Exam practice
Exam questions
Write your answer. Then open the mark scheme and tick each point you made.
- Question 1 of 103 marks
Name the three main layers of the Earth. Start from the outside.
Mark scheme
- Crust
- Mantle
- Core (accept: outer core and inner core)
- Question 2 of 103 marks
Describe how sedimentary rock forms.
Mark scheme
- Pieces of rock (sediment) settle in layers (accept: deposition)
- The layers are squashed by the weight of the layers above (accept: compaction)
- Minerals glue the grains together to make rock (accept: cementation, or the grains stick together)
- Question 3 of 102 marks
Granite and basalt are both igneous rocks. Granite has large crystals. Basalt has very small crystals. Explain why.
Mark scheme
- Granite formed from magma that cooled slowly, so the crystals had time to grow (accept: it cooled underground)
- Basalt formed from magma that cooled quickly (accept: lava that cooled at the surface)
- Question 4 of 102 marks
State the difference between weathering and erosion.
Mark scheme
- Weathering breaks rock down where it is (accept: wears rock down by physical, chemical or biological processes)
- Erosion is the movement of the pieces by water, ice or wind
- Question 5 of 102 marks
Limestone is a sedimentary rock. Marble is a metamorphic rock. Describe how limestone becomes marble.
Mark scheme
- Heat and pressure (deep underground) change the rock
- The rock does not melt (accept: it changes while it is solid, or new crystals form in the solid rock)
- Question 6 of 102 marks
State the approximate percentages of nitrogen and oxygen in dry air.
Mark scheme
- Nitrogen: 78% (accept: 78 to 80%)
- Oxygen: 21% (accept: 20 or 21%)
- Question 7 of 102 marks
Name one process that adds carbon dioxide to the air and one process that removes it.
Mark scheme
- Adds: respiration, combustion (accept: burning) or decay (any one)
- Removes: photosynthesis (accept: dissolving in the oceans)
- Question 8 of 102 marks
Explain how greenhouse gases keep the Earth warm.
Mark scheme
- The warm surface of the Earth gives out energy as radiation
- Greenhouse gases absorb some of it, so less energy escapes to space
- Question 9 of 102 marks
Give two effects of global warming.
Mark scheme
- One from: ice sheets and glaciers melt, sea level rises, more floods, more droughts, more heatwaves, more extreme weather
- A second effect from the same list
- Question 10 of 102 marks
Explain why it is important to recycle metals.
Mark scheme
- There is only a limited amount of metal ore in the Earth (accept: ores will run out)
- Recycling means that less ore has to be extracted, so it lasts longer (accept: it saves energy, or mining damages less land, or less waste goes to landfill)