Which of the following cloud types is most commonly associated with precipitation?
A) nimbostratus
B) cirrocumulus
C) cirrostratus
D) altostratus
The precipitation associated with a warm front typically arrives ________ the actual
frontal boundary.
A) considerably ahead of
B) considerably behind
C) at about the same time as
D) none of these
After the drought of the 1930’s farmers in the Great Plains were encouraged to plant
rows of trees across fields to decrease soil erosion. How would this reduce soil erosion?
A) Tree roots would retard runoff and prevent erosion.
B) The trees can serve as windbreaks to slow wind erosion.
C) The trees helped shade the ground, retaining moisture.
D) The trees had no effect; they were just used to improve the land appearance after the
great depression.
Which of the following would not be associated with stable atmospheric conditions?
A) widespread fog
B) temperature inversion
C) dreary overcast with light drizzle
D) afternoon thunder showers
The dew point is the temperature at which ________.
A) water in the liquid state changes to vapor
B) hailstones are formed
C) water vapor condenses to a liquid
D) cumulus clouds change to cumulonimbus clouds
Fluorescence occurs when ________.
A) visible light is converted to ultraviolet light
B) visible light is converted to infrared light
C) infrared light is converted to visible light
D) ultraviolet light is converted to visible light
E) Infrared light is converted to ultraviolet light
Rip currents are dreaded by surf swimmers everywhere. The standard recommendation
for swimmers is if you get caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore. Why?
A) It will carry you in the longshore current which will take you ashore.
B) The current is moving offshore but is confined, so by swimming parallel to shore
you can swim out of the current.
C) This recommendation is wrong; you should swim toward the shore as fast as you
can.
D) This recommendation is wrong; you should swim with the current and wait for it to
die away, then swim to shore because the currents dissipate quickly.
Hurricanes are natural disasters. Which branch of the Earth sciences studies the impact
of this phenomenon on coastal environments?
A) Meteorology
B) Geology
C) Oceanography
D) Astronomy
Convergent plate boundaries are ________.
A) sites where cold, downgoing convective cells, the plates, descent into the mantle
B) sites where heat from the earth’s interior is vented to the surface as volcanos
C) areas where two plates slide laterally past one another, generating earthquakes, like
the San Andrea fault
D) sites of supervolcanos like Yellowstone
The slight eastward slope of the Great Plains was created during the Cenozoic by
________.
A) uplift of the western U.S. due to the formation of the Rocky Mountains
B) uplift of the western U.S. due to volcanic activity
C) deposition of sediments shed from the eroding Rocky Mountains
D) uplift of the expanding Basin and Range Province
E) tilting of the U.S. because of sediment deposited on the trailing edge of the plate
How does snow vary with temperature?
A) Warm snow is powdery and light, while cold snow is moist.
B) Cold snow is powdery and light, while warm snow is moist.
C) Snow has a uniform moisture content, but warm snow consists of larger crystals.
D) Snow has a uniform moisture content, but cold snow consists of larger crystals.
E) Warm snow is often called sleet because it is mixed with rain, but cold snow is more
like hail with very large solid ice crystals.
Mount Pele on Martinique is an example of a ________.
A) shield volcano
B) cinder cone
C) lava dome
D) composite volcano
What causes seasons?
A) the elliptical orbit of the earth
B) the changing tilt angle of the earth
C) differences in the amount of daylight
D) seasonal changes in the angle of the sun above the horizon
E) none of the above
A porphyritic texture where large crystals are embedded in a matrix of small crystal
may form when ________.
A) climate change causes crystals to cool at different rates
B) crystals of different compositions cool at different rates
C) crystals of different compositions grow to different sizes
D) a magma that has partially crystallized slowly moves to a different location where it
then cools rapidly.
The main process that links water in the atmosphere with water on the Earth’s surface is
________.
A) transpiration
B) infiltration
C) evaporation
D) condensation
E) wind
Which of the following is not a typical stage in the evolution of a Basin and Range type
region?
A) Water erodes the mountains and deposits sediment in the adjacent basins.
B) Alluvial fans and bajadas form along the mountain fronts.
C) Salt flats or playas and occasional playa lakes form.
D) Sediment slowly moves downhill to the sea where it is ultimately deposited.
Condensation nuclei, tiny particles of matter in the air, are important because
________.
A) they increase the density of air and thus its buoyancy
B) they will affect the environmental lapse rate
C) they provide a surface for water molecules to form on
D) they provide point sources of heat in the air
A Category 5 hurricane in the open water can obtain top wind speed comparable to
________.
A) a plane flying near supersonic speed
B) an F4 tornado
C) an F1 tornado
D) the top speed of an old style Volkswagen beetle
The first elements to form after “Big Bang” were ________.
A) oxygen and hydrogen
B) oxygen and iron
C) hydrogen and iron
D) helium and oxygen
E) helium and hydrogen
Which of the following poses the greatest risk of massive loss of life and property along
its path?
A) slump
B) earthflow
C) rock avalanche
D) rock fall
Wegener thought that ________.
A) there were once two big continents that were separated later by the Atlantic Ocean
B) there was once one big continent that was later separated by the Atlantic Ocean
C) there was once one big continent that later broke into several pieces
D) there were once several continents that recombined to form the continents we have
today
The high surface temperatures of ________ have been attributed to the greenhouse
effect.
A) Venus
B) Uranus
C) Mars
D) Mercury
What is the greatest danger from earthflow?
A) loss of life by rapid downslope movement of the earthflow
B) loss of property along the path of the earthflow
C) loss of water quality by mud flowing into river drainages, polluting the water
D) deforestation along the earthflow path
Use the figure below to answer the following questions.
The concepts of “stress” and “strain” are related because ________.
A) “strain” causes “stress”
B) “stress” causes “strain”
C) compressional “stress” causes a convergent plate boundary to form
D) compressional “strain” causes a convergent plate boundary to form
The heat transfer mechanism that requires the movement of material is ________.
A) radiation
B) convection
C) conduction
D) contraction
When organisms living in seawater grow shells, the ratio between the isotopes of
oxygen (18O/16O) trapped in their shell is dependent on the sea temperature. Why might
geologists collect these sea shells from deep-sea sediments that are Pleistocene in age
and measure their oxygen isotope ratios?
A) They might want to know how cold the water was at the seafloor in the past.
B) They want to know how metabolism of the organism affects the oxygen isotope
ratios.
C) The organisms live in the photic zone, and so photosynthesis must be the main factor
in the oxygen content.
D) The organisms live near the surface, so their oxygen isotope ratios record surface
temperature during Earth’s great climate fluctuations of the ice age.