What type of atomic bond is shown in the figure above?
A) Hybrid
B) Metallic
C) Covalent
D) Ionic
The lithosphere is composed of the ________ and the rigid part of the ________.
A) outer core; inner core
B) mantle; outer core
C) crust; lower mantle
D) crust; upper mantle
Earth’s axial tilt is currently 23.5 from vertical. Uranus’s axis of rotation is completely
horizontal. How did this occur?
A) It formed that way originally.
B) Extreme volcanism realigned the planet.
C) Plate tectonics shook the planet’s alignment.
D) Extraterrestrial bombardment knocked the planet over.
When a shell is buried in sediment and subsequently dissolved, a cavity called a
________ is left behind. When this cavity is later filled with sediments, a ________ is
created.
A) mold; gastrolith
B) trace; burrow
C) mold; cast
D) amber; carbonization
________ refers to a mineral’s intensity and quality of reflected light.
A) Cleavage
B) Luster
C) Tenacity
D) Streak
How is this chain of volcanic islands forming?
A) A tectonic plate is being subducted and partially melted, producing magma that rises
to create a volcanic chain.
B) Two tectonic plates are pulling apart, creating magma through decompression
melting.
C) A tectonic plate is moving over a mantle plume, which burns through the plate to
create a chain of volcanoes.
D) Tectonic plates are sliding past each other, generating magma, which creates a
volcano.
Which two continents did Wegener cite as having the best evidence of a close coastline
fit?
A) North America and Europe
B) South America and Africa
C) Europe and Africa
D) India and Asia
Karst features like caves and sinkholes are an example of ________ porosity.
A) primary
B) secondary
C) superior
D) restricted
If clay minerals in a sedimentary rock were buried at a depth where subsurface
temperatures exceeded 200C, which common metamorphic mineral would they
become?
A) Quartz
B) Muscovite
C) Amphibole
D) Plagioclase
The ________ is a newer scale that measures the total energy released during an
earthquake by determining the average amount of slip on the fault, the area of the fault
surface that slipped, and the strength of the faulted rock.
A) Mercalli Intensity Scale
B) Richter Scale
C) Beaufort Scale
D) Moment Magnitude Scale
Which of the following images is correct for a strike-and-dip symbol for a rock layer
trending N 45 W and dipping 23 SW?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Which type of motion will supply material to and maintain talus slopes?
A) Flow
B) Fall
C) Slide
D) Slump
How was this feature created?
A) Erosion via water
B) Scouring via ice
C) Deflation via wind
D) Deformation via stress
Which of the following rocks represents the highest grade of metamorphism?
A) Biotite schist
B) Quartzite
C) Phyllite
D) Gneiss
The volcanic islands visible here formed as a result of a mantle plume. Researchers
working on these volcanic islands have collected basalt samples for potassium-argon
dating to determine when these islands formed Volcanic Island A has been dated to 7.6
million years ago. Volcanic Island C dates back to 3.4 million years ago and is 200 km
away from A. Using the equation Rate = Distance/Time, calculate the rate of plate
motion for this region.
A) 4.2 km/million years
B) 47.6 km/million years
C) 102.3 km/million years
D) 26.3 km/million years
The ________ Orogeny is one of three events that formed the modern Appalachian
Mountains.
A) Taconic
B) Laramide
C) Tibetan
D) Cordilleran
Which of the following deposition/erosion scenarios will develop when a groin is
constructed on the beach?
A) Erosion on upcurrent and downcurrent sides
B) Erosion on upcurrent side and deposition on downcurrent side
C) Deposition on upcurrent and downcurrent sides
D) Deposition on upcurrent side and erosion on downcurrent side
Where do ultramafic rocks form?
A) At convergent boundaries
B) In volcanoes
C) At the Earth’s surface
D) At the upper mantle
Folding and deformation of organic material will produce ________ coal.
A) anthracite
B) bituminous
C) lignite
D) peat
Large wind systems require average wind speeds greater than or equal to 6 m/sec.
Which of the following regions would be best suited for wind power?
A) Georgia
B) Wisconsin
C) Florida
D) Washington
The subduction and melting of an accretionary wedge will result in a secondary magma.
The figure above is a cross-section of a dune. Based on the shape of the dune, which
way was the prevailing wind coming from?
A) Left
B) Right
C) Top
D) Bottom
Which orogeny is largely responsible for creating the modern Rocky Mountains?
