GED Science Practice Test: Earth and Space Science
- Earth and Space Science
- 10 questions
- 13 minutes
Earth and space science is one of the three content areas on the GED Science test. These 10 questions cover plate tectonics, the rock and water cycles, weather, natural resources, seasons, the Moon and the solar system. Many questions ask for the cause of an event, so think about what process makes it happen.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
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Question 1
Along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, magma rises and forms new ocean floor as two tectonic plates move away from each other.
What type of plate boundary is this?
Correct answer: C
At a divergent boundary, plates move apart and new crust forms in the gap. At a convergent boundary the plates move toward each other, and a subduction zone is one kind of convergent boundary.
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Question 2
Many of the world's volcanoes and earthquakes occur in a belt around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, often called the Ring of Fire.
What best explains why this area has so much volcanic and earthquake activity?
Correct answer: B
Earthquakes and volcanoes are concentrated where plates meet, and the Pacific is ringed by plate boundaries, many of them subduction zones. Ocean depth and water temperature do not cause plates to move.
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Question 3
What is the main cause of Earth's seasons?
Correct answer: A
Because Earth's axis is tilted, each hemisphere receives more direct sunlight and longer days during part of the year. Distance is not the cause: the Northern Hemisphere has winter when Earth is closest to the Sun, in early January.
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Question 4
Why does the Moon appear to change shape over about a month?
Correct answer: D
The Sun always lights half of the Moon, and as the Moon orbits Earth, we see more or less of that lit half. Earth's shadow falls on the Moon only during a lunar eclipse, not during the regular phases.
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Question 5
On a cool morning, drops of water form on the outside of a cold glass of iced tea.
Which part of the water cycle does this example show?
Correct answer: B
Water vapor in the air cools when it touches the cold glass and changes into liquid drops, which is condensation. Evaporation is the opposite change, from liquid to gas.
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Question 6
Which of these energy sources is renewable?
Correct answer: C
Wind is renewed constantly by the Sun's uneven heating of Earth, so it will not run out. Coal, natural gas and uranium exist in limited amounts that cannot be replaced on a human time scale.
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Question 7
Basalt forms when lava erupts onto Earth's surface and cools quickly.
What type of rock is basalt?
Correct answer: A
Igneous rocks form when molten rock (magma or lava) cools and hardens. Sedimentary rocks form from pressed layers of sediment, and metamorphic rocks form when existing rock is changed by heat and pressure.
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Question 8
A cold front is moving into an area that has warm, humid air.
Which weather is most likely as the front passes through?
Correct answer: D
Cold air pushes the warm, humid air up quickly, which often forms thunderstorms; after the front passes, cooler and drier air moves in. Long periods of light rain and warming are more typical of a warm front.
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Question 9
Light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes to reach Earth. Jupiter is about 5.2 times as far from the Sun as Earth is.
About how long does sunlight take to reach Jupiter?
Correct answer: C
Light travels at a constant speed, so the time grows with the distance: 8 × 5.2 ≈ 42 minutes. The choice 1.5 minutes comes from dividing by 5.2 instead of multiplying.
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Question 10
How does an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere tend to affect Earth's average surface temperature?
Correct answer: B
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas: it lets sunlight through but absorbs infrared energy (heat) given off by Earth's surface and sends part of it back down. Even in small amounts it has this effect, so the "no effect" choice is wrong.
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