Name: 
 

8th Grade Midterm Review Day 1


Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

 1. 
The seafloor spreading theory was proposed by ____
a.
Alfred Wegener.
c.
Abraham Ortelius.
b.
Harry Hess.
d.
Carl Sagan.
 

 2. 
As Earth’s plates move apart at some boundaries, they collide at others, forming ____
a.
mountains and volcanoes.
c.
strike-slip faults.
b.
ocean basins.
d.
both a and b.
 

 3. 
The youngest rocks in the ocean floor are located at the mid-ocean ____
a.
volcanoes.
c.
trenches.
b.
basins.
d.
ridges.
 

 4. 
The results of plate movement can be seen at ____
a.
rift valleys.
c.
plate centers.
b.
plate boundaries.
d.
both a and b.
 

 5. 
The ____ are forming where the Indo-Australian plate collides into the Eurasian plate.
a.
Andes mountain range
c.
Himalayas
b.
Rocky Mountains
d.
Appalachian Mountains
 

 6. 
The presence of the same ____ on several continents supports the idea of continental drift.
a.
fossils
c.
neither a nor b
b.
rocks
d.
both a and b
 

 7. 
Continental drift occurs because of ____
a.
seafloor spreading.
c.
magnetic reversal.
b.
Pangaea.
d.
earthquakes.
 

 8. 
The cycle of heating, rising, cooling, and sinking is called a ____
a.
subduction zone.
c.
convection current.
b.
convergent boundary.
d.
conduction current.
 

 9. 
Oceanic plates are pushed down into the upper mantle in ____
a.
convection currents.
c.
strike-slip faults.
b.
subduction zones.
d.
divergent boundaries.
 

 10. 
The hypothesis that continents have moved slowly to their current locations is called ____
a.
continental drift.
c.
magnetism.
b.
continental slope.
d.
convection.
 

 11. 
Plates move apart at ____ boundaries.
a.
convergent
c.
divergent
b.
transform
d.
magnetic
 

 12. 
Ocean floor rocks are ____ continental rocks.
a.
more eroded than
c.
younger than
b.
older than
d.
the same age as
 

 13. 
The alignment of iron-bearing minerals in rocks when they formed reflects the fact that Earth’s ____ has reversed itself several times in its past.
a.
magnetic field
c.
asthenosphere
b.
core
d.
gravity
 

 14. 
The lack of an explanation for continental drift prevented many scientists from believing a single supercontinent called ____ once existed.
a.
Glomar
c.
Pangaea
b.
Glossopteris
d.
Mesosaurus
 

 15. 
Scientists aboard the Glomar Challenger added to the evidence for the theory of seafloor spreading by providing ____
a.
high altitude photos of existing continents.
b.
samples of plant life from different locations.
c.
samples of rock from different locations.
d.
direct measurements of the movement of continents.
 

 16. 
Where plates slide past one another, ____ occur.
a.
volcanoes
c.
island arcs
b.
earthquakes
d.
ocean trenches
 

 17. 
The places between plates moving together are called ____
a.
divergent boundaries.
c.
strike-slip faults.
b.
convergent boundaries.
d.
lithospheres.
 

 18. 
Seafloor spreading occurs because ____
a.
new material is being added to the asthenosphere.
b.
earthquakes break apart the ocean floor.
c.
sediments accumulate on the ocean floor.
d.
hot, less-dense material below Earth’s crust is forced upward toward the surface.
 

 19. 
Studying the ocean floor, scientists found rocks showing magnetic ____
a.
weakening.
c.
bonds.
b.
reversal.
d.
poles.
 

 20. 
Molten rock inside Earth is ____.
a.
lava
c.
tephra
b.
magma
 

 21. 
Subduction takes place at a ____ plate boundary.
a.
convergent
c.
transform
b.
divergent
 

 22. 
The Richter scale measures ____.
a.
intensity
c.
magnitude
b.
duration
 

 23. 
A broad, shallow volcano with lava sides is a ____ volcano.
a.
shield
c.
cinder cone
b.
composite
 

 24. 
Tectonic plates are moved around by ____.
a.
seismic waves
c.
convection currents
b.
nuclear reactions
 

 25. 
____ waves are the slowest and largest of the seismic waves and cause most of the destruction during an earthquake.
a.
Primary
c.
Surface
b.
Secondary
 

 26. 
Most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur ____.
a.
at the center of the plates
c.
at plate boundaries
b.
near the equator
 

