Geology Exam 2 Review Questions

Mountains are currently forming in all of the following tectonic situations EXCEPT

continental cratons

Yellowstone is a classic example of which type of volcanism?

continental hot spot

A plate boundary where shallow, intermediate, and deep earthquakes all occur is most likely a

convergent-plate boundary

Which type of mass movement has very slow, but constant movement intimately related to the freeze-thaw cycle?

creep

Put the geologic time segments in order from longest to shortest

eons, eras, periods, epochs

Which feature distinguishes the different types of faults?

direction of movement

The point within the Earth at which the rock starts to break and slip on a fault is called the __________ of an earthquake.

focus

What term is used to identify the length of time it takes for 50% of the parent isotopes to decay to daughter isotopes?

half-life

The largest mountain in the Solar System, called Olympus Mons, is an enormous shield volcano on

Mars

Which geologic time segment is known as the Age of Dinosaurs?

Mesozoic era

Hot, thin, runny lava flows with low silica content are typically

Basaltic

A large circular depression created by the collapse of a volcano into the drained magma chamber is known as a

Caldera

Which of the fossils in this stratigraphic section would be the best index fossil?

D

Which of the following is true?

Pressure refers to an object feeling the same stress on all sides

Which of the following is NOT a type of energy wave generated by an earthquake?

Radar

Which of the following is FALSE?

Rocks break under high pressure

Large volcanoes that have a low, broad shape and are made of successive flows of low-viscosity lava are called

Shield volcanoes

Folds that have a trough-shape with limbs that dip toward the hinge are called

Synclines

Which of the following is not true of P-waves generated by an earthquake?

They are surface waves.

What feature would be considered a plane of weakness within a sequence of sedimentary rocks?

a shale bed

A different version of an element that has the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons is called

an isotope

Identify the FALSE statement. Earthquakes

are a result of plastic deformation

Engineered structures for slope stability include all of the following except

barrier island

Which of the following would result from the same sense of stress and likely be found together?

basins and domes

What type of grains are going to have the steepest angle of repose when piled?

coarse, angular, and dry

What does strain mean to a geologist?

change in shape of a rock

Which of the following is a method of numerical dating?

dendrochronology (tree rings)

A mud flow created by the mixing of volcanic ash with meteoric water or melting snow and ice is called

lahar

Sand volcanoes are surface expressions of

liquefaction

Effusive eruptions occur when magma is

low in viscosity

An eroded granite covered by flat-lying sedimentary rocks is an example of a(n)

nonconformity

Which type of structure would most likely form in a rift zone (from extensional stress)?

normal fault

Avalanches of dense, hot ash and gas that rush down the sides of a volcano during an eruption are called

pyroclastic flows

The average time between successive earthquake events along a given fault is called a

recurrence interval

A type of fault that occurs when the hanging wall block moves up and over the footwall block at a steep angle is called a

reverse fault

Which of the following is NOT a product of effusive, Hawaiian-type eruptions?

rhyolite domes

Undercutting of a sea-side cliff will most likely cause what kind of mass movement?

rock fall

A fault moving one block horizontally with respect to the other with no up-and-down motion is called

strike slip

What kind of fault is least likely to produce a tsunami?

strike-slip fault

In this image, we know that sedimentary unit A is older than sedimentary unit B because of the principle of

superposition.

Underwater avalanches of suspended sediments are called

turbidity currents.

Which of the following is not a slope stabilization technique?

undercutting

"The present is the key to the past" best describes the principle of

uniformitarianism.