crust.
The mantle is denser than the crust.
The mantle is the same density as the core.
15.
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What causes Earth’s magnetic field?
the movement of materials in the outer core of Earth
the movement of materials in Earth’s crust
the movement of seismic waves
the movement of iron and nickel in the mantle
16.
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Which phenomenon is believed to be the cause of Earth’s magnetic field?
The iron in the ocean floor lines up from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Earth’s atmosphere holds in all magnetic particles.
A solid inner core spins inside a molten moving outer core.
A molten inner core moves inside of a solid outer core.
17.
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How does a compass always respond to Earth’s magnetic field?
It always spins in circles.
It always points south.
It always points in the direction that you are walking.
It always points north.
18. Seismologists monitored the behavior of seismic waves through a certain area. They observed that the S waves did
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not travel through this area. Using this information, what could they infer about the type of material in this area?
The area is composed of gravel.
The area is composed of solid iron.
The area is composed of solid rock.
The area is composed of molten rock.
19.
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What type of instrument measures and records seismic waves?
seismometer
seismograph
seismogram
seismonitor
20. Using the map below and the triangulation method, approximately where is the epicenter of this earthquake?
W
X
A
B
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D
W
X
Y
Z
Y
Z
The diagram below represents how seismologists plot circles on a map and use the triangulation to determine the
epicenter of an earthquake. Use this diagram to answer the next 3 questions.

New York
Seismograph
A
Tennessee 
Seismograph
B
C

Alabama
D
Seismograph
21.
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D
What does the circle around a seismographic station represent?
The distance of the earthquake’s focus from the seismographic station.
The time it took for the P waves to reach the seismographic station.
The time it took for the S waves to reach the seismographic station.
The distance of the earthquake’s epicenter from the seismographic station.
22.
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Which point on the diagram marks the epicenter of the earthquake?
A
B
C
D
23.
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The epicenter cannot be determined with only New York and Alabama’s seismographic data. Why?
The circles around these stations intersect in two different locations.
The circles around these stations intersect in only one location.
The circle around Alabama is too small.
New York is too far away from the epicenter.
24.
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D
Which measurement helps determine how far an earthquake’s epicenter is from a seismograph?
the wavelength of the P wave
the wavelength of the S wave
the difference in the time between the arrival of the P wave and the S wave
the sum of the time between the arrival of the P wave and the S wave
25.
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B
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D
How can limestone be formed?
by chemical processes only
by organic activity only
either by chemical processes or by organic activity
either by fragmenting of other rock or by chemical processes
26.
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What is intrusive or plutonic igneous rock?
magma that cooled slowly
lava that cooled on the surface
basalt rock and obsidian
magma that formed and cooled underground
27. What process does the number “3” in the rock-cycle diagram show?
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D
weathering, erosion, transportation, and deposition
chemical change due to heat and pressure
cooling and solidifying
melting under extremely high temperature
28. What will happen to a sedimentary rock, such as sandstone, if it is buried and subjected to moderate heat and
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pressure?
It will become a clay rock.
It will become a metamorphic rock.
It will become a plutonic rock.
It will become a volcanic rock.
29.
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What forces acting on other rocks produce metamorphic rocks?
heat only
chemical action and pressure
pressure and heat
heat and chemical action
30. Sedimentary rocks can be sorted according to particle size. Which list below is correctly sorted from the smallest to
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the largest particle size?
sandstone → breccia → shale
breccia → shale → sandstone
breccia → sandstone → shale
shale → sandstone → breccia
Use this diagram to answer the next 2 questions.
31.
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Which types of rock could change into a metamorphic rock?
igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
igneous and sedimentary
sedimentary only
igneous only
32.
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B
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D
If a rock has formed from molten material, such as magma or lava, what type of rock is it?
clastic
igneous
sedimentary
chemical
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