Natural Disasters Final Exam
Earth is about __________ years old. A) 4.5 billion B) 3,500 million C) 13.5 billion D) 30,000 thousand E)50 million
A) 4.5 billion
In 2015 the human population of the world was about __________. A) 7.3 billion B) 945 million C) 4.6 billion D) 550 million E)14.8 billion
A) 7.3 billion
Based on data for the period from 1970 to 2013, __________ experienced the greatest loss of life from natural disasters. A) Asia B) Africa C) South America D) Europe E)North America
A) Asia
13)Seismic waves that travel only near Earth's surface are of two main types:_________ waves. A) Love and Rayleigh B) P and Love C) P and Rayleigh D) S and Love E)P and S
A) Love and Rayleigh
The _____ wave travels fastest and moves in a push-pull fashion of alternating pulses of compression (push) and extension (pull). A) P B) Rayleigh C) Love D) S
A) P wave
All of the continents were once combined into a single super continent called ________________. A) Pangaea B) Panthalassa C) Gondwanaland D) Laurasia E)Tethys
A) Pangaea
A shield volcano has a great___________. A) width compared to its height B) amount of pumice C) proportion of pyroclastic material,compared with lava flows D) height compared to its width
A) Width compared to its height
Three basic classes of collisions include all but which of the following? A) Continental plate versus mantle plate B) Continental plate versus continental plate C) Oceanic plate versus continent-bearing plate D) Oceanic plate versus oceanic plate
A) continental plate versus mantle plate
The best time for an earthquake to occur to minimize loss of life is __________. A) during the night when most people are home and asleep B) in the middle of the day when people are in school or working C) around noon when people in the kitchen or out to lunch D) during rush hour when people are in their cars and trucks
A) during the night when most people are home and asleep
The point on Earth's surface directly above the point where the fault first ruptures is called the ____________. A) epicenter B) ethnocenter C) depocenter D) hypocenter
A) epicenter
When rock heats and liquefies into magma its volume _____________. A) expands, and neighboring brittle rock must fracture and move out of the way B) does not change C) decreases and neighboring brittle rock collapses to make up for the loss of volume D) decreases due to sublimation
A) expands, and neighboring brittle rock must fracture and move out of the way
Faults on which the dominant forces are extensional are recognized by the separation of the pulled-apart rock layers in a zone of omission; these are__________. A) normal faults B) reverse faults C) strike-slip faults D) thrust faults E)transform faults
A) normal faults
The growth rate of the world population equals __________. A) the birthrate minus the death rate B) the death rate minus the birthrate C) the birthrate plus the death rate D) None of these choices are correct.
A) the birthrate minus the death rate
A rock subjected to higher temperatures would be expected to behave__________. A) in a less ductile manner B) in a more brittle manner C) by being more resistant to stress D) in a more ductile manner
D) in a more ductile manner
When compared to California, seismic energy in the eastern U.S. is transmitted__________. A) less effectively in the older, more solid rocks B) more effectively in the younger,more solid rocks C) less effectively because the earthquakes are smaller D) more effectively in the older, more solid rocks E)less effectively in the younger,more solid rocks
D) more effectively in the older, more solid rocks
Earthquakes in Hawaii are mostly related to ________________. A) strike-slip faulting along the Hawaiian Islands transform fault B) subduction along the Pacific Plate margin C) the Emperor Seamounts colliding D) movement of volcanic magma beneath the ground E)lava flows erupting from the volcanic craters
D) movement of volcanic magma beneath the ground
If basaltic lava reaches the sea or a lake,it cools rapidly into ____________ lava. A) sheet B) bed C) blanket D) pillow
D) pillow
__________ are the down-dropped areas in the middle of spreading-center domes that are being pulled apart. A) Gap holes B) Escape basins C) Junctions D) Rift valleys E) Horsts
D) rift valleys
Our solar system formed __________. A) through collisions of matter within a rotating cloud of gas, ice, dust,and other solid debris B)just after the Big Bang when two short-lived solar systems collided C) when the Milky Way's black hole expelled Hawking radiation to our current location D) as the Sun's gravity trapped planets from other solar systems as it passed by them E)during the Big Bang as matter started to form as the temperature of the universe cooled
