Multiple-Choice Questions

Click on the answer you think is correct.


1. A measure of how much damage an earthquake causes is called __________.
   a) epicenter
   b) intensity
   c) magnitude
   d) focus

2. It would probably be unwise to build a nuclear power plant directly above a fault because ___________.
   a) earthquakes occur at faults
   b) L-waves are radioactive
   c) tension might damage the plant's flexible moorings
   d) hazardous waste could cause an earthquake

3. A seismograph's frame and drum are attached to _______.
   a) the mantle
   b) the epicenter
   c) bedrock
   d) the Moho

4. During an earthquake, a relatively safe place to be in is __________.
   a) under a tree
   b) in a doorway
   c) near a window
   d) in bed

5. _________ occurs where plates are pulled apart.
   a) Subduction zones
   b) Trenches
   c) Convergent boundaries
   d) Divergent boundaries

6. Using an unsecured gas heater in an earthquake-prone area might be unwise because ____________.
   a) the gas is a hazardous waste
   b) the gas lines could break during a earthquake
   c) S-waves particularly affect such appliances
   d) heat is know to cause earthquakes

7. The Richter scale describes an earthquake's _________.
   a) intensity
   b) epicenter
   c) magnitude
   d) time

8. In some earthquake-prone areas, buildings are attached to _________.
   a) bedrock
   b) epicenters
   c) movable appliances
   d) flexible moorings

9. ___________ proposed that organisms passed on acquired traits to their offspring.
   a) Darwin
   b) Redi
   c) Lamarck
   d) Miller and Urey

10. The instrument that measures waves from earthquakes is a ___________.
   a) seismogram
   b) seismograph
   c) seismologist
   d) seismometer

11. _________ is known as the formation of a new species.
   a) Speciation
   b) Adaptation
   c) Spontaneous generation
   d) Dominant

12. Early humans that lived from about 40000 to 30000 years ago are ______.
   a) australopithecines
   b) Cro-Magnon
   c) habilines
   d) Homo sapiens

13. The -_________ is the basic unit of all living things.
   a) organ
   b) preservation
   c) cell
   d) gene

14. Ancestors of modern humans whose skulls have a mixture of apelike and humanlike features are known as __________.
   a) australopithecines
   b) Cro-Magnon
   c) habilines
   d) Homo sapiens

15. __________ are modern humans.
   a) Australopithecines
   b) Cro-Magnon
   c) Habilines
   d) Homo sapiens

16. ___________ is a trait that increases the ability of an organism to survive in its enviroment.
   a) Speciation
   b) Adaption
   c) Spontaneous generation
   d) Dominant

17. Natural selections helps to explain __________.
   a) spontaneous generation
   b) natural adaptions
   c) mutations
   d) speciation

18. ___________ are ancestors of Homo sapiens.
   a) Homo erectus
   b) Homo neanders
   c) Homo magnos
   d) Homo australos

19. Mendel found that seeds from _________ pea plants produced 75 percent tall and 25 percent short offspring.
   a) hybrid short
   b) hybrid tall
   c) pure short
   d) pure tall

20. Gregor Mendel made the first scientific study of ________, the passing of traits from parents to offspring.
   a) genetic engineering
   b) heredity
   c) reproduction
   d) mitosis

21. Darwin's theory of evolution by the process of ________ states that organisms that are better adapted to their environments are more likely to survive.
   a) natural selections
   b) genetic engineering
   c) speciation
   d) spontaneous generation

22. _________ are rigid blocks of crust and upper mantle.
   a) Rifts
   b) Subduction zones
   c) Mid-ocean ridges
   d) Plates

23. _________ are blocks of Earth's crust and upper mantle.
   a) Mid-ocean ridges
   b) Faults
   c) Plates
   d) Trenches

24. Places where plates collide with one another are _________ boundaries.
   a) transform
   b) convergent
   c) divergent
   d) rift

25. A measure of the total amount of energy released by an earthquake is called its _______.
   a) epicenter
   b) magnitude
   c) focus
   d) intensity


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