GEOL 111 Quizzes for Final Exam
Using both primary and secondary petroleum recovery techniques, what proportion of the oil in an oil field is usually pumped out?
1/3
If the half-life of carbon-14 is about 5,700 years, then of a given starting quantity, after 11,400 years (two half-lives), what fraction of the original amount will be left?
1/4
How much of a radioisotope will remain after three of its half-lives have passed?
1/8
The Big Bang occurred
12 to 14 billion years ago
What is currently the expected lifetime of a commercial fission reactor in the United States with rigorous monitoring?
40 to 50 years
Why is groundwater pollution particularly insidious?
A contamination goes undetected for some time
What causes fission of uranium-235 to occur?
A neutron strikes the nucleus
What is the "bathtub effect" in a sanitary landfill?
Abundant leachate can collect above impermeable liners
Coal mining spoils are a potential source of what type of groundwater contaminant?
Acid
Magmas rich in silica
All of the choices are correct
The accident at Chernobyl involved
All of the choices are correct
Uranium is commonly found in all these types of rocks in the United States, except for
Basalt
Which of the following is not a concern with the production of ethanol biofuels?
Cheap, abundant alcohol may promote increased human consumption
Which type of volcano can be expected to erupt explosively?
Composite volcano
P-waves are
Compressional waves
Slow, gradual slip along a fault is termed
Creep
Which hazardous material is an organic compound?
DDT
A dormant volcano has no eruptive history and looks very eroded
FALSE
A locked section of a fault is a very safe place to live because, by definition, it will not slip.
FALSE
An earthquake of Richter magnitude 6-causes twice as much ground displacement as one of magnitude 3.
FALSE
Coal use was curtailed early in the twentieth century principally because U.S. coal supplies were nearly exhausted and because oil was discovered at about the same time
FALSE
Flood basalts are those that flow across and block stream channels, causing flooding.
FALSE
In order for continental drift to occur, the continental lithosphere must behave plastically.
FALSE
It is not possible to estimate rates of plate movement because new rocks are constantly being created from old.
FALSE
It is possible to treat radioactive waste to eliminate the radioactivity.
FALSE
Mount St. Helens and the related Cascade Range volcanoes represent the only volcanically active areas in the United States
FALSE
Nuclear power accounts for a higher proportion of electricity generation in the United States than anywhere else in the world.
FALSE
One advantage of current commercial nuclear reactors is that, although they are expensive to build, they can be used indefinitely as long as sufficient fuel is available.
FALSE
Plate tectonics is unrelated to the rock cycle and, in fact, has made the rock-cycle concept obsolete
FALSE
Rifting occurs at oceanic spreading ridges, but not within continents, because continents are so thick and strong.
FALSE
The idea of continental drift was not proposed until the 1960s, when the first evidence to support it was discovered.
FALSE
A secure landfill is one with security measures to prevent intrusion of people who don't belong there
False
Based on the careful design of a secure landfill, the landfill can truly assure that no part of the waste will be released to the environment
False
In the saturated zone the pores are completely filled with both air and water
False
Land subsidence results from an increase in porosity in the geologic material
False
Ocean dumping has been completely banned in the US
False
Solar energy is clean to use and requires only a small area for solar collectors
False
There are so many undeveloped possible hydroelectric power plant sites in the United States that the hydropower could easily supply all the electricity needed in this country, if fully exploited.
False
Earthquakes originate from the
Focus
Which country relies most heavily upon nuclear power for its energy?
France
Which of the following volcanoes is least likely to erupt violently and explosively?
Kilauea on Hawaii
Which source could yield large amounts of natural gas in the future?
Methane hydrates
Which is a fossil fuel?
Natural gas
Which is NOT true of a perched water table?
Occurs in confined aquifers
Which layer within the earth is molten?
Outer Core
Compression seismic body waves are
P waves
Earthquake belts are found along
Plate boundaries
A breeder reactor makes more of this fuel than it consumes.
Plutonium-239
Within which country are the largest proven reserves of crude oil located?
Saudi Arabia
After an earthquake, rocks snap back elastically to their pre-stress condition
TRUE
Continental drift may explain evidence of past glaciation in regions now located in the tropics, because local climate is strongly controlled by latitude.
TRUE
Fluid injection near Denver caused small earthquakes
TRUE
People can be killed by poisonous gases emitted by a volcano even before they realize that they are in danger
TRUE
Plate boundaries are located, in part, by the occurrence of linear belts of volcanoes and earthquakes.
TRUE
The asthenosphere is a weak, locally partly molten layer over which lithospheric plates can move.
