GEOSCI 100 Free exam questions
How old is the universe?
13.7 billion years old
What is the approximate amount of elevation change (relief) between the highest (Mt. Everest) and lowest (Marianas Trench) points on the surface of the Earth?
20 kilometers
Approximately when was the formation of the Pangaea supercontinent complete?
270 million years ago
About how much of the Earth's water is fresh water?
4.04%
How old is our solar system?
4.54 billion years old
Which is a likely environment in which a quartz sandstone could have been deposited?
Coastal Beach
The Theory of Plate Tectonics involves what?
Continental drift and evolution
Which kind of plate boundary is associated with Earthquake activity?
Divergent, convergent, transform-fault boundaries
What properties of a geologic material make the best aquifer?
High porosity and high permeability
Which statement comparing the inner planets to the outer planets is true?
Inner planets are smaller and of higher density than the outer planets
46% of the continental crust is oxygen, while only 21% of the atmosphere is oxygen. How could this be?
Most of the crust is made up of solid silica tetrahedra
The periodic table of elements is arranged in order of the number of ______ in a particular atom.
Protons
Absolute ages obtained from igneous rocks samples recovered from mid-ocean ridges reveal that:
Rock ages get older with greater distance from the axis of the spreading ridge and the pattern of rock ages is mirrored on each side of the spreading ridge
Which rocks preserve a record of ancient climate condition and climate change?
Sedimentary rocks
What is the simplest definition of life discussed in class?
Self replication and self regulation
Which of the following geologic materials would make the best aquiclude
Shale
Brittle fracture of rocks is mostly likely to occur where in the Earth?
Shallow crust
Which list places foliation textures in order of increasing metamorphic grade (low grade to high grade)?
Slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss
Through which of the different states of matter can S waves travel?
Solid only
In which plate tectonic environment do earthquakes occur at the greatest depth?
Subduction zones
Which of the following is critical to the growth of coral reefs?
Sunlight, warm ocean waters, relatively calm seas
Which list places the different kinds of seismic wavess in order of increasing velocity of travel (from slowest to fastest)
Surface waves, S waves, P waves
Normal faults are created by (blank) and reverse faults are caused by (blank)
Tensional forces, compressive forces
Considering Bowen's reaction series, how does the process of fractional crystallization affect the composition of a cooling mafic magma?
The magma becomes more silica-rich
Which of the following statements about synclines is TRUE?
The youngest rocks occur in the center and the limbs dip away from the center
True or False: On average, the depth of the oceans below sea level is greater than the elevation of the continents above sea level.
True
What two phenomena have been used to prove the Big Bag Theory?
Velocity measured with redshift and distance measured with star brightness
From where does the calcium in seawater come?
Weathering of continental rocks
Which of the following locations would you expect to find water saturated sediments being transported down to the upper mantle?
along the Andean Trench
Positive feedbacks tend to (blank) changes in the systeem and negative feedbacks tend to (blank) the system against change
amplify, stablize
The epicenter of an earthwuake is always located:
at the earth's surface, directly above the focus
To which class of minerals do calcite and aragonite, the most common minerals that form rock limestone, belong?
carbonates
What triggers the mantle melting that occurs beneath mid-ocean ridges?
decrease in pressure
Solar radiation absorbed by the Earth's ground surface is reemitted as (blank)
infrared radiation
What do all isotopes of any given element have in common?
number of protons
Which of the following is a sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide?
silicate weathering
What is the fundamental building block of the silicate minerals?
silicon-oxygen tetrahedron
What powers the earth's climate system?
solar energy
The Oldest portion of the North American continent is:
the shield
Continental crust differs from oceanic crust in which of the following characteristics:
thickness, density, composition
Evolution can be described by the following conceptual equation:
variability+natural selection
By the time sediments reach the ocean basins, they have become:
well rounded and well sorted
How do crystal size and foliation change with increasing intensity of metamorphism?
Both grain size and foliation coarseness increase
In an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rocks where do the oldest rock strata occur?
At the bottom of the sequence
According to the reconstructed history of continental movements you just saw, about when did the modern-day Atlantic Ocean first begin to form?
About 150 million years ago
How long is a Wilson Cycle?
About 500 million years old
Why is molten magma rising to the surface at divergent plate boundaries?
Because it is less dense than the cooler rock surrounding it
At which kind of plate tectonic boundary is the upper part of the mantle rising?
Divergent boundaries
The igneous rocks that form sills are considered extrusive igneous rocks. T or F
False
True or False: All mineral exhibit cleavage?
False
True or False: The current surface temperatures are the highest they have been in earth's history
False
True or false: current surface temps are the highest they have been in earth's history
False
Select the principle of relative dating that is most useful in correlating rock strata among widely separated areas (regionally).
Faunal succession