Chapters 12, 13, 15, 17, and 18
The numerical age of a sedimentary rock can be determined in the field from which type of feature or characteristic?
none of the possible answers are correct: the fossils it contains graded bedding mud crack orientation
Tsunamis are the result of
volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in the oceans
The cryosphere reflects a significant amount of solar radiation, helping to moderate the Earth's temperature. As glaciers melt, less heat is reflected and more is absorbed by the geosphere and atmosphere, causing the glaciers to melt faster. This is an example of
a positive feedback loop because the loss of ice eventually leads to an increased loss of ice
The principle of inclusions states that
a sedimentary rock must be younger than the clasts that it contains
The severity of the impact of coastal hurricanes on the shoreline depends on which of the following?
all of the possible answers are correct: wind velocity the path of the eye of the hurricane whether the storm comes onshore at high tide or low tide
Glacial landforms made of till that are asymmetric with their steepest sides facing toward the direction from which the ice advanced are called
drumlins
Continental ice sheets
flow outward from the snow fields in which they form
The principle of superposition can be used to determine the relative ages of all of these except
folded sedimentary rocks
A disconformity occurs when
there has been some uplift and erosion but no folding between deposition of rocks above and below the disconformity
A nonconformity occurs when
a series of sedimentary rocks sits upon eroded igneous rocks
After three half-lives have elapsed for an element, the percentage of parent element atoms present will be
12.5
What is the greenhouse effect?
a natural process that warms the Earth to a temperature suitable for life
By which means can waves erode solid rock?
abrasion
What causes the greenhouse effect?
absorption of short-wavelength energy by the Earth and re-radiation as long-wavelength energy
Which of the following could be the base level of a stream?
all of the possible answers are correct: a lake into which it flows a larger stream into which it flows the ocean
Glaciers are different from the other agents of erosion and landscape formation in that they
are solid
With which landscape or feature are floodplains associated?
broad valleys with broadly meandering streams
The longest interval of geologic time is a
eon
Alpine (or mountain) glaciers
flow downhill through previously existing stream-carved valleys
Glaciers are different from streams in that they
flow more slowly
The ____ of a stream are where it begins, and its ____ is where it flows into another body of water.
headwaters; mouth
he sinuosity of a stream is a measure of
how much it meanders
A terminal moraine
is made of till
Streams are able to carry clasts ranging from mud to medium-sized boulders depending on their
kinetic energy
A terminal moraine forms during a period of
stagnation
Glaciers erode the same way streams do except that
streams can erode by dissolving soluble rock, but glaciers cannot
The term wave base refers to
the depth beneath waves to which water motion reaches
A drainage basin is
the entire area that feeds water into a stream
Sedimentary gold deposits form when dense gold nuggets are deposited as water slows down in
the inside of meander loops
The gradient of a stream describes
the steepness of its path through the landscape.
An angular unconformity is evidence that
there is an incomplete geologic record preserved in an area
Sediment deposited directly from a retreating glacier is called
till
Streams deposit sediment when
water slows down
The dominant cause of erosion along lake and ocean shorelines is
waves
The term relative age refers to
whether a feature is older or younger than another
Shoreline features are
among the most rapidly changing landscapes
The Earth System component that will change the least during our lifetime is the
geosphere
Waves are caused by
wind
If a fault offsets a sequence of sedimentary rocks, what must be true about the fault?
It is younger than the rocks based on the principle of cross-cutting relationships
By what motion(s) do sediment particles move in a stream?
all of the possible answers are correct: sliding rolling bouncing
Spits and barrier islands are
deposited by longshore drift
Well-sorted sediment makes up all of the following landforms except
terminal moraines
In order for a fossil to be used as an index fossil, the species must have existed for a
very short span of geologic time and lived throughout the world
By which process(es) are V-shaped stream valleys formed?
all of the possible answers are correct: stream erosion slumping of the valley walls soil creep in the valley walls
The Earth System component that most likely will change most rapidly is the
atmosphere
Sea stacks are the result of
erosion isolating resistant bedrock remnants
Sediment deposited by meltwater beyond the terminus of a glacier or in tunnels beneath it is called
outwash
Shorelines can be made of?
all of the possible answers are correct: solid rock loose sand and gravel organic materials (tree, marsh grass, coral)
V-shaped stream-carved valleys reshaped by mountain glaciers are typically U-shaped because glaciers
erode at all places in the valleys, not just where the stream channel had been
If a sequence of sedimentary rocks has been folded and is now vertical,
graded bedding can help determine whether some beds are older or younger than the beds next to them
The base level of a stream controls
how deeply it can erode its channel
Streams deposit sediment when they lose kinetic energy by slowing down. Glaciers deposit sediment when they lose kinetic energy by
melting
Dendritic, trellis, and rectangular drainage patterns are the result of the
structure and erodibility of the rocks underlying the region
Which of the following statements about the greenhouse effect is true?
Human production of carbon dioxide has had a significant effect on atmospheric temperature.
What type(s) of area constitutes a stream channel?
an area in which its water normally flows
Cirques are
bowl-shaped depressions in which snowfields accumulate and create alpine glaciers
The two plant hardiness zone maps shown in Figure 18.1 indicate that
changing climate conditions are causing plant distribution to shift to the north
The shorter the half-life of a radiogenic element, the more useful it will be for dating
very young events
The movement of water molecules as a wave passes is
in a circular path
During longshore drift, sand grains move
in a zigzag pattern
If Earth entered another ice age and continental glaciers expanded (not likely in the current situation, but it's happened before),
sea level would drop and most stream gradients would increase
A sedimentary rock contains zircon clasts that have been dated radiometrically as ranging from 1 billion to 250 million years old. The oldest that the rock can be is
250 million years
By what feature(s) might submergent shorelines be characterized typically?
all of the possible answers are correct: highly irregular coastlines numerous bays and headlands sandbars and lagoons
By what feature(s) might emergent shorelines be characterized typically?
all of the possible answers are correct: relatively straight coastlines cliffs adjacent to the shore uplifted shoreline features
Increased human population could be the cause of extinctions if we do which of the following?
all of the possible answers are correct: clear forest land for housing or agricultural purposes pollute river, lake, and ocean water catch fish faster than the remaining population can reproduce
What could cause sea-level changes along a coastline?
all of the possible answers are correct: tectonic uplift tectonic subsidence melting or growth of polar ice caps