Base your answers to questions 1 through 4 on the laboratory experiment described below.

The weathering of four different rock samples with different masses was studied. Each rocksample was placed in a separate beaker containing 500 milliliters of a dilute acid for 10 minutes.Bubbling was observed in some of the beakers. The data table below shows the mass of eachsample, in grams, before placement in the acid and after removal from the acid.

A) B)

C) D)

1. Which table correctly shows the classification of the rock samples based on the amount of weatheringduring this experiment?

A) physical weathering in the hydrosphere B) physical weathering in the mesosphereC) chemical weathering in the hydrosphere D) chemical weathering in the mesosphere

2. Which Earth process is being modeled in this experiment?

A) crystalline texture B) mineral compositionC) density D) cleavage

3. Which property of the gneiss sample prevented it from weathering?

A) 0.4% B) 8.0% C) 20.7% D) 99.6%

4. Approximately what percentage of the marble sample remained after the experiment?

A) glaciers B) mass movementC) wave action D) wind action

5. Which agent of erosion is most likely responsible forthe deposition of sandbars along ocean shorelines?

A) A B) B C) C D) D

6. The diagram below shows four magnified block-shaped sandstone samples labeled A, B, C, andD.Each sandstone sample contains quartz grains of different shapes and sizes. The quartz grains are heldtogether by hematite cement.

In which sample did the quartz grains undergo the most abrasion during erosional transport?

A) abrasion of rocks by the windB) alternate freezing and melting of waterC) dissolving of minerals into solutionD) oxidation by oxygen in the atmosphere

7. At high elevations, which is the most common formof physical weathering?

8. Base your answer to the following question on on the photographs and news article below.

Old Man’s Loss Felt in New Hampshire

      FRANCONIA, N.H. — Crowds of visitors were drawn to Franconia Notch on Sunday to mourn theloss of New Hampshire’s well-known symbol — the Old Man of the Mountain granite profile. The 700-ton natural formation was just a pile of rocks after breaking loose from its 1,200-foot-highmountainside perch. It was unclear when the outcropping fell because clouds had obscured the areaThursday and Friday; a state park trail crew discovered the collapse Saturday morning. The famous mountain’s history dates millions of years. Over time, nature carved out a 40-foot-tallprofile resembling an old man’s face, and it eventually became New Hampshire’s most recognizablesymbol. The Buffalo News, May 5, 2003

A) running water B) glacial iceC) wave action D) mass movement

Which agent of erosion is most likely responsible for the collapse of the granite profile?

A) meteorites have not struck EarthB) weathering processes on Earth have removed

most cratersC) Earth is younger than Mercury or the MoonD) all meteorites burn up in Earth's atmosphere

9. Impact craters are more obvious on the Moon andMercury than on Earth because

A) a wet climate in which temperatures remainbelow freezing

B) a wet climate in which temperatures alternatefrom below freezing to above freezing

C) a dry climate in which temperatures remainbelow freezing

D) a dry climate in which temperatures alternatefrom below freezing to above freezing

10. Which type of climate has the greatest amount ofrock weathering caused by frost action?

A) changing the position of crustal platesB) changing Earth’s prevailing wind patternsC) increasing the rate of chemical weatheringD) increasing the amount of ozone in ground

water

11. Adding automobile exhaust gases to the atmospherehas had the greatest impact on landscapedevelopment by

A) Pebbles can become cemented together to forma rock called gabbro.

B) Pebble is the name given to the smallest-sizesediment.

C) Any large rock that weathers could become apebble.

D) Magma is composed of pebbles.

12. In the cartoon below, Lucy gives Linus incorrectinformation about pebbles.

If Lucy wanted to give Linus correct informationabout pebbles, which statement would be mostaccurate?

A) quartzite B) graniteC) basalt D) limestone

13. Which rock weathers most rapidly when exposed toacid rain?

A) The total surface area decreases and chemicalcomposition changes.

B) The total surface area decreases and chemicalcomposition remains the same.

C) The total surface area increases and chemicalcomposition changes.

D) The total surface area increases and chemicalcomposition remains the same.

14. What occurs when a rock is crushed into a pile offragments?

A) large caves in limestone bedrockB) a pattern of parallel cracks in a granite

mountainC) blocks of basalt at the base of a steep slopeD) the smooth, polished surface of a rock in a dry,

sandy area

15. Which geologic feature is caused primarily bychemical weathering?

A) less total volumeB) more chemical bondsC) more total surface areaD) lower density

16. The demonstration shown in the diagram belowindicates that powdered limestone reacts faster thana single large piece of limestone of equal mass whenboth are placed in acid.

