Which section (A, B, or C) indicates the zone where direct seismic waves are received?
A) Section A
B) Section B
C) Section C
The Challenger Deep has previously been measured to have a depth of 10,994 meters.
You have been sent to the part of the Pacific Ocean to verify this depth with an echo
sounder. Assuming that Depth = 1/2 (1,500 m/sec*echo travel time), approximately
how many seconds should it take for the sound wave to leave your ship, strike the
bottom of the Challenger Deep, and return if the depth is correct?
A) 10.5 seconds
B) 14.66 seconds
C) 17.39 seconds
D) 22.67 seconds
A(n) ________ is the fundamental particle of matter.
A) electron
B) mineral
C) nucleus
D) atom
Which glacial erosion feature is likely to contain a waterfall today?
A) Tarn
B) Hanging valley
C) Esker
D) Horn
What is the fastest form of mass wasting?
A) Slide
B) Slump
C) Creep
D) Rock avalanche
________ processes, such as evaporation or precipitation, can precipitate chemical
sediments.
A) Biological
B) Detrital
C) Inorganic
D) Organic
A(n) ________ is defined as a cataclysmic, explosive death of a star.
A) supernova
B) accretion
C) planetesimal
D) condensation
Which of the following is a failed rift that formed in North America over one billion
years ago?
A) A Mid-Continent Rift
B) East African Rift
C) Chile Rise
D) Kuril Trench
Which of these mineral assemblages is characteristic of a greenschist facies?
A) Potassium feldspar, biotite, and quartz
B) Chlorite, epidote, and serpentine
C) Hornblende
D) Quartz and muscovite
A(n) ________ fold has limbs that are tilted beyond the vertical to the point that the
axial plane is horizontal, giving it the appearance of lying on its side.
A) recumbent
B) overturned
C) plunging
D) inverted
Which planet has the most moons in orbit around it?
A) Neptune
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Jupiter
What is the definition of a parent rock?
A) The rock that was altered by metamorphism
B) The resulting precipitate when water dissolves mineral matter
C) The rock produced by metamorphism
D) The igneous rock forming through solidification of magma
Which of the following coastal features is not a characteristic of a submergent
coastline?
A) Barrier islands
B) Estuaries
C) Wave-cut platform
D) Irregular coastlines
Put the units of the geologic time scale in order from largest to smallest. (Note: In this
situation, First refers to the largest time period and Fourth refers to the smallest times
period.)
A) Eon
B) Era
C) Period
D) Epoch
1. First (largest period)
2. Second
3. Third
4. Fourth (smallest period)
The ________ period on the geologic time scale is a historic name that has now largely
been replaced by the Paleogene and Neogene periods.
A) Carboniferous
B) Hadean
C) Quaternary
D) Tertiary
Where is the thickest continental crust in North America?
A) Appalachian Mountains
B) Rocky Mountains
C) Basin and Range region
D) Great Basin
GPS units, satellites, and lasers are some of the tools used to monitor the ________ of
the volcanic flanks, which indicates magma accumulating in the magma chamber.
A) gas content
B) temperature
C) inflation
D) mineral content
What percentage of Earth’s water is in the form of seawater?
A) 2.15%
B) 97.2%
C) 0.62%
D) 0.03%
Which of the following oxygen isotopes is the most common?
A) 16O
B) 17O
C) 18O
Continental rifting is occurring today in ________.
A) western California (San Andreas Fault)
B) between Minnesota and Wisconsin (mid-continent rift)
C) the Pacific Northwest (Cascadia subduction zone)
D) Ethiopia and Kenya (East African Rift valley)
What are three examples of preexisting slip planes for translational slides?
A) Slumps, valleys, and mudslides
B) Bedding planes, frost wedging, and permafrost
C) Faults, bedding planes, and joints
D) Water, ice, and crevasses
________ are fragments of preexisting materials that have been broken down through
the processes of weathering.
A) Sediments
B) Crystals
C) Fibers
D) Sedimentary rocks
________ is a measure of a stream’s ability to transport particles based on size rather
than quantity.
A) Corrosion
B) Capacity
C) Competence
D) Carbonate
What is the definition of an inclusion?
A) A fossil of an organism that existed for a short period of geologic time
B) A fragment of one rock unit enclosed in another rock unit
C) An unstable isotope decaying into a stable form
D) A fault bisecting a layer of rock
The reason Jupiter has so many moons around it is that ________.
A) these small moons are in the process of accreting to become one larger moon
B) many bodies were either captured by Jupiter’s gravity or were the remnants of
collisions with other bodies
C) the moons are an asteroid field from a planet that failed to form
D) the moons are the result of massive volcanic eruptions on the planet
The nuclear power plant in ________, Japan, suffered a catastrophic nuclear accident in
2011, consisting of a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of
radioactive material.
A) Chernobyl
B) Mount St. Helens
C) Fukushima
D) Manilla
Which factor contributes the most toward plate motion at a convergent boundary?
A) Ridge push
B) Mantle drag
C) Slab pull
D) Friction
What desert feature is visible in this image, indicated by an arrow?
A) Playa lake
B) Desert varnish
C) Sand dunes
D) Inselberg
Which of the following can contain large quantities of evaporite minerals such as borate
and halite?
A) Playa
B) Inselberg
C) Alluvial fan
D) Bajada
Which of the following physical features has not yet been found on Mars?
A) Polar ice caps
B) H2O-rich atmosphere
C) Extinct volcanoes
D) Sand dunes
What will happen to a seismic wave when it is refracted?
A) The wave will be bent when passing into a material of differing density.
B) The wave will undulate.
C) The wave will be bounced back toward its source.
D) Nothing will change the wave.
Define metamorphic grade.
How can a meteorite impact metamorphose a rock? What temperature/pressure
conditions will be present?
Why would using the continental shelves to reassemble the continents provide a better
fit than using the shorelines of the continents?
When will the most runoff be generated: at the beginning of a series of storms or at the
end?
Compare and contrast rotational slides and translational slides.
At what temperature will peridotite melt along the geothermal gradient?
Compare and contrast an earthquake’s magnitude and intensity.
Explain how melting glacial ice will result in a positive feedback mechanism for
climate.
How is isostatic rebound affecting the Lake Michigan Basin?
Why is it that scientists know less about the first four-fifths of Earth’s history than about
the last, most recent one-fifth?
Compare and contrast the formation of accretionary wedges and the process of
subduction erosion.
What role (if any) will our changing climate play in future desertification?
Because weathering involves the destruction of geologic materials, many people view
the process as a bad thing. However, weathering can also be viewed as a positive
process. Provide an example of one positive aspect of weathering that makes the
processes not only important, but necessary. Explain.
Which rock layer is the oldest in this image?
Explain the process of cave formation.
How do astronomers know that asteroids are left over debris from the solar nebula?
How does slope orientation affect soil development? (Hint: Which slopes receive the
most sunlight?)
Illustrate how soil can be considered a part of all four of Earth’s spheres.
The inner core has not always existed, but formed over time. Explain how conditions in
the Earth changed over time to create an inner core.
How does magma differ from lava?