Earth Science Standards of Learning (SOL) Practice Test

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• Which galaxy type is described as having a central bulge and winding arms?
• Which category describes the planets that are small, rocky, and have few moons?
• Which layer is the outermost shell of the Earth, including crust and upper mantle?
• This is used to find the ages of human artifacts or things that were once living
• What event occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth?
• Which texture is typical of intrusive igneous rocks?
• This measures wind speed.
• Which term describes the rotation-induced deflection of moving air and water across the Earth?
• Which telescope has improved our knowledge of the Universe?
• This rock is formed both chemically and organically.
• A changeable factor in an experiment
• What kind of star is the Sun?
• Which boundary type is formed by colliding plates and involves compression?
• The process of Earth's materials being transported by moving water, ice, or wind is called?
• Which process transfers heat by direct contact between substances?
• This form of water is the most dense
• Which term refers to rocky or metallic bodies in space that often orbit between planets?
• Which crust is thinner, younger, and denser than continental crust?
• What forms when air cools to its dew point and condensation nuclei are present?
• What else increases when density increases?
• Which statement about spiral galaxies is true?
• What quantity equals mass divided by volume and has the unit g/mL?
• What is the order of the eight planets from closest to farthest from the Sun?
• Which planet has an atmosphere dominated by nitrogen and oxygen with trace gases?
• The process of Earth's materials being carried by wind, water, or ice and settling out and being deposited is called what?
• If contour lines are spaced far apart, the slope is what?
• What astronomical phenomenon describes the stretching of light to longer wavelengths when galaxies move away from us?
• Which telescope is cited as having advanced our understanding of the Universe in the notes?
• Which waves are the last to reach the seismic station?
• Which solstice occurs around June 21?
• This measures temperature.
• What type of rock is formed by heat and pressure or chemical action?
• Which boundary type is characterized by sliding movement of plates past one another, often causing earthquakes?
• Which type of volcano forms low sloping, broad mountains with generally quiet eruptions?
• This is the remains, impressions, or other evidence of a former existence of life preserved in a rock
• Which objects in space are rock or metallic in composition?
• Which metamorphic rocks have banded layers?
• The galaxy that contains our Sun is known as what?
• The process of rocks breaking down chemically and physically by water, air, and organisms is called what?
• What term describes a rock deformation pattern that forms ridges and valleys due to horizontal compression?
• Which seismic waves travel the fastest and are recorded first at a seismic station?
• A soil with high porosity automatically has high permeability.
• Which crust forms the ocean floors?
• The Sun's energy is produced by the fusion of hydrogen into helium. Which process is this?
• Which rock type forms from rocks fragments cemented together?
• Which galaxy type is typically smooth and lacks spiral arms?
• Why does a comet's tail point away from the Sun?
• Continental shelves and abyssal plains are features of which major body of water?
• Which process brings cold, nutrient-rich water from the bottom of the ocean to the surface?
• Which type of variable is the result of manipulating the independent variable?
• What forms when humid air cools to its dew point and condensation nuclei are present?
• How many high and low tides occur each day?
• Which type of weathering alters the chemical makeup of a rock and occurs in warm, humid climates?
• Which statement describes the Sun's classification on the main sequence best?
• Contour lines form V shapes that point in which direction when rivers are present?
• What texture is typical of rocks formed by rapid cooling at the surface?
• In the H-R diagram, color is used as a proxy for which property?
• This type of rock can be classified into three groups, clastic, organic, and chemical.
• Which Virginia region has rugged, irregular topography and is underlain by ancient, flat-lying sedimentary rocks; most of Virginia's coal is found there?
• Which Virginia region is most associated with coal deposits?
• Which metamorphic rocks do not have banded layers?
• Which climate is described as enjoyable?
• What term describes lines that connect points of equal elevation on a map?
• A rock is made of one or more
• Lines that go east-west but measure north and south of the Equator are lines of what?
• Which two geographic coordinates are used to locate a place on Earth?
• Which of the following is an example of a non-renewable energy resource?
• From a viewpoint above the North Pole, which direction does Earth orbit the Sun?
• Which part of an experiment has no manipulation of the independent variable?
• This type of rock is made of fragments (ex. conglomerate, sandstone, shale).
• Lines that go north-south but measure east and west of the Prime Meridian are lines of what?
• What two properties are plotted on the H-R diagram?
• Which galaxy type lacks a regular shape and often appears chaotic?
• Which fronts move quickly and produce rain at the front?
• The process of Earth's materials being carried by wind, water, or ice and settling out and being deposited is called what?
• Streams and moving water are the major agents of ____.
• Which planet has a thin atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide?
• Which boundary type is associated with folded and thrust-faulted mountains?
• The horizontal axis of the H-R diagram represents which property?
• This measures humidity.
