Deck 1: Understanding Earth: A Dynamic and Evolving Planet

Question 1

Describe how the universe,galaxies,stars,and chemical elements formed.

Answer 1

Scientists believe that the universe originated with the Big Bang approximately 15 billion years ago.At the moment of the Big Bang,there was only energy,no matter.In the first second following the Big Bang,the four basic forces separated and the universe experienced enormous expansion.Galaxies and stars came together because particles attracted to each other by gravity and angular momentum caused the material to rotate.In the early universe,the only chemical elements were hydrogen and helium.Nuclear reactions in stars formed the heavier elements and star explosions scattered them around space.

Question 2

How have natural resources been important in history?

Answer 2

States,nations,and empires have risen and fallen,and they have fought for control of,or sometimes lost,natural resources.

Question 3

What is Pluto now that it is no longer a planet,and what are the characteristics of that type of body?

Answer 3

Pluto is now a dwarf planet.These bodies are similar to planets but they have not cleared their portion of space of debris.Pluto is found within the Kuiper belt of comets and other icy debris.

Question 4

What are the characteristics of the Jovian planets?

Question 5

Briefly explain the importance of the Principle of Uniformitarianism to the study of historical geology.

Question 6

What is scientific method?

Question 7

What are some of the predicted consequences of global warming?

Question 8

Briefly explain the importance of the geologic time scale.

Question 9

Briefly explain how the themes of plate tectonics,organic evolution,and geologic time provide a cohesive history of Earth.

Question 10

Briefly explain how geologists can formulate theories about events that occurred on Earth before humans were here to make observations.

Question 11

What are planetesimals?

Question 12

What are two examples of geology-related environmental concerns? Briefly explain why geology holds an important position in environmental science.

Question 13

What are the characteristics of the terrestrial planets?

Question 14

What distinguishes science from other forms of human inquiry?

Question 15

Briefly explain the current theory of Earth's origin,including how and why it came to be differentiated by composition.

Question 16

What is greenhouse effect and how does it work? What happens when greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere increase?

Question 17

What is one way in which geologic knowledge is used to help humans?

Question 18

What is the basic tenet of the theory of organic evolution? What is the mechanism for organic evolution called and how does it work?

Question 19

How are the rock cycle and plate tectonics related?

Question 20

How is a theory formulated?

Question 21

On what bases are the concentric layers of Earth primarily distinguished?

Question 22

What is the sequence of steps in the formation of sedimentary rocks?

Question 23

Earth's six principal subsystems are ____________________,____________________,____________________,____________________,____________________,and ____________________.

Question 24

What about Earth makes it suitable for a wide variety of life?

Question 25

A combination of related parts that interact in an organized fashion is a(n)____________________.

Question 26

State the principle of uniformitarianism

Question 27

Why is Earth considered to be a dynamic (as opposed to static)planet?

Question 28

The increasing percentage of heavier elements in the later universe results from nuclear ____________________,during the evolution of ____________________.

Question 29

Earth formed ______ billion years ago.

Question 30

How do metamorphic rocks form?

Question 31

What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?

Question 32

When the universe originated it was composed of 100 percent ____________________ and but now consists of ____________________ percent hydrogen and 2 percent ____________________ elements.

Question 33

How is Earth unique among the planets of the solar system?

Question 34

What is the name of the method that is used to determine the absolute age of a rock body?

Question 35

The four basic forces are ____________________,____________________,____________________,and ____________________.

Question 36

The two primary materials that geologists use as clues to understand Earth's past are ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 37

What is the basic premise of the principle of uniformitarianism?

Question 38

Any theory that explains the origin of the solar system must also explain the following properties of all or most of the planets: a(n)____________________ direction of rotation and division into ____________________ planets and ____________________ planets,according to their chemical and physical properties.

Question 39

What are the three major groups of rocks?

Question 40

What is the definition of the word "theory" as used in science?

Question 41

The ocean crust is composed mostly of what?

A) granite
B) peridotite
C) basalt
D) sial
E) gneiss

Question 42

Earth's core is probably ____.

A) composed of rock with high silica content
B) hollow
C) molten throughout
D) composed of potassium and aluminum rich silicates
E) composed mostly of iron and nickel

Question 43

Plates of ____________________ move over the ____________________,partly as a result of ____________________ cells.

Question 44

The age of the universe is estimated by ____.

A) the temperature of the universal background radiation
B) the age of comets formed in interstellar space
C) the rate at which galaxies are moving away from one another
D) the age of subatomic particles as determined by radioactive decay
E) the age of the sun

Question 45

The portion of Earth that has the largest volume is the ____________________.

