Deck 2: Journey to the Center of the Earth

Question 1

The following image shows the Earth's magnetic field.The Earth's magnetic field lines are distorted (i.e.,not symmetrical)because

A) the Earth is rapidly rotating around the Sun.
B) the Earth is rotating on an internal axis.
C) convection is occurring in the outer core
D) solar wind deflects the Earth's magnetic field lines.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The region of space that contains all of the material of our Solar System (shown below)is termed the

A) Kuiper belt.
B) heliosphere.
C) cryosphere.
D) Oort cloud.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first people to

A) enter space.
B) orbit the Earth.
C) walk on the Moon.
D) walk on Mars.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The Earth's surface is protected from solar wind and cosmic radiation by

A) the Earth's gravitational field.
B) the Earth's magnetic field.
C) a large,metallic shield launched into orbit by NASA in the 1960s.
D) a powerful stream of ions emitted by the Sun.

Question 5

The Earth's magnetic field serves as a shield against solar-wind particles,which can be dangerous to life forms.The area inside this magnetic shield is known as the

A) habitable zone.
B) magnetosphere.
C) aurorae.
D) dipole.

Question 6

__________ was the first human to orbit the Earth.

A) Yuri Gagarin
B) Neil Armstrong
C) Buzz Aldrin
D) Edwin Hubble

Question 7

The shape of the Earth's magnetic field is approximately that of a

A) monopole,as would be produced by just one pole of a magnet.
B) dipole,such as that produced by a bar magnet.
C) torus,a doughnut-shaped ring parallel to the Earth's equator.
D) sphere,following the shape of the Earth.

Question 8

An aurora (shown below)is produced when

A) charged particles flow toward the magnetic poles and excite atmospheric gases.
B) swamp gases rise from the Arctic tundra and react with the upper atmosphere.
C) radiation in the Van Allen belts can be seen on a clear,cold night.
D) lightning travels from cloud to cloud rather than cloud to ground.

Question 9

Presently,the Earth's atmosphere is dominated by which two gases?

A) hydrogen and helium
B) oxygen and carbon dioxide
C) nitrogen and oxygen
D) carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide

Question 10

Most asteroids inhabit the "asteroid belt" between

A) Earth and Mars.
B) Mars and Jupiter.
C) Neptune and Pluto.
D) the Oort cloud and Kuiper belt.

Question 11

Which planets lie within the habitable zone of our Solar System?

A) Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,and Jupiter
B) Mercury,Venus,Earth,and Mars
C) Earth and Mars
D) Earth and Jupiter

Question 12

If one were to ride a hot air balloon up into the atmosphere,one would experience the concentration of gases

A) increasing.
B) decreasing.
C) remaining the same.
D) increasing for the first 10 km,then starting to decline.

Question 13

Look at the following image of the layers of the Earth's atmosphere and the temperature gradient within these layers.Which of the following statements is true of the atmospheric temperatures?

A) The temperature consistently increases with altitude from the troposphere to the thermosphere.
B) The temperature consistently decreases with altitude from the troposphere to the thermosphere.
C) The temperature decreases with altitude in the troposphere but increases with altitude in the stratosphere.
D) The temperature of the atmosphere varies with no respect to altitude or atmospheric layer.

Question 14

Substances that can be transformed to a gas at the conditions found at the Earth's surface are termed

A) glasses
B) melts
C) volatiles
D) mineraloids

Question 15

Most winds and clouds develop in the

A) troposphere.
B) stratosphere.
C) mesosphere.
D) thermosphere.

Question 16

If one were to see a comet passing by the Earth,it would be likely that this comet originated from

A) the asteroid belt.
B) the Kuiper belt.
C) a neighboring galaxy.
D) interplanetary space.

Question 17

Where can icy bodies left over from the protoplanetary disk that formed our Solar System long after the Big Bang be found?

A) the heliosphere
B) the Oort cloud
C) the Kuiper belt
D) interplanetary space

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT true about comets and asteroids?

A) Comets are icy,while asteroids are rocky.
B) Both are planetesimals.
C) Both are numerous in our Solar System.
D) Both originate in the Kuiper belt.

