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