A) through collisions of matter within a rotating cloud of gas, ice, dust,and other solid debris
Over _________ of volcanism is associated with the edges of tectonic plates. A) 70% B) 90% C) 50% D) 80% E)60%
B) 90%
Which state accounts for the greatest percentage of all U.S. earthquakes of magnitude 3.5 and above? A) California B) Alaska C) Hawaii D) Nevada E)Washington
B) Alaska
As the global human population increases, the death toll from natural disasters is expected to __________. A) stay about equal to the death total in 2014 B) increase C) stay about equal to the death total in 2000 D) decrease to nearly zero E)decrease
B) increase
When oceanic lithosphere collides with another plate, the ________ in the process of subduction. A) plates both disappear downward B) older, colder plate turns downward beneath the younger, warmer plate C) younger, warmer plate turns downward beneath the older, colder plate D) plates pile up, forming mid-ocean ridges
B) older, colder plate turns downward beneath the younger, warmer plate
Earthquakes are most commonly caused by ______________. A) explosions of nuclear bombs B) sudden earth movements along faults C) undersea landslides D) meteorite impacts E)volcanic activity
B) sudden earth movements along faults
First-order analysis of a seismogram record allows seismologists to do all but which of the following? A) to locate the epicenter and hypocenter B) to develop a Modified Mercalli Intensity map C) to identify the different kinds of seismic waves generated by the fault movement D) to estimate the amount of energy released (magnitude)
B) to develop a Modified Mercalli Intensity map
The greatest earthquakes in the world occur _____________. A) where plates slide past each other B) where plates collide with each other C) where plates separate from one another D) in the interiors of individual plates
B) where plates collide with each other
Most of the 40 deadliest disasters between 1970 and 2013 occurred in a belt running from China and Bangladesh through India and Iran to Turkey. This area was particularly vulnerable because__________. A) lightning producing thunderstorms are more common in these regions B) fires are more common in these regions C) it has a high population density D) most of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur here E)precipitation rates are very high in this region, producing frequent,large, and sudden floods
C) it has a high population density
The dominant type of faulting in the Great Basin region is ______________. A) thrust faulting B) transform faulting C) normal faulting D) strike-slip faulting E)reverse faulting
C) normal faulting
Silicon and oxygen link up to form the silicon-oxygen ______________. A) dihedron B) hexahedron C) tetrahedron D) dodecahedron E)trihedron
C) tetrahedron
The greatest insurance dollar losses related to natural disasters between 1970 and 2013 occurred in __________. A) Mexico B) India C) the United States D) China E)Pakistan
C) the United States
Which of the following correctly lists the order the layers from the surface of Earth toward the center? A) Asthenosphere, lithosphere,mesosphere, and the core B) Mantle, crust, core, and the asthenosphere C) Mesosphere, Lithosphere,asthenosphere, and the core D) Lithosphere, asthenosphere,mesosphere, and the core E)Asthenosphere, lithosphere,hydrosphere, and the core
D) Lithosphere, asthenosphere,mesosphere, and the core
The most famous of all volcanoes probably is Vesuvius, and the most famous of its eruptions are those of 79ce, which buried the cities of____________. A) Florence and Pisa B) Petra and Florence C) Naples and Rome D) Pompeii and Herculaneum E)Naples and Milano
D) Pompeii and Herculaneum
__________ waves travel only through solids; on reaching liquid or gas, the wave energy is reflected back into rock or is converted to another form. A) Q B) P C) Rossby D) S
D) S waves
Spreading centers are an ideal location for volcanism because ______________. A) the oceanic plates pull apart causing hot asthenosphere rock to rise and undergo decompression melting to form magma that continues to rise B) they sit above the high-temperature asthenosphere C) the asthenosphere rock has low percentages of SiO2 D) All of these choices are correct
D) all of these choices are correct
The viscosity of magma is lowered by__________. A) increasing temperature B) decreasing SiO2 content C) decreasing crystal content D) All of these choices are correct.
