Geology 102L Semester Quiz questions

The release of oxygen by green plants during photosynthesis is an example of a

Flux involving the biosphere and atmosphere

Sinkholes typically have steep-walled sides because

Gravity causes the roof of an area hollowed by solution to collapse

Classy and porous textures are characteristic of

Igneous rocks

Processes in the rock cycle can change

Igneous rocks into sedimentary Metamorphic into sedimentary Sedimentary into different sedimentary rocks All the above

The asthenosphere is

Layer of low rigidity that separates the rigid lithosphere from the rigid mantle

Igneous rock forms by

Solidification of magma at the surface or within the Earth

Volcanic arcs form above subduction zones During chemical weathering _______

The mineralogy of previously existing rock changes

During the transmission of a S-wave, particles in a rock _____ as the energy passes through the rock.

Vibrate perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling

Liquefaction occurs during earthquakes when

Vibration causes water to coat sediment grains, greatly lessening friction

Volcanic arcs form above subduction zones

Wherever oceanic lithosphere is subducted

A hypothesis is

A tentative explanation for a natual phenomenon or Earth material.

Geologists classify minerals into groups like silicates based on their

Chemical composition

Properties required for a material to be an aquifer include

High porosity and high permeability

In identifying a rock, geologist must consider its

Mineral content and texture

Porphyroblasts are

Minerals added to a metamorphic rock after metasomatism

When chemical bonds in a mineral are stronger in some directions than in others, the result is _______.

Cleavage

_____ occurs at ocean ridges, whereas _____ occurs at subduction zones.

Decompression; flux melting

Mohs hardness scale describes the relative hardness of ten materials, not their absolute hardness. This means that

Diamond is hard than talc, but how much harder is not indicated.

Grain size typically increases with metamorphic intensity in all except

Dynamic metamorphism

The ____ of a stream are where it begins, and its _____ is where it flows into another body of water.

Headwaters; mouth

The major source of energy to melt rock within the Earth and to cause earthquakes is

Heat energy generated inside the Earth

The magnitude of an earthquake is a measure of

How much energy is released during the fault that produced the earthquake

Ever mineral has preferred crystal shape (habit), but most mineral grains do not display that shape because

Many grains interfere with one another when they grow

Well-rounded grains in a clastic sedimentary rock indicate

Numerous collisions between particles during extensive transportation

Collision of two continental plates would cause

Regional metamorphism

Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks because ______

Sedimentary rocks form in the same environment where the plants and animals lived and died

The difference between sills and dikes is that

Sills are parallel to layering in surrounding rocks while dikes cut across the layering

The texture of a rock includes the ______ of its constituent grains.

Size, shape, and orientation

If the water in an area drops below the level of stream channels

Stream levels will drop as water leaks from the streams into the ground

Dendritic, trellis and rectangular drainage patterns are the result of the

Structure and erodibility of the rocks underlying the region

The term for metamorphic grade refers to

The degree to which it has changed from its original state

The eastern edge of the North American continent is

The edge of the continental shelf because that is where continental crust ends and oceanic crust begins

The presence of tropical plants and animals hundreds of millions of years old near the North Pole suggests that

The plate on which those organisms are found has moved from a different climate zone

The epicenter of an earthquake is

The point at the earth's surface closest to where the rock broke

The principle of uniformitarianism states that

The present is the key to the past.

A travel-time curve shows graphically

The velocities of the different kinds of seismic waves

The agents that cause metamorphism include all except

Time

The only type of plate boundary at which there is no vertical transfer material between the lithosphere and asthenosphere is a

Transform fault