Which mineral reacts readily with cool, dilute hydrochloric acid to produce visible
bubbles of carbon dioxide gas?
A) calcite
B) quartz
C) gypsum
D) plagioclase
A red star is ________ our Sun.
A) hotter and smaller than
B) hotter and larger than
C) colder and larger than
D) colder and smaller than
E) approximately the same temperature and size as
Ocean crust is denser than continental crust because ocean crust is ________.
A) composed primarily of basalt
B) composed primarily of granite
C) thicker than continental crust
D) thinner than continental crust
A total eclipse of the Sun is only possible at ________.
A) first quarter
B) second quarter
C) third quarter
D) new moon
The largest known volcano in the solar system is ________.
A) Mauna Loa, Hawaii, on Earth
B) Vulcan on Venus
C) Solfatara on Jupiter
D) Olympus Mons on Mars
Most of the active volcanoes on land are located in a belt known as the ________.
A) Ring of Fire
B) Gulf Coast zone
C) Mid-Pacific Ridge
D) Red Sea rift
For a geologist, the most important characteristic of a sedimentary rock is its ________.
A) texture
B) composition
C) layering
D) lithology
Scientists infer that chemical weathering of crustal rocks is not the only source of some
minerals, such as chlorine, bromine, sulfur, and boron because ________.
A) those minerals have the wrong isotopic composition for weathering products of
crustal rocks
B) there are more of those minerals in the oceans than can be derived from crustal rocks
alone
C) some of the minerals are only found in meteorites and must have an extraterrestrial
source
D) the minerals are highly reactive and are not found as compounds that would come
from crustal material
E) none of the above
The first bacteria probably used ________ instead of water as a source of hydrogen.
A) H2SO4
B) HCl
C) H2S
D) OH-1
E) Fe3O4
.OH
What is the dominant factor in the life of a star?
A) temperature
B) size
C) gravity
D) energy
E) composition
On a weather map, ________ fronts are shown by a line with triangular points on one
side.
A) warm
B) cold
C) occluded
D) stationary
Volcanic bombs originate ________.
A) as laser-guided, granite blocks launched from a supersonic jet
B) as blocks of volcanic rock ejected from an erupting volcanic crater
C) as erupted magma blobs that partly congeal before falling to the ground
D) as ash particles that join together in the eruptive plume and fall as cobble-sized
objects
Which of the following is associated with areas of karst topography?
A) sinkholes
B) soluble rock
C) caverns
D) all of these
When an earthquake occurs, energy radiates in all directions from its source. The source
is also referred to as the ________.
A) inertial point
B) epicenter
C) focus
D) seismic zone
Diffused light is caused by ________.
A) solar radiation striking surface water at a low angle
B) scattering of solar radiation by dust particles and gas molecules
C) scattering of solar radiation by water molecules
D) solar radiation striking an irregular surface and being partially absorbed
E) none of the above
You are swimming with your buddies on a beach in the surf. You leave your cooler and
supplies on the beach, and after a half hour you swim back to shore, but your stuff isn’t
there. You look along the beach and see your cooler 200 m down the beach. How did
that happen?
A) You and your buddies must have gotten caught in a rip current without knowing it.
B) You and your buddies must have been swimming parallel to the shore without
thinking about it.
C) You and your buddies must have had too many and just lost track of where you were.
D) You and your buddies were affected by the longshore current and drifted with it
along the coast.
Which one of the following statements concerning mechanical weathering is not true?
A) reduces grain sizes of rock particles
B) allows for faster rates of chemical weathering
C) is important in the formation of talus slopes
D) involves a major change in the mineral composition of the weathered material
What is GPS (Global Positioning System) used for in the study of plate tectonics?
A) It measures paleomagnetism.
B) It measures velocity of a plate.
C) It measures age of a plate.
D) It measures elevation of a plate.
Which of the following is modern descendant of the Gymnosperm?
A) pine trees
B) tulips
C) turkeys
D) crocodiles
E) sharks
Af and Am climates form a discontinuous belt astride the ________.
A) Tropic of Capricorn
B) equator
C) Tropic of Cancer
D) Arctic Circle
E) Prime Meridian
Use the figure below to answer the following questions.
