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