Earth & Space Science — Sample exam worked answers

Student exam paper

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

Parent / teacher marking guide

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.

Worked answer

The storm likely caused the river rise.

The statement interprets a cause rather than reporting a measurement.

1 point for the correct objective answer; no written-method marks for this item.

Question 2 · 3 points

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

Worked answer

60 meters of elevation change per kilometer horizontally.

Elevation change=300−120=180 m.

Gradient=180 m/3 km=60 m/km.

Marking criteria

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

Worked answer

is mainly solid rock that can deform and flow slowly beneath the rigid lithosphere

The asthenosphere is mainly solid mantle material that can deform over long times. It is not a worldwide liquid ocean of magma. Partial melt can occur in some regions.

1 point for the correct objective answer; no written-method marks for this item.

Question 4 · 3 points

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

Worked answer

The first town plausibly has higher risk; a numerical estimate needs more detailed evidence.

Hazard is comparable, but exposure and vulnerability differ.

The crowded weak buildings increase the potential consequences.

Marking criteria

Question 5 · 1 point

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

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

Worked answer

Color

Color is unreliable because trace impurities can cause the same mineral to appear in several different colors.

1 point for the correct objective answer; no written-method marks for this item.

Question 6 · 3 points

A simplified basin receives 120 units of water, loses 85 naturally and has 20 withdrawn.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

Worked answer

Storage rises by 15 units in this supplied model, assuming no omitted flows.

Total output=85+20=105 units.

Change=120−105=15 units.

Marking criteria

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

Worked answer

The layer on the very bottom

Superposition says undisturbed layers get younger as you go up, so the bottom layer formed first and is the oldest.

1 point for the correct objective answer; no written-method marks for this item.

Question 8 · 3 points

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

Worked answer

Independent records help reconstruct events that surviving Earth rocks alone cannot fully record.

Earth's earliest record has been altered and recycled.

Some meteorites preserve material from early solar-system processes that complements terrestrial evidence.

Marking criteria

Question 9 · 1 point

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

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

Worked answer

Transpiration

Transpiration is water vapor released through tiny openings in plant leaves; combined with evaporation, it's called evapotranspiration.

1 point for the correct objective answer; no written-method marks for this item.

Question 10 · 3 points

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

Worked answer

30 km/h over the measured interval; a later arrival estimate needs continued observations.

Average speed=180/6=30 km/h.

Future speed or direction can change, so straight extrapolation is an assumption.

Marking criteria

Question 11 · 1 point

Which of these gases is a greenhouse gas?

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

Worked answer

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide absorbs and re-emits outgoing heat; nitrogen, oxygen, and argon make up most of the atmosphere but are not significant greenhouse gases.

1 point for the correct objective answer; no written-method marks for this item.

Question 12 · 3 points

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

Worked answer

+2°C relative to A and +1°C relative to B; the actual temperature is unchanged.

Subtract each reference from the measurement.

14−12=+2°C; 14−13=+1°C.

Marking criteria

Question 13 · 1 point

Which phase comes right after a new moon?

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

Worked answer

Waxing crescent

Right after new moon, a thin sliver of light begins to grow — that's the waxing crescent.

1 point for the correct objective answer; no written-method marks for this item.

Question 14 · 3 points

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

Worked answer

Orbit B's period is 8 times orbit A's under this model.

T² scales with a³, so the squared period ratio is 4³=64.

Take the square root: T_B/T_A=8.

Marking criteria

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

Worked answer

red giant

A large radiating area can produce high luminosity at lower temperature.

1 point for the correct objective answer; no written-method marks for this item.

Question 16 · 3 points

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

Worked answer

Redshift z=0.02; interpretation needs the full pattern and relevant model.

Wavelength difference=510−500=10 nm.

z=10/500=0.02; the wavelength units cancel.

Marking criteria

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

Worked answer

They take millions of years to form, far slower than we use them

Fossil fuels form over millions of years, a pace far too slow to keep up with how quickly people use them.

1 point for the correct objective answer; no written-method marks for this item.

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.

Worked answer

A gives 30% and B 45% in this model; that alone does not establish the best real design.

A reduction is (100−70)/100×100=30%.

B gives 45%; costs, maintenance, habitat and real-scale behavior are still unknown.

Marking criteria

Revisit the covered chapters

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