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1 | |
Which of the following statements concerning the organization of our solar system is correct? |
| | A) | The four inner planets are less dense than the four planets beyond Mars. |
| | B) | The atmospheres of the outer planets are made up of oxygen and nitrogen. |
| | C) | The four planets beyond Mars have much greater mass relative to Earth. |
| | D) | Our solar system is thought to have originated 13 billion years ago. |
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2 | |
The accepted age of the Earth was established by which of the following methods? |
| | A) | counting the generations in the Bible |
| | B) | calculating the time for molten rock to cool |
| | C) | calculating the time to accumulate the amount of salts into the oceans |
| | D) | comparing the quantity of unstable isotopes remaining in rocks with their known half-lives |
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3 | |
The seasons of the Earth are attributed to: |
| | A) | annual variability in the distance from the Earth to the Sun. |
| | B) | the length of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. |
| | C) | the length of time for the Earth to rotate on its axis. |
| | D) | the tilt of the Earth's axis with respect to its orbital plane around the Sun. |
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4 | |
Select the correct statement about the Earth-Sun relationship. |
| | A) | The winter solstice marks the end of the Sun's northward movement in the sky. |
| | B) | The equinoxes mark when the Sun stands above the poles. |
| | C) | The Arctic circle is the northern limit of sunlight on the winter solstice. |
| | D) | The amount of daylight at the equator ranges from 24 hours to 0 hours. |
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5 | |
The map projection that preserves lines of constant heading is the: |
| | A) | Mercator. |
| | B) | Polar Conic. |
| | C) | Polar Tangent. |
| | D) | Equatorial Conic. |
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6 | |
Select the statement regarding location reference systems that is not correct. |
| | A) | Lines of latitude parallel each other. |
| | B) | Lines of longitude all intersect at the equator. |
| | C) | Lines of longitude are all great circles. |
| | D) | The equator is the only line of latitude that forms a great circle. |
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7 | |
Which of the following statements does not correctly describe factors in the measurement of longitude? |
| | A) | The reference longitude is the prime meridian. |
| | B) | The Earth rotates on its axis at a rate of 15o/hour. |
| | C) | The star Polaris is always above the north pole. |
| | D) | Longitude measures angular distance east and west of the prime meridian. |
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8 | |
If at your location the Sun's zenith occurs 3 hours before noon GMT, you are: |
| | A) | 45o west of the prime meridian. |
| | B) | 45o east of the prime meridian. |
| | C) | 45o north of the equator. |
| | D) | going to be very late to your oceanography class. |
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9 | |
Which of the following is not correct with respect to the hydrologic cycle? |
| | A) | Reservoirs include the atmosphere, oceans, and icecaps. |
| | B) | The hydrologic cycle involves the movement of water between reservoirs. |
| | C) | On a global average, land gives up more water to evaporation than it receives through precipitation. |
| | D) | Climate zones are primarily functions of patterns of temperature, precipitation and evaporation. |
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10 | |
Select the statement that is not correct about reservoirs. |
| | A) | Larger reservoirs have longer residence times. |
| | B) | The size of the reservoir determines its reaction to changes in the rate of gains or losses. |
| | C) | Water frozen in icecaps and glaciers is not considered a reservoir because it is frozen. |
| | D) | The atmosphere cycles water through its reservoir very quickly relative to other reservoirs. |
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11 | |
Which of the following statements correctly describes the Atlantic Ocean? |
| | A) | The Atlantic is the smallest ocean in area. |
| | B) | The Atlantic is the shallowest of the four oceans. |
| | C) | There are more shallow adjacent seas around the Atlantic than the other oceans. |
| | D) | The Atlantic is principally a Northern Hemisphere ocean. |
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12 | |
Which of the following Earth-Sun relationships is not correct? |
| | A) | Summer Solstice, Tropic of Cancer |
| | B) | Autumnal Equinox, Equator |
| | C) | Vernal Equinox, Tropic of Capricorn |
| | D) | Winter Solstice, Tropic of Capricorn |
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13 | |
The shape of the Earth is: |
| | A) | perfectly spherical. |
| | B) | slightly pear shaped. |
| | C) | very rough. |
| | D) | flat. |
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14 | |
Select the correct order of geologic eras from oldest to youngest. |
| | A) | Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, Phanerozoic |
| | B) | Cambrian, Triassic, Tertiary, Quaternary |
| | C) | Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic |
| | D) | Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Palaeozoic, Precambrian |
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15 | |
Which of the following statements regarding Earth's geologic history is not correct? |
| | A) | Dinosaurs and mammals did not coexist. |
| | B) | Land plants became established prior to the dinosaurs. |
| | C) | Dinosaurs did not survive past the Cretaceous period. |
| | D) | The first humans appeared in the Quaternary period. |
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16 | |
Select the following statement about GPS that is not correct. |
| | A) | GPS is a satellite-based radio navigation system. |
| | B) | Commercial users can obtain positional accuracy of a few meters. |
| | C) | The principle behind GPS uses relationships between velocity and time to calculate location. |
| | D) | The user on the ground sends a radio signal to a satellite which then tells the user where they are located. |
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17 | |
Which of the following isotopic relationships is not correct? |
| | A) | carbon-14, carbon-13 |
| | B) | uranium-235, lead-207 |
| | C) | carbon-14, nitrogen-14 |
| | D) | potassium-40, argon-40 |
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18 | |
Which of the following cartographic relationships is not correct? |
| | A) | surface elevations, topographic map |
| | B) | water depth, bathymetric map |
| | C) | perspective, physiographic map |
| | D) | water depth, hypsographic map |
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19 | |
Which of the following is not correct regarding the origin of the universe? |
| | A) | The universe began expanding 13.7 billion years ago. |
| | B) | Heavy elements, such as iron, were created by the Big Bang. |
| | C) | Heavy elements have been created by stars. |
| | D) | The existence of planets outside of our solar system has been demonstrated. |
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20 | |
Select the statement regarding satellite oceanography that is not correct. |
| | A) | Geosynchronous satellites orbit the Earth above the Equator at the same speed as the Earth rotates. |
| | B) | The GOES family of satellites primarily monitors the weather. |
| | C) | Satellites use an AVHRR sensor to monitor sea surface elevations. |
| | D) | GPS use a constellation of 24 navigational satellites. |
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21 | |
Why is it impossible to make a map without some distortion? |
| | A) | Because attempts to create maps of the Earth's surface are very recent |
| | B) | Because distortion is inherent when attempting to display the curved surface of the Earth on a flat map |
| | C) | Because we have not explored all areas of the Earth so it is difficult to map them |
| | D) | Because mapping technology is not yet very advanced |
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22 | |
Which of the following is NOT a reason for the Earth's layered structure? |
| | A) | The Earth was bombarded by large objects in the solar system which caused it to heat up. |
| | B) | When the Earth heated up to a temperature at which all of its constituents melted, the denser material sank to the center and less dense material floated to the top |
| | C) | Earth accreted at distinct intervals resulting in layers, similar to tree rings |
| | D) | All of the above are true |
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2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education