View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Harry Hess determined that, in the Atlantic, the ocean floor is:
(a) Shrinking.
(b) Super heated.
(c) Expanding.
(d) Super cooled.

2. Today, scientists know that radiation in high doses is:
(a) Healthy.
(b) Tolerable.
(c) Safe.
(d) Toxic.

3. Through the examples provided about Thomas Midgley's inventions, what is the author trying to say about science?
(a) Science is the cause of all our modern ills.
(b) Science can better our lives but used unwisely it can be dangerous to the planet.
(c) Without science, we would still be living in caveman days in primitive dwellings.
(d) Pursuing scientific avenues is always justified, regardless of outcome.

4. Which of the following is not part of an atom?
(a) Electron.
(b) Neutron.
(c) Morton.
(d) Proton.

5. Which famous scientist was once an unknown patent clerk in Switzerland?
(a) Thomas Edison.
(b) Charles Darwin.
(c) Joseph Lister.
(d) Albert Einstein.

6. When was the Big Bang Theory first proposed?
(a) 1850s.
(b) 1920s.
(c) 1960s.
(d) 1790s.

7. Using a depth sounder during World War II, Harry Hess discovered that ocean floors:
(a) Are flat.
(b) Have canyons and trenches.
(c) Have swirling sand drifts.
(d) Are too deep to be measured.

8. The first eruption of Yellowstone took place how many years ago?
(a) 630 thousand.
(b) 16.5 million.
(c) 74 thousand.
(d) 19.7 billion.

9. Vesto Slipher's work at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona led him to discover that distant stars are moving away from us, with the farthest stars moving the fastest, suggesting that the universe is:
(a) Oscillating.
(b) Shrinking.
(c) Expanding.
(d) Stable.

10. In 2003, NASA came up with an estimated age of the universe. What was it?
(a) 13.7 billion years.
(b) 103.5 million years.
(c) 35 million years.
(d) 731 trillion years.

11. What campaign did geologist Clair Patterson take on?
(a) Fortifying milk with vitamin D.
(b) Removing chlorine from swimming pools.
(c) Adding fluoride to drinking water.
(d) Removing lead additives from gasoline.

12. Who suggested that mass and energy are actually the same thing?
(a) Albert Einstein.
(b) Thomas Edison.
(c) Joseph Lister.
(d) Charles Darwin.

13. Scientists are aware of at least how many galaxies in the universe?
(a) 110 thousand.
(b) 140 billion.
(c) 20 million.
(d) 90 trillion.

14. In 1875, why was Max Planck advised against studying physics and urged to study math instead?
(a) The government often arrested those who delved in certain branches of physics.
(b) A career in math offered greater financial opportunities for him.
(c) It was believed that all the important physics discoveries had already been made.
(d) Planek knew high-level math but only very basic physics.

15. When did the last supervolcano erupt on Earth?
(a) 9,000 years ago.
(b) 23,000 years ago.
(c) 74,000 years ago.
(d) 1,100 years ago.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the average distance between asteroids found in the inner solar system between Mars and Jupiter?

2. Approximately how many miles are there from Earth's surface to its core?

3. According to the Caltech physicist Richard Feynman, the most important discovery ever made is what?

4. According to the Reverend William Buckland, the biblical reference to "in the beginning" with regards to the formation of Earth could refer to:

5. Which of the following is not a layer of Earth?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 491 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample