Earth Science

Question 1

What supercontinent broke apart to create the continents we know today?

Answer 1

Pangea

It is believed that similar fossil discoveries across continents can be attributed to Pangea’s existence. The supercontinent is believed to have broken apart around 200 million years ago.

Question 2

What is the longest river in the world?

Answer 2

The Nile River

It is 4,258 miles long and spans 11 African countries.

Question 3

What is the deepest area found in any of the world’s oceans?

Answer 3

The Mariana Trench

Located in the Pacific Ocean, the Mariana Trench is 6.8 miles deep.

Question 4

What are the three layers of the Earth’s interior?

Answer 4

1. Crust: The outermost layer of the Earth, this hard outer shell is made up of rock and is anywhere from a few miles to 20 miles thick.
2. Mantle: The upper and lower mantle are located below the crust and are made up of solid and molten rock. The thickest of the 3 layers, the mantle is approximately 1,800 miles thick.
3. Core: The core of the Earth is separated into two parts: outer and inner. The outer core is comprised mostly of liquified iron and nickel, and spans 1,400 miles. The inner core of solid, hot iron and nickel is about 750 miles in diameter.

Question 5

What is an archipelago?

Answer 5

An archipelago is a chain of islands.

It is common for archipelagos to be volcanic. Indonesia is identified as the largest archipelagic state. Other well-known archipelagos include Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand, and the British Isles. Some well-known United States archipelagos include the Hawaiian Islands, the Outer Banks, and the Florida Keys.

Question 6

1. What causes a volcano to form?
2. What are the three types of volcanos?

Answer 6

1. Volcanos are caused by shifts in the Earth’s tectonic plates or hot spots that flare up underneath the Earth’s crust.
2. Volcanos can be categorized in three ways:
3. Active: Has erupted recently or is expected to in the future.
4. Dormant: Has not erupted recently; may or may not erupt again in the future.
5. Extinct: Not likely to erupt again.

Question 7

What are the most common gemstones?

Answer 7

The most common gems include:

• diamonds
• sapphires
• rubies
• emeralds
• amethysts

Question 8

What is an amber fossil?

Answer 8

An amber fossil is formed when an organism dies and is trapped in tree resin, which hardens and becomes amber over time, preserving the animal inside.

Organisms that would have otherwise decayed, such as early insects and plant life, have been found intact in amber fossils. Although some famous movies and real scientists helped us believe for most of the past 25 years that it may be possible to recover full DNA samples from amber fossils, it is now believed that the chances of such science are close to nil.

Question 9

What large landform is comprised solely of densely packed layers of ice formed over time?

Answer 9

Glacier

The largest glacier in the world is Lambert Glacier. Located in East Antarctica, it spans 250 miles and is about 2,500 meters deep.

Question 10

What is the tallest waterfall?

Answer 10

Angel Falls, located in Venezuela, is the tallest waterfall, with a height of 3,212 feet.

Question 11

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

Answer 11

When energy from the sun hits the surface of the planet, infrared radiation is reflected back into space. Some of this energy is trapped by greenhouse gases, warming the Earth.

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are necessary for life, but elevated levels may result in overheating of the atmosphere (AKA global warming). Electricity generation and transportation are the two most common man-made sources of greenhouse gases. The most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide.

Question 12

What landform is surrounded by water on three sides and connects to land on the remaining side?

Answer 12

Peninsula

Well-known peninsulas include the Arabian Peninsula, Alaska, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Question 13

Fill in the blank.

Any resource that is able to replenish over time is categorized as a _____ resource.

Answer 13

renewable

Renewable resources include wood, wind, and solar energy. Non-renewable resources include fossil fuels such as gasoline and coal, as well as minerals such as copper.

Question 14

What are the major eras of the Earth and their milestones?

Answer 14

• Precambrian: The oldest era, 4,500 million years in length, includes the development of Earth’s oceans, early landforms, single-celled organisms, and first multi-celled organisms.
• Paleozoic: This era, 291 million years in length, brought the earliest forms of sea life, plants, insects, and eventually early reptiles and amphibians.
• Mesozoic: Also known as the Age of Reptiles, this 186 million year period included the dinosaurs, the first birds, and the first mammals.
• Cenozoic: The current era, referred to as the Age of Mammals, has spanned 66 million years thus far. Mammals and birds thrive and evolve, including the introduction of the first humans.

Question 15

What is the difference between hail and sleet?

Answer 15

Sleet is frozen ice pellets that are generally larger than hail. While sleet occurs during winter storms, hail usually is seen during thunder storms and causes much more damage.

