Unit C Exam Earth Sciences Past Paper 2015 - Version A PDF

Version A Science 20 Unit C Exam: Earth Sciences Please do NOT write in this test booklet. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided. Use the following diagram to answer the next question. Foss...

Version A Science 20 Unit C Exam: Earth Sciences Please do NOT write in this test booklet. Record all answers on the answer sheet provided. Use the following diagram to answer the next question. Fossils 1. Which of the following sedimentary environments is suggested by the collection of fossils above? a) deep ocean c) desert oasis b) shallow sea d) freshwater swamp 2. The surface features of Earth’s crust in the Canadian Prairie Provinces were mainly caused by a) glaciation c) meteorite impacts b) earthquakes d) foliation of tectonic plates 3. Motion in the mantle is considered to be the source of continental movement on the surface of the Earth. What is the theory behind this movement? a) Conduction of heat from the Earth’s core moves the continents in the crust. b) The oceanic conveyer moves the continents, which are floating on the hydrosphere. c) Subduction of oceanic plates creates upwellings in the mantle. d) Convection currents cause circular motion in the asthenosphere. Use the following table and stratigraphic sequence to answer the next two questions. 4. Which of the following is the most likely age for the conglomerate layer? a) Late part of the Tertiary Period c) Pleistocene Epoch b) Early part of the Cretaceous Period d) Holocene Epoch 5. The Law of _______ is used to determine the information in the previous question. a) Superposition c) Relative Dating b) Subduction d) Uniformitarianism 6. Cyanobacteria played an important role in changing Earth’s early atmosphere that allowed for the development of other organisms. The change they made was the creation of atmospheric a) methane c) oxygen b) carbon dioxide d) water  Version A Use the following diagram to answer the next question. 7. The volcanic ash layer is considered a good time marker for correlating rocks because the volcanic ash layer a) Has a dark color c) Can be dated b) Lacks fossils d) Was rapidly deposited over a wide area Use the following graph to answer the next question. 8. What is the half-life of the radioactive isotope shown in the graph above? a) 50 million years c) 60 million years b) 55 million years d) 125 million years 9. Which action may result in earthquakes and the formation of mountains? a) two plates move apart c) one plate subducts under another plate b) two plates grind past each other d) two plates do not move 10. The type of seismic wave that travels with the greatest speed and causes solid rock to compress and expand is a) a surface wave c) a secondary wave b) a primary wave d) an electromagnetic wave 11. According to current theory, which gas was NOT found in the Earth’s environment when the Earth was formed? a) carbon dioxide c) methane b) oxygen d) water vapor  Version A Use the following data to answer the next question. The earliest fossils are stomatolites left by cyanobacteria 3.8 billion years ago. Although the cyanobacteria themselves are not fossilized, their stromatolites are. 12. This type of fossil is called a a) true form fossil c) mold fossil b) cast fossil d) trace fossil 13. These seismic waves cause the most damage to buildings during an earthquake. a) tidal waves c) secondary waves b) primary waves d) all of the above 14. Seismic waves that can travel through the interior of the Earth are a) surface waves c) secondary waves b) primary waves d) all of the above 15. An increase from 5 to 7 on the Richter scale is an increase of: a) 20 times in earthquake strength c) 100 times in earthquake strength b) 30 times in earthquake strength d) 900 times in earthquake strength 16. The Burgess Shale deposit found in British Columbia is considered an exceptional find for Cambrian fossils. Unlike most fossils of this period, the Burgess Shale fossils are unique because it contains fossils of a) soft- bodied organisms c) organisms that lived in shale b) shelled organisms d) organisms that lived on land Use the following diagram to answer the next question. 17. The Appalachian Mountains in North America and the Caledonian Mountains in Europe contain very similar rock types, structures and fossils. This observation suggests that North America and Europe a) were once together b) are moving closer together c) are on the same lithospheric plate d) were joined by mountains extending across the Atlantic Ocean  Version A 18. At the end of the Cretaceous period, 70-80% of all species on Earth became extinct, perhaps due to an asteroid impact. Which of the following is a major group of organisms that survived the Cretaceous extinction and began to become increasing more dominant? a) dinosaurs c) braciopods b) mammals d) trilobites Use the following information to answer the next four questions. Numeric Response Question #1: 1) Match the geological features to the labels on the diagram above. Diagram Number _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ Geological Feature Oceanic Crust Sea Floor Spreading Banded Iron Subduction Record your answer as a four-digit number. Formation 19. The layer of Earth that is responsible for the motion of the tectonic plates sampled at location 1 is the a) crust c) inner core b) mantle d) outer core 20. The type of rock that would form from location 2 would be a) sedimentary c) igneous b) metamorphic d) shale 21. When examining the sea-floor of the North Atlantic Ocean, scientists discovered that the rock on either side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is: a) polarized in opposing directions in parallel bands of rock like a mirror image b) identical to the rock found in the Precambrian formation on the continents c) all oriented toward the North Pole d) all oriented toward the South Pole 22. Where do most earthquakes occur? a) in the northern hemisphere c) along the equator b) in the southern hemisphere d) along plate boundaries 23. In which of the following environments is an organism most likely to be preserved as a fossil? a) Sea floor c) Coastal beach b) Forest floor d) Toe of an active glacier  Version A 24. At the end of the Permian Period, a mass extinction that corresponds with a cooling climate is evident from the fossil record. Which of the following events would not cause Earth’s average climate to cool? a) Volcanic action spewing ash into the atmosphere. b) The formation of Pangaea, limiting the amount of coastline for sea life. c) The wobble of the Earth on its axis. d) The formation of glaciers. Use the following diagram to answer the next question. The area shown in the diagram above experienced a magnitude 6 earthquake. The focus was located 30 km beneath Town B. Town B was more extensively damaged than Town A, even though both towns have the same construction standards, and have similar populations. 