High- and low-pressure systems strongly affect when and where winds blow. Read each description and select whether it is describing a high- or low-pressure system.  

Winds also influence weather patterns. They drive the formation of fronts and the genesis of storms. Which of the following forces control the direction and speed at which winds blow as the primary forces controlling wind?  

  Cleavage and hardness are two separate characteristics of a mineral. Take diamonds, for example. The tag line is that “diamonds are forever.” This is true if you think only about scratching. Diamonds are very scratch-resistant, so they have a high hardness rating on Mohs scale for hardness. If you take a hammer to a diamond, you will see that it fractures as easily as many other minerals. Odds are you will upset someone as well. Below are two minerals. Use Mohs scale for hardness to determine which mineral is harder. Click on the harder mineral.

Where two air masses meet, a front is formed. In the animation below, click on the “Topics” menu and select the “Frontal Lifting” segment to learn about the process of frontal lifting. What type of front is shown in the animation? Hint: Does the temperature at the Earth’s surface get warmer or colder? Click here to open the animation in a new window.  

In the animation below, select the “Topics” menu, and then select “Hot Spots.” Watch the animation on hot spots Hot Spot Formations Based on the description of hot spots provided in the video, select the oldest volcano in the chain of islands pictured below.

Based on the direction of plate motion you just determined in the previous question;  where would you expect the next large eruption to occur?

Which of the following statements correctly describe the differences between nuclear and chemical bonds? (Select all that apply.)

The theory of plate tectonics proposes that the Earth’s rocky exterior is broken up into several pieces, or plates, that move with respect to one another. What is the rigid outer layer of the Earth called?

If radioactive elements had not been present in early planetesimals, what would have been the most likely impact on the process of Earth’s internal differentiation?

Let’s look at subduction zones in more detail. Label the different parts of the subduction zone using the terms below.