ASVAB GENERAL SCIENCE - EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE

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ASVAB (GENERAL SCIENCE - EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE)

EXAM QUESTIONS

Actual Qs and Ans - Expert-Verified Explanation -Guaranteed passing score -41 Questions and Answers

-Format: Multiple-choice / Flashcard

Question 1: Most of what is known about the history of our planet has been learned by studying the fossil record found in sedimentary rock. By studying rocks, we now know that the Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old, and that for most of that time, very few fossil traces were left. This is why the period from 4.6 billion years to 570 million years ago is called the __ __, meaning the period before the fossil record began. It turns out, however, that early geologists who studied the __ __ were unable to recognize early, primitive fossils, and in fact life first appeared on Earth as early as 3.5 billion years ago.

Answer:

Biogeochemical cycles

Question 2: Terrestrial planets

Answer:

The four planets closest to the Sun - MERCURY, VENUS, EARTH, and MARS- are called __ __, meaning they are similar to our own planet in composition, with inner metal cores and surfaces of rock.Earth and Mars are the only __ __ that have moons of their own, although the moons of Mars are much smaller than our own Moon. Earth is the largest of the __ __.Question 3: Imagine how terrified ancient humans must have been when their view of the sun or the moon became partially or completely obscured during an __. Today we understand how __ occur and can predict them well in advance.

Answer:

Solar eclipse

Question 4: There are several __ __. They all work in similar fashion in that the element or compound in released in the air and returned to the ground. The two basic cycles are the water cycle and the carbon cycle.

Answer:

Water cycle Question 5: The __ __ is also known as the HYDROLOGIC CYCLE. It involves the movement of water in all states of matter (solid, liquid and gas) through the atmosphere and back to the Earth. As water from the surface of the ocean and other bodies of water EVAPORATES (becomes a gas), it rises into the atmosphere. Water also evaporates into the atmosphere from the leaves of plants; this process is known as TRANSPIRATION. This water vapor CONDENSES to form clouds. When the clouds become too heavy, they release PRECIPITATION in the form of a solid (snow and ice). As the precipitation falls to the surface of the Earth, it will either stay in solid form or warm up and become a liquid (rain). Some of the water that accumulates on the surface will travel down in the form of snowmelt or surface RUNOFF and return to the ocean via rivers and streams. The rest of the water is absorbed into the Earth's surface and travels to the water table (a process known as INFILTRATION). The water table as a reservoir and can be drawn upon through the digging of wells.

Answer:

The Water Cycle

Question 6: The Solar System

Answer:

Meteoroids Question 7: Along the edges of these plates are __ __. (__ __ are simply places where the plates slide relative to each other.) When plates slide relative to each other along __ __ earthquakes can occur.

Answer:

Richer scale

Question 8: Core

Answer:

At the center of the Earth lies the __, which is nearly twice as dense as the mantle because its composition is metallic (iron-nickel alloy) rather than stony. The Earth's core contains two distinct parts: a 2,300-kilometer-thick liquid OUTER CORE and a 1,200-kilometer-radius solid INNER CORE.

Question 9: When an earthquake occurs, scientists use the __ __ or the MOMENT MAGNITUDE SCALE to measure its intensity. The __ __ is perhaps more familiar to most people. The __ __ begins at 1, with each larger integer representing a magnitude that is about 10 times greater than the preceding step.

Answer:

Three

Question 10: Stationary front

Answer:

Sometimes two air masses meet and neither is displace. Instead, the two fronts push against each other in a stalemate. This is called __ __. __ __ often cause cloudy, wet weather that can last a week or more.

Question 11: Geology

Answer:

__ is the science that deals with the history and composition of the Earth and its life, especially as recorded in rocks.

Question 12: Cumulus

Answer:

__ clouds are massive clouds that are puffy, like popcorn, with relatively flat bottoms and rounded tops.When __ clouds darken, you can expect heavy rain.Question 13: __ is not just the study of weather, but of the atmosphere and atmospheric phenomena in general.

Answer:

Earth's Atmosphere Question 14: __: Beyond the mesosphere, temperatures actually increase with altitude in the __ because there is little matter to deflect solar radiation. Temperatures as high as 2000 degrees Celsius have been recorded in the __.

Answer:

Earth's Atmosphere

Question 15: Structure of the Earth

Answer:

Plate Tectonics

Question 16: __: Above the stratosphere is the __, which extends to about 90 kilometers above the Earth. As you enter the __, the temperature starts to drop again, to as low as -90 degrees Celsius. This is when we see "falling stars," meteoroids that fall to the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

Answer:

Thermosphere Question 17: A __ __ occurs when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun during daylight hours. The relatively small shadow cast by the moon onto the surface of the Earth can either partially or totally obscure the sun. Because the moon is moving in its orbit around the earth and the earth is rotating on its axis, __ __ are belief and move across the face of the Earth rapidly.

Answer:

Lunar eclipse Question 18: The interior of the Earth is quite hot, somewhere between 3,0000 and 4,000 degrees Celsius . This heat is generally prevented from escaping thanks to the solid rock in the Earth's upper mantle and crust. The crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle (the LITHOSPHERE) consist of approximately 30 separate pieces called PLATES. These plates move very slowly upon the more movable mantle beneath (the asthenosphere), and this has caused the continental landmasses to drift slowly apart over the course of hundreds of millions of years.

Answer:

Fault lines Question 19: - How it's formed: formed by the sedimentation, or gradual depositing, of small bits of rock, clay, and other materials. Over time this deposited material becomes cemented together. Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks.

- Examples: shale, sandstone, gypsum, dolomite, coal

Answer:

Metamorphic

Question 20: Cirrus

Answer:

__ clouds are the thin, wispy clouds that occur much higher in the atmosphere, at elevations of 20,000 feet or more.