MAAP Earth Science 3

Question 1

Which process describes the movement of Earth's crustal plates sinking into the mantle at convergent boundaries?

Accepted Answer

Subduction

Answer

Subduction occurs when a denser oceanic plate slides beneath a less dense continental or oceanic plate at a convergent boundary, eventually melting back into the mantle.

Question 2

What is the primary difference between weathering and erosion?

Accepted Answer

Weathering breaks down rock in place; erosion transports material

Answer

Weathering is the in-place breakdown of rock into smaller particles, while erosion is the subsequent transport of those particles by agents like water, wind, or ice.

Question 3

Earth orbits the Sun once approximately every 365.25 days. What phenomenon results from the extra 0.25 days accumulating over four years?

Accepted Answer

A leap year

Answer

Every four years, the 0.25-day surplus accumulates to approximately one full day, which is added as February 29 in a leap year to keep calendars aligned with Earth's orbit.

Question 4

Which type of energy drives the water cycle?

Accepted Answer

Solar energy from the Sun

Answer

Solar energy provides the heat that evaporates water from oceans and land surfaces, initiating the water cycle by moving water into the atmosphere.

Question 5

A mineral that has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale can scratch a mineral with a hardness of 5. What does this tell us?

Accepted Answer

The mineral with hardness 7 is harder and more resistant to scratching

Answer

On the Mohs hardness scale, a mineral can scratch any mineral with a lower hardness value, so a hardness-7 mineral is harder and will always scratch a hardness-5 mineral.

MAAP - Mississippi Academic Assessment Program Practice Test

MAAP - Mississippi Academic Assessment Program Practice Test

MAAP Earth Science 3