Recommendation for individuals using a screenreader: please set your punctuation settings to "most."
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of how Earth has changed on the global scale since Earth's origin; key events in Earth's history (e.g., formation of Earth's crust and oceans, emergence of life and formation of oxygen-rich atmosphere, mass extinctions, continental glaciations); the causes of those events; and their consequences for Earth's geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.
- Apply knowledge of the geologic timescale, absolute and relative dating, fossilization processes, and the fossil record, including the use of index fossils.
- Apply the principles of stratigraphy (e.g., law of original horizontality, principle of superposition, principle of crosscutting relationships), including in the interpretation of the geologic history of rock strata.
- Demonstrate knowledge of Earth's surface features, including their formation, how they have changed over time, and the forces that continue to impact them.
- Apply knowledge of the use of science and engineering practices in exploring and understanding content related to the geologic and biological history of Earth, such as developing and using models, planning and safely conducting investigations, applying mathematical concepts, and communicating and evaluating data and conclusions.
Sample Item:
The downcutting that formed the present-day Connecticut River Valley was due primarily to which of the following events?
- the uplift of highlands to the west and east that channeled streams to the flat land in between
- the draining of Lake Hitchcock after the breaking of an ice and sediment dam at the end of the last Ice Age
- the heavy outflow of meltwater from a rapidly melting glacial front located in central New Hampshire and Vermont
- the tectonic activity that pulled apart two contiguous plates, resulting in the faulting and dropping of the rock in between
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
Correct Response: B.
Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the structure and composition of Earth's interior and of the methods and technology used to collect evidence of Earth's interior.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the mechanisms that drive the convection that cycles the Earth's crust and of the direction of movement of heat, energy, and matter through Earth's interior (e.g., outward flow of energy, gravitational movement of denser materials).
- Demonstrate knowledge of the theory of plate tectonics, the evidence of past and current movements of the crust (e.g., distribution of fossils and rocks, past climatic zones, continental shapes, seafloor structures), and the spatial and temporal scale of plate tectonic activity.
- Analyze interactions of tectonic plates (e.g., seafloor spreading, subduction of oceanic plates due to relative densities of rocks, collision of continental plates) and their effects (e.g., melting, crystallization, weathering, deformation).
- Analyze the geologic and topographic features that result from plate boundary interactions and other tectonic processes (e.g., seamounts, ocean trenches, rift valleys, intrusions, mid-ocean ridges, mountain building, active volcanic chains, hot spots).
- Apply knowledge of the use of science and engineering practices in exploring and understanding content related to plate tectonics, such as developing and using models, planning and safely conducting investigations, applying mathematical concepts, and communicating and evaluating data and conclusions.
Sample Item:
When an oceanic lithosphere collides with a continental lithosphere, the oceanic lithosphere is subducted beneath the continental lithosphere rather than being compressed against it or riding over it. Which of the following statements best explains why this phenomenon occurs?
- Convection currents push harder on continental lithospheres because they extend deeper into the mantle than oceanic lithosphere.
- Composition of the oceanic lithosphere is denser than the continental lithosphere.
- Land formation at the edge of continents pushes the oceanic lithosphere downward.
- Mountains that form the edge of the continental lithosphere act as a barrier.
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
Correct Response: B.
Descriptive Statements:
- Apply knowledge of the formation and characteristics of common rocks and minerals and methods used to identify common rock-forming minerals (e.g., hardness, cleavage).
- Demonstrate knowledge of processes that drive the rock cycle and the formation and characteristics of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks.
- Apply knowledge of the processes of mechanical, chemical, and biological weathering and of soil formation, including factors that affect the rate at which rocks weather.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the processes of erosion by various agents (e.g., wind, water, glaciers) and factors that affect erosion rates and patterns.
- Apply knowledge of depositional processes and the topographic features (e.g., beaches, dunes, mesas, valleys, moraines) that are formed by various agents of weathering, erosion, and deposition.
- Apply knowledge of the use of science and engineering practices in exploring and understanding content related to Earth materials, such as developing and using models, planning and safely conducting investigations, applying mathematical concepts, and communicating and evaluating data and conclusions.
Sample Item:
Which of the following statements best explains how coastal dunes form inland from beaches?
- Falling sea levels expose offshore barrier islands and leave them as dunes located behind newly formed beaches.
- Large hurricanes and winter storms cause massive beach erosion and deposit the sand as dunes at the high-water mark.
- Rising sea levels deposit sand mounds at the high-tide mark, which are isolated as dunes when sea levels later fall.
- Onshore winds pick up sand from beaches and drop it when they slow as they encounter obstacles, such as vegetation.
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
Correct Response: D.
View Cart