GEOL 111 Quizzes for Final Exam

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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.


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