Maps & Measurement
Which statement about an unidentified rock sample is most likely an inference?
a) the rock is composed of large crystals
b) the rock has shiny, wavy mineral bands
c) the rock is a metamorphic rock
d) the rock has no visible fossils
c) the rock is a metamorphic rock
Which type of tectonic plate boundary is found between the South American Plate and the Scotia Plate?
a) Transform
b) Convergent
c) Divergent
d) Complex or uncertain
d) Complex or uncertain
a) intergrown crystals
b) fossils
c) minerals
d) sediments
c) minerals
Iron found in some minerals in basalt can react with oxygen and break down into iron oxide particles. This change is an example of
a) Deposition
b) Erosion
c) Chemical weathering
d) Physical weathering
c) Chemical weathering
Which gas became part of Earth’s atmosphere mainly as a result of the evolution of life-forms?
a) Oxygen
b) Nitrogen
c) Helium
d) Hydrogen
a) Oxygen
Which type of land surface will most likely absorb the greatest amount of incoming solar radiation?
a) Rough, dark-colored surface
b) Rough, light-colored surface
c) Smooth, dark-colored surface
d) Smooth, light-colored surface
a) Rough, dark-colored surface
Which type of air mass would most likely form over the Pacific Ocean north of Aleutian Trench?
a) mP
b) mT
c) cP
d) cT
a) mP
Which factor is a primary cause of seasonal changes on Earth?
a) Change in Earth’s distance from the Sun
b) Change in the rate of Earth’s rotation
c) Wobble of Earth’s axis
d) Tilt of Earth’s axis
d) Tilt of Earth’s axis
In the geocentric model (the Earth at the center of the universe), which motion would occur?
a) The Earth would revolve around the Sun.
b) the Earth would rotate on its axis.
c) The Moon would revolve around the Sun.
d) The Sun would revolve around the Earth.
d) The Sun would revolve around the Earth.
Which New York State city is located at 42° 39’ N, 73° 45’ W?
a) Buffalo
b) Albany
c) Ithaca
d) Plattsburgh
b) Albany
Which statement most accurately compares Earth's crust and Earth's mantle?
a) The crust is thinner and less dense than the mantle
b) The crust is thinner and more dense than the mantle
c) The crust is thicker and less dense than the mantle
d) The crust is thicker and more dense than the mantle
a) The crust is thinner and less dense than the mantle
Which type(s) of rock can be the source of deposited sediments?
a) igneous and metamorphic rocks, only
b) metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, only
c) sedimentary rocks, only
d) igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks
d) igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks
Long Island is part of which New York State landscape region?
a) Newark Lowlands
b) Manhattan Prong
c) Tug Hill Plateau
d) Atlantic Coastal Plain
d) Atlantic Coastal Plain
Much of the evidence for the evolution of lifeforms on Earth has been obtained by
a) Studying the life spans of present-day animals
b) Radioactive dating of metamorphic rock
c) Correlating widespread igneous ash deposits
d) Examining fossils preserved in the rock record
d) Examining fossils preserved in the rock record
Heat energy from the lower latitudes is transferred to colder Earth regions by planetary wind circulation mainly through the process of
a) Conduction
b) Radiation
c) Convection
d) Reflection
c) Convection
Which condition will most likely result in the formation of a cloud?
a) Wind speed decreasing
b) Air pressure increasing
c) Cool, moist air sinking
d) Warm, moist air rising
d) Warm, moist air rising
The Milky Way can best be described as
a) An elliptical galaxy
b) A collection of stars orbiting the Sun
c) A star that originated 4600 million years ago
d) One of billions of galaxies in the universe
d) One of billions of galaxies in the universe
Which planet takes longer to complete one rotation on its axis than it does to complete one orbit of the Sun?
a) Mercury
b) Venus
c) Earth
d) Mars
b) Venus
Which statement best describes the conditions existing at a stream location where the erosional-depositional system is in dynamic equilibrium?
a) More erosion than deposition takes place
b) More deposition than erosion takes place
c) Equal amounts of erosion and deposition take place
d) No erosion or deposition takes place
c) Equal amounts of erosion and deposition take place
a) P-waves travel faster than S-waves and pass through Earth's liquid zones
b) P-waves travel faster than S-waves and do not pass through Earth's liquid zones
c) P-waves travel slower than S-waves and pass through Earth's liquid zones
d) P-waves travel slower than S-waves and do not pass through Earth's liquid zones
a) P-waves travel faster than S-waves and pass through Earth's liquid zones
Which statement about the formation of a rock is best supported by the rock cycle?
a) Magma must be weathered before it can change to metamorphic rock.
b) Sediment must be compacted and cemented before it can change to sedimentary rock.
c) Sedimentary rock must melt before it can change to metamorphic rock.
d) Metamorphic rock must melt before it can change to sedimentary rock.
b) Sediment must be compacted and cemented before it can change to sedimentary rock.
