Radio telescopes are able to detect very short wave radiation emitted by celestial
objects.
Halite (sodium chloride) is the most abundant salt found in seawater.
Solifluction occurs during the warmer summer months.
The epicenter of an earthquake is on the surface of the Earth directly above the focus.
We can tell a lot about the internal processes in the earth by looking at the exterior of
the earth.
There is geologic evidence that the earth has experienced many episodes of mountain
building and erosion.
The shoreline and the coastline are defined as the same thing.
Evaporites have a biochemical origin.
Electrical attractions between atoms lower the total energy of the bonded atoms and
make them more stable.
The open ocean, regardless of depth, where animals swim or float freely is called the
abyssal zone.
Stream discharge is defined as the quantity of water flowing past a specific channel
location per unit time.
Clouds form because rising air cools as it comes in contact with colder air aloft.
The planets maintain elliptical orbits around the Sun.
The dry-summer subtropical climate is the only humid climate that has a strong winter
rainfall maximum.
Hurricanes most often develop in late summer.
The Sun’s energy results from the conversion of hydrogen nuclei into helium nuclei.
The dominant rock type erupted by submarine volcanoes at spreading ridges is andesite.
Most caves and caverns originate by solution of limestone.
Galileo built the first known telescope.
The tundra climate is a treeless climate found almost exclusively in the Southern
Hemisphere.
Diamond and quartz are both minerals composed of a single element.
Air masses that form in the Gulf of Mexico are classified as mT.
The earth’s core is entirely molten iron and convection of this molten mass generates
the earth’s magnetic field.
Stable air will not produce clouds.
Lithosphere is destroyed at transform plate boundaries.
Artes, horns, and U-shaped valleys are erosional features carved from bedrock by
glaciers.
Solifluction is an important mass wasting process in areas of permafrost.
A scientific theory is a tentative or untested explanation that is proposed to explain
scientific observations.
All objects, regardless of temperature, radiate energy.
A minerals luster is produced by its ability to transmit light. Opaque minerals always
have a metallic luster because they do not transmit any light.
Tycho Brahe discovered the three laws of planetary motion.
Gradients usually decrease downstream in a major river system.
The heaviest element produced by nuclear fusion in a young star is ________.
A) nickel
B) oxygen
C) helium
D) iron
E) sodium
Mammals became the dominant land animals during the ________ era.
A) Pleistocene
B) Cenozoic
C) Cretaceous
D) Mesozoic
E) Paleozoic
Density is an important property of ocean water because ________.
A) it determines the chemistry of the water
B) it determines the horizontal position of the water
C) it determines the temperature of the water
D) it determines the vertical position of the water
E) it only changes when there is a major change in water chemistry
Which of the following is not a fundamental particle found in atoms?
A) neutron
B) selectron
C) electron
D) protons
At the start of the Mesozoic, the climate was ________.
A) humid
B) dry
C) very cold
D) very warm
E) rapidly changing
Micro-organisms called foraminifera have tiny coiled shells with chambers, not unlike
the chambering nautilus but much smaller. In modern oceans the coiling direction of
foraminifera shells is correlated to temperature. Using coiling direction from
foraminifera fossils is an example of ________.
A) using the fossil as a paleo-depth indicator because water temperature varies with
depth
B) using the fossil’s coiling direction is a proxy for climate because the surface water
temperature would be highly correlated to surface temperature
C) using isotopes to fingerprint temperature
D) geomagic; the whole idea is preposterous
In deserts of southwestern North America developers often build houses in dry stream
beds and build only minimal subsurface drainage systems to handle a flow of water
comparable to the size of the dry stream channel. Is this a reasonable development
model in the interest of public safety?
A) Yes, although flash floods can occur, using the channel size is a reasonable estimate
of the maximum flood size.
B) No, flash floods can produce high viscosity mudflows that would not be captured by
the drainage system and could flow out over the valley, destroying everything in its
path.
C) No, giant rock avalanches could come down the valley covering houses.
D) Yes, any potential flooding catastrophe would be a 100 year flood event and would
have adequate warning to evacuate people for safety, so the drainage system is
adequate.
The first stars formed about 300 million years after Big Bang in the most massive
nebulae because ________.
