Geos Final
1) ________ refers to the changes in shape or position of a rock body in response to differential stress. A) Stress B) Deformation C) Compression D) Brittle failure
B
10) The ________ of a continent consists of Precambrian rocks of the craton covered by a thin mantle of sedimentary rocks. A) shield B) platform C) rift zone D) plateau
B
10) What is the angle of repose? A) The angle of the slip plane from a slide B) The steepest angle at which a material remains at rest C) The angle of an inclined rock layer measured from a horizontal line D) The angle of plunge into the interior
B
10) ________ occurs when a rock is gradually dissolved by flowing water. A) Abrasion B) Corrosion C) Quarrying D) Exfoliation
B
12) A ________ fault has a vertical fault plane and shows movement parallel to the orientation of the fault. A) reverse B) strike-slip C) thrust D) normal
B
12) A(n) ________ is a period when a supercontinent rifts into fragments, spreads apart, and the fragments reassemble into a new supercontinent. A) convection cycle B) supercontinent cycle C) suturing cycle D) orogenic cycle
B
12) What is stratigraphic correlation? A) Dividing up rock layers into new ones based on mineral content B) Matching up rocks of similar age in different regions C) Putting events in order from first to last D) Matching up continental coasts based on matching shapes
B
13) During which geologic time period did Pangaea form? A) Precambrian B) Late Paleozoic Era C) Mesozoic Era D) Mid-Cretaceous Era
B
13) What is the source of the sediments in a forearc basin? A) Carbonate reefs B) Continental sediments and pyroclastic materials C) Sediments washed from the landmass D) Glacial sediments
B
13) What radioactive material is the main fuel used to produce nuclear energy? A) Uranium-238 B) Uranium-235 C) Lead-207 D) Thorium-232
B
15) Which of the following best describes the principle of faunal succession? A) Rock layers will extend equally in all directions until they pinch out or reach the edge of a basin. B) Fossil organisms succeed one another in a specific and identifiable order. C) Only the most successful organisms will survive climatic extremes. D) Faults are younger than the materials they cut across.
B
16) Where is the deepest place on Earth? A) Peru-Chile Trench B) Challenger Deep C) Kuril Trench D) Mid-Continent Rift
B
16) ________ are flat areas along streams that are created by the deposition of alluvium and is subject to periodic inundation. A) Terraces B) Floodplains C) Riffles D) Bars
B
17) Which of the following best describes the age relationship of the layers in an anticline? A) Oldest on the outside of the fold, youngest on the inside B) Oldest on the inside of the fold, youngest on the outside C) Oldest materials thrust up on top of younger layers D) Horizontal bedding with the youngest layers on the top
B
18) Approximately what percentage of the Earth's surface consists of deep-ocean basins? A) 10% B) 30% C) 47% D) 49%
B
18) Magmatic segregation occurs when ________. A) light minerals crystallize early and migrate through fractures in rock B) heavy minerals crystallize early and settle to the lower part of the magma chamber C) high-pressure conduits carry crystals to the surface D) hot, metal-rich fluids migrate through fractures in rock
B
19) ________ deposits such as gold and silver are generated from hot, ion-rich fluids. A) Kimberlite B) Hydrothermal C) Placer D) Evaporite
B
20) In what ways are the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Andes Mountains the same in terms of mountain formation? A) Crumpling of the continent through collision with another continent B) Emplacement of batholiths C) Extension of the continent through rifting D) Downwarping of the continent due to crustal subsidence
B
20) The ________ Period was called the golden age of trilobites, resulting in more than 600 genera of these organisms. A) Silurian B) Cambrian C) Jurassic D) Mississippian
B
20) ________ is a technique where the decay rate of radioactive isotopes is measured and used to determine the age of a geologic material. A) Electron Capture B) Radiometric Dating C) Ion Exchange D) Half-Life
B
21) The ________ refers to a huge expansion in biodiversity 530 million years ago, which also marks the first appearance of invertebrate organisms. A) Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event B) Cambrian Explosion C) Rise of Reptiles D) Great Dying
B
22) Which of Earth's major extinctions was the most extensive, eliminating 70 percent of all terrestrial organisms and up to 95 percent of marine organisms? A) Cambrian Explosion B) Permian Extinction C) Cretaceous Extinction D) Late Devonian Extinction
B
22) Which type of volcanic material will dominate the eruptions along a continental volcanic arc? A) Mafic lavas B) Lavas of intermediate or felsic composition C) A mix of felsic and ultramafic lavas D) Felsic lavas
B
23) Where do rift valleys form along the oceanic ridge system? A) Along the flanks of the continent where the slope levels out to meet the seafloor B) Along the axis of some ridge segments where the rift is down-faulted C) Transecting the ridge where transform boundaries exist D) Where the seafloor plunges back into the mantle as the plate is consumed
B
25) What is a suture? A) A landmass accreted to a continent through subduction B) The zone where two continents are welded together C) The region of a mid-ocean ridge where it is bisected by a transform boundary D) A fold-and-thrust belt created through convergence
B
25) You are trying to determine the age of a lava flow using an isotope with a half-life of 1.5 million years. If the sample has gone through four half-lives, what is the age of the rock? A) 1.5 million years B) 6 million years C) 375,000 years D) 5 billion years
B
26) What is the effective maximum range for carbon-14 dating? A) 100,000 years B) 70,000 years C) 10,000 years D) 13,000 years
B
28) Which of the following choices represents a rate of seafloor spreading commonly associated with a ridge such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge? A) 1-5 mm/yr B) 1-5 cm/yr C) 1-5 m/yr D) 1-5 km/yr
B
28) ________ is a term used to define 88% of Earth's history prior to the start of the Paleozoic era. A) Quaternary B) Precambrian C) Paleogene D) Jurassic
