Earth & Space Science — Sample exam

Parent / teacher answer key

A rehearsal paper with separate worked solutions; use it before the final.

18 questions · 36 points · suggested 90 minutes

Student instructions

  1. Suggested time: 90 minutes; allow breaks or accommodations and record them.
  2. Work independently with a calculator, blank paper and the reference relationships printed in this paper. Grades 9, 11 and 12 may also use the course-linked NYSED reference tables. Use no lesson notes or answer key during an assessed attempt.
  3. Show reasoning and units for written tasks. All supplied datasets are illustrative; do not present them as measurements you collected.
  4. Objective items: 1 point each. Written items: 3 points each, one per criterion. A parent or teacher marks the written work; the app never grades an explanation automatically.
  5. Sample exam: try the whole paper before opening the worked key, then revisit the linked chapters. The sample and final are different papers; this is a course assessment, not an official Regents examination.

Reference relationships

Relationship or toolConditions
Maps and budgetsGradient=elevation change/horizontal distance; storage change=inputs−outputs.
Radioactive decayRemaining parent fraction=(½)ⁿ; age=n×half-life under the stated dating assumptions.
Orbital ratiosFor one dominant central mass, T²/a³ is constant; compare semimajor axes in the same units.
SpectraRedshift z=(observed wavelength−rest wavelength)/rest wavelength. Match line patterns first.
Earth and Space reference tablesUse the linked 2024 NYSED tables: read title, units, legend and conditions; write the table evidence used.

Coverage and marks

ChapterQuestionsPoints
Investigating Earth1, 24
Earth’s Interior & Plate Tectonics3, 44
Rocks, Landscapes & Water5, 64
Earth’s History7, 84
Atmosphere & Weather9, 104
Oceans, Carbon & Climate11, 124
Earth, Moon & Solar System13, 144
Stars & the Universe15, 164
Resources & Human Decisions17, 184

Name: ____________________   Date: ____________________

Question 1 · 1 point

Which is an inference?

  1. The gauge reads 10 mm.
  2. The thermometer reads 18°C.
  3. The storm likely caused the river rise.
  4. The sample has mass 20 g.

Question 2 · 3 points

Elevation rises from 120 m to 300 m over a horizontal distance of 3 km. Find gradient.

Question 3 · 1 point

The asthenosphere is important to plate tectonics because it

  1. is mainly solid rock that can deform and flow slowly beneath the rigid lithosphere
  2. is the coldest layer of the Earth
  3. makes up the solid inner core
  4. is where all earthquakes stop

Question 4 · 3 points

Two towns have similar hazard; one has weak crowded buildings and the other reinforced sparse buildings. Compare risk.

Question 5 · 1 point

Which property is generally the LEAST reliable for identifying a mineral?

  1. Streak
  2. Color
  3. Hardness
  4. Luster

Question 6 · 3 points

A simplified basin receives 120 units of water, loses 85 naturally and has 20 withdrawn. Find storage change.

Question 7 · 1 point

According to the law of superposition, in an undisturbed sequence of rock layers, which layer is the oldest?

  1. The layer on the very bottom
  2. The layer on the very top
  3. The middle layer
  4. It's impossible to tell

Question 8 · 3 points

Why do researchers use meteorites as well as Earth's oldest rocks to study early solar-system history?

Question 9 · 1 point

What is it called when plants release water vapor through their leaves?

  1. Transpiration
  2. Respiration
  3. Condensation
  4. Sublimation

Question 10 · 3 points

A front moves 180 km between maps taken 6 h apart. Find its average speed and one forecasting limit.

Question 11 · 1 point

Which of these gases is a greenhouse gas?

  1. Carbon dioxide
  2. Nitrogen
  3. Oxygen
  4. Argon

Question 12 · 3 points

An annual temperature is 14°C; baseline A is 12°C and B is 13°C. Find both anomalies.

Question 13 · 1 point

Which phase comes right after a new moon?

  1. Waxing crescent
  2. Full moon
  3. Waning gibbous
  4. Third quarter

Question 14 · 3 points

For the same star, orbit B has semimajor axis 4 times A's. What is its period ratio?

Question 15 · 1 point

A cool but very luminous star may be a…

  1. red giant
  2. small white dwarf only
  3. dark planet only
  4. star with no surface area

Question 16 · 3 points

A known line at 500 nm appears at 510 nm. Calculate z=(observed−rest)/rest.

Question 17 · 1 point

Fossil fuels are considered nonrenewable mainly because...

  1. They are found only in a few countries
  2. They take millions of years to form, far slower than we use them
  3. They cannot be burned for energy
  4. They are not found underground

Question 18 · 3 points

Design A reduces modeled runoff from 100 to 70 mL; B reduces it to 55 mL. Compare percentage reductions and name missing evidence.

Revisit the covered chapters

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