EAR 105 Exam 3 Retake
Which of the following statements if FALSE? The principle of
inclusions say rock containing inclusions is older than the inclusions.
The magnitude of a temperature increase due to greenhouse warming will be largest in the ________.
polar regions
Which of the following does NOT contribute to long-term climate change?
sunspot activity
Radiometric dating relies on knowing the half life of a radiogenic element. Half life is:
the amount of time for half of a parent element to decay into the daughter element
Carbon-14 dating is not a good method for determining the age of the carbon containing materials that are relatively old (older than 35,000 years old). This is because
the half life of carbon-14 is too short.
What evidence supports the fact that carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere is derived from the burning of fossil fuels?
the increasing temperature
Glaciers and ice sheets form because_________.
the snow that accumulates during winters does not entirely melt during the summer
How old is the Earth?
4.5 billion years old
The principle of cross-cutting relations tells us that:
A feature that cross-cuts or truncates another feature must be younger than the feature it cross cuts.
Continental ice sheets today are only found in
Antarctica and Greenland
To determine the relative age of a fault, you would most likely apply the principle of:
Cross-cutting relationships
Which of the following principles of stratigraphy are used for determining the relative ages of strata?
Cross-cutting relationships, Inclusions, Superposition *All of the above*
The principle of superposition tells us that:
In a sequence of undeformed strata, the oldest layer will be at the bottom and the youngest will be at the top
The principle of original horizontality tells us that:
In undisturbed strata, sediments were originally deposited in horizontal layers due to gravitational settling.
In the cross section above, ____ is older than ____.
L; N
Which of the following principles of stratigraphy are used for determining the relative ages of strata?
Lateral continuity, Fossil succession, Original horizontality *All of the above*
18,000 years ago Syracuse was covered by a few kilometers of glacial ice
True
Which of the following statement about the hydrologic cycle is FALSE?
Water that manages to infiltrate the land is lost to the cycle.
A stratigraphic formation is:
a layer of specific rock types.
The efficiency of erosion by a river depends on
all of the above
The exact (numeric) age of the Earth is determined by what method and using what materials?
by radiometric dating of meteorites
Rivers are confined to a narrow area called channels where the flow typically remains. However rivers are free to move (meander) about a broad area called ________.
canyons
Which of the following is NOT a method for determining the numerical age of a rock?
cross-cutting relations
In the cross section above, we can say that B is younger than D by using the law of______.
cross-cutting relationships
Rivers ultimately deposit the sediment they carry in lakes or the ocean and form ________ where sediment piles up at the mouth of the river.
deltas
Which of the following statements is FALSE? The Mississippi River Delta
developed its shape because the ocean current there was stronger than the river current
Which of the following conditions allows continental ice sheets to form?
heavy snowfalls in winter coupled with relatively cool summers
The "snow line" on a glacier divides the zone of ablation from the zone of accumulation is readily recognizable when viewing a glacier or seeing a photo. It separates the zone of accumulation from the zone of ablation
it is where the glacier transitions from a base that is froze to bedrock to one that is lubricated by water
The spectacular rock cliff features of Yosemite National Park in California owe their origin to
large systems of mountain glaciers during the last ice age
Rivers build natural barriers that limit the impact of small floods on surrounding areas, what are these features called?
levees
The landforms that comprise Cod Cod in Massachusetts and Long Island in NY are the result of
long shore transport
Sand moves along beaches in a way that is similar to rivers via a process called
long-shore transport
In natural, large river systems the channel belt has an elevation that typically higher or lower than the surrounding floodplain?
lower than the surrounding floodplain.
Which of the following is FALSE? Deltas
make poor farmland because they flood regularly and flooding leaches out the minerals
Which one of the following is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?
nitrogen
In the cross section above, E is __________ G (This image has been emailed to you)
older than
When light from the Sun hits earth's surface it is absorbed and released as
visible light
The two gases responsible for the largest proportion of Earth's greenhouse effect are:
water and carbon dioxide
Is nitrous oxide a greenhouse gas?
yes
In the cross section above, ____ is younger than ____.
N; L
Why is it difficult to date sedimentary rocks directly?
Sedimentary rocks are younger than their composite minerals