B
3) According to the plate tectonics model, most global mountain ranges are associated with which kind of plate boundary? A) Divergent B) Convergent C) Transform
B
3) What percentage of Earth's water is in the form of seawater? A) 2.15% B) 97.2% C) 0.62% D) 0.03%
B
3) Which of the following is not a fossil fuel? A) Coal B) Bauxite C) Natural gas D) Petroleum
B
30) A(n) ________ is a sequence of layers composing the oceanic crust that includes sheeted dikes, basalts, and gabbro. A) passive margin B) ophiolite complex C) lithospheric sheeting D) flood basalts
B
30) Which of the following statements best characterizes the geology and structure of the Appalachian Mountains? A) Deeply eroded, late Mesozoic upwarping mountains B) Sedimentary strata folded at in the late Paleozoic Era C) Continental volcanic chain along a subduction zone D) Fault-block mountains developed from rifting of North America from Africa
B
31) Which two conditions are the most important in order for an organism to become fossilized? A) Rapid death and oxygen-free environment B) Rapid burial and possession of hard parts C) Rapid mineralization and rapid desiccation D) Rapid decay and possession of soft tissues
B
34) In radioactive decay, an unstable ________ isotope will decay into a stable ________ isotope. A) ion; carbon B) parent; daughter C) daughter; parent D) neutron; ionized
B
34) Which U.S. region is made up of a series of high-angle normal faults producing nearly parallel mountain ranges? A) Appalachian Mountains B) Basin and Range Province C) Colorado Plateau D) Valley and Ridge Province
B
38) A mountain range with peaks as high as 14,000 feet above sea level has formed. As time passes, erosion wears down the mountains. How will isostacy affect the crust? A) The surrounding landscape will sink B) The mountain range will rise C) The mountain range will be depressed D) Nothing will change the elevation of the area
B
4) The American Cordillera is location from ________. A) Maine to Canada B) Cape Horn to Alaska C) Georgia to Newfoundland D) Texas to Arizona
B
4) What tool is often used to measure the topography of the seafloor today? A) High-resolution multibeam instruments B) Sonar C) Echo sounders D) Radar altimeters
B
4) Which of the following factors does not influence mass wasting? A) Gravity B) Geologic age C) Water D) Vegetation
B
41) Why would geologic mapping be difficult in an area dominated by accreted terranes? A) The geology is so similar that it would be difficult to determine terrane boundaries B) Each terrane is geologically distinct, but also highly deformed C) Isostatic rebound would result in gravitational collapse to make them indistinct D) Terranes are very old and terribly eroded
B
5) The ________ is an elevational point that divides an entire continent into large drainage basins. A) Appalachian Mountains B) Continental Divide C) Watershed D) Sediment production zone
B
5) Where is the oldest known rock on Earth located? A) Ural Mountains, Russia B) Slave Craton, Alberta, Canada C) Gobi Desert, Mongolia D) Dharwar Craton, India
B
6) Which of the following is associated with an active continental margin? A) Divergent boundaries B) Convergent boundaries C) Transform boundaries D) No tectonic boundaries nearby
B
7) What is the controlling force of mass wasting? A) Water B) Gravity C) Friction D) Hydration
B
7) What is the definition of an inclusion? A) A fossil of an organism that existed for a short period of geologic time B) A fragment of one rock unit enclosed in another rock unit C) An unstable isotope decaying into a stable form D) A fault bisecting a layer of rock
B
7) Which of the following regions of a subduction zone are characterized by thick sequences of relatively undeformed sedimentary rocks? A) Volcanic island arc B) Forearc region C) Suture D) Transform fault
B
8) How many hinge lines does a monocline have? A) One B) Two C) Three D) Four
B
8) What is a craton? A) The highly deformed, leading edge of a continent where subduction is occurring B) The oldest part of a continent that has not been significantly deformed for 600 million years C) An exotic terrane being accreted to a landmass D) A down-dropped graben bounded by normal faults
B
8) ________ are mixtures of clay, sand, and bitumen. A) Tar pits B) Oil sands C) Oil shales D) Gas hydrates
B
9) Which of the following scenarios would likely result in the development of a passive continental margin? A) Two tectonic plates colliding, creating a submarine trench B) Continental blocks rifting apart and becoming separated by seafloor spreading C) Two tectonic plates sliding past each other, rotating part of the crust D) A mantle plume creating a chain of volcanic islands across the seafloor
B
1) The first primitive organisms on Earth came into existence approximately ________ years ago. A) 10,000 B) 550 million C) 3.8 billion D) 4.6 billion
C
1) What is infiltration? A) The transition from liquid to gas as a result of increases in temperature B) Plants taking in water C) Water soaking into the ground D) Water running off the surface and entering a channel
C
10) What is the difference between a reverse fault and a thrust fault? A) A reverse fault is the result of compression, and a thrust fault is the result of tension. B) A reverse fault lengthens the crust, whereas a thrust fault shortens the crust. C) A thrust fault has a fault angle of less than 45°, whereas the angle of a reverse fault is greater. D) Reverse faults are associated with convergent boundaries, and thrust faults are associated with transform boundaries
C
11) Although many areas of the continental shelves are relatively featureless, there are some locations on the shelves that have received extensive glacial deposits and significant dissection by streams. How would this have been possible? A) Glaciers and streams were powerful enough to shape the shelf underwater. B) The shelves were once above sea level but have since dropped below sea level due to tectonic activity. C) The sea level dropped during the last glacial episode because water was stored in large ice sheets, exposing the shelves. D) As the continents collided in the past, the shelves were lifted above sea level and became exposed to the elements.
