Which type of convergence will result in a continental volcanic arc?
A) Oceanic-continental
B) Oceanic-oceanic
C) Continental-continental
________ describes how an entire suite of silicate minerals can form from a single
basaltic magma as it cools and crystallizes.
A) The theory of plate tectonics
B) Moh’s hardness scale
C) Bowen’s reaction series
D) The geologic rock cycle
________ are the primary source of organic matter in soils.
A) Earthworms
B) Microorganisms
C) Plants
D) Mammals
Which physical feature represents the true transition from the continent to the ocean
basin?
A) The shoreline
B) The continental shelf
C) The continental slope
D) The continental rise
E) The deep-ocean floor
What are the four regions of a subduction zone?
A) Tensional, compressional, shear, convection
B) Oceanic, volcanic, continental, island
C) Volcanic arc, deep-ocean trench, forearc, and back-arc
D) Accretionary wedge, terrane, accumulation zone, submarine canyon
Name three rocks that are produced by contact metamorphism.
A) Quartzite, marble, and hornfels
B) Marble, schist, and slate
C) Slate, phyllite, and gneiss
D) Gneiss, quartzite, and anthracite coal
Which of the following lists of metamorphic rocks places the rocks in order from
lowest metamorphic grade to highest?
A) Gneiss, slate, phyllite, schist
B) Anthracite, hornfels, quartzite, marble
C) Slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss
D) Ironstone, sandstone, slate, gneiss
What kind of metamorphism will occur if the environmental conditions are 400C and 5
kilobars?
A) Hydrothermal
B) Contact
C) Regional
D) Subduction zone
What is the dominant mineral in the lower mantle?
A) Perovskite
B) Olivine
C) Quartz
D) Pyroxene
Using the choices provided, identify the erosional features and the depositional features.
(Note: Answers will be used more than once.)
A) Erosional
B) Depositional
1. Sea arch
2. Barrier island
3. Marine terrace
4. Spit
Match the layer of Earth to the compositional materials.
A) Ferromagnesian silicates mostly in a ductile state
B) Liquid nickel and iron with trace materials
C) Basaltic material composing the outermost layer
D) Granitic material composing the outermost layer
E) Solid nickel and iron with trace materials
1. Asthenosphere
2. Inner core
3. Continental crust
4. Outer core
5. Oceanic crust
________ are tiny “seed” particles created when small sediments or shell fragments are
rolled by waves in water supersaturated with calcium carbonate.
A) Bryozoans
B) Cave pearls
C) Ooids
D) Nodules
Outside of Earth, which body in the solar system is likely to have liquid water beneath
its icy surface?
A) Mars
B) Neptune
C) Rhea
D) Europa
When rocks are ________, several adjacent layers were deposited without interruption.
A) included
B) dissolved
C) conformable
D) cross-cut
What is a fossil assemblage?
A) A fossil that is geographically widespread but limited to a short span of geologic
time
B) A fossil that is very common and existed for a long period of geologic time
C) A group of fossils used to establish the age of a rock unit
D) Fossil organisms that have survived multiple geologic eras
Along which type of tectonic boundary will greenschists and blueschists form?
A) Transform
B) Convergent
C) Divergent
D) Failed rift zone
Where is oceanic lithosphere thickest and why?
A) Along oceanic ridges because it is newest there
B) Furthest from the spreading center because the older oceanic crust is cooler
C) In the middle of the tectonic plate as it has not been scraped off during subduction
D) Close to the subduction zone boundary because continental material is added to it
Match the following pyroclastic materials in order from smallest to largest.
1. Volcanic bombs
2. Ash
3. Lapilli
A) Neither smallest nor largest
B) Smallest
C) Largest
What kind of subduction occurs when younger, warmer, less-dense lithosphere dips
under another plate at shallower angles because it is too buoyant to sink?
A) Forced subduction
B) Mantle plume subduction
C) Spontaneous subduction
D) Overriding subduction
At a ________, an oceanic plate will be forced beneath another plate because of
differences in density.
A) subduction zone
B) continental rift
C) transform boundary
D) collision zone
A(n) ________ flood is most often associated with northward-flowing rivers in the
Northern Hemisphere because the upstream stretches of the river will thaw before the
downstream.
A) ice-jam
B) regional
C) flash flood
D) dam-failure
Which deposition of which desert landform would result in the angled layers visible in
this image?