Question 16

What is the composition of the air in Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 16

• 78% nitrogen
• 21% oxygen
• 0.9% argon
• 0.03% carbon dioxide
• trace amounts of other gases including neon, helium, krypton, and xenon

Question 17

Fill in the blank.

The movement of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle in large pieces is known as _____ ______.

Answer 17

plate tectonics

The crust and upper mantle make up tectonic plates. As these shift, so do pieces of the Earth and sea. The shifting of these tectonic plates can result in earthquakes, mountain formation, and volcanic eruptions.

Question 18

1. What is a biome?
2. What are the five major types of biomes?

Answer 18

1. A biome is a way of classifying major ecosystems.
2. Biomes are grouped by plant life and climate. There are a variety of biome classification schemes, but the five major types are:
3. desert
4. aquatic
5. forest
6. grassland
7. tundra

Question 19

What are the eight levels by which conservationists classify endangered species?

Answer 19

1. Extinct
2. Extinct in the Wild
3. Critically Endangered
4. Endangered
5. Vulnerable
6. Near Threatened
7. Conservation Dependent
8. Least Concern

Question 20

What are the major layers of the atmosphere?

Answer 20

• Troposphere: the lowest level of the atmosphere, where weather and clouds form
• Stratosphere: the second lowest level of the atmosphere, where the ozone and highest clouds are located
• Mesosphere & Thermosphere: the upper layers of the atmosphere that merge with outer space

Question 21

What are latitude and longitude lines?

Answer 21

Latitude and longitude are part of the coordinate system used to measure and navigate the Earth.

Lines of latitude run parallel to the equator (which divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres), tracing a circle around the Earth measuring how far north or south a location is from the equator.

Lines of longitude run vertically and measure a locations’s angle of difference from the Prime Meridian (which runs from the North to the South pole on a globe).

Both latitude and longitude are measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds.

Question 22

What are some causes of deforestation?

Answer 22

Deforestation is caused by:

• commercial logging
• ranching
• agriculture
• climate change
• fires
• other forms of development

Approximately 36 football fields’ worth of forests are lost each minute worldwide.

Question 23

Is there a difference between magma and lava?

Answer 23

Only a slight difference.

Magma refers to what is still underground, but lava is the term used for molten rock that is above ground due to a volcanic or seismic event.

Question 24

Fill in the blank.

The preserved materials of a deceased organism, commonly bones and teeth, are called _____.

Answer 24

fossils

The biggest fossil ever discovered was the skeleton of the dinosaur titanosaur, measuring 130 feet long and 65 feet tall.

Question 25

What are the **steps** of the rock cycle?

Answer 25

1. Volcanic eruptions produce lava, which cools and solidifies to form **igneous rocks**. 2. Over time, weathering breaks down these rocks into sediment, which accumulates in layers and lithifies to become **sedimentary rocks**. 3. Further burial of sedimentary or igneous rocks subjects them to heat and pressure, transforming them into **metamorphic rocks**. 4. Eventually, metamorphic rocks may undergo melting due to increased heat, returning to magma and restarting the cycle as they cool and solidify into igneous rocks again.

Question 26

What type of **body of water** is located where salt water from the ocean meets fresh water from other bodies of water such as rivers?

Answer 26

**Estuary** ## Footnote Estuaries' unique inflow of both fresh and sea water provides a nutrient-rich environment and thriving habitat for a diverse set of species. Approximately 2/3rds of the world's largest cities are located on estuaries. The human activities around many estuaries have made them among the most threatened ecosystems. Mixed salt and fresh water in estuaries is called brackish water.

Question 27

Which **French marine explorer**, scientist, and researcher is famous for his invention, the Aqua Lung?

Answer 27

[**Jacques Cousteau**](http://www.cousteau.org/technology/) ## Footnote The Aqua Lung, invented in 1942, was the first self-contained, underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA). Cousteau also had his own television series, *The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau*, and authored many books, including *The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure*.

Question 28

What **causes** the Earth's seasons?

Answer 28

The [**Earth being tilted on its axis**](http://www.universetoday.com/47176/earths-axis/) relative to light from the sun**.** ## Footnote The Earth's axis (mythical line through the north and south poles) tilts about 23.5 degrees from a perfect perpendicular to the sun. Therefore, when the north pole is tilted toward the sun, the northern part of the world has summer because it receives more direct sunlight. When the north pole is tilted away from the sun, it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere (and summer in the Southern Hemisphere).