C
11) Which of the following is an example of a trace fossil? A) A spider encased in amber B) Petrified wood C) Gastroliths D) A skeleton
C
11) Which of the following scenarios would best indicate that a thrust fault is present at a location? A) The hanging wall of the fault has slipped down. B) Two parts of the same rock have been horizontally displaced by 20 feet. C) Cambrian-aged rocks have been shoved on top of Jurassic-aged rocks. D) The crust has lengthened, allowing a graben to slip down and create a pull-apart basin.
C
11) Which of the following would be a good reservoir rock for oil and natural gas? A) Shale B) Slate C) Sandstone D) Granite
C
13) The principle of ________ states that organisms succeed one another in a definite, determinable order that can be used to recognize a specific time period. A) correlation B) superposition C) fossil succession D) lateral continuity
C
13) What is the definition of a turbidity current? A) Subsidence of the seafloor B) Fast-moving water created by density differences C) Submarine landslide D) Focused jet of water blasting across the shelf from a surface stream
C
13) What is the difference between faults and joints? A) Joints are the result of compression, whereas faults are the result of tension. B) Joints are the result of earthquakes, and faults are the result of weathering. C) Joints form in place, whereas faults form because rock has moved. D) Joints form from external stress, and faults form from cooling.
C
13) What is the term for sediment deposited by streams? A) Fluvium B) Colluvium C) Alluvium D) Talus
C
14) During which period did the break-up of Pangaea begin? A) Permian B) Tertiary C) Triassic D) Jurassic
C
14) If a back-arc basin is associated with a volcanic island arc, what tends to develop there? A) Submarine trench B) Wide continental shelf C) Long, linear sea D) Rift valley
C
14) Submarine canyons found cutting into the continental shelf and slope are believed to have been created ________. A) by subduction B) by icebergs C) by rivers during the ice age D) by tectonic rifting
C
14) When correlating rock between widely separated areas or between continents, what feature(s) do geologists rely on the most to link distant rock units of similar age? A) Rock type B) Sedimentary structures C) Fossils D) Mineral content
C
15) A ________ stream consists of a complex network of converging and diverging channels that weave around channel bars. A) straight channel B) meandering stream C) braided stream D) bedrock channel
C
15) The nuclear power plant in ________, Japan, suffered a catastrophic nuclear accident in 2011, consisting of a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive material. A) Chernobyl B) Mount St. Helens C) Fukushima D) Manilla
C
15) Which of the following are examples of fault-block mountains? A) Himalayas B) Rocky Mountains C) Basin and Range D) Alps
C
15) Which slope composition is the most stable? A) Unconsolidated sediments B) Rock layers inclined parallel to the slope C) Solid bedrock D) Carbonate rock affected by dissolution
C
16) Subduction of the ________ Plate beneath the North American Plate at approximately 60 million years ago resulted in the ________ Orogeny that created the Rocky Mountains. A) Pacific; Taconic B) South American; Nevadan C) Farallon; Laramide D) African; Alleghanian
C
16) ________ is the compass direction of the line produced by the intersection of an inclined rock layer with a horizontal plane. A) Dip B) Angle C) Strike D) Plunge
C
17) What is a fossil assemblage? A) A fossil that is geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic time B) A fossil that is very common and existed for a long period of geologic time C) A group of fossils used to establish the age of a rock unit D) Fossil organisms that have survived multiple geologic eras
C
17) Which style of convergent boundary will characterize an Andean-type mountain building event? A) Where oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath oceanic lithosphere B) Where continental lithosphere subducts beneath continental lithosphere C) Where oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath continental lithosphere D) Where continental lithosphere subducts beneath oceanic lithosphere
C
19) If 235U has 92 protons, how many neutrons does it have? A) 25 B) 92 C) 143 D) 235
C
19) Movements along normal faults can produce alternating upthrown and down-dropped fault blocks. What are the names associated with these blocks, respectively? A) Synclines and anticlines B) Domes and basins C) Horsts and grabens D) Left-lateral and right-lateral
C
19) Volcanic island arcs are found near which features on the seafloor? A) Abyssal plains B) Coral atolls C) Deep-ocean trenches D) Rift zones
C
2) A ________ is an economically important material that cannot be replenished in a reasonable time frame, so once it has been consumed, there will not be any more. A) recycled material B) renewable resource C) nonrenewable resource D) plastic
C
2) What nongeologic term is commonly used to describe a sudden event in which large volumes of material move down steep slopes? A) Mass Wasting B) Carbonization C) Landslide D) Lahar
C
21) Volcanic islands such as the Hawaiian islands form as a result of ________. A) subduction B) rifting C) mantle plumes D) batholith emplacement
C
21) What is an accretionary wedge? A) Deformed and thrust-faulted continental lithosphere B) A fan of sediments at the bottom of a deep-ocean trench C) Sediments and ocean crust fragments being scraped off of a subducting plate D) Fault blocks that are slipping down due to extension in a back-arc basin
C
1) A ________ is an economically important material that can be replenished over a short time span to be used again. A) renewable resource B) fossil Fuel C) raw material D) nonrenewable resource
A
1) What is the definition of relative dating? A) Putting events in order from first to last B) Using radioactive materials to determine an age C) Counting tree rings to determine an age D) Calculating dates based on the theory of relativity
A
1) ________ is the downslope movement of rock, regolith, or soil under the direct influence of gravity. A) Mass wasting B) Erosion C) Weathering D) Dissolution
A
10) The continental shelf is composed of which material(s)? A) Granitic crust covered with sedimentary rocks B) Basaltic crust C) Clay sediments and sands D) Ophiolites
A
11) What was the name of the supercontinent that formed approximately 1.1 billion years ago? A) Rodinia B) Pangaea C) Nuna D) Baltica
A
11) Which sediment size has the steepest angle of repose? A) Gravel B) Sand C) Silt D) Clay
A
12) A stream is flowing over a hill covered in thick soil. The stream is eventually blocked to create a small pond in order to free land downhill for construction. What will ultimately happen to the strength and cohesion of the soil in the area around this pond? A) Strength and cohesion will decrease. B) Strength and cohesion will increase. C) Strength will decrease and cohesion will increase. D) Neither will be affected.
