ReviewSp

1) In 1915, Mount Mitchell was designated as North Carolina's first state park and was covered by a dense forest. Today, the forest has thinned considerably as a result of pollution and acid deposition. According to the Division of Parks and Recreation, the forest experiences acid fogs approximately 80% of the year. State officials have determined that much of the air pollution in North Carolina originates in other states and is transported by winds. In 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency began to develop a plan to reduce harmful emissions in states that are "upwind" from North Carolina.

What type of facility is most responsible for the pollution that results in acid deposition on Mount Mitchell?

• Coal-fired power plant

• wastewater treatment facilities

• nuclear power plants

A business claims to be doing "everything possible" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Which company practice would cause a consumer to support this claim?

• The company purchases recycled paper products.

• The building lights are triggered by motion

• The building is powered by geothermal energy.

• All of these

Which graph best shows the general relationship between a planet's distance from the Sun and the Sun's gravitational attraction to the planet?

• A

• B

• C

• D

Evidence suggests that 3.5 billion years ago the atmosphere of Earth had almost no oxygen gas. Approximately 1.8 billion years ago, the oxygen concentration is thought to have increased to 15%. Today the oxygen concentration is 20%. What most likely happened between 3.5 and 1.8 billion years ago to increase the amount of oxygen?

• a) The number of photosynthetic plant species increased.

• a) The number of animal species increased.

• a) The amount of water on Earth increased.

The following table lists several of Earth's surface features. Which statement explains columns A and B?

Column A: valley, beach erosion

Column B: volcanic island, sand dune

• A: formed by water

  B: formed by deposition

• A: formed by short-term process

  B: formed by long-term process

• A: formed by weathering

  B: formed by wind

• A: formed by destructive forces

  B: formed by constructive forces

White light consists of wavelengths of all colors. The shorter wavelengths appear blue, and the longer wavelengths appear red. Wavelengths of blue light are scattered more easily by Earth's atmosphere than wavelengths of red light. That is why the sky appears blue during most of the day. However, at sunset the sky appears red.

Which is a logical explanation consistent with current scientific knowledge for why the sky appears red at sunset?

• Due to the angle of the Sun when it is setting, sunlight travels a greater distance through the atmosphere. Thus, blue light gets scattered before reaching an observer on Earth.

• As the day draws to a close, the Sun produces less blue light. Thus, an observer on Earth sees red light even though this light does not get scattered very much.

• Earth's surface is warmer at sunset and so absorbs more blue wavelengths of light than during the day. Thus, an observer on Earth only sees the red light.

• As Earth's atmosphere cools, wavelengths of blue light passing through it become longer. Thus, an observer on Earth sees these longer wavelengths as red light.

How long would a complete day (day and night) on Earth be if it did not spin on its axis?

• 24 hours

• 1 month

• 3 months

• 1 year

According to the table, as the magnitude of earthquakes increases, the distance that tremors will be felt.

• increases

• decreases

• increases then decreases

• remains the same

Which statement best describes the effect of new technologies on society?

• makes life easier for people

• create more problems than they solve

• cause pollution of the environment

• cause positive and negative changes

Which best explains how geologic time scales can help scientists study the evolution of life on Earth?

• They describe the existence of rocks before there was life on Earth.

• They show that geological features have evolved at the same rate as organisms.

• They compare the life histories of species that have used rocks as habitats

• They correlate the existence of life on Earth with geological events.