 27. 
Geologic time is divided into units based on ____.
a.
geologic changes
b.
fossils and rocks
c.
types of life-forms living during certain periods
d.
all of these
 

 28. 
Humans appeared in the ____ Era.
a.
Cenozoic
c.
Mesozoic
b.
Paleozoic
d.
Devonian
 

 29. 
The major divisions in geologic time are ____.
a.
epochs
c.
centuries
b.
periods
d.
eons
 

 30. 
Changes in the exoskeleton of trilobites probably occurred because of ____.
a.
geographic isolation
c.
the competition for survival
b.
changing environments
d.
all of these
 

 31. 
Species of ____ existed during the Mesozoic Era.
a.
birds
c.
both a and b
b.
mammals
d.
neither a nor b
 

 32. 
Life-forms that first appeared in the Cenozoic Era include ____.
a.
humans
c.
mammals
b.
reptiles
d.
all of these
 

 33. 
The development of ozone in the stratosphere and oxygen in the atmosphere first made possible the development of ____.
a.
complex organisms
c.
cyanobacteria
b.
single-cell organisms
d.
all of these
 

 34. 
Today, many scientists think that ____.
a.
birds evolved from dinosaurs
c.
birds evolved from amphibians
b.
dinosaurs evolved from reptiles
d.
both a and b
 

 35. 
Ediacaran organisms first appeared during the ____.
a.
Precambrian Time
c.
Permian Period
b.
Cambrian Period
d.
none of these
 

 36. 
As ____ evolved, they changed Earth’s atmosphere by producing oxygen.
a.
cyanobacteria
c.
reptiles
b.
trilobites
d.
dinosaurs
 

 37. 
A life-form that evolved during the Paleozoic Era was ____.
a.
cyanobacteria
c.
reptiles
b.
humans
d.
dinosaurs
 

 38. 
The end of the Paleozoic Era might have involved ____.
a.
the development of humans
b.
mass extinctions of land and sea animals
c.
the appearance of marine animals with hard parts
d.
both a and b
 

 39. 
A life-form that evolved during the Mesozoic Era was the ____.
a.
human
c.
reptile
b.
dinosaur
d.
cyanobacteria
 

 40. 
Large mammals of the Cenozoic Era may have become extinct because of activity by ____.
a.
volcanoes
c.
plate tectonics
b.
humans
d.
all of these
 

 41. 
Trilobites can be used to study the passage of geologic time because ____.
a.
they burrowed into sediments
b.
they lived in the oceans
c.
they lived throughout the Paleozoic Era
d.
their physical features changed through time
 

 42. 
A trilobite with no eyes was best adapted for life ____.
a.
on land
c.
near the water’s surface
b.
as an active swimmer
d.
deeper than light could penetrate
 

 43. 
Plate tectonics may affect changes in species because movement of plates causes a change in ____.
a.
Earth’s surface
c.
the environment
b.
climates
d.
all of these
 

 44. 
Plate tectonics during the Mesozoic Era caused ____.
a.
Pangaea to separate
c.
human life to form
b.
Pangaea to form
d.
dinosaurs to become extinct
 

Modified True/False
Indicate whether the statement is true or false. If false, change the identified word or phrase to make the statement true.
 

 45. 
A fossil may tell a geologist when, where, and how an organism lived. _________________________

 

 46. 
A permineralized bone is composed of calcium. _________________________

 

 47. 
The soft parts of organisms are most likely to become fossils. _________________________

 

 48. 
Preserved animal tracks are trace fossils. _________________________

 

 49. 
Only a radioactive isotope will have a half-life. _________________________

 

 50. 
Any fossil can be dated by the amount of carbon-14 it contains. _________________________

 

Matching
 
 
Match each term with the description below.
a.
lithosphere
i.
convergent boundary
b.
mantle
j.
subduction zone
c.
plate tectonics
k.
asthenosphere
d.
seafloor spreading
l.
strike-slip fault
e.
convection current
m.
transform boundary
f.
continental drift
n.
divergent boundary
g.
Pangaea
o.
crust
h.
magnetometer
p.
plates
 

 51. 

 plasticlike layer of Earth’s surface below the lithosphere
 

 52. 

 cycle of heating, rising, cooling, and sinking
 

 53. 

 theory that states that Earth’s crust and upper mantle are broken into sections, which move around on a special layer of the mantle
 

 54. 

 area where an oceanic plate goes down into the mantle
 

 55. 

 plate boundary that occurs when two plates slide past one another
 

 56. 

 place where two plates move together
 

 57. 