A) Nevadan Orogeny
B) Taconic Orogeny
C) Laramide Orogeny
D) Alleghanian Orogeny
Match the features of a subduction zone with the manner of formation.
A) Where pyroclastic materials and sediments eroded from landmasses collect on the
opposite side of the island arc from the trench
B) Where pyroclastic materials and sediments eroded from landmasses collect between
the island arc and the trench
C) Partial melting of subducting plates create magma, which rises to the surface
D) Where the subducting slabs of oceanic lithosphere descend into the asthenosphere
1. Volcanic arc
2. Deep-ocean trench
3. Fore-arc region
4. Back-arc region
Where do rift valleys form along the oceanic ridge system?
A) Along the flanks of the continent where the slope levels out to meet the seafloor
B) Along the axis of some ridge segments where the rift is down-faulted
C) Transecting the ridge where transform boundaries exist
D) Where the seafloor plunges back into the mantle as the plate is consumed
Fault-block mountains are created due to ________ faults.
A) reverse
B) strike-slip
C) thrust
D) normal
This feature is evidence of a(n) ________ coastline.
A) divergent
B) emergent
C) submergent
D) convergent
Which volcanic type(s) can have pyroclastic ejections during eruptions?
A) Shield volcanoes
B) Cinder cones
C) Composite cones
D) Cinder and composite cones
E) Shield volcanoes, cinder cones, and composite cones
Assume that chemical pollutants have been buried at Point Y. The heavy dashed arrow
shows the path of infiltration the pollutants followed. Which other bodies of water will
be contaminated by these pollutants?
A) Both lakes
B) The major river and the left-hand lake
C) All bodies of water will be contaminated.
D) The contamination is flowing below the aquitards, so none will be contaminated.
Which of the following eruptive materials can be described as basaltic, vesicular ejecta
found around cinder cone volcanoes?
A) Tuff
B) Scoria
C) Lapilli
D) Pumice
Which of the following is not an example of foliation?
A) Parallel alignment of flattened mineral grains or pebbles
B) Compositional banding in which the separation of light and dark minerals creates a
layered appearance
C) Rock cleavage where rocks can be easily split into tabular slabs
D) Recrystallization of spherical minerals to create layers parallel to the direction of
greatest stress
Evaluate the statement, “All lahars are mudflows, but not all mudflows are lahars.”
Describe the appearance of a rift valley that has started on land. How do these valleys
form?
If coal is composed of organic materials such as vegetation, what prevents them from
decaying before they become a sedimentary rock?
Kilauea, a volcano in Hawaii, generates fluid, extensive lava flows. Mount St. Helens, a
volcano in Washington State, can produce lava flows that are short and thick, but that
can also erupt violently and generate large volumes of ash. What might these
differences indicate about each lava’s silica content and temperature?
List three common natural cements used in cementation of sedimentary rocks.
Compare and contrast the core of Mercury (40 percent of the planet’s volume) to that of
Earth (~10 percent of the planet’s volume). If Mercury is smaller, why is its core bigger
than Earth’s?
Evaluate the validity of the idea that Earth is “The Goldilocks Planet” in the solar
system. Support your position with three points.
What were the first animals to leave the sea and adapt to a terrestrial environment?
When did they do so? What physiological properties did they have that made them able
to do so?
What is the ratio of parent atoms to daughter atoms after three half-lives?
Explain how differences in molecular bonds in minerals can result in cleavage versus
fracture.
What are the three stages of desert landscape evolution? Provide examples of landforms
for each.
How do lava tubes form in basaltic lavas? How can the exterior solidify if the interior is
still fluid?
Explain how an increasing population and urban sprawl make people more vulnerable
to natural disasters. Give three reasons.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the doctrine of catastrophism was used to
describe how the Earth had been shaped quickly by fast, violent catastrophes and was
therefore very young. In the eighteenth century, James Hutton developed the principle
of uniformitarianism, which stated that the Earth was shaped by small, gradual changes
occurring over a long period of time, making the Earth much older. Which view (if
either) is correct, and why?
In the late spring and summer of 2012, the majority of the United States experienced a
severe drought, which damaged crops and affected barge traffic on major rivers. How
did the drought reduce barge traffic? How did the drought affect the factors that
determine streamflow? What are three ways that rivers lost water to the drought? (Hint:
Where did the water go?)
Explain the impact model for the formation of the moon.
If concrete is made by mixing cement with gravels and sands, is concrete a rock? Why
or why not?
What environmental challenges are associated with extracting coal?