Earth & Space Science (Grade 6) Midterm — Full-Course Review

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Science Grade 6 30 multiple choice + 2 written

Free printable Earth & Space Science midterm (Grade 6): 30 multiple-choice questions plus 2 written responses covering Earth's Structure & Plate Tectonics, Rocks & Minerals, Weathering, Erosion & Deposition, Weather & Climate, The Water Cycle & Oceans, The Solar System & Universe. Answer key included — customize it in the Midterm Maker.

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Directions: Read each question carefully and choose the best answer. Answer the written response in complete sentences.

Covers: Earth's Structure & Plate Tectonics · Rocks & Minerals · Weathering, Erosion & Deposition · Weather & Climate · The Water Cycle & Oceans · The Solar System & Universe

Part 1: Multiple Choice

What is the name of the supercontinent that existed about 250 million years ago?
1. A. Atlantis
2. B. Eurasia
3. C. Pangaea
4. D. Antarctica
Which scientist proposed the idea of continental drift in the early 1900s?
1. A. Alfred Wegener
2. B. Isaac Newton
3. C. Charles Darwin
4. D. Galileo Galilei
The San Andreas Fault is where two plates slide past each other sideways. What type of boundary is this?
1. A. Convergent boundary
2. B. Transform boundary
3. C. Hot spot boundary
4. D. Divergent boundary
The Hawaiian Islands formed as a plate moved over which feature?
1. A. A transform boundary
2. B. A mid-ocean ridge
3. C. A continental collision
4. D. A hot spot
Which layer of Earth is the thinnest?
1. A. Inner core
2. B. Crust
3. C. Outer core
4. D. Mantle
Which type of rock forms when melted rock cools and hardens?
1. A. Metamorphic
2. B. Sedimentary
3. C. Igneous
4. D. Mineral
Which type of rock is most likely to contain fossils?
1. A. Igneous
2. B. Metamorphic
3. C. Sedimentary
4. D. Volcanic glass
What does the Mohs scale measure?
1. A. Hardness
2. B. Color
3. C. Density
4. D. Luster
The color of a mineral's powder when rubbed on a tile is called its what?
1. A. Fracture
2. B. Cleavage
3. C. Luster
4. D. Streak
Marble is a metamorphic rock that forms from which rock?
1. A. Granite
2. B. Sandstone
3. C. Shale
4. D. Limestone
When moving water slows down and drops the sediment it carries, what is the process called?
1. A. Weathering
2. B. Erosion
3. C. Subduction
4. D. Deposition
Which action would best reduce soil erosion on a hillside?
1. A. Removing ground cover
2. B. Cutting down the trees
3. C. Plowing straight downhill
4. D. Planting grass and shrubs
Which rock is most quickly weathered by acid rain?
1. A. Granite
2. B. Quartzite
3. C. Basalt
4. D. Limestone
What is a fan-shaped deposit of sediment formed where a river enters a lake or ocean?
1. A. Canyon
2. B. Delta
3. C. Sand dune
4. D. Moraine
Breaking rock into smaller pieces without changing what it is made of is called what?
1. A. Chemical weathering
2. B. Cementation
3. C. Mechanical weathering
4. D. Deposition
In which layer of the atmosphere does almost all weather happen?
1. A. Thermosphere
2. B. Stratosphere
3. C. Mesosphere
4. D. Troposphere
A cold front forms when what happens?
1. A. A warm air mass slides over a cold air mass
2. B. A warm air mass is trapped between two cold ones
3. C. A cold air mass pushes under a warm air mass
4. D. Two air masses stop moving
What causes Earth's seasons?
1. A. The tilt of Earth's axis
2. B. Changes in Earth's spin speed
3. C. Earth's changing distance from the Sun
4. D. The Moon's gravity
A high-pressure system usually brings what kind of weather?
1. A. Heavy snow
2. B. Clear, dry weather
3. C. Thunderstorms
4. D. Steady rain
Which gas in the atmosphere traps heat and adds to the greenhouse effect?
1. A. Carbon dioxide
2. B. Oxygen
3. C. Argon
4. D. Nitrogen
What mainly drives surface ocean currents?
1. A. Wind
2. B. Moonlight
3. C. Earthquakes
4. D. Tides
What is the main source of energy that drives the water cycle?
1. A. The Sun
2. B. The Moon
3. C. Ocean currents
4. D. Earth's core
When rainwater soaks into the ground, the process is called what?
1. A. Transpiration
2. B. Infiltration
3. C. Evaporation
4. D. Runoff
When liquid water changes into water vapor, what is the process called?
1. A. Condensation
2. B. Precipitation
3. C. Evaporation
4. D. Runoff
Where is most of Earth's fresh water stored?
1. A. In rivers
2. B. In the atmosphere
3. C. In glaciers and ice caps
4. D. In lakes
A light-year is a unit used to measure what?
1. A. Time
2. B. Mass
3. C. Brightness
4. D. Distance
What is the name of the galaxy that contains our solar system?
1. A. The Milky Way
2. B. The Whirlpool
3. C. Andromeda
4. D. The Big Dipper
Which planet is closest to the Sun?
1. A. Mars
2. B. Venus
3. C. Mercury
4. D. Earth
Which is the largest planet in our solar system?
1. A. Jupiter
2. B. Earth
3. C. Neptune
4. D. Saturn
What causes day and night on Earth?
1. A. Earth revolving around the Sun
2. B. The Sun moving around Earth
3. C. The Moon orbiting Earth
4. D. Earth rotating on its axis

