Which agent of metamorphism was primarily responsible for generating the rock in the
image above?
A) Heat
B) Directed pressure
C) Confining pressure
D) Partial melting
This figure shows what will happen as a seismic wave moves from a material of one
density to a material of a different density. Indicate which rock is a high or low density
material by matching the correct choice to the correct material based on the refraction
of the seismic wave.
A) High density material
B) Low density material
1. A
2. B
________ is pulverized rock, lava fragments, and ash erupted from a volcano.
A) Pahoehoe
B) Pyroclastic material
C) Basalt
D) Lapilli
What kind of volcano is most closely associated with pyroclastic flows?
A) Shield
B) Cinder cone
C) Composite cone
D) Caldera
Another name for a ________ boundary is a destructive boundary.
A) convergent
B) divergent
C) transform
Temperature increases in polar regions are going to be ________ the global average.
A) lower than
B) greater than
C) equal to
Along which tectonic boundary would the greatest amount of magma be generated
every year? Why?
A) Transform boundaries: magma produced from friction
B) Convergent boundaries: magma produced by dehydration of plate water and partial
melting
C) Divergent boundaries: magma produced by decompression melting
How would plate tectonics explain the glaciation at the end of the Paleozoic Era, when
no evidence of glacial ice can be found in high-latitude areas of North America and
Eurasia?
A) The climate was too warm for glacial ice on those continents.
B) The glaciation was very small.
C) The continents were joined to form Pangaea, which was located around the South
Pole.
D) There was an increased amount of solar radiation penetrating the atmosphere above
those continents.
uMatch the type of stress to the correct definition.
A) Forces move toward each other.
B) Forces slide past each other.
C) Forces pull apart from each other.
1. Tension
2. Compression
3. Shear
Match the water feature with the correct definition.
A) Intermittent hot springs that periodically eject water into the air with great force
B) Water in a basin that is 6-9C warmer than the mean annual temperature of the
location
C) Water under pressure in a confined aquifer that will rise above the level of the
aquifer
D) A natural outflow of water where the water table intersects the surface
1. Geyser
2. Spring
3. Hot spring
4. Artesian well
What term describes the bending of waves?
A) Reflection
B) Oscillation
C) Refraction
D) Frequency
The ________ is a layer of liquid nickel and iron believed to be responsible for
generating the Earth’s magnetic field.
A) Crust
B) Mantle
C) Outer Core
D) Inner Core
Volcanic islands such as the Hawaiian islands form as a result of ________.
A) subduction
B) rifting
C) mantle plumes
D) batholith emplacement
Which of the following is an example of a mid-ocean ridge?
A) Puerto-Rico Trench
B) Challenger Deep
C) Mid-Indian Ridge
D) East Pacific Rise
Lavas erupting from composite cones are generally ________-rich, making them very
viscous.
A) magnesium
B) iron
C) aluminum
D) silica
Match the type of sediment load to the correct definition.
A) Larger sediments that bounce, roll, or slide along the bottom
B) Ions in solution that are dispersed throughout the flow
C) Fine sediments that are held up by the water and carried throughout the water
column
1. Dissolved Load
2. Bed Load
3. Suspended Load
Where is the thinnest continental crust in North America?
A) Appalachian Mountains
B) Mississippi River Valley
C) Basin and Range region
D) Colorado Plateau
What is the average heat value of bituminous coal?
A) 12,500 Btu/lb
B) 12,000 Btu/lb
C) 9,000 Btu/lb
D) 7,000 Btu/lb
What is the name of the material that has accumulated at the base of the cliff (marked
A) in the above image?
Mesosaurus is a small freshwater reptile that existed in the Permian Period. It is only
found in black shale deposits in eastern South America and southwestern Africa. If the
Mesosaurus is an aquatic reptile and the continents are currently separated by an ocean,
evaluate why the Mesosaurus would be used as strong evidence in favor of continental
drift rather than as evidence against it.
Some of the dominant marine reptiles of the Mesozoic were reptiles whose ancestors
had evolved on land, but returned to life in the sea. What physiological evidence
supports this interpretation?
The debris from the Big Bang was made almost entirely of ________.
A) oxygen and silicon
B) hydrogen and helium
C) iron and nickel
D) carbon and nitrogen
What substances are emitted from fumaroles?
A) Lava
B) Ash
C) Water
D) Volcanic gases
Which section (A, B, or C) shows the P-wave shadow zone?
A) Section A
B) Section B
C) Section C
What rock would you expect to find associated with a mid-ocean ridge?
A) Sandstone
B) Granite
C) Limestone
D) Basalt
What is a volatile?
A) A hostile person
B) Solid mineral crystals in a melt
C) Gases dissolved in a magma
D) The liquid portion of a magma
Which of the following gases was present in Earth’s early atmosphere?
A) Water vapor
B) Carbon dioxide
C) Hydrogen
D) Methane
E) All of these gases
________ describes the range in particle sizes in a detrital sedimentary rock.
A) Sorting
B) Shape
C) Cementation
D) Size
________ are stratified sands and gravels carried away from the glacial terminus by
meltwater.
A) Loess
B) Outwash
C) Till
D) Diamicton
Which of the following regions of a subduction zone are characterized by thick
sequences of relatively undeformed sedimentary rocks?
A) Volcanic island arc
B) Forearc region
C) Suture
D) Transform fault
What information can evaporites provide about the past environment of deposition?
A) The paleoenvironment was wet and in the process of drying up.
B) The paleoenvironment was arid.
C) The paleoenvironment was wet.
D) The paleoenvironment was dry and becoming wetter.
Which of the following material properties will not result in a seismic velocity anomaly
when using seismic tomography?
A) Confining pressure
B) Composition
C) Temperature
D) Water content