University of the Philippines College Admission Test · Science

Earth Science, Space and General Science

35 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

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Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.

All 35 questions

  1. Why is the Philippine archipelago particularly prone to frequent seismic activity and volcanic eruptions?
  2. Which plate boundary interaction is responsible for the formation of the Philippine Trench along the eastern seaboard?
  3. In the rock cycle, through which process does molten magma solidify beneath the Earth's surface into coarse-grained intrusive rock?
  4. Which atmospheric layer contains the vast majority of atmospheric mass and is the exclusive site of daily weather phenomena?
  5. What primarily causes the seasonal shift between the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) and the Northeast Monsoon (Amihan) in the Philippines?
  6. What geological feature represents the boundary where two tectonic blocks slide horizontally past each other, exemplified by the Philippine Fault Zone?
  7. What type of volcano is Mayon Volcano in Albay, renowned for its symmetrical steep cone?
  8. In the open ocean, how does the passage of a tsunami wave differ from ordinary wind-driven surface waves?
  9. Which mineral scale measures relative mineral hardness from 1 (talc) to 10 (diamond)?
  10. What astronomical event occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, casting its umbra on the Earth's surface?
  11. What phenomenon is primarily responsible for the greenhouse effect in Earth's atmosphere?
  12. Which oceanographic phenomenon during El Niño conditions suppresses coastal upwelling along the western coast of South America and causes severe drought in the Philippines?
  13. In geological dating, which radioactive isotope with a half-life of 5,730 years is used to date organic archaeological remains up to about 50,000 years old?
  14. What is the primary factor that causes the change of seasons on Earth throughout its yearly orbit?
  15. Which type of seismic wave travels fastest through the Earth and can propagate through both solid rock and liquid magma?
  16. What is the primary cause of oceanic tides on Earth?
  17. Which layer of Earth's internal structure generates the geomagnetic field through the geodynamo mechanism?
  18. What is the geological process where sediment grains settle out of transporting water, wind, or ice and accumulate in layers?
  19. What term describes the point on the Earth's surface directly vertically above the subterranean hypocenter of an earthquake?
  20. Which category of metamorphic rock exhibits distinct alternating bands of light and dark minerals resulting from differential stress?
  21. In the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram, where do the majority of stars, including our Sun, spend most of their stellar lifetimes?
  22. What is the primary atmospheric gas by volume in dry air at sea level?
  23. What causes the Coriolis effect, which deflects moving air masses to the right in the Northern Hemisphere?
  24. Which type of plate boundary is characterized by the formation of mid-ocean ridges and new oceanic lithosphere?
  25. Which zone of the ocean receives sufficient sunlight to support oxygenic photosynthesis by phytoplankton?
  26. What is the primary mechanism of heat transfer through the Earth's solid silicate mantle driving continental drift?
  27. What is the term for a volcanic mudflow composed of pyroclastic debris and water, frequently triggered by heavy monsoon rains on Philippine volcanoes?
  28. Why does the Moon always show approximately the same face toward the Earth?
  29. Which astronomical law states that a planet orbits the Sun along an ellipse with the Sun at one focus?
  30. What term describes the boundary separating the saturated zone of groundwater from the unsaturated zone above it?
  31. Which process of mechanical weathering involves the expansion of water as it freezes inside rock fractures?
  32. What is the primary factor determining whether a volcanic eruption will be explosive or effusive?
  33. Which planet in the solar system possesses the highest surface temperature, driven by a runaway greenhouse atmosphere?
  34. What is the boundary between the Earth's crust and the upper mantle where seismic wave velocity abruptly increases?
  35. What causes the apparent retrograde motion of outer planets like Mars when viewed from Earth?

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