Question 19

Look at the following image of our Solar System.Where is the concentration of atoms greatest?

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D

Question 20

The atmosphere is divided into several distinct layers.From the ground up they are,in order,

A) stratosphere,troposphere,mesosphere,and thermosphere.
B) troposphere,stratosphere,thermosphere,and mesosphere.
C) troposphere,stratosphere,mesosphere,and thermosphere.
D) stratosphere,troposphere,thermosphere,and mesosphere.

Question 21

Most of the ocean floor is made up of

A) deep-ocean trenches (8 to 11 km below sea level).
B) abyssal plains (4 to 5 km below sea level).
C) mid-ocean ridges (less than 2.5 km below sea level).
D) Elevations of the sea floor are nearly uniformly distributed from sea level to 11 km depth.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT an example of sediment?

A) sand
B) ground-up seashells
C) cobblestones on a beach
D) sandstone

Question 23

During a journey to the center of the Earth,one would experience

A) temperature and pressure both increasing.
B) temperature and pressure both decreasing.
C) temperature increasing,but pressure staying nearly the same.
D) temperature remaining remarkably constant,but pressure increasing.

Question 24

The figure below shows the hypsometric curve for the Earth.Which of the following can be concluded from the plot of this data?

A) Regions of high elevation (> 4 km)are common on the Earth.
B) Most of the continents are between 0 and 1 km above sea level.
C) Elevations of -10 km to 8 km are nearly uniformly distributed across the Earth's surface.
D) Most of the seafloor is more than 6 km below sea level.

Question 25

Molten material slowly cools and crystalizes underground.This results in the formation of a(n)

A) igneous rock.
B) sedimentary rock.
C) metamorphic rock.
D) glass.

Question 26

The density of rocks is generally related to composition; rocks with higher silica contents tend to be less dense.Which of the following places rock compositions in order of increasing density?

A) felsic,intermediate,ultramafic,mafic
B) ultramafic,mafic,intermediate,felsic
C) felsic,intermediate,mafic,ultramafic
D) mafic,ultramafic,intermediate,felsic

Question 27

The densest layer of the Earth is the

A) crust.
B) mantle.
C) outer core.
D) inner core.

Question 28

Which of the following is most representative of the Earth's hydrosphere?

A) freshwater at the surface
B) surficial freshwater and ground water
C) the oceans
D) surficial freshwater,groundwater,and the oceans

Question 29

Which of the following lists compositions in order of increasing silica content?

A) felsic,intermediate,ultramafic,mafic
B) ultramafic,mafic,intermediate,felsic
C) felsic,intermediate,mafic,ultramafic
D) mafic,ultramafic,intermediate,felsic

Question 30

Glass is different from a mineral because it

A) is not naturally occurring.
B) is not a solid.
C) does not have atoms arranged in an orderly pattern.
D) contains carbon and is therefore organic.

Question 31

A mixture of copper and tin would be called a(n)

A) metal.
B) alloy.
C) melt.
D) volatile.

Question 32

The most common minerals within the Earth are

A) silicates.
B) carbonates.
C) oxides.
D) hydroxides.

Question 33

The Moho lies

A) at uniform depth everywhere it is found in the Earth.
B) at greater depth under continents than under oceans.
C) at greater depth under oceans than under continents.
D) well below the crust/mantle boundary.

Question 34

Compared to oceanic crust,continental crust is

A) thicker.
B) thinner.
C) about the same thickness.
D) In some places continental crust is thicker; in some places oceanic crust is thicker.There is no consistent pattern.

Question 35

If you were measuring the elevation of a mountain,you would be measuring variation in __________,whereas if you were doing the same on a mid-ocean ridge,you would be measuring variation in __________.

A) bathymetry; topography
B) bathymetry; isostasy
C) topography; isostasy
D) topography; bathymetry

Question 36

Think about the Earth's surface.Most continental topography lies within a range of altitude between

A) sea level and 1 km below sea level
B) sea level and 1 km above sea level
C) 2 and 5 km above sea level
D) 3 and 6 km above sea level

Question 37

A fracture in the crust,where rocks slide past one another,is termed a

A) fold.
B) fault.
C) sliding layer.
D) joint.

