GED Science Preparation Course: Earth and space science

1. Vraag 1 van 17

   In the water cycle, what happens when water vapor cools and forms clouds?

   • ARunoff
   • BCondensation
   • CPrecipitation
   • DEvaporation
   Toon antwoord

   Antwoord: B. Condensation

   Condensation is when water vapor cools and changes into liquid droplets, forming clouds.

2. Vraag 2 van 17

   Which process adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

   • APhotosynthesis
   • BForming new rock layers
   • CPlants growing new leaves
   • DBurning fossil fuels
   Toon antwoord

   Antwoord: D. Burning fossil fuels

   Burning fossil fuels, respiration and decay release carbon dioxide. Photosynthesis removes it.

3. Vraag 3 van 17

   Why are coal, oil and natural gas called nonrenewable?

   • AThey are made in factories each year
   • BThey take millions of years to form
   • CThey cannot be burned to make energy
   • DThey are found only under the ocean floor
   Toon antwoord

   Antwoord: B. They take millions of years to form

   Fossil fuels formed from ancient living things over millions of years, so they cannot be replaced in a human lifetime.

4. Vraag 4 van 17

   What is the greenhouse effect?

   • AOcean currents carry cold water to the equator
   • BGases such as carbon dioxide trap heat near the surface
   • CThe ozone layer blocks all sunlight from reaching the ground
   • DPlants make the air warmer at night
   Toon antwoord

   Antwoord: B. Gases such as carbon dioxide trap heat near the surface

   Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor trap heat. More of them traps more heat.

5. Vraag 5 van 17

   What does the ozone layer do?

   • AMakes rain fall over the oceans
   • BAbsorbs much of the Sun's ultraviolet light
   • CCauses most of the weather that we feel on Earth
   • DTraps heat inside Earth's core
   Toon antwoord

   Antwoord: B. Absorbs much of the Sun's ultraviolet light

   The ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs much of the Sun's ultraviolet light. Weather happens in the troposphere.

6. Vraag 6 van 17

   Which statement describes climate rather than weather?

   • AIt has been snowing hard here since early this morning
   • BThis city averages 30 inches of rain a year
   • CThere was a storm last night
   • DTomorrow will be windy
   Toon antwoord

   Antwoord: B. This city averages 30 inches of rain a year

   Climate is the average pattern over many years. Weather is the condition over hours or days.

7. Vraag 7 van 17

   Which layer of Earth is liquid?

   • AThe crust
   • BThe mountains
   • CThe inner core
   • DThe outer core
   Toon antwoord

   Antwoord: D. The outer core

   From the outside in: crust, mantle, liquid outer core and solid inner core.

8. Vraag 8 van 17

   Two plates push into each other. What can form at this kind of boundary?

   • AOnly new ocean floor
   • BNothing, because plates never touch
   • CMountains and volcanoes
   • DA mid-ocean ridge where plates move apart
   Toon antwoord

   Antwoord: C. Mountains and volcanoes

   At a convergent boundary, plates collide and form mountains, volcanoes and deep trenches.

9. Vraag 9 van 17

   At a transform boundary, two plates slide past each other. What is this boundary known for?

   • ATides
   • BEarthquakes
   • CNew ocean crust forming
   • DTall volcanoes from melting crust
   Toon antwoord

   Antwoord: B. Earthquakes

   When plates slide past each other, stress builds and is released as earthquakes.

10. Vraag 10 van 17

    Melted rock cools and hardens. What type of rock forms?

    • AMetamorphic
    • BFossil
    • CIgneous
    • DSedimentary
    Toon antwoord

    Antwoord: C. Igneous

    Igneous rock forms from cooled melted rock. Sedimentary rock forms from layers; metamorphic forms under heat and pressure.

11. Vraag 11 van 17

    Which action best reduces harm from earthquakes?

    • ABuilding levees along rivers
    • BPlanting more grass in city parks
    • CStopping the plates from moving
    • DUsing strong building codes
    Toon antwoord

    Antwoord: D. Using strong building codes

    We cannot stop earthquakes, but strong building codes reduce damage. Levees are for floods.

12. Vraag 12 van 17

    The table lists undisturbed rock layers. Which fossils are the oldest?

    Layer (top to bottom)	Fossils found
    W (top)	Seashells
    X	Fish bones
    Y	Fern leaves
    Z (bottom)	Trilobites

    • AFish bones in layer X
    • BFern leaves in layer Y
    • CTrilobites in layer Z
    • DSeashells in layer W
    Toon antwoord

    Antwoord: C. Trilobites in layer Z

    By the law of superposition, in undisturbed layers the lowest layer formed first and is the oldest.

13. Vraag 13 van 17

    A sample has 80 g of a substance with a half-life of 5,730 years. How much is left after 11,460 years?

    • A10 g
    • B40 g
    • C20 g
    • D0 g
    Toon antwoord

    Antwoord: C. 20 g

    11,460 years is 2 half-lives. 80 → 40 → 20 g.

14. Vraag 14 van 17

    What mainly causes ocean tides on Earth?

    • AEarthquakes on the sea floor
    • BThe heat of Earth's core
    • CWind blowing over the ocean
    • DThe Moon's gravity
    Toon antwoord

    Antwoord: D. The Moon's gravity

    Tides are caused mainly by the pull of the Moon's gravity.

15. Vraag 15 van 17

    During a solar eclipse, how are the Sun, Moon and Earth lined up?

    • AThe three are not lined up
    • BThe Moon is between the Sun and Earth
    • CEarth is between the Sun and the Moon
    • DThe Sun is between Earth and the Moon
    Toon antwoord

    Antwoord: B. The Moon is between the Sun and Earth

    In a solar eclipse the Moon blocks the Sun. In a lunar eclipse Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.

16. Vraag 16 van 17

    Why does Earth have seasons?

    • AEarth's axis is tilted
    • BEarth spins once a day
    • CThe Sun's size changes each year
    • DThe Moon blocks the Sun in winter
    Toon antwoord

    Antwoord: A. Earth's axis is tilted

    Because the axis is tilted, each hemisphere gets more direct sunlight for part of the year.

17. Vraag 17 van 17

    What happens to a very massive star at the end of its life?

    • AIt grows until it becomes a whole new galaxy of stars
    • BIt shrinks and becomes a rocky planet orbiting another star
    • CIt cools slowly into a white dwarf without ever exploding
    • DIt explodes as a supernova
    Toon antwoord

    Antwoord: D. It explodes as a supernova

    Very massive stars end in a supernova. A Sun-like star becomes a red giant, then a white dwarf.

Toetsenbord: 1–4 om te antwoorden, Enter voor de volgende vraag.

Het echte examen: 145 on a 100–200 scale