EARTH SCIENCE PRACTICE TEST

15 Items - 15 Minutes

1. Johannes Kepler formulated three laws concerning the motion of planets. Which of the
following statements is a result of the second law of Kepler’s Planetary Law of Motion?

a. The ratio of the cube of a planet’s mean distance from the sun to the square of its
orbital period is constant.
b. The closer a planet comes to the sun, the more rapidly it moves.
c. The planets orbit the sun in elliptical paths.
d. None of the above.

2. This is a heliocentric model of the universe that believes the Sun is the center of the
universe.

a. Ptolemaic System c. Planetesimal Theory

b. Copernican System d. Companion Star Theory

3. The evidence suggests that everything within the cosmos was an expanding mass of hot
gas when the Big Bang took place. The _____ is a phenomenon that provides proof that
the universe is expanding.

a. Blueshift c. Redshift
b. Starshift d. Lightswitch
4. There are five major layers of the Earth’s atmosphere: troposphere, stratosphere,
mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. _____ is the home of the Earth’s ozone
layer, which absorbs incoming solar radiation and serves as a shield from potentially
harmful ultraviolet (UV) light.

a. Troposphere c. Mesosphere
b. Stratosphere d. Exosphere

5. Atmospheric disturbances sometimes cause giant, spiraling tropical storms with winds of
at least 119 kilometers an hour as a result of the continuous formation of a low-pressure
area leading to the development of a storm system called _____ when they form over
the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.

a. Cyclone c. Typhoon
b. Hurricane d. Tropical depression

6. Breezes are localized winds caused by temperature differences in the area. Two
common types of breeze include the land breeze and the sea breeze. Which of the
following statements are true?

I. A sea breeze is characterized by cool wind blowing from the land to the sea.
II. Land breezes occur during the day.
III. Land and sea breezes are caused by hot air moving towards where cold air is
sinking.

a. I and II c. I, II, and III

b. III only d. None of the above.

7. This is the pressure with the atmosphere of the Earth. It is the force exerted per unit area
by the air found above the specific area. This typically increases as altitude decreases.

a. Altitude pressure c. Barometric pressure

b. Air force d. Pressure force
8. The water cycle allows the circulation of water from the Earth to the atmosphere and
back. There are many phases in the cycle, each of which is important. The following
processes are similar except for:

a. Percolation c. Transpiration
b. Evaporation d. Sublimation

9. Arrange the soil layers from oldest to youngest.

Photo from https://silurian-reef.fieldmuseum.org/narrative/411)

a. B-A-C-D-E
b. C-B-A-D-E
c. B-C-D-A-E
d. B-A-D-E-C
e. B-A-E-C-D
f. E-D-A-C-B
g. B-A-D-C-E

10. (1) Relative dating is a high precision technique that works well with sedimentary rocks
with layered arrangements of sediments (e.g. radiometric dating). (2) Absolute dating is
a technique used to determine the numerical age (e.g. carbon dating), which works well
with igneous and metamorphic rocks. Which of the previous statements is/are true?

a. None of them are true. c. Only Statement 2 is true.

b. Only Statement 1 is true. d. Both Statements are true.
11. The earth's spin axis is tilted approximately 23.5 degrees with respect to its orbital plane.
This is what causes the seasons. When the earth's axis points towards the sun, it is
______ for the hemisphere containing that axis.

a. Summer c. Fall
b. Winter d. Spring

12. Which of the following statements about the Earth's orbit is FALSE?

a. The orbit is elliptical

b. The average distance between the Earth and the Sun is 1 A. U.
c. The orbital velocity is constant
d. The period of the orbit is 1 year

13. Plate tectonics made us understand how different geological processes give birth to
arrays of natural phenomena, mountain building, valley formation, and the likes. Which
of the following resulted in the formation of the famous mountain range, the Himalayas?

a. The rapid expansion of the Mid-Indian Ridge 40-50 million years ago caused
mountain building phenomena forming the Himalayas.
b. The Taconic mountain building event 470 million years ago.
c. The collision of Indian and Eurasian plates.
d. The Uralian orogeny formed Ural mountains due to the continental-continental
convergence of Asian and European plates and gave rise to the Himalayas in the
opposite side of the Asian plate.

14. Soil profile is the vertical section of the soil from ground surface to the deepest layer
which is the compacted and cemented layer. Arrange the following from the deepest to
the ground surface.

I. A - Horizon
II. B - Horizon
III. C - Horizon
IV. E - Horizon
V. O - Horizon
VI. R - Horizon

a. II,VI,I,III,IV,V c. V,VI,I,III,IV,II
b. V,I,IV,II,III,VI d. I,II,III,IV,V,VI
15. __________ is measured in terms of its effect on a man, its damage to manmade
structures and changes in natural objects and land surfaces, while __________ is the
energy released by the earthquake. It provides information about the severity of the
earthquake apart from the damage it caused.

a. Intensity - Power d. Power - Intensity

b. Magnitude - Power e. Magnitude - Intensity
c. Power - Magnitude f. Intensity - Magnitude