Regents Earth Science 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which type of seismic wave causes the most damage during an earthquake by moving the ground side to side?
- P-waves
- S-waves
- Surface waves (Correct answer)
- Compression waves
Correct answer: Surface waves
Surface waves (Love and Rayleigh waves) travel along Earth's surface and produce the greatest ground motion, causing the most structural damage.
Question 2: A stream cuts through horizontal rock layers and exposes the following from bottom to top: limestone, shale, sandstone. Which layer is oldest?
- Sandstone
- Shale
- Limestone (Correct answer)
- They are the same age
Correct answer: Limestone
According to the Law of Superposition, in undisturbed horizontal layers, the lowest layer (limestone) is the oldest.
Question 3: What is the primary cause of the Coriolis effect on large air masses in the Northern Hemisphere?
- Ocean currents
- Earth's rotation (Correct answer)
- Solar radiation
- Mountain ranges
Correct answer: Earth's rotation
Earth's rotation causes freely moving objects, including air masses, to deflect to the right in the Northern Hemisphere.
Question 4: Which property of a mineral is tested by observing how light reflects off its surface?
- Cleavage
- Hardness
- Luster (Correct answer)
- Streak
Correct answer: Luster
Luster describes how a mineral reflects light and is categorized as metallic or nonmetallic.
Question 5: A fossil of a marine organism is found at 3,000 meters elevation in the Himalayas. What does this most likely indicate?
- The organism once lived at high elevations
- The ocean level was once much higher
- Tectonic uplift raised former seafloor (Correct answer)
- Glaciers carried the fossil upward
Correct answer: Tectonic uplift raised former seafloor
The presence of marine fossils at high elevations indicates that tectonic forces lifted former ocean floor to create mountain ranges.
Question 6: Which atmospheric layer contains the ozone layer that absorbs most ultraviolet radiation?
- Troposphere
- Stratosphere (Correct answer)
- Mesosphere
- Thermosphere
Correct answer: Stratosphere
The ozone layer is located in the stratosphere, approximately 15–35 km above Earth's surface, where it absorbs harmful UV radiation.
Question 7: What does a barometric pressure reading of 1013 mb most likely indicate about upcoming weather?
- A strong storm is approaching
- Fair and stable weather (Correct answer)
- Heavy snow is likely
- A cold front just passed
Correct answer: Fair and stable weather
1013 mb is approximately standard sea-level pressure, associated with high pressure and fair, stable weather conditions.
Regents Earth Science 2
Which type of seismic wave causes the most damage during an earthquake by moving the ground side to side?