A) only the massive nebulae had the material needed to make stars
B) it took that long for enough matter to form to make a star
C) the massive nebulae had enough gravity to attract star material early in the history of
the universe
D) the massive nebulae had enough gravity to collapse and condense
E) all of the nebulae at that time were massive and it was not until much later that
smaller nebulae formed
When a hurricane moves onto land, it rapidly loses its punch; that is, the storm declines
in intensity. Which of the factors listed below contribute to this loss of punch?
A) disruption of outflow by strong winds aloft from the jet stream
B) lack of warm, moist air to feed latent heat driven convection
C) heating from below by the land surface
D) formations of mesocyclones within the storm disrupt the circulation
Climatologist define a “dry climate” as a climate in which ________.
A) less than 25 cm (10 in) of rain falls in a year
B) precipitation is blocked by high mountains
C) precipitation is less than expected evaporation
D) All of the answers are correct.
Why is ozone concentrated in a particular range of levels in the atmosphere?
A) It requires a unique temperature and light level which occur at that range in the
atmosphere.
B) It is formed from air pollution that reaches that level in sufficient quantities to form
ozone.
C) It requires a catalyst, an isolated oxygen atom, and an oxygen molecule, all of which
occur in sufficient quantities at that range of levels.
D) It reflects light back into space at that level, and the energy from that reaction fuels
the formation of ozone.
Thermoclines in the ocean are best developed at ________.
A) lower latitudes
B) higher latitudes
C) both high and low latitudes
D) regions close to continents
Adiabatic temperature changes occur even though heat is not added or subtracted from
the atmosphere because ________.
A) molecules are either compressed or expanded which changes their motion
B) heat is added in some other form to change the temperature
C) the atmosphere moves into a different temperature strata
D) the ground is heated or cooled and it radiates energy into the adjacent air
A mass wasting process that involves rotational motion of material sliding above a
distinct slip surface is called ________.
A) a slump
B) a rock avalanche
C) a rock fall
D) a rock slide
Why is it warmer in most of Europe than in northern California even though both are on
the east side of an ocean and Europe is at higher latitude than California?
A) California is affected by a cold offshore current, whereas Europe has the warm north
Atlantic current, the continuation of the Gulf Stream.
B) California weather is affected by the coastal mountains, which hold cold air along
the west coast.
C) Californians are just wimps; it really is warmer than Europe.
D) The famous California surf stirs up the surface water, bringing deeper colder ocean
water to the surface.
The body comprising a comet comprises the coma.
The Peninsular terrane is now part of the crust of North America in southern Alaska.
The dominant rock type in this terrane is intrusive igneous rock that ranges in
composition from gabbro to granite and volcanic rock with a similar compositional
range. Geologic evidence indicates the Peninsular terrane collided with North America
during late Mesozoic time. Which of the following would be the most reasonable
interpretation for the origins of the Peninsular terrane?
A) a Mesozoic island arc
B) a Mesozoic oceanic plateau
C) a Mesozoic accretionary wedge
D) a Cenozoic forearc basin
E) a Paleozoic accretionary wedge
Sulfates always include ________.
A) SiO4
-4
B) SO4
-2
C) CO3
-2
D) Cl-1, F-1, or Br-1
In the late 20th century most metal prices were very low but metal prices increased
dramatically in the early 21st century. Simultaneously, the early 21st century saw
extensive “brown fields exploration” in which companies went to old mining areas and
extracted old mine wastes or reopened old mine workings. What is the primary
explanation for this activity?
A) The old miners were wasteful and left large amounts of ore in the ground.
B) The increase of metal prices made mineral resources that were previously
uneconomic into ores that could potentially be extracted profitably.
C) Environmental regulations make it impossible to explore anywhere but old mining
areas, so this was the only place the companies could look for deposits.
D) The companies were only interested acquiring properties through a sleazy land grab,
and had no intention of doing anything with the deposits assuming no one cared about
brown fields.
Lightning is most prominent in ________.
A) stratus clouds
B) cumulus clouds
C) cumulonimbus clouds
D) altocumulus clouds
The largest percentage of total magma production on earth occurs at what plate tectonic
setting?
A) hot spots like Hawaii
B) convergent plate margins
C) transform plate margins
D) spreading ridges
The San Andreas fault zone in California is an example of ________.
A) a transform plate boundary
B) a continental rift
C) a divergent plate boundary
D) an ocean-continent collision
Abyssal plains are very flat because ________.
