ESS Regents Practice Exam

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• What two factors determine the strength of gravity between two objects?
• What are possible final remnants of the most massive stars after their evolution?
• Which of the following is an example of topographic features that characterize a landscape?
• What is capillary action and why is it important in soils?
• What term describes the hopping movement of sand grains caused by wind?
• Which activities increase atmospheric CO2 levels and contribute to climate change?
• How did Earth's layers form?
• A universal solvent is defined as what?
• Which stage typically follows the main sequence in many stars?
• If mass increases, gravity ________.
• How does solar energy sustain the hydrologic cycle?
• On a topographic map, what does a contour line represent?
• Which type of volcano is known for explosive eruptions due to high-viscosity magma?
• What elements do low-mass stars make?
• In an ellipse, where is the central body located?
• What causes Earth's seasons?
• Which theory is the leading explanation for Moon formation?
• Define Gibbous.
• What process turns loose sediment into solid sedimentary rock?
• What determines the end stage of a star?
• What is the driving force for tectonic plate movement?
• What is the process that happens inside stars?
• Which process is primarily responsible for recharging an aquifer?
• A solar eclipse can occur during which phase?
• What mineral property is measured by the color of a mineral's powder when rubbed on a porcelain streak plate?
• Three types of sedimentary rocks and how each forms.
• What is a solar nebula?
• Which statement correctly describes lithification?
• What is an index fossil?
• How are sedimentary rocks formed?
• How does wind transportation contribute to desert erosion and dune formation?
• Kepler's second law describes how a planet sweeps areas over time. Which statement is true?
• According to the principle of superposition, in an undisturbed sequence, which rocks are oldest?
• Which process describes water transitioning from liquid to vapor and is part of the water cycle?
• Which statement best describes the role of deposition in desert dune formation?
• Convergent plate boundaries are boundaries where the two plates are doing what?
• Which of the following represents major steps of the hydrologic cycle?
• An eccentricity of 0 corresponds to what shape?
• What is the cosmic microwave background (CMB)?
• Which dating method yields numeric ages?
• Which process describes cloud formation?
• Which statement describes the difference between radiometric dating and relative dating?
• Which pair of resources are renewable energy sources, and what is one advantage of each?
• Which statement describes the zone of aeration?
• Why is scientific notation used?
• Which statement about landscapes is false?
• Which force causes the deflection of moving air and water due to Earth's rotation, shaping global wind patterns?
• Seismic refraction can be used to determine the ______ of earth layers.
• What are solstices?
• What geological feature forms when two continental plates collide and neither is subducted?
• What is nucleosynthesis?
• Which sedimentary rock forms from minerals precipitated from solution?
• What is till?
• The minor axis is defined as the shortest diameter perpendicular to which axis?
• What causes spring tides?
• How do glacial deposits provide evidence of past climates?
• Which statement about sorting by water is accurate?
• What is a singularity in cosmology?
• Which scenario illustrates a positive feedback loop in an ecological context?
• Which of the following best describes the mantle?
• What percentage of the universe’s matter-energy is composed of visible matter?
• Gravity is defined as what?
• What is the major axis?
• What determines the amount of runoff and infiltration in soils?
• What evidence do scientists use for Earth's age?
• What can happen to metamorphic rocks under sufficiently high temperatures?
• Which boundary type involves plates sliding past one another, often causing earthquakes?
• Which mineral property describes how a mineral reflects light and which property is often more reliable for identification?
• What is an ellipse?
• According to Hubble's law, do distant galaxies move faster away from us than closer ones?
• What is the formula for eccentricity e?
• The major axis of an ellipse passes through which points?
• What are Spectroscopes?
• In the hydrologic cycle, which transition involves solid water turning directly into water vapor?
• Which of the following is not considered evidence for the Big Bang?
• Which description accurately summarizes the rock cycle path from igneous to metamorphic?
• Kepler's third law relates orbital period P to the semi-major axis a. What is the relationship?
• What is the main sequence of a star?
