Geology 1200 Final Exam

What is a stream terrace?

a remnant of an older floodplain that sits above the stream valley

When considering mass wasting, which of the following factors is most influential in the downslope movement of weathered particles?

gravity

Which common non-silicate mineral is used in wallboard?

gypsum

Divergent plate boundaries form_______

the mid-atlantic ridge

Quartz exhibits many different colors in nature yet maintains the same chemical formula: SiO2. How can you explain the color variations of quarts?

trace elements/elements in small quantities

When do stream terraces form?

when streams exist under alternating erosional and depositional conditions

______ was the highly influential, ancient Greek philosopher noted for his writings and teachings on natural philosophy and on the workings of the Earth.

Aristotle

This mountain range makes up the thickest part of the Earth's crust.

Himalayas

What are the basic differences between the disciplines of physical and historical geology?

Historical geology involves the study of rock strata, fossils, and geologic events, utilizing the geologic time scale as a reference; physical geology includes the study of how rocks form and of how erosion shapes the land surface.

Who coined the statement, "the present is the key to the past?"

Hutton

Deep-oceanic trenches are most abundant around the rim of the ____ ocean basin.

Pacific

The late Paleozoic supercontinent is known as __________.

Pangaea

In order, what are the Eon, Era, Period, and Epoch that describe the present?

Phanerozoic, Cenozoic,Quaternary, Holocene/Anthropocene

The most prominent feature on the ocean floor are the ________

oceanic ridges

The convective flow of liquid, metallic iron in the ______ is thought to generate Earth's magnetic filed.

outer core

In atoms, which electrons are involved in chemical bonding?

valence electrons

Diaphaneity describes how _______ passes through a mineral.

visible light

How were the Hawaiian and Aleutian Islands made?

Hawaiian: hot spot Aleutian: subduction

Which of the following statements is true regarding the aftermath of the Gros Ventre rockslide?

The rockslide debris dammed up the river and formed a lake.

When dry sediment accumulates, the angle of repose represents what property of the deposit?

The steepest angle at which those sediments can accumulate and remain stable.

Which one of the following is TRUE regarding tsunamis?

They occur in the open ocean, wavelengths are many miles or kilometers and wave heights are only a few feet.

Which of the following is a true statement about groundwater?

Water in a groundwater system is stored in subsurface pore spaces and fractures.

Transform plate boundaries form _________

a boundary normally devoid of volcanism

Which of the following best describes the cone of depression?

a dimple in the water table surface due to water pumped faster than an aquifer can be replenished

The Gros Ventre slide is evident today by __________.

a scar, runout area, and landslide debris filling the valley

What is the hardest mineral known?

diamond

What did Charles Lapworth do?

discovered the Ordovician Period using index fossils (fossils that are easily recognizable, geology widespread, and had a short geological period living on Earth)

Pull-apart rift zones are generally associated with a _______ plate boundary.

divergent

What are the lightest or least massive of the fundamental atomic particles?

electrons

Which of the following mass-wasting movements occurs when slopes are so steep that loose material cannot remain on the surface?

fall

The last minerals to crystallize on Bowen's Reaction Series result in igneous rocks with a ________ composition.

felsic

Visible quartz and potassium feldspar grains are the main constituents in a ________.

granite

What are the factors that affect the generation of magma?

heat, volatiles, pressure

Which of the following represent the largest volume of freshwater found on Earth?

ice sheets and glaciers

If a sedimentary rock is dragged into the mantle at a subduction zone and melts, what type of rock is formed when that melted rock cools into a solid?

igneous

sedimentary rocks cannot weather to ________

igneous rocks

The cone of depression __________ near a well.

increases the hydraulic gradient

The continental shelf is located ____________.

landward of the continental slope

What is used as the criteria that scientists attribute to the establishment of the Anthropocene Epoch?

layer of radioactively contaminated rock/dirt/soil and prevalence of plastics

______________ refers to the tendency for a foundation material to lose its internal cohesion and fail mechanically during earthquake shaking.

liquefaction

The _______ is the relatively rigid zone above the asthenosphere that includes the crust and upper mantle.

lithosphere

A __________ is separated from the groundwater system by the unsaturated zone.

losing stream (disconnected)

What is the dominant form of chemical bonding exhibited by minerals such as native gold, native copper and copper-rich sulfides?

metallic

The _________ today marks the location of the rift along which Africa separated from South America.

mid ocean ridge

What is the part of the Earth's interior that is liquid and heavily enriched in iron and nickel?

outer core

What element is the most abundant in the Earth's crust by weight?

oxygen

Which type of basaltic lava flow has a fairly smooth, unfragmented, ropy surface?

pahoehoe

To ensure a continuous supply of water, a well must do what?

penetrate well below the regional water table surface

A(n) ______ texture represents a single, long period of cooling crystallization.

phaneritic

A(n) ________ is a long-lived, stationary magma source deep in the mantle, well below the base of the lithosphere.