• How many seismic stations are needed to determine the epicenter of an earthquake?
• Which resource type includes coal and oil?
• Which waves are the second to reach the seismic station and cannot travel through liquids?
• Which rock type forms from the accumulation and lithification of sediments?
• Which region is known for long ridges and valleys formed during Paleozoic tectonics?
• Which planet has an atmosphere that is dense and composed largely of carbon dioxide?
• A galaxy that is basically one large, smooth shape is which type?
• Which climate is hot?
• The least efficient property for identifying a mineral is its
• Which property describes the ability for water to move through soil?
• The Sun is classified as which type of star?
• Which statement about sediment particle settling is correct?
• We are located in which spiral galaxy?
• A tropical cyclone with winds of 120 km/hr or greater is known as a
• What term describes the natural outlet where groundwater discharges at the surface?
• In which large system of salty water do continental shelves and abyssal plains exist?
• Which statement best describes Renewable Resources?
• Resources that are renewed very slowly or not at all are called?
• Which Virginia region is a high region separating the Piedmont from the Valley and Ridge and contains some of the oldest rocks in the state?
• Which term describes the ratio of mass to volume?
• In which direction does the Earth rotate on its axis?
• Which energy transfer method is responsible for heat moving from the Sun to Earth through empty space?
• Which rock does dissolution by acidic groundwater form caves?
• The Milky Way is which type of galaxy?
• Rocks produced by the cooling of magma or lava and classified by composition and texture are called
• This is formed when more water is being used up than replenished
• These are the death stage of stars.
• Which volcano type is a combination of cinder cones and shield volcanoes, forming layers from alternating eruption styles?
• What type of fault involves rocks sliding horizontally past each other?
• The closer contour lines are on a topographic map, the slope is what?
• Fossils are found in this type of rock.
• Which property is described by the color of a mineral's powder?
• Which feature results from colliding plates that compress and uplift rocks to form mountains?
• Which process powers the Sun by fusing hydrogen into helium?
• The amount of space between the soil where the water will move?
• An area with caves and sinkholes is known as which landscape feature?
• The Sun consists mainly of which gas?
• Which type of weathering changes the mineral composition of rocks and is typically enhanced by water and acids in warm, humid climates?
• Ores are not useful and profitable.
• What are objects that orbit the Sun and are primarily composed of frozen gases, often described as dirty snowballs?
• Which fronts are associated with long-lasting, widespread cloud cover and gentle rain?
• Factors that are the same throughout an experiment
• What type of rock is formed from rock fragments, organic material, or chemical precipitation?
• Which bacteria was responsible for the first oxygen on Earth?
• A narrow violent funnel-shaped column of spiral winds that extends downward from a thunderstorm is called a
• Which Virginia region has long parallel ridges and valleys formed by folded and faulted rocks during the collision of Africa and North America in the Paleozoic Era?
• What term describes when the Sun is at its most northern or southern point?
• Volcanic activity is associated with subduction, rifting, or sea floor spreading, and hot spots.
• The daily periodic rise and fall of water level caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon is called what?
• Which observation provides evidence that galaxies are moving away from Earth?
• Which method measures irregular object volume by observing water level change?
• What term describes loose rock fragments and clay derived from weathered rock mixed with organic material?
• What are the five physiographic provinces of Virginia?
• Which layer is described as the lower mantle in the provided material?
• Which effect causes deflections of the atmosphere and oceans due to the rotation of the Earth?
• This climate is cold.
• Contour lines that form V shapes indicate a stream; the V points in which direction?
• A way to identify a mineral that tells us what can scratch it is called?
• In an experiment, what is the role of the independent variable?
• Which galaxy type lacks a definite shape and is often irregular in appearance?
• Do currents run from warm to cold or cold to warm areas?
• The rock structures formed by horizontal compression during continental collision are called
• Which boundary involves sea-floor spreading and mid-ocean ridges?
• The shine of a mineral is described by which term?
• Which part of the Earth is made up of the crust and upper mantle?
• Which rock type commonly contains fossils and forms from sediments?
• Which category describes planets that are large, gas-rich, have rings, and many moons?
• Which planet directly precedes Saturn in the Sun's orbit?
• What are luminous objects formed by the condensation of interstellar gas?
• What type of fossils are mostly found in Virginia?
• What is the name of the process that traps heat in the lower atmosphere because of CO2 and other gases?
• Which region is underlain by ancient, flat-lying sedimentary rocks and contains significant coal deposits?
• Which term best describes resources that can be replaced by nature at a rate close to the rate at which they are used (for example vegetation, sunlight, surface water)?
• Which boundary type is associated with volcanoes and trenches?
• Mineral properties depend on what type of structure?
• How do you find the volume for an irregular object?
• Which mode of heat transfer involves the movement of a heated fluid and drives weather?
• Which statement best describes igneous rocks?