Landscapes with a faulted and folded surface bedrock structure, steep slopes, and high elevations are classified as
a) Mountains
b) Lowlands
c) Plains
d) Plateaus
a) Mountains
The Alleghenian orogeny occurred as a result of the
a) Intrusion of the Palisades sill
b) Breakup of Pangaea, which formed the Atlantic Ocean
c) Collision of the North American Plate with the African Plate
d) Metamorphism of the bedrock in the Adirondack Mountains
c) Collision of the North American Plate with the African Plate
As observed from Earth, the wavelengths of light from the most distant galaxies are usually
a) Blue shifted due to an expanding universe
b) Blue shifted due to a contracting universe
c) Red shifted due to an expanding universe
d) Red shifted due to a contracting universe
c) Red shifted due to an expanding universe
If a low-pressure system follows a typical storm track across New York State, it will move toward the
a) Southeast
b) Southwest
c) Northeast
d) Northwest
c) Northeast
Which star type has a surface temperature of 4000 K and a luminosity 1000 times greater than the Sun?
a) Dwarf
b) Main sequence
c) Giant
d) Supergiant
c) Giant
The gravitational attraction between two objects in the solar system is greatest when their masses are
a) Small, and the objects are close together
b) Small, and the objects are far apart
c) Large, and the objects are far apart
d) Large, and the objects are close together.
d) Large, and the objects are close together
Which procedure is an example of classifying observed data?
a) Grouping stars by brightness
b) Graphing temperature versus time for a particular date
c) Photographing the cloud cover for a location throughout 1 week
d) Measuring the angle of Polaris from two different locations
Name the tectonic plate that is intersecting with the South American Plate to uplift the Andres Mountains on the West coast of South America.
Nazca Plate
Which mineral has the same hardness as a streak plate?
Orthoclase
State the relationship between stream velocity and the size of the sediment that the stream can carry.
A direct relationship
As stream velocity increases, the size of the sediment the stream can carry increases.
Identify the geologic period of the bedrock in which the eurypterid index fossil can be found.
Silurian
Identify two major greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change
Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide, ozone, OR chlorofluorocarbons
A climate event that occurs when surface water in the eastern equatorial area of the Pacific Ocean becomes warmer than normal and may cause a warm, dry winter in New York State is
a) An air formation
b) The doppler effect
c) An El Niño
d) A monsoon
c) An El Niño
State the general relationship between a planet's distance from the Sun and the planet's period of revolution.
A direct relationship.
As the distance from the Sun increases, the planet's period of revolution increases.
The deflection of Earth’s planetary winds is an example of
a) The Coriolis effect
b) The doppler effect
c) Convection
d) Gravitational pull
a) The Coriolis effect
An observer watching a sailing ship at sea notes that the ship appears to be "sinking" as it moves away. Which statement best explains this observation?
a) The surface of the ocean has depressions
b) The Earth has a curved surface
c) The Earth is rotating
d) The Earth is revolving
b) The Earth has a curved surface
Identify one dark-colored, mafic igneous rock that is likely to be found on the surface of Iceland.
Gabbro / Basalt
Identify the luster, hardness and dominant form of breakage for the mineral biotite.
Luster: nonmetallic / vitreous
Hardness: 2.5 to 3
Breakage: Cleavage
Identify the landscape region that separates the Adirondack Mountains from the Appalachian Plateau Province?
Mohawk River Valley
During what geologic epoch did the bedrock on the island of San Cristobal form, if it formed 3.2 million years ago (mya).
Pliocene Epoch
Identify the latitude that has 12 hours of insolation every day of the year.
0° / Equator
Which weather variable can be determined by using a psychrometer?
a) Barometric pressure
b) Cloud cover
c) Relative humidity
d) Wind speed
c) Relative humidity
Identify the name of the event that is inferred by scientists to have occurred when the universe first formed.
Big Bang Theory
Identify the radioactive element used to determine the absolute age of late Pleistocene animal remains.
Carbon-14