D) all of these choices are correct
The Charleston, South Carolina,earthquake of 1886 occurred along a seismic belt that may be related to_________________. A) remnants of the African Plate attached to North America B) an ancient subduction zone beneath the Appalachian Mountains C) tectonic stresses transmitted across the North American continent from California D) an adjacent oceanic fracture zone on the Atlantic seafloor E)canal building prior to the Civil War
D) an adjacent oceanic fracture zone on the Atlantic seafloor
The return period of a disaster is the average number of years __________. A) between events of the same type,regardless of size B) required to exponentially decay to zero C) before survivors return to their homes D) between same-sized events E)before the economy returns to pre-disaster levels
D) between same-sized events
The rapid increase in human population during the past several centuries is an example of __________ growth. A) algebraic B) parabolic C) linear D) exponential E)logarithmic
D) exponential
The seismic-gap method of earthquake forecasting works by identifying__________. A) where along a fault the largest amount of vertical displacement has occurred B) where along a fault the largest amount of horizontal displacement has occurred C) where hypocenters and epicenters are separated by the smallest vertical distance D) segments along a fault that not moved for the longest amount of time E)triple junctions and predicting where rift valleys will form in pull-apart gaps
D) segments along a fault that have not moved for the longest amount of time
Earth's inner core is a 2,450-km diameter _________ mass with temperatures up to 4,300°C (7,770°F). A) liquid B) gaseous C) plasma-like D) solid
D) solid
The crustal thickness in the Great Basin is__________ than mid-continental North American crust. A) thinner B) thicker C) thinner than oceanic crust and thinner D) thicker than oceanic crust and thinner E)thicker than oceanic crust and thicker
D) thicker than oceanic crust and thinner
________ faults are commonly found at areas of plate convergence where subduction or continental collision occurs. A) Normal B) Strike-slip C) Transform D) Reverse
D) transform
The blanket of sediment on the sea floor is ___________ toward the ocean margins. A) thick at the volcanic ridges and thickens more B) very thick at the volcanic ridges and thins C) very thin at the volcanic ridges and is missing D) very thin at the volcanic ridges and thickens
D) very thin at the volcanic ridges and thickens
Liquefaction occurs when seismic waves cause __________. A) waves to form and crash into low-lying areas nearby and across ocean basins B) rocks to break apart and act more like fluids than solids C) pipes in buildings to burst and weaken the foundations in the resulting flooding D) water to be injected into sediment causing the grains to lose cohesion and behave like a fluid
D) water to be injected into sediment causing the grains to lose cohesion and behave like a fluid
Which of the following states has the lowest earthquake risk? A) Massachusetts B) South Carolina C) Arkansas D)Nevada E)Florida
E) Florida
Several recent earthquakes in Washington's Puget Sound region were caused by movement of the subducting ______________ Plate. A) North American B) Pacific C) Cocos D) Nazca E)Juan de Fuca
E) Juan de Fuca
The Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee__________________. A) are compressional basins and the result of strike-slip motion B) are pull-apart basins and the result of subduction C) are compressional basins and are the result of subduction D) are pull-apart basins over hot spots E)are pull-apart basins and the result of strike-slip motion
E) are pull-apart basins and the result of strike-slip motion
The Great Basin region between the eastern Sierra Nevada in California and the Wasatch Mountains in Utah______________________ in response to plate-tectonic forces. A) is now a subduction zone B) has been compressed in a north-south direction C) has expanded in a north-south direction D) has been compressed in an east-west direction E) has expanded in an east-west direction
E) has expanded in an east-west direction
The Richter scale is set up so that for every _______ increase in the amplitude of the recorded seismic wave, the Richter magnitude increases one number,e.g., from 4 to 5. A) eight-fold B) hundred-fold C) four-fold D) two-fold E)ten-fold
E) ten-fold
The hot-spot-melting-through-lithosphere process forms lines of extinct volcanoes on the ocean floor, from youngest to oldest, __________. A) in a direction pointing toward the Sun B) pointing in the opposite direction of plate movement C) pointing at 90 degrees to the direction of plate movement D) pointing in the direction of plate movement E)with random ages along the lines
E) with random ages along the lines