When going from a 5 to a 6 on the Richter Scale, what is the increase in amplitude of
seismic waves?
A) 1 time
B) 2 times
C) 10 times
D) 32 times
Which mineral formation process would have been responsible for creating a mineral
deposit such as this?
A) Biological secretions of calcium carbonate
B) Mineral precipitation from slowly moving groundwater
C) Mineral precipitation from evaporating water
D) Crystallization from molten material
What kinds of rocks were most commonly retrieved from the lunar highlands?
A) Flood basalts
B) Granite
C) Anorthosite
D) Frozen hydrogen
One hypothesis for the formation of life suggests that amino acids were carried
ready-made to Earth by ________.
A) solar radiation
B) prokaryotes
C) carbonaceous chondrites
D) lightning
The earliest fossil evidence of life is in the form of ________.
A) cyanobacteria
B) trilobites
C) Tully Monsters
D) brachiopods
Most dry lands exist between ________ degrees latitude on either side of the equator.
A) 50 and 60
B) 35 and 40
C) 20 and 30
D) 0 and 10
Which of the following best describes the process that resulted in the Valles Marineris
on Mars?
A) Stream erosion carved a deep central valley.
B) A comet skimmed across the surface of the planet.
C) Down-faulting created grabenlike valleys.
D) A violent volcanic eruption blasted out a long caldera.
A(n) ________ forms when sediments from the ocean floor and pieces of oceanic crust
are scraped from a subducting oceanic plate and adhere to an overriding tectonic plate.
A) accretionary wedge
B) deep-sea fan
C) active tectonic margin
D) submarine canyon
Examine the groundwater flow patterns around Point X. Into which bodies of water (if
any) will water that infiltrates at Point X eventually discharge?
A) Stream
B) Left-hand lake
C) Right-hand lake
D) Major river
Which of the following is a metamorphic facies?
A) Kaolinite
B) Staurolite
C) Eclogite
D) Quartzite
A true desert is defined by a lack of what substance?
A) Oxygen
B) Plant life
C) Rocks
D) Water
Match the events leading up to the formation of the early Earth in order.
1. First
2. Second
3. Third
4. Fourth
A) Formation of proto-planets.
B) Formation of solar nebula.
C) Contraction of interstellar materials.
D) Nuclear fission lights up Sun.
What kind of geologic structure is present?
A) Syncline
B) Basin
C) Anticline
D) Dome
The ________ is a hotter, weaker region in the mantle that lies below the lithosphere
and responds to forces by flowing.
A) asthenosphere
B) outer core
C) inner core
D) atmosphere
E) crust
Which style of convergent boundary will characterize an Andean-type mountain
building event?
A) Where oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath oceanic lithosphere
B) Where continental lithosphere subducts beneath continental lithosphere
C) Where oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath continental lithosphere
D) Where continental lithosphere subducts beneath oceanic lithosphere
Match the diagram of the fold with the correct name.
A) Anticline
B) Syncline
C) Monocline
1.
2.
3.
What is the name the physical feature in this diagram, marked with an arrow?
A) Submarine canyon
B) Deep-ocean basins
C) Abyssal plains
D) Rift valley
The volcanic islands visible here formed as a result of a mantle plume. Which volcanic
island is still forming?
A) Volcano A
B) Volcano B
C) Volcano C
What is the minimum velocity needed for a 0.8 mm sand particle transition from a state
of deposition to transportation?
A) 5 cm/sec
B) 1 cm/sec
C) 15 cm/sec
D) 23 cm/sec
Which of the following beds would be easiest for a stream to erode?
A) Lined with gravel and cobbles
B) Bedrock
C) Lined with sand and gravel
D) Lined with silt
Identify the mass-wasting event in this image.
A) Mudflow
B) Creep
C) Solifluction
D) Rockslide
Which of the following groups contains all three major topographic provinces
oceanographers use to define the seafloor?
A) Continental margins, mid-ocean ridges, and deep-ocean basins
B) Mid-ocean ridges, continental shelves, and divergent boundaries
C) Submarine trenches, mid-ocean ridges, and turbidity currents
D) Deep-ocean basins, active margins, and passive margins
How will the water table respond when there is a drought?
A) Water table will rise.
B) Water table will fall.
C) Water table will remain the same.
Which of the following is not one of the three primary ways minerals can form?
