Grade 7 Earth/Space Posttest Select the best answer to each question. 1. The three compositional layers of Earth are the core, the mantle, and the crust. Which phrase best describes the crust? A. the innermost layer of Earth s interior below the mantle B. the thin and solid outermost layer of Earth C. the hot, slow-flowing layer of Earth s interior above the core D. the layer of Earth on which the tectonic plates move 2. Eduardo was learning about the layers of Earth and he was having difficulty understanding the difference between Earth s crust and Earth s lithosphere. Which statement best describes the difference between the crust and the lithosphere? A. The lithosphere contains both the crust and the uppermost rigid layer of the mantle. B. The crust contains both the lithosphere and the uppermost rigid layer of the mantle. C. The lithosphere is located beneath the crust, and contains the uppermost rigid layer of the mantle. D. The crust is located beneath the lithosphere, and contains the uppermost rigid layer of the mantle. 3. This image shows a cross section of Earth s inner structure, with lines marking the edges of layers that are defined by their physical properties. Each letter marks a separate layer of the solid Earth. What is the name of the layer that is marked by letter A?
A. lithosphere B. inner core C. outer core D. asthenosphere 4. As a glacier moves along the ground, it transports rocks. These rocks pass over the ground and create scratches in the bedrock. Which statement correctly describes these processes? A. The transport of rocks and scratching of the bedrock are both examples of erosion. B. The transport of rocks and scratching of the bedrock are both examples of weathering. C. The transport of rocks is an example of erosion, and the scratching of the bedrock is an example of weathering. D. The transport of rocks is an example of weathering, and the scratching of the bedrock is an example of erosion. 5. The diagram below shows a progression of steps where rock is exposed to water and changing temperature. When Kate s family visited her aunt in a very cold climate, Kate went on a winter hike. She saw huge boulders that had cracks filled with ice. When she asked her aunt how that happened, her aunt explained how water and ice could lead to the weathering of rocks. The rocks where she lived were metamorphic rocks, and the cracks filled with ice showed that the rocks were slowly being broken down. Which statement best describes the process by which water and ice can weather rocks? A. If a small crack in a rock fills with water and then the water freezes, the change in temperature can change metamorphic rock into igneous rock. B. If a small crack in a rock fills with water and then the water freezes, the ice helps to bind the sides of the crack together to prevent the rock from breaking apart. C. If a small crack in a rock fills with water and then the water freezes, the expansion of that water when it turns to ice pushes on the rock and expands the crack. This process is called erosion. D. If a small crack in a rock fills with water and then the water freezes, the expansion of that water when it turns to ice pushes on the rock and expands the crack. Over time, the crack will get big enough to break the rock apart. 6. River deltas form through erosion when rivers carrying large amounts of sediments broken down from various rocks deposit them in the area where the river meets the ocean. Sediments can provide a diversity of minerals and nutrients to the soils where the sediments are deposited. Delta regions are located in several places around the world. What can you predict about the characteristics of these delta regions? A. The delta regions should have fertile soil and successful agriculture. B. The delta regions should have poor quality soil that cannot support agriculture. C. The delta regions should experience frequent sub-surface events that influence the rock cycle in those places. D. The delta regions should experience mountain building as more and more sediments are
deposited in the delta region. 7. A geologist is studying three layers of sedimentary rock in an area. The layers have not shifted from their original positions. The geologist records the relative ages of the rocks. The bottom layer is listed as the oldest. The top layer is listed as the youngest. What did the geologist use to determine the relative ages of the rocks? A. mineral content B. radioactive decay C. the law of superposition D. the principle of unconformity 8. No Earth rocks as old as Earth itself are available to study because they are buried very deep, or have eroded or melted away. But scientists have found a way to use radioactive dating to determine the age of Earth. Which of the following would be the best way to determine the age of Earth? A. Use radioactive dating to determine the age of the oldest fossils collected for study. B. Use radioactive dating to determine the age of the oldest Earth rocks collected for study. C. Use radioactive dating to determine when meteorites from elsewhere in the solar system landed on Earth. D. Use radioactive dating to determine the age of rocks from elsewhere in the solar system, such as the moon, and determine the age of the entire solar system. 9. The diagram below shows several layers of rock in Earth s crust. The letters point to peaks and a valley which indicate that the law of superposition may not be sufficient for relative dating these layers of rock. The rock layers here are not uniformly arranged, so the higher rock is not always younger. What process has most likely changed these rock layers so that they are NOT arranged as flat horizontal layers? A. tilting B. faults C. folding D. intrusions 10. By analyzing ice cores, scientists can learn how Earth s climate has changed in the past. Other ways of learning about the history of Earth s climate include analyses of tree rings, lake sediments, mountain glaciers, and ocean sediments. The figure below shows the time-frame of data that can be provided by each of these types of analysis.