A
12) During what periods would streams see the greatest erosion and transportation of sediment? A) Floods B) Droughts C) When frozen D) When dammed
A
12) Which of the following is not a concern related to the practice of hydraulic fracturing or fracking? A) Waste injection fluids are held on the surface in open reservoirs. B) Fracking fluids may contaminate groundwater. C) Injection of fracking fluids may trigger small earthquakes. D) The reservoir rock may have low permeability.
A
14) Which of the following is not a way an earthquake can trigger mass wasting? A) Shaking will harden the soils at the surface, which repels flowing water. B) Shaking creates a landslide. C) Liquefaction caused sediments to behave like fluids and move. D) Shaking has created rock falls that have blocked canyons, an effect that will lead to later problems during flash floods.
A
14) Which process releases energy from radioactive materials to produce nuclear power? A) Nuclear fission B) Nuclear fusion C) Gasification D) Nuclear bombardment
A
15) A(n) ________ forms when sediments from the ocean floor and pieces of oceanic crust are scraped from a subducting oceanic plate and adhere to an overriding tectonic plate. A) accretionary wedge B) deep-sea fan C) active tectonic margin D) submarine canyon
A
15) If a back-arc basin is a region related to a subduction zone, how can such an extensional basin form near a boundary defined by compression? A) Trench rolls back as the old, dense subducting plate sinks. B) Compression ceases before extension takes over. C) Rising magma is softening the crust, allowing it to stretch. D) A plate subducting at an extremely shallow angle is pushing against the back-arc region.
A
16) Which of the following is an example of a continental volcanic arc? A) Cascade Volcanoes B) Hawaiian Volcanoes C) Aleutian Volcanoes D) Icelandic Volcanoes
A
17) Along which tectonic boundary are deep-ocean trenches found? A) Convergent B) Divergent C) Transform
A
18) How do joints form in tectonic environments? A) Rocks near the surface are stretched and pulled apart. B) Hot rocks cool and contract. C) Water dissolves rock along fractures. D) Rock fractures through heating.
A
18) The earliest fossil evidence of life is in the form of ________. A) cyanobacteria B) trilobites C) Tully Monsters D) brachiopods
A
18) What is an isotope? A) An atom that has more or fewer neutrons than it should B) An atom that has more or fewer electrons than it should C) An atom that has double the protons of a stable atom D) A nucleus of an atom that has split during the decay process
A
19) How can subduction result in the emplacement of batholiths? A) Partial melting of the mantle overlying the subducting plate creates magma. B) Decompression melting of the plate creates magma. C) Friction of descending plate creates magma. D) Pillow basalts get subducted with plate and forced into overriding plate.