The most likely reason powdered limestone reactsfaster is that it has

A) hydrosphere and lithosphereB) mesosphere and thermosphereC) hydrosphere and atmosphereD) lithosphere and atmosphere

17. Chemical weathering will occur most rapidly whenrocks are exposed to the

Base your answers to questions 18 through 20 on flowchart below, which shows a general overviewof the processes and substances involved in the weathering of rocks at Earth’s surface. Letter X represents an important substance involved in both major types of weathering, labeled A and Bon theflowchart. Some weathering processes are defined below the flowchart.

A) abrasion B) carbonation C) frost action D) hydrolysis

18. Which weathering process is most common in a hot, dry environment?

A) potassium feldspar B) airC) hydrochloric acid D) water

19. Which substance is represented by X on both sides of the flowchart?

A) physical B) biological C) chemical D) glacial

20. Which term best identifies the type of weathering represented by A?

A) evaporation and condensationB) weathering and erosionC) burial and cementationD) compaction and transportation

21. By which processes are rocks broken up and movedto different locations?

A) volume of sample B is greater than that ofsample A

B) surface area of sample B is greater than that ofsample A

C) density of sample A is greater than that ofsample B

D) hardness of sample A is greater than that ofsample B

22. The diagram below represents equal masses of twoidentical rock samples. Sample A is one large block,while sample B was cut into four smaller blocks ofequal size.

If subjected to the same environmental conditions,sample B will weather more quickly than sample A.The best explanation for this is that the

A) A B) B C) C D) D

23. The diagram below shows an outcrop of differentlayers of sandstone in a region receiving heavyrainfall.

Which sandstone layer appears to be the least resistant to weathering?

Base your answers to questions 24 and 25 on the graph below, which shows the effect that averageyearly precipitation and temperature have on the type of weathering that will occur in a particularregion.

A) moderate chemical weatheringB) very slight weatheringC) moderate chemical weathering with frost actionD) slight frost action

24. Which type of weathering is most common where the average yearly temperature is 5°C and theaverage yearly precipitation is 45 cm?

A) air temperature decreases and precipitation decreasesB) air temperature decreases and precipitation increasesC) air temperature increases and precipitation decreasesD) air temperature increases and precipitation increases

25. The amount of chemical weathering will increase if

A) cold and dry B) cold and humidC) warm and dry D) warm and humid

26. In which climate would the chemical weathering oflimestone occur most rapidly?

A) physical weathering of sandstoneB) physical weathering of limestoneC) chemical weathering of sandstoneD) chemical weathering of limestone

27. The block diagram below represents caves thatdeveloped in a region over time.

Which type of weathering was primarily responsiblefor the development of these caves?

A) climatic conditionsB) composition of the rockC) exposure of the rock to the atmosphereD) the number of fossils found in the rock

28. Which factor has the least effect on the weatheringof a rock?

A) volume has been increasedB) surface area has been increasedC) density has been decreasedD) molecular structure has been altered

29. A rock will weather faster after it has been crushedbecause its

A) Mercury is larger than Earth, so it gets hit withmore meteors.

B) Mercury is an older planet, so it has a longerhistory of meteor impacts.

C) Earth’s less dense water surface attracts fewermeteors.

D) Earth’s hydrosphere and atmosphere destroyedor buried most meteor impact sites.

30. Why is the surface of Mercury covered with meteorimpact craters, while Earth’s surface has relativelyfew craters?

A) Enlargement of the cracks occurs because waterexpands when it freezes.

B) This type of weathering occurs only in bedrockcomposed of granite.

C) The cracks become wider because of chemicalreactions between water and the rock.

D) This type of weathering is common in regionsof primarily warm and humid climates.

31. The diagram below shows granite bedrock withcracks. Water has seeped into the cracks and frozen.The arrows represent the directions in which thecracks have widened due to weathering.

Which statement best describes the physicalweathering shown by the diagram?

A) cool and dry B) cool and wetC) warm and dry D) warm and wet

32. Landscapes will undergo the most chemicalweathering if the climate is

A) shape B) massC) volume D) composition

33. Which characteristic would most likely remainconstant when a limestone cobble is subjected toextensive abrasion?

A) freezing of water in the cracks of a sandstonesidewalk

B) abrasion of a streambed by tumbling rocksC) grinding of talc into a powderD) dissolving of limestone by acid rain

34. Which activity demonstrates chemical weathering?

A) cementation B) erosionC) metamorphism D) weathering

35. The diagram below represents a naturally occurringgeologic process.

Which process is best illustrated by the diagram?

36. Base your answer to the following question on the cross section below, which shows the bedrock of a portion of the Helderberg Escarpment, locatedin Thacher State Park near Albany, New York. The rock formations are identified by name.

A) elevation above sea level B) mineral compositionC) age of rock layers D) environment of formation

What is the main factor that causes the bedrock to weather at different rates?

