ACT Earth and Space Sciences: Finding Data Representation in Earth and Space Sciences

The chart below depicts the average rainfall by location on the Earth.  Zero degrees latitude corresponds to the equator.  Positive latitudes are north of the equator, while negative latitudes are south of the equator.  A latitude with a magnitude of 90 degrees correlates with one of Earth"s poles.  

Which best describes the rainfall trend between thirty and sixty degrees latitude?

The chart below depicts the average rainfall by location on the Earth.  Zero degrees latitude corresponds to the equator.  Positive latitudes are north of the equator, while negative latitudes are south of the equator.  A latitude with a magnitude of 90 degrees correlates with one of Earth"s poles.  

Which latitude(s) experience(s) an average rainfall of 35 inches?

The chart below depicts the average rainfall by location on the Earth.  Zero degrees latitude corresponds to the equator.  Positive latitudes are north of the equator, while negative latitudes are south of the equator.  A latitude with a magnitude of 90 degrees correlates with one of Earth"s poles.
 


The Tropic of Capricorn is about 23.5 degrees south of the equator. Approximately how many more inches of rain does this latitude experience than the North Pole?

Phylogenetics is a tool utilized by evolutionary and molecular biologists to investigate the similarities that exist in the molecular sequences of proteins in varying organisms. The amino acid sequences that build proteins are often used to construct distance matrices that aid in determining evolutionary ties. The study of these matrices helps to expose evolutionary relationships between species that may not have the same phenotypical and existential characteristics.
Study 1
     A researcher decides to compare several bat species to several bird and mammalian species in order to determine which two groups were more closely related. The study compares a ghost bat and a tomb bat with two birds, the pigeon and eagle, and two mammals, the spider monkey and macaque. The researcher compared the amino-acid sequences of beta hemoglobin molecules in order to determine whether bats were more related to birds or mammals. Percent similarities of the data were calculated for comparison purposes (Figure 1).
Figure 1
 

 
 
Study 2
     A researcher decides to compare a whale to a fish and to several ungulates (hoofed mammals). One set of ungulates that were studied were artiodactyls, meaning they were “even-toed” (hippopotamus and sheep).  The other set of ungulates belonged to a class of mammals known as perissodactyls meaning that they were “odd-toed” (rhinoceros and zebra). The researcher compared the amino-acid sequences of beta hemoglobin molecules in order to determine which species were more related to the Minke whale. Percent similarities of the data were calculated for comparison purposes (Figure 2).
Figure 2


Based on the information in Study 1, the ghost bat"s beta hemoglobin molecular structure is most similiar to which of the following species?

A scientist observes the motion of stars, planets, and other objects in deep space through a high-powered telescope. She observes that these objects all appear to be moving away from the Earth and graphs her results comparing their velocities, in kilometers per second, and their proper distance, in megaparsecs.
 

 
A star is measured to have a velocity of

How far away is it?

A scientist observes the motion of stars, planets, and other objects in deep space through a high-powered telescope. She observes that these objects all appear to be moving away from the Earth and graphs her results comparing their velocities, in kilometers per second, and their proper distance, in megaparsecs.
 
 


A star is measured to be 12 megaparsecs away. What should its velocity be?

The chart below depicts the average rainfall by location on the Earth.  Zero degrees latitude corresponds to the equator.  Positive latitudes are north of the equator, while negative latitudes are south of the equator.  A latitude with a magnitude of 90 degrees correlates with one of Earth"s poles.  

Which of the following best describes the rainfall trend shown in the graph?

Scientists have long debated the origin of organic molecules on Earth.  Organic molecules are those based on the atom carbon, which can form four distinct bonds in contrast to the fewer number allowed in most other non-metals.  As a result of this property, carbon can give rise to the enormously complex molecular shapes necessary for life to arise.
Some scientists argue that organic matter was dissolved in water ice on comets, and brought to Earth early in its history. These comets crashed into the early Earth, and deposited carbon-based molecules in copious quantities to the Earth’s surface as their water melted.
In 2014, the first space probe landed on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Suppose that scientists find the following information from 5 distinct samples after landing on the comet. Each sample was taken at a single geographical location, but 5 meters deeper than the last.  Sample 1 was taken at a depth of 1 meter below the surface.

The units expressing the concentration of organic molecules in the samples from Mars and comet are in mg/L.  This unit is most precisely a measure of:

Scientists studying historical trends in climate change have a number of tools at their disposal. One method of analyzing paleoclimate data involves the use of fossilized pollen spores embedded in sediment. Pollen spores are specific to the plant that produced them. Because the spores are resilient and are widely-distributed by wind, they provide a snapshot of the vegetation that was widespread at a particular point in time. By identifying the age of a sample and the composition of the various spores, scientists can identify the prominent vegetation and use this information to gain insight into the climate at the time the spores were deposited.
Scientists took sediment samples from various depths of a lakebed. They found that five types of pollen spores make up the majority of spore deposits in each sample. In Table 1, plants are listed along with the respective temperature ranges and levels of precipitation for the areas in which they are commonly found. Table 2 shows the composition of the assortment of spores in each of the four samples taken by the scientists.



Which plant is most tolerant of low levels of precipitation?

Scientists studying historical trends in climate change have a number of tools at their disposal. One method of analyzing paleoclimate data involves the use of fossilized pollen spores embedded in sediment. Pollen spores are specific to the plant that produced them. Because the spores are resilient and are widely-distributed by wind, they provide a snapshot of the vegetation that was widespread at a particular point in time. By identifying the age of a sample and the composition of the various spores, scientists can identify the prominent vegetation and use this information to gain insight into the climate at the time the spores were deposited.
Scientists took sediment samples from various depths of a lakebed. They found that five types of pollen spores make up the majority of spore deposits in each sample. In Table 1, plants are listed along with the respective temperature ranges and levels of precipitation for the areas in which they are commonly found. Table 2 shows the composition of the assortment of spores in each of the four samples taken by the scientists.



The climate associated with Sample 2 could most likely be described as which of the following?