 rigid layer of Earth’s surface made up of the crust and a part of the upper mantle
 

 58. 

 sensing device that detects magnetic fields, helping to confirm seafloor spreading
 

 59. 

 one large landmass hypothesized to have broken apart about 200 million years ago into continents
 

 60. 

 hypothesis that the continents have moved slowly to their current locations
 

 61. 

 boundary between two plates that are moving apart
 

 62. 

 sections of Earth’s crust and upper mantle
 

 63. 

 largest layer of Earth’s surface, composed mostly of silicon, oxygen, magnesium, and iron
 

 64. 

 outermost layer of Earth’s surface
 

 65. 

 where rocks on opposite sides of a fault move in opposite directions or in the same direction at different rates
 
 
Choose the correct category for each item.
a.
related to earthquakes
b.
related to volcanoes
c.
related to both earthquakes and volcanoes
 

 66. 

 ash and mudslides
 

 67. 

 seismic safe construction techniques
 

 68. 

 hot spots
 

 69. 

 magnitude
 

 70. 

 elastic rebound
 

 71. 

 rift
 

 72. 

 tsunami
 

 73. 

 tephra
 

 74. 

 tectonic plates
 
 
Match each term with the correct statement below.
a.
fossils
f.
uniformitarianism
b.
mold
g.
carbon
c.
original remains
h.
halflife
d.
radiometric
i.
unconformities
e.
absolute dating
j.
radioactive
 

 75. 

 Element found in tissues of most organisms
 

 76. 

 Remains, imprints, or traces of once-living organisms
 

 77. 

 Method using properties of atoms in rocks and other objects to determine their ages
 

 78. 

 Principle stating that Earth’s processes occurring today are similar to those that occurred in the past
 

 79. 

 Time it takes for half of the atoms in a radioactive element to decay
 

 80. 

 Kind of decay that results in the formation of a different element
 

 81. 

 Method of dating rocks when the amounts of parent and daughter materials are measured
 

 82. 

 Gaps found in rock records
 

 83. 

 Actual organism or parts of organism protected from decay
 

 84. 

 Cavity left in rock by a decayed organism
 
 
Match each term with the correct description below.
a.
cast
h.
mold
b.
carbonaceous film
i.
radioactive decay
c.
index fossils
j.
relative dating
d.
fossil
k.
unconformities
e.
half-life
l.
radiometric dating
f.
principle of superposition
m.
uniformitarianism
g.
absolute dating
n.
permineralized remains
 

 85. 

 produced when sediments fill in a cavity made when an object decayed
 

 86. 

 cavity in rock made when an organism decayed
 

 87. 

 principle that Earth’s processes occurring today are similar to those that occurred in the past
 

 88. 

 process that uses the properties of atoms in rocks and other objects to determine their ages
 

 89. 

 states that in a sequence of undisturbed rocks, the oldest rocks are on the bottom and the rocks become progressively younger toward the top
 

 90. 

 gaps in rock records made when agents of erosion remove existing rock layers
 

 91. 

 method by which a geologist can calculate the absolute age of the rock by knowing the half-life of an isotope
 

 92. 

 time it takes for half of an isotope’s atoms to decay
 

 93. 

 fossil of thin layer of carbon atoms and molecules
 

 94. 

 formed when original materials in skeletal remains are replaced by minerals
 

 95. 

 method by which order of events or age of rocks is determined by examining the position of rocks in a layer
 

 96. 

 remains, imprints, or traces of once-living organisms
 

 97. 

 process that occurs when the number of protons in an atom is changed and a new element is formed
 

 98. 

 fossils of species that existed for short periods and were widespread
 
 
Match the items with the correct descriptions below.
a.
amphibians
g.
cyanobacteria
b.
reptiles
h.
species
c.
natural selection
i.
vertebrates
d.
invertebrates
j.
angiosperms
e.
geologic time scale
k.
gymnosperms
f.
index fossil
 

 99. 

 animals evolved from a species of amphibians
 

 100. 

 animals that live on land but return to water to reproduce
 

 101. 

 animals without a backbone
 

 102. 

 division of Earth’s history into smaller units
 

 103. 

 among the earliest life-forms on Earth
 

 104. 

 group of organisms that normally reproduce only among themselves
 

 105. 

 animals with a backbone
 

 106. 

 flowering plants
 

 107. 

 naked seed plant
 

 108. 

 organism used to identify specific geologic time period
 

 109. 

 process by which organisms with traits that are suited to a certain environment survive whereas others do not _____.
 



 
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