A
2) Most mountain ranges are the result of ________ stress. A) Compressional B) Tensional C) Shear
A
2) The ________ describes the path water takes as it moves between the land, the ocean, and the atmosphere. A) Hydrologic Cycle B) Oxygen Cycle C) Rock Cycle D) Matter State Cycle
A
2) Which of the following groups contains all three major topographic provinces oceanographers use to define the seafloor? A) Continental margins, mid-ocean ridges, and deep-ocean basins B) Mid-ocean ridges, continental shelves, and divergent boundaries C) Submarine trenches, mid-ocean ridges, and turbidity currents D) Deep-ocean basins, active margins, and passive margins
A
2) Which process is responsible for the oxygen in the atmosphere today? A) Photosynthesis B) Outgassing of volcanoes C) Weathering of carbonate rocks D) Asteroid impact
A
20) When considering hydrothermal deposits, vein- or fissure-filling deposits of metallic ores such as gold or silver are common in ________. A) rocks of a contact-metamorphic zone that formed around a shallow granite pluton B) pyroclastic materials erupted from a stratovolcano C) impact structures from meteorites D) rocks that form in high-pressure subduction zones
A
22) What is the definition of a placer deposit? A) Sorting of particles by a water current according to a material's specific gravity B) Emplacement of hydrothermal fluids into a fracture C) Concentration of minor amounts of metals in soil via weathering D) Metallic deposit near the base of a black smoker due to precipitation
A
22) Which particle of an atom will determine the atomic number of an element? A) Proton B) Nucleus C) Neutron D) Electron
A
23) List three economic materials that can be profitably extracted from placer deposits. A) Gold, platinum, and tin B) Diamonds, iron, and quartz C) Sand, gravel, and silt D) Granite, basalt, and gabbro
A
24) What event was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs? A) Meteorite impact in the Yucatan Peninsula B) Eruptions of the Siberian Traps C) Assembly of Pangaea D) Rise of flowering plants
A
24) What is the half-life of potassium-40? A) 1.3 billion years B) 704 million years C) 14.1 billion years D) 4.5 billion years
A
26) Which mountain range consists of the youngest collisional mountains on Earth? A) Himalayas B) Andes C) Grand Tetons D) Appalachians
A
27) Fold-and-thrust belts are the result of ________ stress whereas fault block mountains are the result of ________ stress. A) compressional; tensional B) shear; compressional C) tensional; shear D) shear; tensional
A
31) The ________ Orogeny is one of three events that formed the modern Appalachian Mountains. A) Taconic B) Laramide C) Tibetan D) Cordilleran
A
33) Which of the following is a failed rift that formed in North America over one billion years ago? A) A Mid-Continent Rift B) East African Rift C) Chile Rise D) Kuril Trench
A
34) Which of the following locations displays a triple junction that resulted from a rising mantle plume? A) Eastern Africa/Arabian Peninsula B) East Pacific Rise C) Japan/East Asia D) Mid-Atlantic Ridge
A
35) What is the ultimate source for naturally occurring carbon-14? A) Cosmic ray collisions and neutron capture involving nitrogen B) Dissolution of carbonate rocks C) Decay of unstable parent isotopes to create a stable carbon-14 D) Volcanic eruption and emission of greenhouse gases
A
35) What kind of subduction occurs when younger, warmer, less-dense lithosphere dips under another plate at shallower angles because it is too buoyant to sink? A) Forced subduction B) Mantle plume subduction C) Spontaneous subduction D) Overriding subduction
A
36) Which of the following best explains why some fault-block mountains have an elevated topography? A) Thinning of the lithosphere resulted in upwelling of hot mantle rock and greater lithospheric buoyancy B) Large volumes of rock were thrust on top of the area C) Flood basalts stacked up in the region D) Subduction folded and uplifted the mountain ranges to extensive heights
A
4) How will tensional force change a rock body? A) Stretch and thin the rock. B) Fracture the rock and grind the pieces alongside each other. C) Shorten and thicken the rock. D) The rock will not change.
A
42) How would the angle of subduction of a tectonic plate influence the location of a volcanic arc? A) The steeper the angle, the closer the arc would form to the trench B) The shallower the angle, the closer the arc would form to the trench C) The steeper the angle, the further the arc would form to the trench D) The angle of subduction doesn't affect the location of the volcanic arc
A
6) What is a fault? A) A fracture in a rock along which motion has occurred B) A stress fracture created by rocks stretching and pulling apart near the surface C) A solution pathway created by carbonic acid D) Foliation in a rock that acts as a plane of weakness
A
6) What scientific development made accurate numerical dating possible? A) Discovery of radioactivity B) Correlation of rock layers C) Development of radar D) Discovery of X-rays
A
6) ________ is the area at the headwaters of a stream where most of the sediment is derived. A) Sediment Production B) Sediment Transport C) Sediment Deposition D) Sediment Load
A
7) Because of the original molten state of Earth, it is likely that the first crust was ________ in composition. A) ultramafic B) mafic C) intermediate D) felsic
A
8) What will happen to the water level in the stream if the water table is below the level of the stream channel? A) The stream will lose water to the groundwater system. B) The stream will gain water from the groundwater system. C) The level of water in the stream will remain constant.
A
9) The ________ of a continent consists of a core area of Precambrian rocks exposed at the surface with no overlying cover materials. A) shield B) platform C) rift zone D) plateau
A
9) What is the mouth of a stream? A) The location where one stream flows into another body of water B) The location where streamflow begins C) The location where streamflow evaporates D) The location where streams diverge into distributary channels
A
21) What is the definition of a half-life? A) The parent isotope half of a radiometric dating pair B) Half the time it takes for the parent isotope to decay to the daughter C) The time it takes for half of the parent isotope to decay to the daughter D) Half of the alpha particles necessary to decay at a steady rate
C
23) For how long were dinosaurs the dominant species on the Earth? A) 5 million years B) 37 million years C) 160 million years D) 546 million years
C
23) For what reason might the nuclei of atoms break apart in radioactivity? A) There are too many neutrons in the nucleus. B) Electrons are being shared by two adjacent atoms. C) Forces that bind protons and neutrons together are weak. D) Protons are being exchanged between atoms.