A) Hybridization
B) Precipitation
C) Crystallization of molten material
D) Biological Processes
The following choices contain densities of various materials. Based on this data, which
will yield the fastest seismic velocity?
A) 2.7 g/cm3
B) 3.0 g/cm3
C) 3.3 g/cm3
D) 5.6 g/cm3
Which is the most abundant chemical sedimentary rock?
A) Chert
B) Dolomite
C) Rock Gypsum
D) Limestone
Which of the following best describes the age relationship of the layers in an anticline?
A) Oldest on the outside of the fold, youngest on the inside
B) Oldest on the inside of the fold, youngest on the outside
C) Oldest materials thrust up on top of younger layers
D) Horizontal bedding with the youngest layers on the top
What kind of volcano is this?
A) Shield volcano
B) Composite cone
C) Cinder cone
Why will an iron-rich olivine have a higher density than a magnesium-rich olivine?
A) More magnesium is needed to equal the same atomic charge as iron.
B) Iron-rich olivine has smaller crystals, so more of them will fit into the same area.
C) Magnesium-rich olivine has more silicon, which is less dense.
D) Iron has a greater atomic mass than magnesium and therefore is heavier.
Central Wisconsin and south-central Minnesota both have regions with the potential for
landslides. However, neither of these locations is located in mountainous areas. Why
might landslides occur in these specific regions?
A) Agriculture has destabilized the landscape
B) Permafrost in the region is thawing
C) These locations have steep bluffs along rivers
D) The landscape has experienced tectonic uplift
The ground shaking produced by large earthquakes is not only ________, but takes a
________ time than shaking produced by slippage along small fault segments.
A) stronger; longer
B) stronger; shorter
C) weaker; longer
D) weaker; shorter
What impact crater feature is highlighted with the arrows in this image?
A) Central peak
B) Ejecta
C) Crater ray
D) Secondary crater chain
When the entire length of a fault ruptures during a single seismic event, the slip will
propagate at a speed of ________ kilometers per second.
A) 10-12
B) 8-9
C) 5
D) 2-4
A ________ is a small, circular lake that occupies a cirque basin.
A) drift
B) marsh
C) tarn
D) fenster
Provide three examples of planetesimals.
Which two aspects of continental drift were most objectionable to scientists of the early
twentieth century? Why?
Magma can form up to 250 km deep in the Earth. If magma forms at such a depth, how
can magma at that depth rise through the mantle and the crust toward the surface?
The Dust Bowl disaster of the 1930s was one of the greatest ecological and agricultural
disasters in American history, resulting in thousands of deaths and a historic mass
migration. The causes of the Dust Bowl, however, were both natural and man-made.
Discuss the causes of the Dust Bowl and rate their severity. In your opinion, which do
you think were the most powerful and did the most damage to the soil?
What is the difference between a flowing artesian well and a nonflowing artesian well?
Why is erosion by wind more effective in an arid region than in a humid region?
Oceanic Ridge A has slow spreading rates of 2-5 cm/yr. Oceanic Ridge B has
intermediate spreading rates of 6-9 cm/yr. Oceanic Ridge C has fast spreading rates of
10-11 cm/yr. Compare and contrast the topography and structure that would be present
at all three spreading centers.
How will joints in rock aid chemical weathering?
Using the order of crystallization on the Bowen’s reaction Series, rate the resistance of
silicate minerals to chemical weathering. In other words, which mineral(s) weather first
and why? And last?
Alfred Wegener provided several pieces of evidence supporting the idea that the planet’s
continents were once joined in a single landmass. List three of them.
Lava lamps are commonly used to illustrate how convection cells in the mantle convey
heat from the core to the exterior of the Earth. Explain how convection works, using a
lava lamp as a proxy for the Earth.
Express the definition of the Earth system in your own words. What spheres or
subsystems are involved?
How might climate change predictions of sea level in the next century affect the
severity of future tsunamis?
Explain why volcanic bombs take on a streamlined shape when they are flung through
the air.
What is a scientific theory? Explain how a scientific theory differs from the way most
nonscientists use the word theory in everyday language.
Which what are the three dominant soil orders of Northern Africa?
Compare and contrast earthflows and debris flows.
How can cold coastal currents along the west coasts of continents generate subtropical
deserts?
Explain how the feature in this image formed.
What process is responsible for the extreme volcanic activity on Io?