Comprehensive Science

Francesca creates a model that shows the movement of the tectonic plates of the Earth's surface. If she wants to use the model to understand the concept of how a mountain is formed, how does that model help her?

• It shows all of the plates in the correct layout.

• It explains in detail how mountains are formed.

• It displays details that cannot be seen in a drawing.

• It visualizes a process that takes millions of years.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Over the past 50 years, people have diverted much of the water in the Everglades to support large sugar cane farms. What negative result would you expect that this had on the Everglades area?

• It reduced the numbers and types of plants and animals.

• It prepares a once useless area to be used as farmland.

• It decreased the amount of land on which people could live.

• It lowered the numbers of disease causing mosquitoes in the area.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Lori is learning about two parts of the rock cycle: weathering and erosion. She needs to explain how weathering and erosion are different. Which of the following correctly describes the difference between weathering and erosion?

• Weathering is the movement of rocks by wind; erosion is the movement of rocks by water.

• Weathering is the formation of rocks from lava; erosion is the weathered materials from an area.

• Weathering is the breaking down of rocks; erosion is the movement of weathered materials

• Weathering is when rocks change from one type of rock to another; erosion is when rocks are broken down

Dead ocean animals fall to the bottom of the ocean. A scientist notices rock layers that have formed on the bottom with fossils of some of these animals. What type of rock is this?

• Lava

• Igneous

• Sedimentary

• Metamorphic

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

According to the theory of plate tectonics, the moment of plates can form mountain ranges and valleys. Within the next 100 million years, the Great Rift Valley in Africa will most likely become a

• folded mountain range

• flat eroded plain

• desert covered with lava

• wider and deeper valley

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

The Rocky Mountains are known for beautiful scenery. Which processes of the Rocky Mountains most likely required the longest period of time to occur?

• growth of plants and trees

• formation of valleys from glaciers

• large uplift of the land from tectonic forces

• large accumulation of snow on the mountaintops

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Many places, like the Grand Canyon, are the result of a combination of processes that continue to shape Earth, like the water cycle and the rock cycle. How does the water cycle influence the rock cycle in an area like the Grand Canyon?

• Large amounts of flowing water increases the rate of weathering and erosion.

• Too much rain soaking into the ground slows the rate of new rock formation.

• Sudden evaporation of water removes moisture from rock layers in the canyon walls.

• Decreased rainfall makes the rocks hard and brittle, so that they crumble into pebbles

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

Ann stood at the top of a mountain, she wondered about the time involved in forming a mountain. Which of the following processes takes approximately the same amount of time as mountain formation?

• rising and falling of tides

• cycling of nutrients in nature

• creating a new mid-ocean ridge

• gathering of clouds for a thunderstom

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Evidence suggest that Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, even though no Earth rocks have been found that can be dated at more that 4 billion years old. This discrepancy is most likely caused by Earth's original crust being

• Difficult to date so precisely.

• Subject to extensive erosion.

• Blasted away during Earth's formation.

• Destroyed by solar radiation.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

Which of the following provides evidence for plate tectonics?

• Sea-floor spreading

• ocean currents

• wind patterns

• atmospheric temperatures

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3