C
24) Which of the following is an example of a mid-ocean ridge? A) Puerto-Rico Trench B) Challenger Deep C) Mid-Indian Ridge D) East Pacific Rise
C
24) Which of the following locations is composed largely of accreted terranes? A) Illinois B) Hawaii C) Alaska D) Colorado
C
25) Which mineral resource is the main component for plaster and drywall? A) Diamonds B) Calcite C) Gypsum D) Talc
C
25) Which of the following does not characterize the early development and specialization of mammals? A) Increase in brain capacity B) Increase in body size C) Increase in lung capacity D) Specialization of teeth to accommodate diets
C
26) ________ accounts for greater ocean depths moving away from the oceanic ridge toward the deep ocean basin. A) Mantle plume B) Convection C) Thermal contraction D) Gravity
C
27) Which of the following materials or features are not found at mid-ocean ridges? A) Basaltic lava eruptions emitted along the ridge B) Stands higher above the surrounding seafloor C) Deep submarine trenches D) Thin layers of sediments
C
29) As India is colliding with Asia, the margin of Asia is experiencing significant deformation. What is happening to the rocks that are being deformed? A) They are being subducted into the mantle B) They are being melted to become magma plutons C) They are being displaced to the southeast to make up Southeast Asia D) They are breaking off to form microcontinents
C
3) A(n) ________ is a type of unconformity with parallel beds above and below the erosional surface. A) fossil conformity B) nonconformity C) disconformity D) angular unconformity
C
3) How do researchers today routinely determine the depth of the water to the seafloor? A) Ship-mounted gravimeters B) A weighted roped or cable C) High-resolution multibeam instruments D) Laser reflector systems linked to satellites
C
3) How will compressional force change a rock body? A) Stretch and thin the rock. B) Fracture the rock and grind the pieces alongside each other. C) Shorten and thicken the rock. D) The rock will not change.
C
30) In what era is the Jurassic period? A) Precambrian B) Paleozoic C) Mesozoic D) Cenozoic
C
31) Thermal springs known as ________ are often associated with oceanic ridges, where hot water containing dissolved minerals gushes from the seafloor. A) hot springs B) geysers C) black smokers D) ophiolites
C
32) The Mississippi River cuts through Silurian-aged dolomite between northwestern Illinois and eastern Iowa. Which is older? How do you know? A) Dolomite;the principle of superposition B) Mississippi; the principle of original horizontality C) Dolomite; the principle of cross-cutting relationships D) Mississippi; the principle of lateral continuity
C
32) Which of the following statements best characterizes the geology of western North America, starting in California and extending through British Columbia and up into Alaska? A) Divergent rifting creating deep, wide valleys with grabens B) Collision of a massive subcontinent of old igneous and metamorphic rocks, resulting in fold-and-thrust mountains that are still growing C) Geologically distinct, microcontinent-sized fragments and terraces accreted to the continent D) Metamorphosed accretionary wedges
C
35) Which orogeny is largely responsible for creating the modern Rocky Mountains? A) Nevadan Orogeny B) Taconic Orogeny C) Laramide Orogeny D) Alleghanian Orogeny
C
4) How old is the oldest known mineral, a zircon crystal, on Earth? A) 13.7 billion years old B) 4.6 billion years old C) 4.4 billion years old D) 2.657 billion years old
C
4) Which of the following is an example of a numerical date? A) The Stone Age occurred before the Iron Age. B) John Adams was president of the United States after George Washington. C) A meteorite impacted the Earth sixty-five million years ago. D) Dinosaurs descended from reptiles, which descended from amphibians.
C
5) A rubber band being stretched in preparation to fire across the room is an example of what kind of deformation? A) Brittle deformation B) Ductile deformation C) Elastic deformation D) Shear deformation
C
5) Stream valleys are produced through combined effects of mass wasting and running water. If running water alone were responsible for creating stream valleys, how would they appear? A) Wide valleys with flat bottoms B) V-shaped valleys C) Narrow valleys with vertical walls D) U-shaped valleys
C
6) The oldest known terrestrial material (a zircon included in a younger rock) dates back to 4.4 billion years ago. Where is this material located? A) Dharwar Craton, India B) Slave Craton, Alberta, Canada C) Jack Hills, Western Australia D) Grenville Terrance, United States
C
6) ________ contain large quantities of preexisting sedimentary and crystalline rocks that have been faulted and contorted into a series of folds. A) Fault block mountains B) Mid-ocean ridges C) Compressional mountains D) Submarine trenches
C
7) Streams generally receive their water from two sources. What are those two sources? A) Lakes and meteorites B) Meteorites and comets C) Overland flow and groundwater D) Groundwater and evaporation
C
8) Put the four regions of a subduction zone in order from the convergent boundary landward toward the continental interior. A) Volcanic arc, deep-ocean trench, forearc region, back-arc region B) Back-arc region, volcanic arc, forearc, deep-ocean trench C) Deep-ocean trench, forearc region, volcanic arc, back-arc region D) Forearc, back-arc, deep-ocean trench, volcanic arc
C
8) When rocks are ________, several adjacent layers were deposited without interruption. A) included B) dissolved C) conformable D) cross-cut
C
8) Which region is surrounded by an active continental margin? A) Atlantic Ocean B) Arctic Ocean C) Pacific Ocean D) Indian Ocean
C
9) What are the four regions of a subduction zone? A) Tensional, compressional, shear, convection B) Oceanic, volcanic, continental, island C) Volcanic arc, deep-ocean trench, forearc, and back-arc D) Accretionary wedge, terrane, accumulation zone, submarine canyon
C
9) Which of the following scenarios would lead to a mass wasting event due to an oversteepened slope? A) Trees are planted on a slope B) Heavy rains saturate slope materials C) Construction of buildings on slopes D) Baking of surface materials during a wildfire
C
1) The measurement of ocean depth and the topography of the ocean floor are known as ________. A) geophysics B) seismic tomography C) topographic surveying D) bathymetry
D
1) What is the definition of orogenesis? A) Subduction of an oceanic plate beneath a continental plate B) Ionic exchange between calcium and oxygen C) Emplacement of metallic ores via hydrothermal metamorphism D) Processes that collectively form a mountain belt
D
10) A black, organic residue of an ancient fern would be an example of which type of fossilization? A) Permineralization B) Mummification C) Replacement D) Carbonization
D
10) In what environment will the plant and animal remains necessary to generate oil accumulate? A) Desert B) Swamp C) Stream D) Ocean
D
10) Which factor(s) will most influence the depth of deep-ocean trenches? A) Compressive force B) Rate of convection C) Density and composition of the mantle beneath D) Temperature and density of the plate
D
11) The Cascadia subduction zone off the coast of Washington and Oregon famously lacks a well-defined deep-ocean trench. Why might this be the case? A) Compression from the convergent boundary has squeezed any potential trench closed. B) There is a massive amount of sediment fill from the Columbia River basin. C) The descending plate is warm and buoyant, so it subducts shallowly. D) There is a shallow angle of plate subduction, as well as large quantities of sediment infill.