• Which term best describes a region defined by hills, plains, and other surface features?
• Which feature is evidence for tectonic plate movement and seafloor spreading?
• What is dark matter?
• Which term describes the percentage of empty space in soil or rock?
• Which coastal process involves sediment transport along a shore due to waves arriving at an angle?
• Which term describes regions characterized by topography and relief?
• Which description best describes the lithosphere?
• What process forms metamorphic rocks?
• Magnetic reversals/zebra stripes of iron in rocks on the ocean floor are evidence of what phenomenon?
• What is the difference between Laws and Theories?
• Are ALL orbits ellipses?
• Which list correctly names terrestrial planets?
• Which statement best describes an aquifer and how it is recharged?
• When did the solar system form?
• Transform plate boundaries are best described as boundaries that do what?
• What is sorting in the context of sediment deposition?
• What does porosity measure in rocks and soils?
• Which statement best defines a positive feedback loop?
• How does magma viscosity influence eruption style?
• Which layer includes the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle?
• What is physical weathering?
• Kepler's first law states that planetary orbits are what shapes and where is the Sun located?
• What effect does the Coriolis force have on global wind and current patterns?
• What is a protostar?
• What is a nebula?
• Which statement best distinguishes porosity from permeability?
• If a rock has high porosity but low permeability, which statement is true?
• What are equinoxes?
• What term describes the growth of mountains due to the collision of continental plates?
• What elements do high-mass stars make during their lifetimes, and what happens after they explode in a supernova?
• Which statement correctly describes blue shift?
• What is radiometric dating?
• How many distinct epochs are defined for the first 10 seconds of the universe?
• What is the primary energy source driving Earth's weather and climate?
• What does redshift indicate about a galaxy's motion?
• As distance increases, gravity _________.
• What are the compositions of the inner core and outer core?
• Which statement correctly differentiates weathering and erosion?
• After a supernova, which process can create heavier elements beyond iron?
• Which of the following is not a method used to determine Earth's age in the provided material?
• What is the primary agent for erosion?
• What is dissolution?
• Which metamorphism types are mentioned as forming metamorphic rocks?
• In an experiment studying how particle size affects the rate of chemical weathering, identify the independent variable, dependent variable, and a suitable control.
• Which galaxy type includes the Milky Way?
• What is the difference between absolute dating and relative dating in geology?
• What is eccentricity in the context of an orbit?
• According to Kepler's second law, what happens to a planet's speed as it approaches the Sun?
• Which elements were created during Big Bang nucleosynthesis?
• Which statement correctly differentiates relative dating from radiometric dating?
• Which process involves water soaking into the soil from the surface?
• Which materials make up terrestrial planets?
• What is relative dating?
• Which boundary type is associated with subduction and mountain building?
• Which rock type is formed from the cementation of sediment particles?
• What is erosion?
• Which statement describes a negative feedback loop?
• Are terrestrial or Jovian planets bigger?
• Divergent plate boundaries are defined as boundaries where the two plates are doing what?
• What is permeability?
• What is the minor axis?
• Define Orbit
• What is weathering?
• Why might groundwater contamination be challenging to address, requiring treatment before drinking?
• How old is the universe?
• About how long is the moon's orbital period?
• What is a half-life?
• Which statement about till is accurate?
• What is the Late Heavy Bombardment?
• What rock type is formed when existing rocks are altered by heat and pressure without melting?
• What does it mean that water is a polar molecule?
• What is a molecular cloud?
• Which agent sorts sediment by size and mass?
• The Earth's core is divided into which two regions?
• Which crust is thicker?
• What weather changes are typically associated with a cold front?
• Which property describes a mineral breaking along flat, smooth planes?
• Sedimentary rocks are formed by what process?
• What is the zone of saturation?
• What is differentiation?
• Which process describes water vapor turning into liquid water?
• How do we know Earth's outer core is liquid?
• Which term describes how easily water moves through spaces?
• Which scenario best illustrates a positive feedback loop in an ecological context?
• Which mineral property is typically the most reliable for identifying a mineral among others?