What can you conclude from this figure? A. Ice cores provide climate information that goes back the furthest in time. B. Ice cores provide climate information that goes back only to 1,000 years ago. C. Ice cores provide climate information that goes back more than 100,000 years. D. Ice cores provide climate information that cannot be obtained from any other sources that scientists can study. 11. The characateristics of mountains can be used as physical evidence of how Earth has changed over long periods of time. When mountains are young and have recently formed, they have jagged edges and high peaks. Since weathering and erosion are constantly changing Earth s surface, which of the following are differences between young and old mountain ranges? A. Young mountains have more organisms living on them than older mountains do. B. Young mountains have tall jagged peaks, and older mountains have lower rounded peaks. C. Young mountains have lower rounded peaks, and older mountains have tall jagged peaks. D. Young mountains have more fossilized organisms inside of them than older mountains do. 12. Evan was considering attending a presentation by a famous geologist. Evan could not remember what the geologist was going to talk about, but he saw a poster advertising the presentation. The poster presented information about how folding and faulting can change layers of rocks, how volcanoes release magma to Earth s surface, and how weathering and erosion break down parts of Earth s surface. After reading the poster, Evan has a good idea of what the talk is about. Based on the poster, which concept is most likely to be the topic of the geologist s presentation? A. Landforms change over time. B. Living organisms can tell us about Earth s history. C. The fossil record can tell us how life on Earth has changed over time. D. The composition of sedimentary rock varies throughout Earth s history. 13. Subduction occurs when one plate slides beneath another plate. The figure below shows the process of subduction. Notice that the oceanic plate slides beneath the continental plate.
What happens when the crustal plates move as shown in the figure? A. An ocean forms. B. Volcanic mountain ranges form. C. Sea-floor spreading occurs as the oceanic plate moves. D. A transform boundary forms where the subduction occurs. 14. Emily was working on a simple model to demonstrate one way that mountains can form. She wanted to model two tectonic plates of the continental lithosphere colliding and pushing some of Earth s crust up to become mountains through folding. She wanted to show the bending in the layers of rock. Her materials are two slabs of clay, each 2 centimeters (cm) thick, 12 cm long, and 12 cm wide, and a marker. Which of the following is the best way for Emily to construct the model? A. Align the two slabs of clay and then draw mountain chains on each with the marker. B. Align the two slabs of clay and push them towards each other until they buckle and fold at the edge where they meet. C. Use the marker to draw lines along the edge of the clay that represent separate plates, then align the two slabs of clay and push them towards each other so that one edge slides underneath the other one. D. Use the marker to draw lines along the edge of the clay that represent separate plates, then align the two slabs of clay and push them towards each other until they buckle and fold at the edge where they meet. 15. Mark and Kevin were studying for their earth science test. They were focusing on ways that the movement of tectonic plates can change the Earth s surface. Mark was having trouble understanding the concept of uplift, so Kevin offered to quiz him on whether different examples of movements in Earth s crust were examples of this process. Which of the following is an example of the process of uplift? A. Old crust on the ocean floor is destroyed as it moves downward into a deep ocean trench. B. Volcanic eruptions deposit new rock on Earth s surface, eventually forming a mountain. C. Two plates scrape against each other as they move in parallel but opposite directions at a transform boundary. D. When two oceanic plates collide, one oceanic plate sinks deep underneath the other.
