Description : The earth's climate has been warming since the las glacial period which ended about how many years ago? w) 1,000 to 2,000 years ago x) 10,000 to 20,000 years ago y) 100,000 to 200,000 years ago z) 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 years ago
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- 10,000 TO 20,000 YEARS AGO
Description : The ice sheet that covered northeastern United States came from which of the following locations? w) Labrador center in eastern Canada x) Keewatin center in central Canada y) Cordilleran center in the Rocky Mountains z) Greenland
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- LABRADOR CENTER IN EASTERN CANADA
Description : Which of the following time periods describes the age of the coal deposits of the Eastern United States? w) Jurassic and Cambrian x) Mississippian and Pennsylvanian y) Pliocene and Miocene z) none of these
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- MISSISSIPPIAN AND PENNSYLVANIAN
Description : Biomass energy is w) formed through photosynthesis x) caused by heat due to the large mass of the Earth y) has been used for only a few years z) the predominant source of commercial heat energy in the northern regions of the United States
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- FORMED THROUGH PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Description : What is considered to be the approximate difference in average temperature between the "little ice age" and today? w) 1 to 3 degrees centigrade x) 5 to 8 degrees centigrade y) 10 to 12 degrees centigrade z) 15 to 20 degrees centigrade
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- 1 TO 3 DEGREES CENTIGRADE
Description : A pair of rivers that mark the approximate southern limit of the Ice Age glaciers in North America are the Missouri and which of the following? w) St. Lawrence x) Ohio y) Delaware z) Tennessee
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- OHIO
Description : The approximate average yearly rainfall in centimeters for the United States is: w) 25 centimeters x) 50 centimeters y) 75 centimeters z) 100 centimeters
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- 75 CENTIMETERS
Description : Of the following states, the principal bituminous coal producing state in the United States is: w) Tennessee x) Illinois y) Pennsylvania z) West Virginia
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- WEST VIRGINIA
Description : Of the energy used in the United States, about wha percent is provided by hydroelectric power? w) 4% x) 20% y) 50% z) 75%
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- 4%
Description : The deposits of loess in the United States probabl originated as which of the following? w) talus x) rock flour y) humus z) geyserite
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- ROCK FLOUR
Description : If all the Earth's ice melted, the increase in sea level would be approximately: w) 100 meters x) 2 meters y) 70 meters z) 20 meters
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- 70 METERS
Description : Which of the following does NOT affect sea level change? w) Antarctic ice sheet x) small glaciers and ice caps y) Arctic sea ice z) Greenland ice sheet
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- ARCTIC SEA ICE
Description : Cirrus clouds are: w) rain clouds x) thick and fleecy y) made of ice crystals z) low cloud layers
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- MADE OF ICE CRYSTALS
Description : Deposits that form when the ice in a glacier melts are called: w) drifts x) dunes y) veins z) cirques (pron: serks)
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- DRIFTS
Description : You are flying between Chicago and San Francisco on a commercial jet. The pilot comes on the public address system and announces that the plane's cruising altitude is 40,000 feet. At this altitude are you in the: w) troposphere x) stratosphere y) ozonosphere z) chemosphere
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- STRATOSPHERE
Description : How much of the sun's total radiation actually reaches the earth? Is it one part in w) 2,000 x) 200,000 y) 2 million z) 2 billion
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- ONE PART IN 2 BILLION
Description : Continental shelves range in width from: w) 1,500 to 5,000 kilometers x) 1,500 to 3,000 kilometers y) 0 to 5,000 kilometers z) 0 to 1,500 kilometers
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- 0 TO 1,500 KILOMETERS
Description : The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is in the range of: w) 1-10 parts per million x) 10-100 parts per million y) 100-1000 parts per million z) 1000-10,000 parts per million
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- 100-1000 PARTS PER MILLION (the exact number is 350 ppm as of the time of this article)
Description : Another method of locating points on a map besides the longitude and latitude method which is frequently employed in the western states is known as the: w) Arc Method x) Tier and Range System y) Square Similar Method z) none of these
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- TIER AND RANGE SYSTEM
Description : In which of these states can large numbers of drumlins be found? w) Oregon x) California y) Texas z) Wisconsin
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- WISCONSIN
Description : Sulfuric acid aerosols from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo reduced the rate of global warming last year. They also contributed to the record size of: w) acid rainfalls in Europe x) the anchovy catch off Peru y) the ozone hole over Antarctica z) fish kills in the Amazon River
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- THE OZONE HOLE OVER ANTARCTICA
Description : On the Phanerozoic time scale, which of the following geologic periods occurred approximately 65 to 136 million years ago? Is it: w) Cambrian x) Ordovician y) Carboniferous z) Cretaceous
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- CRETACEOUS
Description : On the Phanerozoic (pron: fan-eh-reh-zO-ik) time scale, which of the following geologic periods occurred approximately 500 to 570 million years ago? Is it: w) Cambrian x) Ordovician (pron: ord-eh-vish-en) y) Carboniferous z) Silurian
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- CAMBRIAN