D
11) Which of the following particle sizes is most likely to make up a stream's suspended load? A) Gravel B) Clay C) Sand D) Silt
D
12) Which of the following is an example of a volcanic island arc? A) Cascade Volcanoes B) Andean Volcanoes C) Hawaiian Volcanoes D) Aleutian Volcanoes
D
12) Which of the following will mark the furthest extent of a continent? A) The shoreline B) Tidal flats exposed during low tide C) The crest of the continental slope D) The lowest part of the continental slope
D
13) Which of the following will not oversteepen a slope and lead to mass wasting? A) Quarrying B) Coastal erosion C) Construction D) None of these
D
14) What are slickensides? A) Joints made as an igneous rock cools and contracts B) Fractures made in a rock as a result of tensional stress C) Folded rocks along a convergent boundary D) Polished and striated surfaces made on fault blocks
D
14) Which of the following is not one of the three basic stream channel morphologies? A) Straight channel B) Meandering stream C) Braided stream D) Bedrock channel
D
15) The Navajo Sandstone, such as that exposed at Zion National Park in Utah, is evidence of a ________ environment during the Jurassic Period in the western United States. A) beach B) continental shelf C) lacustrine D) desert
D
16) What is an index fossil? A) An organism that existed for a vast period of time and is representative of an era B) An organisms that is restricted to one small, geographic setting C) A trace fossil that defines a colony of organisms D) An organism that was geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic time
D
16) Which form of renewable energy is produced by power plants in Iceland, accounting for 66 percent of Iceland's primary energy use? A) Hydroelectric power B) Solar power C) Tidal energy D) Geothermal power
D
17) What era, period, and epoch do we currently exist in? A) Precambrian, Jurassic, Eocene B) Mesozoic, Permian, Pleistocene C) Paleozoic, Paleogene, Paleocene D) Cenozoic, Quaternary, Holocene
D
17) Which of the following minerals does not form as a result of magmatic segregation? A) Beryl B) Quartz C) Feldspar D) Calcite
D
18) Which of the following locations is a remnant of a forearc basin? A) Death Valley, CA B) Lake Baikal, Siberia C) Snake River Plain, ID D) Great Valley, CA
D
19) How old are the oldest fossils of more advanced organisms, the eukaryotes? A) 3.8 billion years B) 3.5 billion years C) 2.8 billion years D) 2.1 billion years
D
2) Which of the following is the best description for structural geology? A) Study of intergrown mineral crystals in igneous rocks B) Study of sequences of sedimentary rocks and how their environments of deposition dictate how sediments are laid down C) Study of earthquakes and how they move through Earth's interior D) Study of rock deformation in response to tectonic forces
D
2) Which scientist is credited with developing the law of superposition? A) James Ussher B) Charles Lyell C) James Hutton D) Nicholas Steno
D
20) What is the source of flood basalts associated with oceanic plateaus? A) Decompression melting associated with seafloor spreading B) Partial melting associated with subduction C) Impact heating from a meteorite strike D) The melting of the head of a mantle plume
D
21) Prolonged tropical weathering of specific kinds of bedrock can produce deposits of which mineral? A) Gold B) Hematite C) Halite D) Bauxite
D
22) Which of the following is not a method of obtaining samples and observations of the oceanic ridge system? A) Finding segments of ocean floor that have been thrust up onto the continent B) Visual inspections using submersible equipment C) Deep sea core samples D) Side-scan sonar
D
23) A ________ is a crustal fragment that has been transported by plate tectonics and has adhered to an overriding plate. A) Terrain B) Guyot C) Xenolith D) Terrane
D
24) Nonmetallic minerals used for abrasives include ________. A) topaz and fluorite B) talc and gypsum C) apatite and hematite D) corundum and garnet
D
25) What rock would you expect to find associated with a mid-ocean ridge? A) Sandstone B) Granite C) Limestone D) Basalt
D
26) What is the main mineral source of phosphorous in phosphate fertilizers? A) Topaz B) Calcite C) Kaolinite D) Apatite
D
27) Which era are we currently in? A) Mesozoic B) Precambrian C) Paleozoic D) Cenozoic
D
28) India has been colliding with Asia for roughly 50 million years, a process that has uplifted the Tibetan Plateau. However, although the margin of Asia has been intensely deformed, India has remained largely intact. Why is this the case? A) Asia's margin is composed of soft materials such as shale and sandstone B) There is a mantle plume beneath the Asian continent that softens the plate, permitting deformation C) Asia's rocks are over 2 billion years old and are so dense they are sinking back into the mantle D) Most of India is tough, durable, ancient shield material and is harder than the newer Asian material
D
29) The ________ period on the geologic time scale is a historic name that has now largely been replaced by the Paleogene and Neogene periods. A) Carboniferous B) Hadean C) Quaternary D) Tertiary
D
29) Which of the following is not an example of a continental rift? A) East Africa B) Rhine Valley, Europe C) Lake Baikal, Siberia D) Appalachia, United States
D
3) Which of the following locations would be most likely to see large-scale, rapid mass wasting? A) Florida Everglades B) Central Illinois C) Mojave Desert D) The Rocky Mountains
D
32) A ________ forms when a rising mantle plume causes the overlying crust to dome and separate into three rifts. A) triple junction B) complex rift C) submarine canyon system D) divergent boundary
D
33) The white granite of the Idaho Batholith near Boise, Idaho, contains dark gray xenoliths of metamorphic material. Which is older? How do you know? A) Granite; the principle of superposition B) Xenoliths; the principle of cross-cutting relations C) Granite; the principle of unconformities D) Xenoliths; the principle of inclusions
D
33) What are fault-block mountains? A) Mountains formed through folding and thrusting of the crust B) Mountains consisting of exposed batholiths C) Mountains that form by erosion of streams D) Mountains formed through crustal extension and normal faulting
D
36) What happened when the spreading center that generated the Farallon plate collided with the North American plate? A) A mantle plume formed. B) A divergent plate boundary was created. C) The spreading center subducted, resulting in the Yellowstone Hot Spot. D) A transform boundary was created.
