ES-Jun 2017 Q31-40

The cross section below represents an outcrop of sedimentary rock layers exposed on Earth’s surface. Rock layers A, B, C, and D are labeled.
Which rock layer shows the greatest resistance to weathering and erosion?

• A
• B
• C
• D

The diagrams below represent the compass direction and altitude of the Sun’s rays at noon for a location on Earth on four different dates.
What is the latitude of this location?

• 0°
• 23.5° N 
• 23.5° S
• 90° N

The map below shows the present-day positions of the continents. Points A through D represent locations on Earth’s surface. The location of New York State on the North American continent is indicated.
Which letter best represents the inferred position of the New York State region on Earth at the end of the Devonian Period?

• A
• B
• C
• D

The image below shows a spear point embedded in part of a mastodon’s rib bone, found near Seattle, Washington.
Scientists infer that early North American humans hunted the mastodon. Carbon-14 dating of the rib bone indicates that 2.4 half-lives have passed since the mastodon was killed. Approximately how many years ago did the mastodon die?

• 5700
• 11,400
• 13,700
• 17,100

The cross section below represents two types of sorted-sand depositional features found at a coastal location.
Which table correctly pairs these depositional features with the agents of erosion that formed them?

• Table 1
• Table 2
• Table 3
• Table 4

Base your answers to questions 6 through 8 on the diagram below and on your knowledge of Earth science. The diagram represents Earth’s position in its orbit on the fi rst day of each of the four seasons, one of which is labeled A. The North Pole is labeled N. Earth’s closest distance to the Sun and Earth’s farthest distance from the Sun are labeled in kilometers.
How many hours (h) of daylight are received at the Arctic Circle when Earth is at position A?

• 0 h 
• 12 h 
• 18 h
• 24 h

Base your answers to questions 6 through 8 on the diagram below and on your knowledge of Earth science. The diagram represents Earth’s position in its orbit on the fi rst day of each of the four seasons, one of which is labeled A. The North Pole is labeled N. Earth’s closest distance to the Sun and Earth’s farthest distance from the Sun are labeled in kilometers.
When Earth is closest to the Sun, which season is occurring in the Northern Hemisphere?

• spring
• summer
• fall
• winter

Base your answers to questions 6 through 8 on the diagram below and on your knowledge of Earth science. The diagram represents Earth’s position in its orbit on the fi rst day of each of the four seasons, one of which is labeled A. The North Pole is labeled N. Earth’s closest distance to the Sun and Earth’s farthest distance from the Sun are labeled in kilometers.
What would most likely happen to New York State’s summer and winter temperatures if the tilt of Earth’s axis increased from 23.5° to 30°?

• Both the summers and winters would become cooler
• Both the summers and winters would become warmer
• The summers would become cooler and the winters would become warmer.
• The summers would become warmer and the winters would become cooler.

Base your answers to questions 9 and 10 on the diagrams below and on your knowledge of Earth science. The diagrams represent four columns, labeled A, B, C, and D, that are partially filled with equal volumes of dry, sorted sediments. A fine wire mesh screen covers the bottom of each column to prevent the sediment from falling out. The lower part of each column has been placed in a beaker of water.
Capillarity will cause water to rise highest in column

• A
• B
• C
• D

Equal volumes of sediments from all four columns are mixed and poured into a column of water. Which diagram best represents how the sediments will most likely settle?

• diagram 1
• diagram 2
• diagram 3
• diagram 4