Description : On the Phanerozoic (pron: fan-eh-row-zo-ick) Time Scale, which of the following geologic periods occurred approximately 395 to 430 million years ago? Is it: w) Jurassic (pron: ju-ras-ick) x) Permian y) Carboniferous z) Silurian
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- SILURIAN
Description : On the Phanerozoic (pron: fan-eh-reh-zO-ik) Time Scale, which of the following geologic periods occurred approximately 225 to 280 million years ago? Is it: w) Jurassic x) Permian y) Carboniferous z) Silurian
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- PERMIAN
Description : What is the name of the white clay which has been used for thousands of years in the fabrication of ceramic bodies? Is it: w) Talc x) Kaolin y) Feldspar z) Quartz
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- KAOLIN
Description : Which of the following is an average number of inches of snow equal to one inch of rain? w) 1 inch x) 5 inches y) 10 inches z) 25 inches
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- 10 inches
Description : Orthoclase is what number on Moh's hardness scale? w) 4 x) 5 y) 6 z) 7
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- 6
Description : In the nebular hypothesis, each planet is formed from which of the following? w) a comet x) a number of moons y) a passing star z) a ring of gas
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- A RING OF GAS
Description : Apatite is what number on Moh's (pron: moes: rhyme with toes) hardness scale? w) 1 x) 3 y) 5 z) 7
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- 5
Description : Fluorite is what number on Moh's hardness scale? w) 1 x) 2 y) 3 z) 4
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- 4
Description : While many different gases are found in the atmosphere, a number do NOT contribute significantly to solar heating of the atmosphere. Which TWO of the following gases do NOT absorb much heat? w) carbon dioxide x) nitrogen y) water vapor z) oxygen
Last Answer : ANSWER: X and Z -- NITROGEN and OXYGEN
Description : When the front of a glacier is stationary for a long time, the glacier will do which of the following? w) form many crevasses x) melt away y) not erode its bed z) build a large terminal moraine
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- BUILD A LARGE TERMINAL MORAINE
Description : Winds are classed as agents of erosion rather than of weathering because: w) they have nothing to do with the weather x) they carry rock particles away y) they work only part of the time z) they build up rather than wear down the rock
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- THEY CARRY ROCK PARTICLES AWAY
Description : All of the following are TRUE of the Paricutin volcano except w) its slopes are steep x) it is a lava cone y) it is located in Mexico z) it was built over a short period of time
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- IT IS A LAVA CONE
Description : The emergence of land plants is generally accepted as occurring during what period on the geologic time scale: w) Cretaceous x) Triassic y) Permian z) Silurian
Description : Which of the following time periods includes part of the geologic range of dinosaurs? w) Mississippian x) Devonian y) Jurassic z) none of the above
Last Answer : ANSWER: Y -- JURASSIC
Description : The lag time between precipitation period and peak discharge period of a river: w) is increased by urbanization x) is decreased by urbanization y) is shorter for a large drainage basin than for a small one z) depends upon the hydraulic heads
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- IS DECREASED BY URBANIZATION
Description : The Miocene, Eocene and Paleocene epoches belong t what geologic period on the Phanerozoic Time Scale? Is it the: w) Devonian x) Permian y) Triassic (pron: try-as-ick) z) Tertiary
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- TERTIARY
Description : Pangaea is the name of a former continent that included: w) all the continents x) only Europe and Asia y) only South America and Africa z) only North and South America
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- ALL THE CONTINENTS
Description : What mineral is the most dense? w) hematite x) cinnabar y) marcasite z) rhodochrosite
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- CINNABAR
Description : Which of the following mountain ranges was formed during the Mesozoic era? w) Rocky Mountains x) Cascades y) Appalachian z) Sierra Nevada
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- SIERRA NEVADA
Description : Cloud droplets unite most easily to form raindrops in clouds containing which of the following substances? w) ozone x) plant pollen y) carbon tetrachloride z) large salt crystals
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- LARGE SALT CRYSTALS
Description : When the difference in the temperature of the wet-bulb thermometer and dry-bulb thermometer is large, what does it indicate about the air? w) it is very dry x) it is nearly saturated y) it is very warm z) it is very cold
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- IT IS VERY DRY
Description : What is considered to be the oldest lake in North America? w) Mono Lake, CA x) Lake Superior, MI y) The Great Salt Lake, UT z) Crater Lake, OR
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- MONO LAKE, CA
Description : On which of the following does the capacity of a kilogram of air for holding water depend? w) the air pressure x) the air temperature y) the dust content of the air z) the ions in the air
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- THE AIR TEMPERATURE
Description : What form of runoff is water that flows down a slope within the upper layers of the soil rather than on top of them? w) interflow x) extraflow y) endoflow z) detrital runoff
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- INTERFLOW
Description : When does the air cool most rapidly? Is it during w) a cloudy day x) a cloudy night y) a sunny day z) a clear night
Last Answer : ANSWER: Z -- A CLEAR NIGHT
Description : Valleys formed by glaciers always have which of the following characteristics? w) U-shaped cross sections x) straight courses y) uniform slopes z) bedrock floors
Last Answer : ANSWER: W -- U-SHAPED CROSS SECTIONS
Description : Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas. What is the current rate in parts per million per year of atmospheric increase of this gas? w) 0.15 ppm per year (parts per million) x) 1.5 ppm per year y) 15 ppm per year z) 150 ppm per year
Last Answer : ANSWER: X -- 1.5 PPM PER YEAR