Seasons occur because Earth is

A. Very close to the sunB. Rotating on its axisC. Covered with bodies of waterD. Tilted on its axis

Water enters the atmosphere from plants by the process of

A. TranspirationB. PrecipitationC. EvaporationD. Condensation

Why are waves higher during a storm?

A. Storms have strong windsB. Storms have heavy rainsC. The sun and moon pull on wavesD. Currents add water during storms

Which of Earth’s layers has melted rock that moves like a thick liquid?

a. Crustb. Inner corec. Surfaced. mantle

Metamorphic rock forms by

a. Melting under high pressureb. Compaction and cementationc. Cooling and solidifying

Where does the rock material in a mid-ocean ridge come from

a. It is sediment carried into the ocean by riversb. It is rock broken down by waves along the

shorec. It is hardened magma that rises from the

mantled. It is metamorphic rock that forms from heat

and pressure

How do people contribute to erosion?

a. Ice freezes, expands and pushes rock apartb. Pollution forms acid rain that breaks down

rockc. People conserve land by not building on open

landd. Pollution gets into water and harms plants

and animals

An index fossil helps scientist determine

a. The minerals that make up rocksb. The depth of the rock layer in which it is

foundc. The age of the rock layer in which it is foundd. How long it took for the rock to form

Index fossil

• A fossil of a well-known easily identifiable organism that lived for a short time and can be used as a reference or marker against which the age of other objects at the same site can be determined.

Earth’s plates are moved by convection currents in the

a. Upper mantleb. Crustc. Lithosphered. core

How does the Gulf Stream affect climate?

a. It moves cold water around the Gulf of Mexico

b. It moves warm water from the equator to northwest Europe

c. It moves cold water from the equator to the poles

d. It moves warm water from the poles to the equator

What is most likely to happen to an aquifer if too many wells are dug into it?

a. It could overflowb. It could become pollutedc. Its water level could dropd. Its water could turn into oil

Which statement is true?

a. A sea breeze flows from the ocean toward the land at night because the land and ocean lose heat at the same rate

b. A sea breeze flows from the land toward the ocean at night because the land and water lose heat at the same rate

c. A sea breeze forms at night because the ocean cools faster than the land

d. A sea breeze forms during the day because the land warms faster than the ocean

Which of these statements about hurricanes is false?

a. A hurricane begins as a low pressure systemb. Winds are above 120 km per hourc. A hurricane gains energy as it moves over

landd. A hurricane gets its energy from sunlight

Which characteristic do all the outer planets share?

a. They each have one moonb. They are all gaseousc. They are all solid and rockd. They are smaller than Earth

Which scientist was the first to state the heliocentric theory?

a. Copernicusb. Galileoc. Hubbled. Ptolemy

An area of land that drains into a river or lake is called

a. An aquiferb. A wetlandc. A watershedd. An ocean basin

Watershed

• An area of land that drains into a river or lake. • Watersheds can be as small as just one square

kilometer or as large as many thousands of square kilometers

• They are sometimes called drainage basins or river basins

Which is the softest mineral on the Mohs hardness scale?

a. Talcb. Flouritec. Quartzd. diamond

Which layer of soil contains the most nutrients?

a. Topsoilb. Bedrockc. Parent materiald. subsoil

When it rains, water flows over the ground and into streams and rivers. What is this water called?

a. Groundwaterb. Runoffc. Sleetd. pollution

What is the shape of the Milky Way Galaxy?

a. Circleb. Long ovalc. Spirald. An irregular shape

The bright streak of light produced as a piece of rock from space burns up in Earth’s atmosphere is called

a. An asteroidb. Meteorc. Cometd. meteorite

Meteor vs. Meteoroid

• Meteor• A streak of light caused

by a meteoroid that enters Earth’s atmosphere

• Meteoroid• A piece of space rock or

dust that is smaller than an asteroid

In what way are ocean currents driven by the sun?

a. Currents form to fill the void left by the water that the sun evaporates

b. Living things in the ocean create currents why they use the sun’s energy to make food

c. The sun is the energy source of the water cycle, which causes rain to fall into the oceans

d. Currents are caused by winds that form due the sun’s energy heating the atmosphere

Which of these BEST explains why we see the moon’s phases?

a. As Earth spins on its axis, we see the moon seem to move across the sky

b. As the moon moves around Earth, we see different views of the moons lit half

c. As Earth spins on its axis, different parts of Earth are lit by the sun

d. As Earth revolves around the sun, the sun’s rays strike the Earth at different angles