Earth Science Comprehensive Exam Study Guide With Complete Solutions

EARTH SCIENCE COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
STUDY GUIDE WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS

●● Plates
Answer: rigid blocks of crust and upper mantle
- move along the hot upper mantle
- make up the lithosphere


●● Divergence
Answer: - 2 plates move away from each other
- hot mantle rock rises
- creates new sea floor
- creates new oceanic crust (2-10 cm per yr)
-Mid-Atlantic


●● Convergence
Answer: - crust collides with another oceanic plate or continental plate
- oceanic crust sinks
- forms a trench
- forms volcano activity

,- continent to continent plate collisions


●● Subduction
Answer: - oceanic plate, dense, slides under continental plate
- oceanic plate plunges into the mantle
- forms a trench


●● Trench
Answer: - forms b/c of subduction
- may cause a volcano


●● Transform Fault
Answer: - 2 plates slide past one another
- parallel


●● Rifting
Answer: - sea floor spreads
- occurs at mid-ocean ridges
- Red Sea
- new material is added to inner edges of separating plates
- plates grow larger, ocean basin widens
- how Pangaea was broken

, - created Atlantic Ocean


●● Atmosphere - Dry air components (3)
Answer: - dry gas
- water vapor
- solid particles (dust from soil, etc.)


●● Atmosphere dry gases (4)
Answer: (N2) Nitrogen - 78.09%
(O2) Oxygen - 20.95%
(Ar) Argon - 0.93%
(CO2) Carbon Dioxide - 0.03%


●● Atmosphere (4 layers) - temperature based
Answer: Troposphere (earth)
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere (space)


●● Troposphere
Answer: - closest to Earth's surface
- weather here