For Science for All Americans by F. James Rutherford and Andrew Ahlgren. Oxford Un. Press. 1990. (Project 2061, AAAS)
The earth we live on is also called a:
planet
sun
star
universe
galaxy
Our sun is a medium-sized:
star
planet
galaxy
solar system
universe
Our sun is near the edge of a disk-shaped (___) of stars we see as the Milky Way.
galaxy
universe
orbit
solar system
Many billion galaxies make up the:
universe
solar system
global ecosystem
Light from the nearest star to our sun takes (___) years to reach us.
4
1
2
8
16
The universe expanded explosively into existence more than (___) billion years ago.
10
1
5
50
100
To unite into a whole, as making a ball of clay larger by adding and mixing (working in) many small pieces:
coalesce
After the first explosive expansion of the universe, stars coalesced out of clouds of:
the lightest elements
hydrogen and helium
the heaviest elements
fusion products
The coming together into one compact mass without mixing as when the earth first formed:
condense
For a star to break into small particles and elements and become so spread out that it disappears:
dissipate
After the formation of the first stars, these exploded to produce clouds of all elements from which (___) condensed.
stars and planets
more stars
planets
Our sun and its planets are call:
our solar system
a galaxy
universe
Our solar system coalesced about (___) billion years ago.
5
1
10
50
100
The nuclear process of forming heavier elements from lighter elements:
fusion
The most common objects orbiting planets, in great variety, are:
moons
flat rings of rock
ice debris
artificial satellites
comets
The earth is about (___) as old as the universe.
1/2
half
1/5
1/10
twice
five times
Things that extend and supplement our own senses such as radio and x-ray telescopes and computers:
tools
Applying the implications of theories to specific situations as the law of gravity to predict where my pencil will go when I release my grip on it.
deducing
deduction
To derive a conclusion from facts as to drop three different coins and conclude that a fourth coin will follow the same path:
infer
inference
To reason from specifics to a generality as to drop several objects and infer that all objects will fall the same do to some force (gravity):
induction
induce
Small parts of the universe that do not move in orbits and often burn up when they inter the earth's atmosphere:
meteorites
moons
galaxies
The only planet in our solar system that can support life as we know it:
Earth
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Water exists on the earth in liquid, solid, and gaseous form do to the rate of energy flow to the earth being regulated by the (___) between the earth and the sun.
distance
gravitational tugs
atmosphere
Each year the earth (___) once about the sun.
revoles
rotates
tilts
The earth (___) on its axis every 24 hours.
rotates
revolves
cycles
tilts
The earth has a variety of climatic patterns powered by the heating of (___) by solar radiation.
land, ocean, and air
the atmosphere
the ocean shore line
Along with heat, the cycling of (___) in and out of the atmosphere plays an important role in determining climatic patterns.
water
carbon dioxide
ozone
Continually available energy sources include:
wind, tides, and solar radiation
oceans, atmosphere, and trees
coal, oil, and gas
The earth's rocky crust that floats on an almost molten layer:
continents
ocean basins
Where crustal plates collide and the land folds, (___) are formed.
mountain ranges
valleys
Rock made from layers of sand and shells of dead organisms showing the long history of the earth are called:
sedimentary
volcanic
The physical world is made up of about 100 basic materials, such as gold, silver, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon, that are called:
chemical elements
atoms
protons
neutrons
electrons
Each element consists of one or a few kinds of:
atoms
ions
protons
neutrons
Each atom is composed of a central, positively charged (___) containing most of its mass.
nucleus
proton
electron
neutron
Surrounding the nucleus is a cloud of lighter, negatively charged:
electrons
protons
neutrons
The number of electrons in an atom matches the number of (___) in the nucleus.
protons
The (___) determine how an atom will link to other atoms to form molecules (its chemical behavior).
electrons
protons
neutrons
Two atoms of the same element but differing in the number of (___) are isotopes.
neutrons
electrons
protons
Increasing the temperature of a substance means increasing the average (___) of the atoms.
energy of motion
reaction rate
Chemical bonds are formed between atoms when (___) are transferred from one atom to another or are shared between them.
electrons
protons
neutrons
elements
Chemical reaction rates depend largely on the:
immediate environment
temperature
pressure
concentration of reactants
concentration of products
Reaction rates can also be markedly speeded up by very small amounts of some atoms and molecules called:
catalysts
crystals
proteins
DNA molecules
A low level of background radiation in the general environment is produced by the break up (decay) of unstable:
isotopes
catalysts
neutrons
hydrogen
Because the rate of radioactive decay is constant it can be used to estimate the:
passage of time
origin of the earth
half-life of the earth
half-life of an atom
All forms of energy are in a sense equivalent in that one form can change into another and all can change into:
heat
radiation
motion
Energy in the regular back and forth motion of molecules is called:
sound
heat
gravitation
Useful energy transformations, as powering a car with gasoline, occur when (___) is concentrated in one place than in another.
more energy
Living cells are busy increasing order by burning (increasing disorder) of food molecules with the result being the total amount of disorder:
increases
decreases
At the molecular level, energy occurs in discrete units. Plants are green because they do not absorb light of this:
energy level
Reactions in the nuclei of atoms (___) invlove far greater energy than reactions between the outer electrons of atoms (___).