25. What is the most likely reason for the extensive damage to Town B? a) Town B is close to a river b) Town B is closer to the epicenter of the earthquake than Town A c) The magnitude of the earthquake was greater at Town A than at Town B d) Town A is on top of igneous and metamorphic rock which is unaffected by seismic waves Use the following diagram to answer the next question. Numeric Response Question #2: 2) Match the label on the diagram to the corresponding earthquake data. Diagram Number _____________ _____________ _____________ Earthquake data Epicenter Focus Fault Line Record your answer as a three digit number. 26. The Earth’s early atmosphere was due primarily to a) The appearance of photosynthetic plants. c) Meteorite impacts from space. b) Outgassing from volcanoes. d) The wobble of the Earth on its axis.  Version A Use the following information to answer the next question. Formation of Energy Resources 1 Marine microorganisms die. 2 Organic material is heated and compressed. 3 Organic material is buried by sediment. 4 Decomposers remove carbon and hydrogen from decaying organic matter 5 Trees die in a swamp. 6 Hydrocarbons rise through permeable rock because they are less dense than water. Numeric Response Question #3: 3) The order for the formation of an oil deposit is ____, ____, ____, ____. (Record your answer as a four digit number.) Use the following information to answer the next question. 27. During the Wisconsin Glaciation, where were glaciers found in North America? a) only in Wisconsin c) over Canada and Wisconsin only b) over all of the continent d) over most of Canada and the United States Use the following information to answer the next question. Possible Explanations for Repeated Glaciations I. Excessive snowfall in some winters builds up and eventually forms a glacier. II. The buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere shades the Earth from the sun. III. Variations in Earth’s Orbit, tilt of the axis and the wobble of Earth on its axis. IV. The periodic movement of tectonic plates and continental drift brings more of the land mass towards the poles. 28. The theories currently accepted by most scientists for explaining repeated glaciation a) I and III c) I and IV b) II and III d) III and IV Use the following information to answer the next two questions. Layers of the Earth 1. Asthenosphere 2. Inner Core 3. Oceanic Crust 4. Continental Crust Numeric Response Question #4: 4) Order they layers of Earth above from most dense to the least dense. ______, ______, ______, ______ (Record your answer as a four digit number.) Most Dense Least Dense  Version A 29. How can global warming lead to an Ice Age? a) It cannot; Global warming leads to a tropical climate. b) Increased evaporation can lead to more rainfall. c) The melting of glaciers can change the direction of ocean currents. d) Sea levels rising expose more continental crust, which is needed to form ice sheets. 30. Continental ice sheets are present today in a) the Rocky Mountains c) Antarctica and Greenland b) northern Europe d) Australia Use the following graph to the right answer the next question. 31. Which statement about CO2 levels and average global temperatures over Earth’s history corresponds to the evidence from the graph? The CO2 level a) increases and the average global temperature increases. b) increases and the average global temperature decreases. c) decreases and the average global temperature increases. d) and the average global temperature both stay the same 32. How many half-lives have elapsed when 12% of the parent nuclide are still present in an orthoclase sample? a) 1 c) 3 b) 2 d) 4 33. If 6 half-lives have happened what is the percentage of the daughter nuclide in the sample? a) 1% c) 96% b) 2% d) 98% Use the following diagram to the right answer the next two questions. 34. Which of the following bands of rock would be considered the youngest? a) A c) C b) B d) D 35. Which of the following pairs would indicate rock bands with the same age? a) A and B c) C and F b) C and D d) A and G  Version A Use the following data to answer the next question. Maximum Amplitude S-P Distance to of Seismograph Interval Epicentre S-waves Station (s) (km) (mm) Station A 23 200 22 Station B 30 260 15 Station C 40 360 7 36. The magnitude of the earthquake is approximately a) 2.0 c) 4.0 b) 3.0 d) 5.0 Use the following map to answer the next question. 37. The epicenter of the earthquake is a) Knotsville c) Station C b) Geoffreyville d) Distance City Use the following data to answer the next question. Numeric Response Question #5: 5) Use the Seismograph from an earthquake above to match the labels to the corresponding data. Graph Number _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ Seismic Data amplitude p-wave s-wave s-p interval (Record your answer as a four digit number.)  Version A Use the following diagram to answer the next 3 questions. 38. Since the index fossil in layer 6 is the same type on both sides, what hypothesis could be made about the age of the layers of sediments in layer 6 on both sides? a) The right side is older because there are more layers underneath. b) The left side is older because there are more layers on top. c) Layer 6 was laid down at the same time in both places. d) More evidence would be needed to form any kind of hypothesis. 39. Which number represents the youngest rock? a) 1 c) 7 b) 6 d) 8 40. Why is layer 5 missing from the left side? a) This is evidence of radioactive decay in the stratigraphic sequence. b) During the time that layer 5 was being laid down, the left side was under water. c) During the time that layer 5 was being laid down, the left side was being eroded. d) Layer 5 was added to the right side by geological uplift. Use the following data to answer the next question. Four seismographs at four different stations recorded the same earthquake. Numeric Response Question #6: 6) The correct order from closets to farthest, in terms of distance from the epicenter to each station is _____,_____,_____,_____. (Record your answer as a four digit number.)