16. Humans can cause different types of environmental pollution. When household cleaners are dumped down the drain and make their way into the water supply, which type of pollution has taken place? A. air pollution B. biological pollution C. chemical pollution D. thermal pollution 17. The illustration below shows a factory releasing smoke that contains sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide gases. In school, Samantha learned that these gases can cause acid precipitation that can harm organisms and erode stone buildings. Which of the following is the most accurate description how gases from smoke and fumes actually cause acid precipitation? A. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are pushed down to Earth s surface when rain falls. B. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix with each other in the atmosphere. Then they form sulfuric acid and nitric acid, two very strong acids. C. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix with water in the atmosphere. Then they form sulfuric acid and nitric acid, two strong acids which become part of the rainfall. D. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix with groundwater under Earth s surface. Then they form sulfuric acid and nitric acid, two very strong acids, and evaporate into the atmosphere. 18. When soil becomes very dry, wind can cause huge dust storms that erode the soil. The roots of plants can reduce the drying out of soil and can help keep it in place. Which statement best explains how human activity could contribute to soil erosion? A. When people farm the land, it is impossible to avoid over-farming the soil such that it becomes polluted and new plants can t grow there. B. When people use careful farming practices, it is possible to maintain healthy soil such that it will allow new plants to grow there, and thus avoid erosion. C. When people over-use land by removing the natural plants and then over-farming the soil
so new plants can t grow there, it is easier for soil to dry out and erode. D. When people farm the land, it is impossible to avoid over-farming the soil such that new plants can t grow there, making it easier for soil to dry out and erode. 19. The figure below shows a tectonically active area in the ocean. The volcano in the diagram is associated with which of the following? A. hot spot B. rift zone C. Ring of Fire D. subduction zone 20. Matthew was learning about the layers of Earth in his science class. When he learned that under Earth s crust is an enormous amount of hot molten rock, he wondered why volcanoes do not occur everywhere more frequently. If hot rock rises, why don t volcanoes happen all the time? A. Hot molten rock that rises through the mantle is not the source of magma that flows from a volcano. B. Hot molten rock does not cause volcanoes because the hot molten rock sinks while the cooler rock rises. C. Hot molten rock that rises through the mantle continues rising as a volcano when there are cracks in Earth s crust or the crust is very thin. D. Hot molten rock that rises through the mantle continues rising as a volcano only if there is a large earthquake that exerts extra upward force on the rock. 21. Kayla was hiking through the mountains looking at the lines created by different layers of rock. Many of these lines were straight, but some were bent and some were broken. What process within Earth s crust was most likely responsible for the formation of the bent rock layers in these mountains? A. gravity causing folding B. shear stress causing folding C. tension stress causing folding D. compression stress causing folding
Grade 7 Earth/Space Posttest Answer Section MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. ANS: B A is incorrect because the innermost layer of Earth s interior is the core. B is correct because the thin and solid outermost layer of Earth is the crust. C is incorrect because the hot, slow-flowing layer of Earth s interior above the core is the mantle. D is incorrect because the layer of Earth on which the tectonic plates move is the asthenosphere, which is part of the mantle. STA: SC.7.E.6.1 2. ANS: A A is correct because the lithosphere contains these two layers. B is incorrect because the crust is a part of the lithosphere. C is incorrect because both the crust and the uppermost rigid layer of the mantle make up the lithosphere. D is incorrect because the crust is external to the uppermost layer of the mantle, and both make up the lithosphere. STA: SC.7.E.6.1 3. ANS: A A is correct because letter A is pointing to the outermost layer of the solid Earth, which is called the lithosphere. B is incorrect because the inner core is marked by letter E. C is incorrect because the outer core is marked by letter D. D is incorrect because the asthenosphere is marked by letter B. STA: SC.7.E.6.1 4. ANS: C A is incorrect because only the transport of rocks is an example of erosion. B is incorrect because only the scratching of the bedrock is an example of weathering. C is correct because erosion is the transport of materials from one location to another. Weathering is a process that breaks down or disintegrates rock, which happens as the bedrock is scratched. D is incorrect because the transport of rocks is an example of erosion, and the scratching of the bedrock is an example of weathering. STA: SC.7.E.6.2 5. ANS: D A is incorrect because cold temperature does not change metamorphic rock into igneous rock. B is incorrect because ice pushes the sides of the rock apart rather than binds them together. C is incorrect because erosion is part of the process that moves rock from one place to another, and then Kate s process is an example of weathering. D is correct because ice takes up more space than water, and ice can push rock apart when it forms in cracks. STA: SC.7.E.6.2 6. ANS: A A is correct because the minerals and nutrients would increase soil quality in those regions. B is incorrect because minerals and nutrients would increase rather than decrease soil quality.