Part 2: Written Response

Compare mechanical and chemical weathering. Give one real example of each and explain how erosion and deposition might reshape the land afterward.
Explain why we see different phases of the Moon and why eclipses do not happen every month. Use the positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon.

Answer Key — Earth & Space Science (Grade 6) Midterm — Full-Course Review

C — Pangaea Pangaea joined nearly all landmasses before breaking apart into today's continents.
A — Alfred Wegener Wegener used fossils, rocks, and coastline shapes to argue continents had moved.
B — Transform boundary At transform boundaries plates grind past each other horizontally, causing earthquakes.
D — A hot spot A stationary hot spot built volcanoes as the Pacific Plate moved over it.
B — Crust The crust is only about 5–70 km thick, far thinner than the other layers.
C — Igneous Igneous rock forms from cooled magma or lava.
C — Sedimentary Fossils are preserved in layers of sediment that harden into rock.
A — Hardness The Mohs scale ranks minerals from 1 (talc) to 10 (diamond) by scratch resistance.
D — Streak Streak is the powder color, often more reliable than a mineral's surface color.
D — Limestone Heat and pressure recrystallize limestone into marble.
D — Deposition Deposition is the laying down of sediment in a new place.
D — Planting grass and shrubs Plant roots hold soil in place and slow runoff.
D — Limestone Limestone is made of calcite, which reacts and dissolves in acid.
B — Delta A river slows at its mouth and drops sediment, building a delta.
C — Mechanical weathering Mechanical (physical) weathering breaks rock apart without changing its minerals.
D — Troposphere The troposphere is the lowest layer and holds nearly all water vapor.
C — A cold air mass pushes under a warm air mass Cold, dense air wedges under warm air, forcing it up and often causing storms.
A — The tilt of Earth's axis The tilt changes how directly sunlight strikes each hemisphere during the year.
B — Clear, dry weather Sinking air in high pressure discourages cloud formation.
A — Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide absorbs heat radiated from Earth's surface; nitrogen and oxygen do not.
A — Wind Steady winds push surface water into large circulating currents.
A — The Sun Sunlight heats water, causing evaporation that powers the cycle.
B — Infiltration Infiltration refills groundwater stored in soil and rock.
C — Evaporation Evaporation turns liquid water into gas, mostly powered by the Sun.
C — In glaciers and ice caps Roughly two-thirds of fresh water is frozen in ice.
D — Distance A light-year is the distance light travels in one year.
A — The Milky Way Our solar system orbits within the Milky Way galaxy.
C — Mercury Mercury is the innermost planet.
A — Jupiter Jupiter is more massive than all other planets combined.
D — Earth rotating on its axis Earth spins once about every 24 hours, turning each side toward and away from the Sun.

Written Response — Look-Fors

Mechanical changes size only (ice wedging, roots, abrasion); chemical changes composition (oxidation, acid rain); erosion moves sediment; deposition forms features like deltas or dunes.
Half the Moon is always lit; phase depends on viewing angle as Moon orbits; eclipses need exact alignment; Moon's orbit is tilted relative to Earth's orbit.

Earth & Space Science (Grade 6) Midterm — Full-Course Review

Part 1: Multiple Choice

Part 2: Written Response

Written Response — Look-Fors

More Earth & Space Science midterms