Earth Science Quiz

Question 1

What is the outermost layer of the Earth called?

Accepted Answer

Crust

Answer

Mantle

Answer

Core

Answer

Lithosphere

Question 2

What causes earthquakes?

Accepted Answer

Movement of tectonic plates

Answer

Volcanic eruptions

Answer

Underground explosions

Answer

Changes in weather pressure

Question 3

What scale measures the magnitude of earthquakes?

Accepted Answer

Richter Scale

Answer

Beaufort Scale

Answer

Mercalli Scale

Answer

Fujita Scale

Question 4

What is the Ring of Fire?

Accepted Answer

A zone of volcanic and seismic activity around the Pacific Ocean

Answer

A volcanic region in Africa

Answer

The area around the equator

Answer

A meteor impact crater zone

Question 5

What is magma called once it erupts from a volcano?

Accepted Answer

Lava

Answer

Basalt

Answer

Pumice

Answer

Obsidian

Question 6

How many tectonic plates make up Earth's surface?

Accepted Answer

Over 20

Answer

5–7

Answer

7–10

Answer

12–15

Question 7

What type of rock is formed from the cooling of magma or lava?

Accepted Answer

Igneous

Answer

Sedimentary

Answer

Metamorphic

Answer

Limestone

Question 8

What is the name of the single supercontinent that existed about 300 million years ago?

Accepted Answer

Pangaea

Answer

Gondwana

Answer

Laurasia

Answer

Rodinia

Question 9

What is the water cycle?

Accepted Answer

The continuous movement of water through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

Answer

The path water takes through the ocean

Answer

The way rivers flow to the sea

Answer

The process of water filtering through soil

Question 10

What is the greenhouse effect?

Accepted Answer

The warming of the Earth by greenhouse gases trapping heat

Answer

The cooling of the atmosphere by cloud cover

Answer

The way plants produce oxygen

Answer

A weather phenomenon in tropical regions

Question 11

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Accepted Answer

Weather is short-term conditions; climate is long-term patterns

Answer

They are the same thing

Answer

Weather is long-term, climate is day-to-day

Answer

Climate is local, weather is global

Question 12

What are stalactites?

Accepted Answer

Rock formations that hang from a cave ceiling downward

Answer

Rock formations that grow from a cave floor upward

Answer

A type of volcanic rock

Answer

Underground rivers

Question 13

What causes the seasons on Earth?

Accepted Answer

The tilt of Earth's axis

Answer

Earth's distance from the sun

Answer

The speed of Earth's rotation

Answer

Solar flares

Question 14

What is erosion?

Accepted Answer

The wearing away of rock and soil by water, wind, or ice

Answer

The building up of landforms by deposited material

Answer

The movement of tectonic plates

Answer

The chemical weathering of rocks

Question 15

Which layer of the atmosphere is closest to Earth's surface?

Accepted Answer

Troposphere

Answer

Stratosphere

Answer

Mesosphere

Answer

Thermosphere

Question 16

What percentage of Earth's water is freshwater?

Accepted Answer

About 3%

Answer

About 10%

Answer

About 25%

Answer

About 50%

Question 17

What type of fault causes the San Andreas Fault in California?

Accepted Answer

Transform fault

Answer

Normal fault

Answer

Reverse fault

Answer

Thrust fault

Question 18

What is the ozone layer and where is it located?

Accepted Answer

A protective layer of O₃ in the stratosphere

Answer

A layer of oxygen in the troposphere

Answer

A band of cloud at high altitude

Answer

A layer of carbon dioxide around Earth

Question 19

What is a tsunami?

Accepted Answer

A large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or landslide

Answer

A type of hurricane

Answer

A tropical storm over the Pacific

Answer

A tidal wave caused by the moon's gravity

Question 20

How old is the Earth approximately?

Accepted Answer

4.5 billion years

Answer

1 billion years

Answer

2.5 billion years

Answer

10 billion years