• What term describes places where saltwater mixes with freshwater and are partially enclosed with open access to the sea (for example, Chesapeake Bay)?
• Which substance is found in nature, is inorganic, solid, and has a definite chemical composition and structure?
• Which fronts move slowly and produce many clouds and long periods of gentle rain?
• Streams and moving water are the major agents of which geological process?
• The color of the powder produced by a mineral is called
• Which planet is the second from the Sun?
• Which layer allows plates to move because it is partially molten?
• Which planetary body has an atmosphere that is mostly carbon dioxide and lacks thick oceans?
• There can be more than one explanation for any phenomena.
• An instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure is
• Which crust forms the continents?
• Which term describes coastal ecosystems where freshwater mixes with seawater in a partially enclosed body of water?
• This VA region is the flattest
• The landform characterized by caves, sinkholes, and underground drainage is known as
• Which diagram shows the relationship between star surface temperature and luminosity?
• Which term describes the shine of a mineral?
• If a star is hot and bright, it is located in which region of the H-R diagram?
• These volcanoes form steep sided mountains and have violent eruptions.
• Which volcano type is described as forming steep sided mountains and having violent eruptions?
• Which state has resources including limestone, gravel, and coal?
• Which volcano type is a combination of cinder cones and shield volcanoes, with alternating violent and quiet eruptions?
• The Sun is primarily made up of which gas?
• What are surface ocean disturbances generated by wind called?
• This area is where the water table reaches the land's surface
• The most abundant group of minerals that contain silicon and oxygen are called
• Which statement about impermeable materials is true?
• Which type of igneous rock forms from slow cooling deep underground and has coarse mineral grains?
• Which plate sinks under a continental plate because it's more dense?
• Which type of variable is the one that you change in an experiment?
• The device that measures humidity is called a
• What term is used for a solid, naturally occurring substance with a definite chemical composition and crystal structure?
• Which planet comes after Earth in the sequence from the Sun?
• Which group of planets is described as gas giants with many moons and rings?
• Rocks that cooled so quickly at the surface that they have small mineral grains or a glassy texture are called
• What phenomenon moves air from high-pressure to low-pressure areas due to differences in heating?
• Which theory explains that the planets formed from the condensing of our sun or solar nebulae?
• Which of the following represents a non-renewable resource?
• Which isotope is used to date artifacts or things that were once living?
• The typical weather patterns for a location over many years are its
• Which solstice occurs around December 21?
• What is the name of the belt of rocky bodies located between Mars and Jupiter?
• Which boundary type moves horizontally past each other, producing strike-slip faults?
• Which theory explains that the universe began from a single, extremely dense point and expanded?
• Which object is listed as the death stage of stars?
• The climate described as very cold and located near the poles is
• What rock is dissolved by acidic groundwater forming caves?
• Which crust is thicker, older, and less dense than oceanic crust?
• Which property determines how much water soil can store?
• This type of air/water/magma sinks because it's more dense
• Which planet is farthest from the Sun among the eight listed?
• What causes erosion?
• How many seismic stations are needed to triangulate an earthquake's epicenter?
• What is the density of liquid water?
• In the H-R diagram, the hottest stars are located on which side?
• What event occurs when the Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon?
• What is the term for the warming caused by elevated CO2 trapping heat in the lower atmosphere?
• Which celestial objects are formed by the condensation of interstellar gas?
• Which region is known for having some of the oldest rocks in the state?
• This type of air/water/magma rises because it's less dense
• What moves tectonic plates?
• Which term describes factors that do not change during an experiment?
• Which type of weathering alters the physical appearance of rocks and is common in cold environments?
• This measures air pressure.
• A break or crack in the Earth's crust where tectonic plate movement has occurred is a
• Which Virginia region is described as an area of rolling hills with igneous and metamorphic rocks?
• A prediction about a problem that can be tested
• This type of weathering alters the physical look of a rock and occurs in cold climates?
• Coal, oil, and mineral are all these type of resources.
• True or False: When finding coordinates, longitude is listed first and latitude second.
• How old is planet Earth?
• In the H-R diagram, the brightest stars are located in which region?
• Which term describes a proposed explanation that can be tested?
• The Appalachian Mountains are formed by what type of mountain-building process?
• What is the term for the elevation difference between two adjacent contour lines?
• Which galaxy type is our Milky Way classified as?
• Which form of energy transfer moves through space as electromagnetic waves from the Sun to Earth?
• This is a layer of permeable rock that transports groundwater freely and is confined between 2 impermeable rock layers
• When a rock with a crack in it gets filled with water, which freezes, expands the rock, and then melts, this process is called?
• Which Virginia region is described as having flat, low relief and lies along the coastline?
• What term describes times when the Sun is directly above the equator?
• In a sealed container, which property rises as density increases?