A) Inselberg
B) Desert pavement
C) Playa lake
D) Dune
Which of the following would be the most unstable during an earthquake?
A) Sedimentary strata
B) Unconsolidated sediments
C) Crystalline bedrock
D) Concrete foundations
Assume that this square is a rock that is being subjected to confining pressure. Also
assume that the length of the arrows reflects the amount of force in each direction, so
the longer the arrow, the more force affecting the rock. How will the size or shape of
the square change? Select the choice that best reflects this change.
A) (No change)
B)
C)
D)
Abrasion will be greatest in which part of the beach environment?
A) Offshore Zone
B) Surf Zone
C) Backshore
D) Berms
What is the fetch?
A) Ocean currents that move in a direction parallel to the beach
B) The area of quiet water where deposition is taking place
C) A large area of open water over which wind blows to generate waves
D) Erosion of coastal cliffs creating wave-cut benches
Which of the following locations displays a triple junction that resulted from a rising
mantle plume?
A) Eastern Africa/Arabian Peninsula
B) East Pacific Rise
C) Japan/East Asia
D) Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Streams generally receive their water from two sources. What are those two sources?
A) Lakes and meteorites
B) Meteorites and comets
C) Overland flow and groundwater
D) Groundwater and evaporation
Which of the following is not a way an earthquake can trigger mass wasting?
A) Shaking will harden the soils at the surface, which repels flowing water.
B) Shaking creates a landslide.
C) Liquefaction caused sediments to behave like fluids and move.
D) Shaking has created rock falls that have blocked canyons, an effect that will lead to
later problems during flash floods.
________ is the area at the headwaters of a stream where most of the sediment is
derived.
A) Sediment Production
B) Sediment Transport
C) Sediment Deposition
D) Sediment Load
What is the difference between a quiescent and an explosive eruption?
What geologic process triggered the Permian Extinction? Where did the trigger occur?
What is different about mineral deposits at Mammoth Hot Springs compared to other
geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park? From which rock were these mineral
deposits derived?
Using the cleavage planes and shapes in this image, list one mineral example for each
crystal.
Using the samples in this image, indicate the number of cleavage directions this crystal
displays. (Please note that cleavage surfaces do not equate to cleavage directions.)
Which material will “float” higher on the mantle: 5 km thick oceanic crust or 40 km
thick continental crust? Why?
The great multimillionaire Rich Mahn is building a new mansion on a steep bluff
overlooking a languid river below … or, at least he could look over the river if it weren’t
for all the trees in the way. Whipping out his cell phone, he calls a local landscaping
company and has all of the trees ripped out and the steep slope smoothed back into
place. Several months later, Rich is making another phone call, this time to a
construction company. It seems that the bluff is eroding away at an alarming rate and
the ground that his new house is sitting on is being undermined. What event(s) led to
the mass wasting at Rich’s house and why?
Restricted ocean basins located in warm climates will experience high rates of
evaporation, which will result in the creation of evaporate minerals such as gypsum or
halite. When such a solution containing dissolved mineral matter evaporates, why does
the mineral matter precipitate instead of evaporating with the water?
Explain how a seismograph records earthquakes?
What are the four factors that affect stream velocity and how will they affect the flow?
Define evapotranspiration.
Certain diamond companies use the advertising slogan “Diamonds are forever.” Why,
from a geologic perspective, might this not be accurate?
In the seventeenth century, Archbishop James Ussher of Ireland used the Bible to
calculate that the Earth was created in 4004 b.c.e. Imagine you could take Archbishop
Ussher to Niagara Falls. Although Niagara Falls is located on the border between the
United States and Canada today, it was located several kilometers to the north at the
Niagara Escarpment and is eroding southward. Let’s assume the rate of erosion is 50
cm/yr. Assuming the distance from the Niagara Escarpment to Niagara Falls is 11 km,
use the equation Rate = Distance/Time to calculate how long it would have taken to
erode from the Escarpment to the current location of the falls. How would this
calculation compare with Archbishop Ussher’s assessment of the age of the Earth?
What are two ways a primary magma can be generated?
What is the igneous composition of the rock in the above image?
What three major features comprise a passive continental margin?
How can historical records be used to analyze past climates?
Why does the Atlantic Ocean have the most extensive abyssal plains?
According to the geothermal gradient, there is an increase in temperature with
increasing depth. If that is the case, why isn’t the entire interior of the planet molten?