plume

Which of the following best describes volcanism in the Cascade Range, northwestern United States?

related to plate subduction

Which one of the following shows the correct order (left to right) of decreasing magma viscosity?

rhyolite, andesite, basalt

Heavy rainfall caused the clay to lubricate and the sandstone to become __________.

saturated and heavy

What type of rock comprises most of the exposed surface of Earth (roughly 75%)?

sedimentary

_______ rocks always originate at the surface of the solid Earth.

sedimentary

Most of our knowledge about Earth's interior comes from ________

seismic waves

Which of the following most accurately describes the volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands?

shield volcanoes fed by a long-lived hot spot below the Pacific lithospheric plate

Deep ocean trenches are surficial evidence for _________.

sinking of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle at a subduction zone

When sediment accumulates, the angle of repose can be increased by changing which of the following conditions?

slight addition of water to the sediment

The composition of the core of the Earth is thought to be ___________

solid iron-nickel alloy

What physical property denotes the color of a powdered mineral?

streak

The water table __________.

surface is a subdued version of the surface topography

Overall, this type of seismic wave is the most destructive.

surface wave

On a typical seismogram, __________ will show the highest amplitudes.

surface waves

The sizes, shapes, and arrangements of mineral grains in an igneous rock are known as _______

texture

Which of the following best describes Shiprock, a famous volcanic feature in New Mexico?

the eroded remains of a volcanic pipe and radiating dikes

Imagine a valley containing four stream terraces. Where would the youngest stream terrace be found?

the lowest terrace

When do streams erode laterally?

when downcutting is occurring in easy-to-erode sediment or rock

In the __________, groundwater fills the pore space.

zone of saturation

Which of the following responses are examples of how water can promote mass wasting?

-Waves and streams can undercut banks and cliffs, causing them to fail. -Water can saturate sediment, reducing the integrity of the slope and allowing it to move. -When water is added to weathered particles, the mass of the sediment is increased, which can cause slope instability.

A typical rate of seafloor spreading in the Atlantic Ocean is ______.

2 centimeters per year

The currently accepted age of the Earth is _______ years.

4.6 billion

In which situation does the cone of depression need to be taken into account?

A well for industrial purposes is drilled proximal to a smaller, domestic well.

In the early part of the twentieth century, ______ argued forcefully for continental drift.

Alfred Wegener

Which of the following is a reason the Gros Ventre rockslide took place?

Because the river eroded material at the valley base, there was no support of the material upslope.

__________, a popular natural philosophy of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, was based on a firm belief in a very short geologic history of Earth.

Catastophism

When water is pumped from a well, drawdown occurs. Which of the following is a true statement regarding drawdown?

Drawdown decreases with increasing distance from the well.

Which one of the following is an important fundamental assumption underlying the plate tectonic theory?

Earth's diameter has been essentially constant over time.

The temperature below which magnetic material can retain a permanent magnetization is called the __________.

curie point

________ was never proposed as evidence supporting the existence of Pangaea.

Islands of Precambrian rocks along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Which one of the following statements concerning mechanical weathering is NOT true?

It involves a major change in the mineral composition of the weathered material.

How many stream terraces can exist along a single valley?

No limit exists. Stream terraces will keep forming as long as lateral erosion and downcutting continue.

Are stream terraces depositional or erosional landforms?

Stream terraces can be either depositional or erosional.

The 1991 Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines caused brilliantly colored sunrises and sunsets to be seen for the next few years. What caused this phenomenon?

Sulfur dioxide and other erupted gases formed aerosols in the stratosphere.

Which of the following best describes the fundamental concept of superposition?

any sedimentary deposit accumulates on older rock or sediment layers

Convergent plate boundaries form _________

arcs of stratovolcanoes and deep-ocean trenches

Changing the composition of magma by incorporating surrounding host rock is known as ___________

assimilation

What is the term used of the sum of the protons and neutrons in an atom?

atomic mass

Kilauea and Mauna Loa are __________

basaltic shield volcanoes

Rocks that have been weathered often break apart into smaller fragments called ______?

clasts

What mineral group forms by the breakdown and weathering of rock-forming silicate minerals and are important constituents of soils?

clay

A __________ acted as a sliding surface across which material moved downhill during the Gros Ventre Slide.

clay layer

The physical property denoting a mineral's tendency to crack along parallel, planar surfaces is known as what?

cleavage

A(n) _______ system is one in which energy moves freely in and out,but no matter enters or leaves the system.

closed

In sedimentary rocks lithification includes _________.

compaction and cementation

Most glasses and some minerals exhibit a type of fracture characterized by nested and curved, cracked surfaces. What term describes this property?

conchoidal

Describe how the Appalachian Mountains were created.

continental-continental convergent plate boundary

This type of bonding occurs between the silicon and oxygen in quartz and is responsible for quartz's resistance to being scratched.

covalent

The ________ is the thinnest layer of the Earth.

crust

The thin, outer layer of Earth, from 7 to 40 km in thickness, is called the _______.

crust