In the figure, the stress on block ‘X‘ is ________.
A) shear
B) folding
C) tensional
D) compressional
Stability prevails when the environmental lapse rate is ________.
A) less than the wet adiabatic rate
B) greater than the wet adiabatic rate and less than the dry adiabatic rate
C) greater than the dry adiabatic rate
D) greater than both the wet and dry adiabatic rates
Why would sand be deposited behind a small island to form a spit or tombolo?
A) The tidal affects are trivial behind the island, so the sand is not swept away.
B) The island protects the coast from rip currents, preserving the sand.
C) Waves refract around the island and the wave energy is dissipated on the island,
allowing quiescent water behind, and sand drift to accumulate behind the island.
D) The onshore current from one direction piles up sand here.
Assume that you have just examined several flat-lying sedimentary layers. After much
study you determine that there is a considerable span of time for which no sedimentary
rock layer exists at this site. You have just discovered a(n) ________.
A) angular unconformity
B) series of conformable strata
C) disconformity
D) example of cross-cutting relationships
To improve the resolution of radio telescopes, astronomers ________.
A) group smaller telescopes in arrays, like the very large array in New Mexico
B) make bigger telescopes
C) place the telescope in outer space
D) scan the skies rapidly to detect the direction of the radio signal
In the late 1950’s the Hebgen Lake earthquake outside of Yellowstone triggered a mass
wasting event. The landslide originated on steep mountains slopes where rocks slid off
a surface and descended to the valley floor in a few seconds, burying a campground and
many people staying there. This type of landslide would be called ________.
A) a slump
B) a mudflow
C) a rockslide
D) an earthflow
The average composition of rocks comprising a large composite cone or stratovolcano
is similar to a(n) ________ magma.
A) basaltic
B) ultramafic
C) andesitic
D) rhyolitic
Today, glaciers cover approximately ________ percent of the earth’s surface.
A) 1
B) 10
C) 30
D) 50
Which one of the following mineral groups exhibits a sheet-like silicate structure?
A) carbonates
B) pyroxenes
C) micas
D) feldspars
What two elements formed first?
A) electrons and protons
B) hydrogen and oxygen
C) helium and oxygen
D) helium and hydrogen
E) protons and neutrons
What is the name of a Phanerozoic era that means ancient life?
Bomb
On a given day in the winter in St. Louis, Missouri, it began snowing in the morning,
the snow changed to rain by noon, later in the afternoon sleet was falling which turned
to snow, and by evening rain was freezing on bridges and roadways as glaze. Briefly
explain how such a sequence of precipitation might occur.
What process of mass wasting is illustrated in the diagram below?
The law of universal gravitation was formulated by ________.
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.
Isotopes of what element are the stable, end products of both uranium decay series?
Based on your knowledge of isostasy, would you expect thicker or thinner crust beneath
the Caribbean Islands (e.g., near D) than the continental region of Venezuela to the
south?
Describe the sequence of events that occur when a fully developed midlatitude cyclone
passes just to your north, including cloud sequences, frontal passages, and barometric
conditions.
List three mechanisms of heat transfer.
The closest invisible wavelengths to violet on the electromagnetic spectrum are called
________ and are responsible for sunburns.
________ is the total quantity of sediment carried by a river.
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.
Discuss the distribution of seafloor sediments in the ocean basins. What are the
different types of sediments, and what are the factors that control their distribution
(geologic setting, climate, etc.)?
Examine Figure 13.B from Earth Science, 14e below. Briefly explain the main points of
Charles Darwin’s hypothesis on coral atoll formation. Have we tested his hypothesis
and is it still thought to be correct today? Can you think of another possible explanation
that would explain the origin of such coral atolls?
Recall that the Hawaiian Islands are a large volcanic chain on the Pacific produced by
the Pacific plate moving over a hot spot. When the Hawaiian islands reach a trench and
they are accreted to a continental margin they would produce a(n) ________ comprised
primarily of the rock type called ________.
Standard sea level pressure is ________ inches of mercury.
The first modern astronomer to propose a Sun-centered universe was ________.
What is the name for the very large pluvial lake that once existed in northwestern Utah?