The granitic igneous rocks that make up the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and
Nevada are ________.
A) extrusive
B) intrusive
C) metamorphic
The creation of which sedimentary feature is controlled in part by debris flows exiting a
narrow canyon?
A) Fluvial
B) Dunes
C) Lacustrine
D) Alluvial fan
Which region is surrounded by an active continental margin?
A) Atlantic Ocean
B) Arctic Ocean
C) Pacific Ocean
D) Indian Ocean
How is magma generated along subduction zones?
A) Decompression melting of the mantle from weight reduction.
B) Fluids are dehydrated out of the descending plate, which lowers the melting point of
the surrounding mantle.
C) Friction from colliding plates melts mantle material.
D) Radioactive decay melts mantle material.
What organism is visible in this image?
A) Amphibian
B) Brachiopod
C) Crinoid
D) Trilobite
Which of the following factors does not influence mass wasting?
A) Gravity
B) Geologic age
C) Water
D) Vegetation
Which scenario led to the disaster that destroyed the city of Armero in 1985?
A) Heavy rains saturated the slopes of Nevado del Ruiz.
B) Flooding eroded the slope of Nevado del Ruiz, oversteepening it.
C) An earthquake shook the slope materials of Nevado del Ruiz loose, causing a
landslide.
D) Heat from the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz melted the volcano’s ice cap.
________ are records of seismic waves.
A) Seismographs
B) Seismograms
C) Seismometers
D) Seismic relays
The principle of ________ states that the physical, chemical, and biological processes
at work shaping the Earth today have also operated in the geologic past.
A) catastrophism
B) plate tectonics
C) plutonism
D) Uniformitarianism
________ is the process by which thickened crust adjusts over time to a “normal”
thickness.
A) Subduction
B) Convection
C) Accretion
D) Isostacy
What percentage of solar radiation is reflected back into outer space by the albedo of
the Earth?
A) 30%
B) 20%
C) 100%
D) 50%
As of 2012, which was the only ocean basin to have significant tsunami warning buoy
coverage?
A) Pacific Ocean
B) Atlantic Ocean
C) Indian Ocean
D) Arctic Ocean
Which of the following is an example of a continental volcanic arc?
A) Cascade Volcanoes
B) Hawaiian Volcanoes
C) Aleutian Volcanoes
D) Icelandic Volcanoes
Which weathering process is illustrated in the photo above?
A) Dissolution
B) Spheroidal weathering
C) Frost wedging
D) Biological activity
Which of the following materials would be the best natural filter, removing
contaminants from groundwater over a long period of time?
A) Fractured granite
B) Slightly clayey sand
C) Conglomerate
D) Mica schist
The oldest known terrestrial material (a zircon included in a younger rock) dates back
to 4.4 billion years ago. Where is this material located?
A) Dharwar Craton, India
B) Slave Craton, Alberta, Canada
C) Jack Hills, Western Australia
D) Grenville Terrance, United States
What evidence of glacial erosion is visible in this image?
A) Crevasses
B) Striations
C) Faults
D) Outwash
Which chemical weathering process is the primary method of weathering for feldspars?
A) Dissolution
B) Oxidation
C) Frost Wedging
D) Hydrolysis
Which of the following lavas make up 90 percent of the total volume of lava on Earth?
A) Basaltic
B) Andesitic
C) Rhyolitic
Which ionspositive ions or negative ionstend to be larger and why?
A) Positive ions because they have more protons
B) Positive ions because they have more electrons
C) Negative ions because they have more neutrons
D) Negative ions because they have more electrons
Which of the following would be a good reservoir rock for oil and natural gas?
A) Shale
B) Slate
C) Sandstone
D) Granite
Which of the following is not a concern related to the practice of hydraulic fracturing or
fracking?
A) Waste injection fluids are held on the surface in open reservoirs.
B) Fracking fluids may contaminate groundwater.
C) Injection of fracking fluids may trigger small earthquakes.
D) The reservoir rock may have low permeability.
Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between the
topography of a region and the underlying structural geology?
A) Upfolds in the rock will make mountains and downfolds will make valleys.
B) Downfolds in the rock will make mountains and upfolds will make valleys.
C) There is no relationship between structures and topography.
How will the flow in this image affect erosion of the stream channel?
A) Water is moving so smoothly that the sediments are carried in the center of the water
current
B) Turbulent flow contributes to erosion because it lifts particles from the streambed
C) Water flow is not strong enough to lift sediments, so erosion is minimal
D) Erosion will occur near the head of the stream, but nowhere else
What is the source of flood basalts associated with oceanic plateaus?