D
37) ________ is the process by which thickened crust adjusts over time to a "normal" thickness. A) Subduction B) Convection C) Accretion D) Isostacy
D
39) Which of the following is a real-world example of isostatic adjustment? A) Continental margin of North America extending to create a forearc basin in California B) African continent bulging upward when moving over a mantle plume C) Downwarping of the continent in Illinois due to subduction of slabs of oceanic lithosphere D) Rebound of the landmass around Hudson Bay after glacial ice sheets have retreated
D
4) Upon combustion, which naturally occurring substance in coal is released to potentially create acid rain? A) Nitrogen B) Uranium C) Oxygen D) Sulfur E) All of the above
D
4) What is the geologic definition of a stream? A) A river of water that carries large volumes of water and has many tributaries B) A stagnant body of water with little current and low oxygen content C) A large lake system D) A channelized body of water flowing down gradient
D
40) Which of the following terms describes the increasing downward force on basal rocks as a mountain continues to grow? A) Isostacy B) Delamination C) Accretion D) Gravitational collapse
D
5) In which location on a continent would one be likely to find young mountain belts (less than 100 million years old)? A) In the center of the continent B) On the continental shield C) On the stable platform D) Along the margins of the continent
D
5) What are the two types of continental margins? A) Transform and divergent B) Trenches and rifts C) Continental shelves and slopes D) Passive and active
D
5) Which of the following is an example of a relative date? A) The Cenozoic era began sixty-five million years ago. B) A headstone in a cemetery has the date a person died. C) The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. D) The Silurian period came before the Devonian period.
D
6) Together, ________, ________, and ________ provide more than 81 percent of the energy consumed in the United States. A) uranium; hydroelectricity; coal B) coal; nuclear power; wind energy C) natural gas; wind power; biofuel D) oil; coal; natural gas
D
6) Which region would be most likely to produce a catastrophic landslide? A) Old, eroded, worn-down mountains B) V-shaped stream valley with gentle slopes C) Flat-lying floodplains along a stream D) Steep, geologically young mountains
D
7) A ________ is a circular fold where the youngest layers are in the middle and the oldest layers are on the outside. A) syncline B) monocline C) dome D) basin
D
7) Approximately 91 percent of the coal use in the United States today is used for ________. A) home heating B) transportation C) construction D) electricity
D
7) Which of the following is associated with a passive continental margin? A) Divergent boundaries B) Convergent boundaries C) Transform boundaries D) No tectonic boundaries nearby
D
8) A ________ is not the sole cause of a mass wasting event, but the last of many causes that initiate the downslope movement of materials. A) debris flow B) slide C) repose angle D) trigger
D
9 The Canadian province of Alberta has the world's largest commercially developed deposit of which fossil fuel? A) Anthracite coal B) Natural gas C) Petroleum D) Tar sands
D
9) What is the outcrop pattern of a plunging syncline? A) The layers will close to a point in the direction of plunge. B) The layers will be oriented parallel to each other. C) The layers will intersect at right angles. D) The layers will open up in the direction of plunge.
D
9) ________ is the scientific study of fossils. A) Quaternary geology B) Volcanology C) Geomorphology D) Paleontology
D
3) Scientific knowledge of many events of the Precambrian is limited because ________. A) metamorphism altered and deformed many rocks B) plate tectonics consumed many of the oldest tectonic plates C) many ancient rocks have been eroded D) any ancient rocks have been covered by a mantle of sediments E) metamorphism, plate tectonics, erosion, and sediments account for the limited knowledge of Precambrian events
E
5) How does the burning of fossil fuels affect the environment? A) Greenhouse gases are released that raise global temperatures. B) Sulfur dioxide is produced, which contributes to acid rain. C) Particulates are released into the atmosphere, which collect on ice caps and glaciers to absorb more heat. D) Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to ocean acidification. E) All of the above.
E
