Due date: 8/24/2023

Assignment instruction:
– Read the reading (19 pages)
– Please choose the correct answer for each multiple-choice question (31 questions) based on the

reading provided
– Double-check that the answers are correct before submitting!!!

1. The mean temperature on planet Venus is 464 degrees Celsius, while the mean temperature on planet
Mars is -65 degrees. In degrees Fahrenheit, what is the mean temperature of planet Earth?

a. 37
b. 59
c. 48
d. 70
e. 26

2. The ancient cliff dwellings of various ancestral indigenous peoples, such as the Pueblo and Anasazi, are
depicted in the beginning of the chapter. That archeological site is located at ______________.

a. Devils Towers National Monument
b. Mesa Verde National Park
c. Grand Canyon National Park
d. Bandelier National Monument
e. Yellowstone National Park

3. As a focus in Earth Science, environmental geology is an exploration into the varied interactions
between the environment and _________________.

a. effects of time
b. Cosmos
c. forces of erosion and deposition
d. Homo sapiens
e. alien nations

4. The Paris Accord of 2016 and the Framework Convention on Climate Change were outgrowths of a
1992 United Nations conference that met in _________.

a. Tokyo, Japan
b. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
c. Amsterdam, Holland
d. Washington D.C., United States
e. Montevideo, Uruguay

5.Our universe is considered by most astronomers to have started as a central expansion called the ‘Big
Bang’. Its age is most commonly determined using a back calculation based on the__________.

a. evolution of life forms
b. mass of the Universe
c. shape of the Universe
d. Doppler Effect
e. composition of the Universe

6. The age of the Universe is generally estimated to be about 13x_______ years.

a. 10 to the 15th
b. 10 to the 12th
c. 10 to the 3rd
d. 10 to the 6th
e. 10 to the 9th

7. The fact that life exists on Earth is due in large part to its orbital distance from the Sun, which is about
90 million statute miles, or _________ kilometers.

a. 15,000,000
b. 150,000
c. 150,000,000
d. 1,500,000
e. 1,500,000,000

8. The process of ‘density stratification’ as the Earth cools causes it to differentiate into the core, mantle,
and crust based on the property of ___________.

a. composition
b. matter
c. phase
d. temperature
e. viscosity

9. Base on spacecraft fly-by images, the surface of the planet Mercury is rocky, dry, and rich in the
element ________.

a. carbon
b. copper
c. nickel
d. magnesium
e. iron

10. The Jovian planets of Jupiter and Saturn, though heavily compressed and dense, are made up
predominantly of __________.

a. hydrogen and helium
b. iron and nickel
c. oxygen and silicon
d. rock and metal
e. rock and krypton

11. The dominant rocks of Earth’s continents are largely igneous intrusive granitic, while those of the
oceanic crust are largely igneous extrusive ______________ rocks.

a. andesite
b. ultramafic
c. rhyolite
d. basalt
e. diorite

12. All of the elements listed in Table 1.2 have a greater ‘weight percent’ in the crust, except for
_________.

a. sulfur and calcium
b. oxygen and sodium
c. iron and oxygen
d. iron and magnesium
e. nickel and oxygen

13. The Devonian Period of Earth history occurred during the _________ Era.

a. Paleozoic
b. Phanerozoic
c. Mesozoic
d. Cenozoic
e. Paleocene

14. According to the graphic in the text, the Cambrian Period began approximately _________ years ago.

a. 5,000,000
b. 66,000,000
c. 10,000
d. 570,000,000
e. 245,000,000

15. The species Homo sapiens first appear on Earth perhaps as much as _________ years ago.

a. 5,000
b. 5,000,000
c. 500,000
d. 50,000,000
e. 50,000

16. According to Table 1.3, the average movement of a continental plate is about _________ millimeters
per decade. (Consider units)

a. 200-300
b. 2,000-3,000
c. 20-30
d. 1
e. 2-3

17. In the scientific method, a conceptual model that can be tested for falsification is known as
a(n)________.

a. theory
b. law
c. tenet
d. assumption
e. hypothesis

18. Excess water flowing through a river channel can repeatedly flow over its banks; over time these
‘overbank deposits’ can form a fertile region called a ___________.

a. valley
b. floodplain
c. mesa
d. levee
e. sinkhole

19. Of the modern natural disasters mentioned in chapter 1, the most deadly was the _________.

a. Loma Prieta earthquake
b. Sumatran earthquake and tsunami
c. Pinatuba eruption
d. Mount St. Helens eruption
e. Fukushima earthquake and tsunami

20. Per capita water consumption in the United States is on average about 1,500 gallons per _____.

a. day
b. person
c. month
d. week
e. year

21. Contamination of _______ in runoff water from the Grasberg Mine in Indonesia, in addition to
landslide concerns, threatens the residents of Irian Jaya.

a. gold and acid
b. copper and acid
c. gold and copper
d. lead and acid
e. cyanide and sediment

22. The massive oil spill in 2010 that was caused by an explosion that ruptured a supply line on the
Deepwater Horizon occurred in _____________.

a. San Francisco Bay
b. Hawaii
c. Prince William Sound
d. Gulf of Mexico
e. Long Beach Harbor

23. The reagents consumed in the process of photosynthesis are ___________.

a. water and oxygen
b. glucose and oxygen
c. carbon dioxide and oxygen
d. chlorophyll and carbon dioxide
e. water and carbon dioxide

24. The deformed folds of the Ouachita Mountains formed when __________ and __________ converged
during a massive continental orogeny.

a. Africa and North America
b. Africa and Europe
c. Australia and India
d. Europe and North America
e. North America and South America

25. The present population of the Homo genus is nearly 8,000,000,000. Knowing that living systems tend
to grow exponentially, and that the Homo genus began over 2,000,000 years ago, about when did our
population reach 1,000,000,000?

a. 2,000 years ago
b. 20,000 years ago
c. 200,000 years ago
d. 2,000,000 years ago
e. 200 years ago

26. The human population has added an additional one-billion people over the last _________ years.

a. 96
b. 48
c. 12
d. 24
e. 192

27. An exponential growth rate appears when graphed as a curved line, whereas a straight line depicts a
__________ growth rate when graphed.

a. logarithmic
b. progressive
c. regressive
d. decaying
e. linear

28. The ability of an ecosystem to maintain a population at a sustainable level is called its _______.

a. peak performance
b. maintenance dose
c. attrition rate
d. support level
e. carrying capacity

29. Which of the following locations has the greatest density when measured in persons per square
kilometer?

a. Bangladesh
b. Singapore
c. Barbados
d. Bahrain
e. Lebanon

30. In mid-twentieth century we learned that pollution of the atmosphere with carbon dioxide caused by
the burning of ‘fossil fuels’ could not be offset by absorption into __________.

a. the Cosmos
b. animal metabolism
c. the ocean
d. the icecaps
e. vegetation

31. Currently the Moon is thought to have originated in orbit with the Earth by ____________.

a. dematerialization
b. impact
c. transubstantiation
d. splitting
e. rapid rotation