TRUE
The moment magnitude scale may be a better indicator of earthquake severity especially for large earthquakes and those occurring outside of California, where the Richter scale was developed.
TRUE
Volcanic ash from volcanoes has posed a threat to air travel
TRUE
Volcanoes that build domes are more likely to erupt explosively than are shield volcanoes
TRUE
Why are most magmas generated in the upper mantle?
Temperature is high enough and pressure is low enough.
Agricultural irrigation is primarily done using surface water
True
Historically, the two approaches to liquid waste disposal have been dilute-and-disperse and concentrate-and-contain
True
Mercury is most dangerous in the form of methylmercury
True
Methane can be produced by decay of garbage in landfills and manure from feedlots
True
Passive-solar heating systems are so named because they do not involve mechanical devices.
True
Recycled plastic cannot generally be reused in products with as much strength
True
Septic systems may not adequately treat the liquid waste if there is not a sufficient depth to the water table for degradation to occur
True
Soil moisture is important to agriculture
True
Tertiary treatment of municipal sewage can involve fine filtration and chemical treatment
True
The potentiometric surface is the height to which the water pressure would raise the water
True
Water levels dropped at Mono Lake because water was diverted from surface water that flowed into the lake in order to supply Los Angeles
True
The solution to contamination at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal involved
a barrier and extraction wells
A circular lowering of the water table around a pumping well is
a cone of depression
All of the following indicate a potential geothermal resource except
a diffuse energy source
The "earthquake cycle" model is based on assumptions that the rate of stress buildup on a given fault segment is constant and that
a given fault segment accumulates about the same amount of strain energy before rupture each time
The High Plains Aquifer is
a sandstone and gravel aquifer
Which of the following does NOT apply to thermal pollution?
adds oxygen to the water
Which is the greatest consumptive use of water?
agricultural irrigation
Which is the principal source of solid waste in the U.S?
agriculture
Which of the following is NOT a way of addressing landfill leachate?
air injection to promote decomposition by bacteria
DDT and certain other organic pollutants are particularly hazardous because they are
all of the choices are correct
Global warming may increase
all of the choices are correct
Ground water discharge occurs when
all of the choices are correct
Possible precursors of volcanic eruptions include
all of the choices are correct
Uncertainty in projecting probable greenhouse-effect heating arises from uncertainty about
all of the choices are correct
Which energy resource is renewable?
all of the choices are correct
Which is used to aid prediction of earthquakes?
all of the choices are correct
Which of the following is an issue with deep well injection of toxic liquid wastes?
all of the choices are correct
An enhanced greenhouse effect results from
all of the choices are correct.
Earthquake forecasting is based on
all of the choices are correct.
High-level, commercial nuclear waste that is now in temporary storage in the U.S. has been produced by
all of the choices are correct.
Sediment deposited on a plain at the mouth of a stream canyon forms a(n)
alluvial fan
The following term applies to organic decomposition with no oxygen
anaerobic
Which is the highest grade and most carbon-rich coal?
anthracite
Hydropower plants
are used exclusively for generating electricity
Most andesitic volcanoes are located
at a convergent plate boundary
Most basaltic volcanoes are located
at a divergent plate boundary
The low-viscosity, fluid lava of hot-spot volcanoes is typically
basalt
Shield volcanoes are composed of
basaltic lava
Depth of erosion by the lower reach of a stream is limited by
base level
Strategies for reducing earthquake-related damage include all of the following except
building strong structures across fault zones to stop fault movement
Composting can reduce the volume of waste
by partial decomposition with bacteria
Which of the following is NOT an issue related to municipal sewage treatment?
cannot be optimized to permit recycling
All of the following have been recognized as earthquake precursors except
changes in frequency of seismic sea waves
Subduction stops during
continent-continent convergence
One of the driving force or mechanism that is hypothesized to cause seafloor spreading and continental drift is
convection cells in the asthenosphere
A breeder reactor
converts more-common isotopes, such as uranium-238, to fissionable fuel during normal operation.
How can the damage to contaminated aquifers be reversed?
decontamination (treatment) after extraction
A material that has plastic behavior
deforms significantly in response to a stress and not reversibly
Sediment deposited in still water (such as lake or ocean) at the mouth of a river forms a(n)
delta
Streams transport chemical pollutants such as nitrates as
dissolved load
Most alcohol in gasohol blends is from
distilled grains
New oceanic lithosphere forms at
divergent plate boundaries
Water polluted by organic matter
does not contain much oxygen
Cinder cones have
explosive eruptions
The Chernobyl reactor accident caused all of the following except
extensive nuclear fusion reactions inside the reactor
Oil spill clean-up experiments after the Exxon Valdez spill that were the most encouraging involved
fertilizer sprayed on the beaches
Breeder reactors would provide a renewable supply of fuel for
fission power plants
Outpouring of magma from a long crack in the lithosphere is a
fissure eruption.