C is incorrect because the deposition of sediments should have no influence on sub-surface events. D is incorrect because mountain building does not result from the building up of sediments. STA: SC.7.E.6.2 7. ANS: C A is incorrect because minerals are not used to determine the relative ages of rocks. B is incorrect because the geologist determined the relative ages, not the absolute ages. C is correct because the law states that an undisturbed sedimentary rock layer is older than the layers above it and younger than the layers below it. D is incorrect because an unconformity takes place when there is a break in the geologic record. STA: SC.7.E.6.3 8. ANS: D A is incorrect because the oldest fossils available for study are not as old as Earth itself. B is incorrect because the oldest Earth rocks available for study are not as old as Earth itself. C is incorrect because knowing when rocks from elsewhere in the solar system landed on Earth does not provide information about when Earth formed. D is correct because the oldest rocks from elsewhere in the solar system indicate the age of the solar system, which is the same as the age of Earth. STA: SC.7.E.6.3 9. ANS: C A is incorrect because tilting causes rock layers to become slanted rather than wavy up and down. B is incorrect because faults cause cuts across layers in Earth s crust, resulting in sharp breaks between layers. C is correct because folding causes bending of layers of rock as they are squeezed together with peaks and valleys at different heights in different places. D is incorrect because intrusions form when magma is injected into cracks in rock, and then cools, forming column-like shapes. STA: SC.7.E.6.3 10. ANS: C A is incorrect because information provided by ocean sediments goes back further in time than information provided by ice cores. B is incorrect because ice cores can provide information that goes back more than 100,000 years. C is correct because the line representing ice cores extends past the point marked 100,000 years on the timeline. D is incorrect because the figure lists other sources of information, including tree rings and ocean sediments. STA: SC.7.E.6.4 11. ANS: B A is incorrect because more weathering would provide better soil for plants to grow, so older mountains would have more organisms living on them. B is correct because as young mountains age, the jagged peaks would erode away. C is incorrect because this is the opposite of the expected trend. D is incorrect because both ages of mountains would have similar amounts of fossilized organisms inside of them because fossils were there before the mountains formed. STA: SC.7.E.6.4 12. ANS: A A is correct because all of the examples are of how the physical part of Earth evolves over time.
B is incorrect because the examples are not about living things. C is incorrect because the examples are about physical changes, not about fossils. D is incorrect because the examples are not about what minerals are in the rocks. STA: SC.7.E.6.4 13. ANS: B A is incorrect because the ocean existed before the plates collided. B is correct because magma from the mantle rises to Earth s surface and erupts as lava from volcanoes. C is incorrect because the figure does not show a divergent boundary between two oceanic plates. D is incorrect because the figure shows a convergent boundary. STA: SC.7.E.6.7 SC.7.E.6.5 14. ANS: D A is incorrect because causing the clay to fold is a better model of how mountains form. B is incorrect because the model done this way would not indicate what was happening with each plate. C is incorrect because one plate going under another plate does not show mountain building by folding. D is correct because this plan represents which part of the clay comes from each slab and also shows folding. STA: SC.7.E.6.5 15. ANS: B A is incorrect because as old crust is destroyed in deep ocean trenches, no rock is moving upward there. B is correct because as volcanic eruptions deposit magma to cool into igneous rock, the additional rock causes the rising land, or mountain formation. C is incorrect because as two plates move in this way there is no rise of land. D is incorrect because when this type of movement occurs, some land is sinking, but other land is not necessarily rising. STA: SC.7.E.6.5 16. ANS: C A is incorrect because the household cleaners poured down the a drain pollute the water supply, not the air. B is incorrect because biological pollution occurs when dead organisms are placed in water sources. C is correct because household cleaners consist of chemical substances such as ammonia and sodium hypochlorite. D is incorrect because household cleaners do not generally cause a change in water temperature. STA: SC.7.E.6.6 17. ANS: C A is incorrect because sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide change to acids before they fall back to Earth s surface with the rain. B is incorrect because sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide mix with water, not with each other. C is correct because sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide become acids when they mix with water, then fall back to Earth with the rain. D is incorrect because sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide rise and mix with the atmosphere, not with groundwater under Earth s surface. STA: SC.7.E.6.6 18. ANS: C A is incorrect because farming does not inevitably cause pollution. B is incorrect because although this statement is true, it does not explain how human activity could contribute to soil erosion.
C is correct because this sequence of events can lead to soil erosion. D is incorrect because it is possible to farm the land without over-farming the soil. STA: SC.7.E.6.6 19. ANS: A A is correct because the diagram shows the development of a volcano above a rising magma plume that is stationary with respect to the moving plate. B is incorrect because the diagram only shows the movement of a single plate and not the boundary between two diverging plates at which a rift zone would form. C is incorrect there is the diagram does not show any plate boundaries, on which the Ring of Fire is based. D is incorrect because the diagram only shows the movement of one plate and noth the boundary between two converging tectonic plates. STA: SC.7.E.6.5 SC.7.E.6.7 20. ANS: C A is incorrect because magma is hot molten rock that rises from the mantle of Earth. B is incorrect because hot rock rises and cooler rock sinks in the mantle. C is correct because volcanoes cannot occur where there is thick crust unless there are cracks in the crust. D is incorrect because volcanoes can occur without the extra force generated by a large earthquake. STA: SC.7.E.6.7 21. ANS: D A is incorrect because gravity is not a force that leads to folding. B is incorrect because shear stress would not push rock towards each other, causing folding. C is incorrect because tension stress pulls rock apart rather than pushes rock towards each other, causing folding. D is correct because compression pushes rock towards each other, causing folding. STA: SC.7.E.6.7