Question 46

The Big Bang took place approximately ____ years ago.

A) 150 billion
B) 50 billion
C) 15 billion
D) 15 million
E) 10,000

Question 47

Earth's solid portion is divided into concentric layers of rock and other materials that may be solid,liquid,or partially molten.From the center to the surface,these are known as the inner ____________________,outer ____________________,lower ____________________,upper ____________________,and ____________________.

Question 48

Rocks that form from the crystallization of lava or magma are ____________________ rocks.

Question 49

Among the evidence for the Big Bang origin of the universe is

A) the separation of the four basic forces
B) galaxies are all moving away from one another
C) a universal background radiation slightly above zero
D) the separation of the four basic forces AND a universal background radiation slightly above zero
E) galaxies are all moving away from one another AND a universal background radiation slightly above zero

Question 50

Which of the following statements about a scientific theory is not true?

A) It is an explanation for some natural phenomena.
B) It has a large body of supporting knowledge.
C) It is testable.
D) It is conjecture or guess.
E) None of these

Question 51

Most scientists argue that the greatest environmental problem facing the world today is what?

A) climate change
B) the ozone hole
C) water pollution
D) overpopulation
E) overfishing

Question 52

Fossils are ____.

A) useful for reconstructing past environmental conditions
B) evidence that evolution has occurred
C) evidence that Earth has a long history predating humans
D) the remains or traces of once living organisms
E) all of these

Question 53

The zone between the core and the crust is called what?

A) innersphere
B) lithosphere
C) mantle
D) convection center
E) molten zone

Question 54

The theory that all living organisms are descendants of different life forms that existed in the past is called ____.

A) organic evolution
B) astrology
C) paleontology
D) plate tectonics
E) natural selection

Question 55

The two types of crust are ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 56

Identify the terrestrial planets.

A) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
B) Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
C) Earth, Mars, and Jupiter
D) Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto
E) Mercury, Earth, Mars, and Pluto

Question 57

At the moment of the Big Bang,

A) all matter and energy were compressed into an infinitely small high-temperature and high-density state.
B) all matter and energy were infinitely expanded and equaled the size of the universe.
C) the universe was entirely made of infinitely dense matter; energy had not yet come into existence.
D) the universe that had existed previously inverted on itself and became the current universe.
E) all of the chemical elements that we see in the universe today were forged in the explosion.

Question 58

The crust and the underlying uppermost mantle make up the ____________________.

Question 59

The material in Earth's inner core is ____________________,while the outer core is ____________________.

Question 60

Which of the following statements about the asthenosphere is not true?

A) It lies beneath the lithosphere.
B) It is a rigid rock layer.
C) It behaves plastically.
D) It acts like a lubricating layer allowing plates to move.
E) It has the same composition as the lower mantle.

Question 61

Natural selection refers to organisms choosing the habitat in which they feel most comfortable.

Question 62

In the 19ᵗʰ century,the geologic time scale was first developed using radiometric age dating techniques.

Question 63

Natural selection refers to survival of organisms that are best adapted to their environment.

Question 64

According to the Principle of Uniformitarianism,processes have occurred at the same rates throughout geologic time.

Question 65

In the 19ᵗʰ century,the geologic time scale was based primarily on sequence of fossils in the rock record.

Question 66

The central thesis of the theory of organic evolution is that there has always been the same diversity of species on Earth in the past as today.

Question 67

The two types of crust are known as lithospheric and oceanic.

Question 68

Geologists use the Principle of Uniformitarianism as a basis to interpret the past and predict the future.

Question 69

Scientists have proven that there is no supernatural or spiritual realm.

Question 70

Earth was originally of homogeneous composition.

Question 71

The Principle of Uniformitarianism is based on the idea that modern processes have operated throughout geologic time.

Question 72

Sudden or catastrophic events,such as volcanic eruptions and tsunami,can be explained by

A) the big bang theory.
B) the theory of natural selection.
C) the third law of thermodynamics.
D) the principle of uniformitarianism.

Question 73

According to the theory of organic evolution,all living organisms are related and they descended,with some modifications,from organisms that lived in the past.

Question 74

The solar nebula theory of the formation of the solar system accounts for the differences in composition between the terrestrial and Jovian planets.

Question 75

In order for geologists to use the Principle of Uniformitarianism to interpret the geologic record,they do not need to study modern geologic processes.

Question 76

What are the three types of plate boundaries?

A) mid-ocean ridge, trench, divergent
B) mid-ocean ridge, divergent, convergent
C) divergent, convergent, transform
D) convergent, transform, trench