Match the tectonic boundary with the type of stress affecting it.
1. Convergent boundary
2. Divergent boundary
3. Transform boundary
A) Shear
B) Compression
C) Tension
Which of the following regions is not one of the top coal-producing states in the United
States?
A) Idaho
B) Pennsylvania
C) Wyoming
D) West Virginia
Which tectonic boundary is responsible for the most powerful and destructive
earthquakes recorded?
A) Transform
B) Divergent
C) Convergent
Which decade (so far) has seen the most significant total increase in temperature so far?
A) 1960s
B) 1980s
C) 2000s
D) 2010s
What caused our solar nebula to contract and spin, eventually creating the planets?
A) Gravitational interactions between particles
B) Gravitational attraction from black holes
C) Nuclear fusion joining atomic particles
D) Solar winds from nearby stars
What two pieces of information would researchers need to have in order to calculate the
rate of plate motion for seafloor spreading?
A) Age of the continent and depth of the water
B) Distance from the rift and age of seafloor sample
C) Age of the seafloor sample and age of the continent
D) Type of rock and distance from the rift
Which of the following is a good soil conservation method to reduce the loss of topsoil
on gentle slopes that are farmed?
A) Planting crops parallel to the contours of the slope.
B) Leaving crop residues (i.e., stalks) in place in the field.
C) Planting grass in natural drainageways on the slope.
D) All of these choices are good for soil conservation.
What combination of factors was responsible for the disaster west of Yellowstone
National Park on August 17, 1959?
A) Rock falls filled a lake with debris until the water overtopped the dam and eroded
through the concrete.
B) Water migrating along foliation layers in the metamorphic rock destabilized a dam,
which collapsed and flooded the valley.
C) A severe earthquake triggered a slide that blocked a river and flooded a campground.
D) Drainage from the reservoir generated a lahar, which destroyed small towns
downstream.
What is a mineral phase change?
A) A mineral melts from a solid state to a liquid state.
B) The exterior of a mineral weathers and changes color.
C) A mineral changes density because of the addition of water.
D) Atoms in a mineral are rearranged into a denser and more stable structure.
Faults that exhibit both dip-slip and strike-slip movement are called ________ faults.
A) thrust
B) horst
C) normal
D) oblique-slip
Which style of metamorphism will be generated by a magma pluton?
A) Contact
B) Subduction zone
C) Burial
D) Regional
Which tectonic boundary is associated with megathrust faults?
A) Transform
B) Divergent
C) Convergent
As of 2015, what was the strongest earthquake on record, and when did it occur?
A) 1960 Chilean Earthquake
B) 1964 Good Friday Earthquake (Alaska)
C) 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake (California)
D) 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake (Sumatra)
Which type of coal is typically found associated with tight, highly folded strata?
A) Bituminous
B) Lignite
C) Peat
D) Anthracite
Which set of characteristics would best fit a geologically recent fault block mountain
uplift?
A) Large, broad bajadas with many inselbergs
B) Small playas and large alluvial fans
C) Flat upland surface, steep slopes, and small alluvial fans
D) Extensive playas ringed by large sand dunes
Welded tuff consists of ash surrounding large, jagged, irregularly-shaped pieces of
material. What is this material and where does it come from?
A) Mineral crystals that formed during cooling
B) Rock fragments that erupted from the volcano
C) Gas pockets from volatiles in the lava
D) Slivers of volcanic glass from the lava
The world’s driest desert is the Atacama Desert in South America.
Which of the following rocks will be most buoyant on the Earth’s mantle?
Rock A: Density 1.4 g/cm3
Rock B: Density 5.6 g/cm3
Rock C: Density 5.1 g/cm3
Rock D: Density 2.7 g/cm3
A) Rock A
B) Rock B
C) Rock C
D) Rock D
Which mineral group makes up most igneous rocks?
A) Carbonates
B) Sulfides
C) Silicates
D) Halides
Which of the following Earth materials can be used to make interpretations about the
nature and composition of the interior of the Earth?
A) Meteorites
B) Diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes
C) Slivers of crustal and mantle rocks exposed at the surface
D) Meteorites, kimberlite pipes, and slivers of crustal and mantle rocks
E) Groundwater and vapors in geothermal systems
Which of the following makes it possible for oceanic crust created at divergent
boundaries to be carried to the sites of destruction at convergent boundaries?
A) Transform boundaries that accommodate plate motion
B) Seawater seeping into plate fractures to lubricate the rocks
C) Magma plutons weighing the crust down at convergent boundaries, pulling the slab
D) Alignment of magnetic fields in iron particles
This seismic tomographic slice of Earth indicates the variations in S-wave speeds
through the interior. Through which region will S waves move the fastest?
A) Pacific Ocean
B) Farallon plate
C) Mid-Atlantic Ridge
D) Africa
What degree of foliation is exhibited by the metamorphic rock in the image above?
A) Schistosity
B) Nonfoliation
C) Gneissic banding
D) Slaty cleavage
What kind of lake was Lake Agassiz in this image?
A) Kettle lake
B) Proglacial lake
C) Pluvial lake
D) Tarn
What geologic process is responsible for warming the water at nonvolcanic locations
such as Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, and Warm Springs, Georgia?
A) Radioactive minerals near the surface
B) Friction from moving rocks
C) Abnormal volumes of rain
D) Normal geothermal gradient as groundwater circulates at depth
What sediment particle size(s) make up shale?
A) Gravel
B) Sand and silt
C) Silt
D) Silt and clay
What is the geologic definition of texture?
A) How the sample feels to the touch
B) The mineral content of the sample
C) The percentage of silica in a sample
D) Size, shape, and arrangement of mineral grains in the sample
The volcanic islands visible here formed as a result of a mantle plume. Assuming the
left side of the figure is west and the right side east, in which direction is the tectonic
plate is moving?
A) North
B) South
C) East
D) West
What kind of stream channel is visible here?
A) Laminar channel
B) Braided channel
C) Meandering channel
D) Overflow channel
Which factor(s) will most influence the depth of deep-ocean trenches?
A) Compressive force
B) Rate of convection
C) Density and composition of the mantle beneath
D) Temperature and density of the plate
What physical property of continents makes them difficult to subduct?
A) Age
B) Temperature
C) Low density
D) Thickness
Because of an extreme ________, surface temperatures on Venus average more than
450C.
A) friction
B) impact
C) greenhouse effect
D) volcanic eruption