A) Decompression melting associated with seafloor spreading
B) Partial melting associated with subduction
C) Impact heating from a meteorite strike
D) The melting of the head of a mantle plume
What seismic shadowing is visible in this image?
A) P-wave shadow
B) S-wave shadow
C) Surface wave shadow
D) Seismic ray shadow
Traditionally, a region is defined as a desert if it receives less than ________
centimeters of rain per year.
A) 10
B) 25
C) 15
D) 2
Which crevasse will form parallel to the terminus as a glacier moves over a change in
slope?
A) Bergschrund
B) Longitudinal
C) Transverse
D) Moulin
While on vacation, you visit a local Imax theater and see a movie about cave diving in
the Yucatan Peninsula. In one of the caves, which is currently filled with water, you
notice the divers swimming past some stalactites and stalagmites. If the water table is
now above the level of the ceiling of the cave, what does the presence of the cave
decorations indicate about past water table levels?
A) The water table was much higher, and the increased water brought in extra material
to form the decorations.
B) The water table was much lower, and the features were formed by water dripping
from the ceiling into an air-filled chamber.
C) The water table has always been at that level and the cave decorations formed
through the fracturing of the ceiling.
D) The water table has always been high, but molten material was able to extrude
underwater.
Below is a partially completed geologic rock cycle. Using the choices provided, match
the correct word with the correct blank in the rock cycle.
1. 4
2. 5
3. 6
4. 7
5. 8
A) Cooling
B) Sediments
C) Igneous Rock
D) Lithification
E) Burial
What will be produced when carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater?
A) Calcium carbonate
B) Sulfuric acid
C) Carbonic acid
D) Sodium chloride
A ________ is a mushroom-shaped pluton that forms by injecting magma between
sedimentary strata, forcing the upper layers to arch upward.
A) dike
B) sill
C) batholith
D) laccolith
What kind of metamorphism will occur if the temperature is 800C and the depth of
metamorphism is 7 km?
A) Hydrothermal
B) Contact
C) Regional
D) Subduction zone
Compare the composition of planetesimals that would have resulted in the terrestrial
planets and the Jovian planets.
A basalt dike is found in a body of granite. Which is older and why?
On May 18, 1980, the volcano Mount St. Helens in Washington State erupted,
devastating life and landscape for over 200 mi2 through ash falls, lahars, and other
pyroclastic deposits. Explain how the eruption (part of the geosphere) affected the
atmosphere and hydrosphere.
Scenario: In the pursuit of scientific knowledge, you decide to
bore a hole into the crust to see how the temperature
changes. You start your borehole in Davenport, Iowa, where
the geothermal gradient is 20C/km.
Refer to the scenario above. How would you expect the geothermal gradient to change
if this borehole were drilled near Yellowstone National Park? Why?
Changes in one part of the Earth system can influence processes in other parts of the
system. Sometimes these changes can be minor, but sometimes they can be severe. How
might a change in the hydrosphere affect the geosphere and the biosphere?
How could a researcher use magmatic differentiation to determine if a batholith is the
result of one body of magma cooling and crystallizing or multiple bodies of magma?
How can the changing location of continents affect climate change?
Compare and contrast fossil pollen, tree-growth rings, and corals as three proxies for
determining paleoclimate.
Would the rock in the above image be considered a sedimentary breccia or a
conglomerate? Why?
Volcanic island arcs and continental volcanic arcs are both associated with convergent
plate boundaries. However, the lavas that their volcanoes erupt are different. Where
does the lava come from for each type of volcanic arc?
What factor(s) might lead glaciers to basal slip?
Explain what will happen to the flanks of the volcano as magma moves into the magma
chamber.
What is the significance of valence electrons in connection to mineral formation?
Which type of channel (bedrock or alluvial) will have meandering streams?
Describe how magnesium can be exchanged for iron in olivine without destroying the
internal framework of the mineral.
All rocks are classified according to ________ and ________.
Compare the surface of Earth to that of the moon. Why doesn’t Earth’s land retain the
same scarring from meteorite impact as the moon? Why doesn’t Earth’s ocean retain the
same scarring from meteorite impact?
Assuming well-formed crystals, how many cleavage surfaces are present on the sample
in this image? (Note: Cleavage surfaces are not cleavage planes.)