Question 38

Earth's geothermal gradient is the rate of temperature change incurred by

A) increasing altitude in the atmosphere.
B) increasing depth at ocean trenches.
C) traversing from either pole toward the equator.
D) traversing down into the Earth's interior.

Question 39

Hot,liquid rock beneath the Earth's surface is an example of a

A) lava.
B) melt.
C) volatile.
D) rock.

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT required for a substance to be considered a mineral?

A) It must be solid.
B) It must be naturally occurring.
C) It must contain carbon.
D) It must have atoms arranged in an orderly pattern.

Question 41

Draw a cross-section of the Earth showing its three primary layers.Label the layers and list the average composition (rock-type)of the layers.

Question 42

What is a melt? What type of rock forms from a melt? Distinguish between a melt on the surface of the Earth and one below the surface of the Earth.

Question 43

How is the lithosphere different from the crust? From the asthenosphere?

Question 44

The image below shows an example of which type of heat transfer?

A) radiation
B) conduction
C) convection
D) advection

Question 45

From left to right,correctly label each section of this slice of the Earth.Note that 1 starts at the surface of the Earth and 6 ends at the center of the Earth.

A) crust,liquid outer core,transition zone,solid inner core,upper mantle,lower mantle
B) crust,upper mantle,transition zone,lower mantle,liquid outer core,solid inner core
C) crust,transition zone,upper mantle,lower mantle,liquid outer core,solid inner core
D) transition zone,crust,liquid outer core,solid inner core,upper mantle,lower mantle

Question 46

What is the difference between a mineral and a glass?

Question 47

Sketch what you would encounter on a traverse from interstellar space into our Solar System.Be sure to label the Sun,outer planets,inner planets,Oort Cloud,Kuiper Belt,asteroid belt,and heliosphere.

Question 48

The distinction between the crust and the mantle is primarily on the basis of a difference in ________; the distinction between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere is primarily on the basis of a difference in ________.

A) composition; the ability to flow without breaking
B) color; composition
C) the ability to flow without breaking; composition
D) composition; composition,as well

Question 49

As compared to the rocks that make up the crust,the Earth as a whole is

A) considerably more dense.
B) considerably less dense.
C) slightly less dense.
D) about the same density.

Question 50

What happens to the pressure and temperature as you go deeper inside the Earth? What is the geothermal gradient?

Question 51

When you are warmed by the Sun,you are experiencing ________; you are experiencing ________ when you burn yourself touching a metal object that is being heated on the opposite end.

A) advection; conduction
B) radiation; conduction
C) radiation; convection
D) advection; convection

Question 52

Most meteorites are asteroidal or planetary fragments.As such,geologists consider the average composition of meteorites to be representative of the average composition of the

A) Earth's crust.
B) Earth's mantle.
C) Earth's core.
D) Earth as a whole.

Question 53

The lithosphere lies directly above the

A) transition zone.
B) crust.
C) asthenosphere.
D) lower mantle.

Question 54

Contrast oceanic crust and continental crust based on their composition,density,and thickness.

Question 55

As compared to the asthenosphere,the lithosphere is ________.

A) cooler and more able to flow
B) hotter and more able to flow
C) cooler and less able to flow
D) hotter and less able to flow

Question 56

The lithosphere is composed of the

A) crust only.
B) crust,mantle,and outer core.
C) top 100 m of sediments and sedimentary rocks.
D) crust and the uppermost part of the mantle.

Question 57

The boundary between the crust and the mantle is marked by an abrupt change in seismic velocity called the

A) transition zone.
B) Moho.
C) low-velocity zone.
D) lithosphere.

Question 58

Why is it less strenuous to go for a jog in San Diego (at sea level)than in Denver (at an altitude of
1 mile)? Note: Please base your answer on elevation alone; assume all other factors are equal.

Question 59

What have seismic waves taught us about the interior of our planet?

Question 60

Sketch a diagram of the Earth's magnetic field.What is the primary benefit of the magnetic field to life on the Earth?