Question 29

This Earth feature **lies at 0º longitude** and separates the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Answer 29

**The prime meridian**

Question 30

This Earth feature **lies at 0º latitude** and separates the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Answer 30

**The equator** ## Footnote The equator is approximately 25,000 miles long.

Question 31

What **causes** the ocean tides?

Answer 31

**Gravitational attraction between the Earth and moon** ## Footnote The world's oceans effectively bulge out as a result of the gravitational attraction of the moon as it rotates around the Earth. As the moon is above one part of the Earth, the ocean bulges out there toward the moon. Simultaneously, a bulge is also created on the exact oppostite side of the globe as the whole Earth is attracted toward the moon. Thus, there are two tides per day as the Earth makes a full rotation per day.

Question 32

# Fill in the blank. The study of landforms and **how to map them** is called \_\_\_\_\_.

Answer 32

**topography** ## Footnote [Topographic maps](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topographic_map) are designed to show relief (contours) on the Earth's surface -- from both natural and man-made features.

Question 33

What **causes** thunder and lightning?

Answer 33

Lightning is caused by the build up of electrical charges from the collision of ice and liquids in the turbulent inside of clouds during a thunderstorm. When the electrical fields become strong enough, lighting happens. Thunder is sound caused by the lightning, which heats the air to temperatures up to 54,000 °F, and which causes a rapid explosion, contraction, and vibration of the air that we hear as thunder. Lightning and thunder occur in quick succession, but **we see the lightning before we hear thunder because the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound.**

Question 34

If you hear the thunder 5 seconds after seeing lighting, how far away was the lighting strike?

Answer 34

**1 mile** ## Footnote The sound caused by the lighting travels to your ears at about 343.6 meters / second (at 20 °C / 68 °F), which is about 768 miles per hour (the speed of sound). For every 5 seconds you count after seeing the lightning, it is about one mile away. If you barely count to 1 or 2, run like hell. :)

Question 35

What are the **four steps** in the water cycle?

Answer 35

1. **Evaporation**: Water evaporates into the atmosphere. 2. **Condensation**: Water condenses within clouds. 3. **Precipitation**: Water falls from the sky in the form of snow or rain. 4. **Collection**: Water collects on the Earth's surface.

Question 36

What phenomenon occurs **when a rock fault shifts** and energy is released?

Answer 36

**an earthquake** ## Footnote When earthquakes occur, seismic waves are released that shake the Earth. The amplitude of these seismic waves is measured on the Richter scale, ranging in intensity from minor (<2) to strong (9+).

Question 37

What violent weather phenomenon sometimes occurs as a result of intense low pressure systems forming over warm oceans in the summer and early fall?

Answer 37

**Hurricane** ## Footnote Hurricanes are measured using the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. The strongest hurricanes are Category 5 and achieve wind speeds over 157 mph. Tropical Storms and Tropical Depressions are lower than Category 1 on this scale, with wind speeds of 39–73 mph and 38 mph or less, respectively. Hurrincanes slowly die after they move over cooler waters, which do not have enough heat to evaporate enough water vapor to keep fueling the hurricane.

Question 38

# Fill in the blank. Any type of rock or debris that falls due to gravity is referred to as a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.

Answer 38

**Landslide** ## Footnote Landslides result from overly steep slopes, erosion, severe weather, earthquakes, and volcanoes.

Question 39

What violent weather phenomenon can occur when air at very different temperatures and levels of humidity meets**,** and is characterized by extremely high winds?

Answer 39

[**Tornado**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep2YY_D7wdk) ## Footnote In the U.S., tornadoes often form when warm, wet air traveling north from the Gulf of Mexico meets cold, dry air traveling south from Canada during spring and summer. A tornado's winds can reach speeds of over 300 mph and span miles.

Question 40

What is acid rain and **why is it harmful** to the environment?

Answer 40

Acid rain is precipitation that has a higher-than-average acidity, often due to **high levels of nitric and sulfuric acid**. Localized acid rain may be the result of natural processes, such as volcanic eruptions, or manmade sources such as fossil fuel emissions. It impacts the environment by raising the acidity of rivers and lakes, which can affect fauna. Acid rain can also cause accelerated erosion to buildings.

Question 41

What phenomenon is defined by **large waves in oceans or lakes** that can cause tremendous damage?

Answer 41

**Tsunami** ## Footnote A tsunami can result from a number of scenarios, including underwater landslides, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions. The deadliest tsunami occurred in 2004 in the Indian Ocean. The cause of the tsunami was an undersea earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale. Waves from the tsunami reached 50 feet, and resulted in over 150,000 dead or missing persons.