A) basalt volcanos on the seafloor produce little terrain
B) sediments accumulate to cover the seafloor topography
C) they have flat faults, the form flat, planar topography
D) they are not really flat; it is just that there is no data so they are shown as flat
Which of the following is considered the most important driving factor for Plate
Tectonics?
A) slab pull
B) layer cake
C) whole mantle
D) ridge push
Which rock type is associated with a high-energy environment (such as a very turbulent
stream)?
A) conglomerate
B) shale
C) chert
D) none of these
What happens to the change in temperature for unsaturated air that is rising when it
reaches its saturation point?
A) It stops rising until it loses water vapor as precipitation.
B) It continues to rise and the temperature continues to change in the same way it did
before saturation.
C) Latent heat of condensation will be released and will increase the rate of change of
temperature for the rising air.
D) Latent heat of condensation will be released and will decrease the rate of change of
temperature for the rising air.
E) The saturated air is too heavy to continue to rise, so it begins to sink and will
continue to rise and fall until some equilibrium state is achieved.
Assume that water filling a crack in a rock undergoes cycles of freezing and melting.
Which of the following statement is true?
A) Water expands as it melts, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart.
B) Water shrinks as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be drawn closer together.
C) Water expands as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart.
D) Water shrinks as it melts, causing the crack walls to be pulled closer together.
This term is used to describe clouds found in the middle height range.
A) cumulus
B) stratus
C) cirrus
D) alto
Tyco Brahe set out to disprove Copernicus, so why is he famous for developing modern
astronomical theory?
A) He made very precise measurements that were key data used by Kepler.
B) He theorized the concept of gravity with no data, which was left undiscovered until
Newton.
C) Although he set out to disprove Copernicus, he ultimately accepted Copernicus’
theory and was executed by the inquisition.
D) None of these is correct.
The decay of 40K has a half of 1.3 x 109 years. The age of the earth is estimated at 4.6 x
109 years. The decay of 40K is a major heat source for the earth’s interior. Relative to
today, how much more heat was produced by 40K in the early Archaeon era or 3.9 x 109
years ago?
A) 2x
B) 4x
C) 6x
D) 8x
Among plankton, animals that drift on ocean currents are specifically known as
________.
The line separating the dark half of Earth from the lighted half is called the ________.
The figure above is an oblique Google earth image from southwestern North America
looking approximately north. The view is approximately 50km across. The area is a
classic area of normal faulting.
Topographic basins like the areas labeled B in this figure are called ________.
Discuss variations in temperature and density of seawater with depth in the oceans.
Please use Figure 14.3 to help with your discussion. What are the key factors that
influence or control temperature and density? Are these variations the same worldwide
or are they specific to certain regions? Explain.
A(n) ________ spectrum is produced when white light is passed through a
comparatively cool gas under low pressure.
A naturally occurring concentration of metallic minerals that can be extracted
economically is called ________ whereas any occurrence of useful minerals that are
formed in such quantities that eventual extraction is reasonably certain, but not
necessarily profitable, are called ________ resources.
Give the term that best answers each phrase.
the volcanoes of southwestern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands
________ climate is summerless with the average temperature of the warmest month
below 10oC.
________ involves the downslope movement of a block or blocks of unconsolidated
soil and regolith along a curved, slip surface.
Considering the factors involved in the formation of clouds, briefly discuss the
relationship of climate and clouds. Would you expect such things as cloud height and
the types of clouds to vary from one region to another due to differing climates? Why or
why not? Also, how would geography affect this process?
Gold is one of the rarest elements in the universe, yet it is extracted from ores on Earth.
How is this possible?
In an undeformed sequence of sedimentary rocks, each bed is older than the one above
and younger than the one below. The preceding is a statement of the law of ________.
The boundaries of the Kppen climates are largely based on the limits of certain
________ associations.
Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the
relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit
the pattern.
The planets stay in orbit around the Sun because of a balance between ________ and
________.
Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the
relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit
the pattern.
Ozone is a constituent of the ________, where it protects life from ultraviolet radiation
from the sun.
In the interior of continents the earth’s crust is typically about 40 km thick and the
elevation is near sea level. In the Himalayas the crust is more than 60km thick. Isostasy
says crust thicker than this average should produce elevated terrain (mountains), so why
isn’t the elevation of the Himalayas 20km?