A volcanic dome
forms from vicious lava
At Yellowstone National Park, one sees evidence of which energy resource?
geothermal
Which energy resource utilizes Earth's internal heat?
geothermal
Which of the following energy sources is particularly associated with plate boundaries?
geothermal power
Increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contributes significantly to
global warming
An aquitard
has slow flow because permeability is low
Commercially, the most valuable petroleum reservoirs are
high in porosity and high in permeability
At a convergent plate boundary,
high mountains may be built during continent-continent collision.
Groundwater flow is faster in materials with
higher permeability
Geopressurized natural gas may be deep underground in
hot salty groundwater
Which is the recurrence interval of a flood?
how frequently a flood of a certain severity occurs on average
The finest sediment particles in a stream move
in suspension
How is energy stored in fossil fuels?
in the chemical bonds of the organic compounds
Which of the following is not a significant component of the hydrologic cycle?
incorporation into subduction zones
The effects of an earthquake on humans and their structures are measured as the
intensity
Earth's core is rich in
iron and nickel
Iodine-131 is a very hazardous radionuclide because it
is biologically concentrated in the human thyroid gland
Recycling of paper
is easiest with a single type of paper
Which is NOT true of permeability?
is greater in shale than in sandstone
Geothermal heat is a good energy source but
limited to specific sites
Deep-focus earthquakes in subduction zones because
lithosphere is carried to deeper depths in subduction zones
One advantage of the Yucca Mountain site is that it would be in an area
located hundreds of feet above the water table
Silica-rich magmas produce
more-violent eruptions
Where are the greatest wind resources available in the U.S?
north-central US
Divergent plate boundaries
occur both in ocean basins as well as on continents (where they create topographically low areas that can be filled with lakes)
The Exxon Valdez spilled
oil
An unconfined aquifer lacks a(n)
overlying aquitard
Most damage when a composite volcano erupts results from
pyroclastic flows and lahars in valleys
Oceanic lithosphere
records magnetic "stripes" of normally and reversely magnetized rocks.
What is meant by thermal pollution?
release of heat to streams
A disadvantage of desalination is
requires a lot of energy for distillation
Which of the following is NOT a problem with an open dump?
requires soil for daily recovering
Large earthquakes
result from movement of previously locked faults
The supercontinent Pangea was split apart by
rifting
Meanders migrate or shift their location by
sediment deposition on the inside of meander bends and lateral erosion on the outside
Most oil and natural gas is formed in
sedimentary rocks
S-waves are
shear waves
Expanded use of which energy resource would contribute least to global warming?
solar
Incinerators are used for disposal of
solid waste
Which of the following is NOT a problem related to septic systems?
solids clog leach lines
What area in the U.S. is most suitable for the development of solar energy?
southwestern US
Oil shale is currently extracted by
strip mining
All of the following are issues with breeder reactors except for
takes a long time to produce more fuel than it consumes.
Saltation refers to that portion of the load
that moves in short hops along the streambed
In the United States,
the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is receiving government-produced transuranic waste.
The stream's discharge is calculated as
the cross-sectional area times the average velocity
Which is NOT an issue with deep well injection?
the injection liquid must be denser than water so as not to rise by buoyancy
The crest of a flood is
the maximum stage reached
The gradient of a stream is
the steepness of the stream channel
As a drainage basin increases in size
the stream discharge increases
In a normal fault,
the upper block moves downward
Early simple organisms were not preserved as fossils because
they had no hard parts
From the point of view of radiation hazard, the radioisotopes of greatest concern are
those of intermediate half-lives (years to centuries)
A secure landfill is used for disposal of
toxic liquid waste
Solar energy is presently commonly used for all of the following except
transportation
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
traps outgoing heat radiation from the Earth
Generation of hydroelectric power plants requires swift-flowing, large volume rivers
true
Pumping from a well can lower the water table
true
Power generation using the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion method
uses temperature difference between shallow and deep ocean water to run turbines that generate electricity.
The main improvement of a sanitary landfill over an open dump is
waste is compacted and covered with layer of earth daily
Fossil fuels include all of these except
wood
Generation of electricity using photovoltaic cells
would involve commitment of considerable land and material for large-scale use.
