ICAS Earth and Environmental Science 5

Question 1

What is the Coriolis effect and how does it influence wind patterns?

Accepted Answer

It deflects moving air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern Hemisphere

Answer

The Coriolis effect, caused by Earth's rotation, deflects winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

Question 2

Which of the following correctly describes the carbon cycle process of photosynthesis?

Accepted Answer

Plants convert CO₂ and water into glucose using sunlight

Answer

During photosynthesis, plants absorb CO₂ and water and use solar energy to produce glucose, removing carbon from the atmosphere.

Question 3

A scientist finds marine fossils near the top of a mountain in the Himalayas. What does this most likely indicate?

Accepted Answer

The region was once at or below sea level and was uplifted by tectonic forces

Answer

Marine fossils at high elevations indicate that the rock was once on an ocean floor and was later pushed upward by the collision of tectonic plates.

Question 4

Which of the following is a consequence of ocean acidification caused by increased atmospheric CO₂?

Accepted Answer

Difficulty for marine organisms to build calcium carbonate shells

Answer

When CO₂ dissolves in seawater it forms carbonic acid, lowering pH and making it harder for corals, mollusks, and other organisms to form calcium carbonate structures.

Question 5

What distinguishes an epicenter from a focus (hypocenter) in an earthquake?

Accepted Answer

The focus is underground where rock first breaks; the epicenter is the point on the surface directly above

Answer

The focus (hypocenter) is the underground point where an earthquake originates, while the epicenter is the point on Earth's surface directly above it.

(ICAS) ICAS Practice Test

(ICAS) ICAS Practice Test

ICAS Earth and Environmental Science 5