A) less than X B) greater than XC) the same as X

37. In the diagram below, sample X and sample Y represent equal masses of earth material which areweathering under the same conditions. The sampleshave the same mineral composition.

The weathering rate for sample Y will most likely be

A) Water dissolves many earth materials.B) Water expands when it freezes.C) Water cools the surroundings when it

evaporates.D) Water loses 334 Joules of heat per gram when it

freezes.

38. Which property of water makes frost action acommon and effective form of weathering?

A) chemical weathering and groundwater flowB) chemical weathering and runoffC) physical weathering and groundwater flowD) physical weathering and runoff

39. The two block diagrams below represent the formation of caves.

Which types of weathering and erosion are primarily responsible for the formation of caves?

A) deposition B) sedimentationC) weathering D) cementing

40. Which process involves either a physical or chemicalbreakdown of earth materials?

A) chemical weatheringB) depositionC) erosionD) physical weathering

41. The diagram below shows the stump of a tree whoseroot grew into a small crack in bedrock and split therock apart.

The action of the root splitting the bedrock is anexample of

A) Rocks A and C are made of larger particlesthan rock B.

B) The particles in rocks A and C are more firmlycemented than those in rock B.

C) The minerals in rocks A and C erode faster thanthose in rock B.

D) Rocks A and C have not been exposed toweathering as long as rock B.

42. What is the best explanation for the shape of the cliffin the diagram?

A) weathering B) cementingC) metamorphism D) deposition

43. The diagram below shows a process called frostwedging.

Frost wedging is an example of

A) B)

C) D)

44. The four limestone samples illustrated below havethe same composition, mass, and volume. Under thesame climatic conditions, which sample will weatherfastest?

A) cools the surroundings when it evaporatesB) dissolves many of the minerals that make up

rocksC) has a density of about one gram per cubic

centimeterD) has the highest specific heat of all common

earth materials

45. Water is a major agent of chemical weatheringbecause water

A) a piece shaped like a sphereB) a piece shaped like a cubeC) a piece shaped like a cylinderD) a piece shaped flat and thin

46. Four pieces of the same rock material which havedifferent shapes but equal volumes are exposed tothe atmosphere. Which piece would probablyweather fastest?

A) B)

C) D)

47. Which graph best represents the chemicalweathering rate of a limestone boulder as theboulder is broken into pebble-sized particles?

A) lower temperature in winterB) lower humidity in winterC) higher atmospheric pressure in summerD) greater precipitation in summer

48. Which change in climate would most likely causethe greatest increase in chemical weathering of localbedrock?

A) A B) B C) C D) D

49. The data table below gives information about foursamples of limestone particles. Each sample has atotal mass of 1 kilogram. The particles in eachsample are of uniform diameter.

Which sample would dissolve at the fastest ratewhen placed in a container of dilute hydrochloricacid?

A) less B) greaterC) the same

50. A large rock is broken into several smaller pieces.Compared to the rate of weathering of the largerock, the rate of weathering of the smaller pieces is

A) decrease due to a decrease in surface areaB) decrease due to an increase in surface areaC) increase due to a decrease in surface areaD) increase due to an increase in surface area

51. As a particle of sediment in a stream breaks intoseveral smaller pieces, the rate of weathering of thesediment will

A) B) C) D)

52. The cross section below shows the movement of wind-driven sand particles that strike a partlyexposed basalt cobble located at the surface of a windy desert.

Which cross section best represents the appearance of this cobble after many years of exposure to thewind-driven sand?

A) decreasing temperature and decreasingprecipitation

B) decreasing temperature and increasingprecipitation

C) increasing temperature and decreasingprecipitation

D) increasing temperature and increasingprecipitation

53. Which long-term atmospheric changes wouldincrease the rate of chemical weathering of surfacebedrock?

A) the lack of an atmosphere on the MoonB) extremely low surface temperatures on the

MoonC) lack of biological activity on the MoonD) large quantities of water in the lunar "seas"

54. Rock samples brought back from the Moon showabsolutely no evidence of chemical weathering. Thisis most likely due to

A) The bedrock chemically reacted with acidicgroundwater.

B) This type of bedrock contained large amountsof oxygen and silicon.

C) Glacial deposits altered the shape of thebedrock.

D) Crustal uplift formed gaps in the bedrock.

55. The block diagram below represents a landscapewhere caverns and sinkholes have graduallydeveloped over a long period of time.

Why did these caverns and sinkholes form?

A) dissolves many mineralsB) expands when it freezesC) is part of most chemical compoundsD) cools the surroundings when it evaporates

56. In hot, wet climates, bedrock rapidly weathers intosoil because water

A) rocks falling off the face of a steep cliffB) feldspar in granite being crushed into clay-sized

particlesC) water freezing in cracks in a roadside outcropD) acid rain reacting with limestone bedrock

57. Which event is an example of chemical weathering?