• Which stage is the Sun currently in?
• During the inflationary epoch, what happened to the distribution of matter?
• Dark energy accounts for approximately what portion of the universe’s energy?
• What is dark energy?
• Which statement correctly describes red shift?
• What does Waxing and Waning mean in terms of the Moon?
• Which statement best describes the Big Bang theory?
• Jovian planets are described as?
• Which statement best supports the Giant Impact Hypothesis?
• How can you determine whether an intrusion is older or younger than the surrounding rocks?
• Which statement about sorting is incorrect?
• Which statement correctly contrasts positive and negative feedback loops?
• Which process turns loose sediment into solid rock by compaction and cementation?
• Which description best characterizes the asthenosphere?
• What best describes elliptical galaxies?
• Which statement best describes the Giant Impact Hypothesis?
• Which process describes the dropping of sediments when the erosion agent slows down?
• Which statement is true regarding continental vs. oceanic crust thickness?
• What is a solar eclipse?
• Define Crescent.
• Which of the following are recognized galaxy types by visual appearance?
• Eccentricity of an orbit ranges between which values?
• What process shapes shorelines and is responsible for sand deposition along coasts?
• What is the lithosphere?
• Which geologic features are typically associated with subduction zones?
• In ocean systems, how does salinity affect water density and circulation?
• Which process describes water returning to Earth's surface as rain or snow?
• The Sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky is described by which term?
• Which Moon phase is defined as less than half lit, but not none?
• Which gas is most strongly linked to the current rate of global warming due to human activities?
• Which samples are commonly used in radiometric dating to estimate Earth's age?
• What do spectral lines tell scientists about a star?
• Which Moon phase is described as more than half lit but not full?
• How do P-waves differ from S-waves?
• Which event results in day and night being approximately equal in length?
• In the eccentricity formula e = distance between major foci divided by length of the major axis, what distance is in the numerator?
• Which statement correctly identifies how igneous rocks form?
• Which crust is more dense?
• Infiltration is the process by which water enters the soil. Which of the following best lists this process?
• Transform plate boundaries are boundaries that do what?
• What is Cosmic Inflation?
• Is ice more dense than water?
• What is the frost line in the early solar system?
• Metamorphic rocks are formed by which process?
• What is the greenhouse effect?
• Which boundary type is characterized by two plates moving apart, creating new crust at mid-ocean ridges?
• Neap tides occur when?
• What is the zone of aeration?
• Which planets belong to the Jovian group?
• How did accretion form our solar system?
• What triggered the collapse of the molecular cloud into a solar nebula?
• Which layer is described as the plastic mantle, partially melted, with convection currents driving plate motion?
• What is chemical weathering?
• What are Terrestrial planets?
• Weathering and erosion are two different processes. Which statement correctly defines each?
• Igneous rocks are formed from which process?
• When does a lunar eclipse occur?
• Which statement best describes the effect of rising atmospheric CO2 on Earth's energy balance?
• Which factors primarily control the formation of prevailing wind belts around the globe?
• Which sequence correctly lists the stages of a star's life cycle?
• What does the cosmic microwave background reveal about the early universe?
• Which statement about the first 10 seconds of the universe is true?
• What is the difference between weather and climate?
• In which atmospheric layer does weather primarily occur, and in which layer is the ozone located?
• How can you use a map scale to estimate the real-world distance between two points?
• In which rock type are fossils most commonly preserved?
• What evidence supports the theory of plate tectonics?
• What essential information do topographic maps provide to field scientists that aids navigation and planning?
• What landforms are commonly formed at divergent boundaries in oceanic crust?
• What do isobars on a weather map indicate?
• Which of the following are key pieces of evidence for the Big Bang?
• Name the three main plate boundary types and one key feature of each.
• What is the main source of energy for a star during the main sequence?
• Which description best matches clastic sedimentary rocks?
• What is the driving force behind movement of Earth's tectonic plates?
• Why is groundwater quality often a concern for drinking water supplies?