Which sediment size has the steepest angle of repose?
A) Gravel
B) Sand
C) Silt
D) Clay
A convergent boundary is usually associated with which physical features?
A) Rift valleys
B) Volcanic arcs
C) Horizontally displaced rocks
D) Submarine trenches
E) Volcanic arcs and submarine trenches
The ________ is an elevational point that divides an entire continent into large drainage
basins.
A) Appalachian Mountains
B) Continental Divide
C) Watershed
D) Sediment production zone
Which of the following characteristics is not true of groundwater?
A) Has a constant temperature year round.
B) Rarely contains suspended sediment.
C) Short droughts do not affect the supply.
D) Only occurs underground as large lakes.
Which of the following methods of transportation will result in the best degree of
sorting, with all the particles being roughly the same size?
A) Waves on a beach
B) Streams
C) Glaciers
D) Wind
A(n) ________ is a period when a supercontinent rifts into fragments, spreads apart,
and the fragments reassemble into a new supercontinent.
A) convection cycle
B) supercontinent cycle
C) suturing cycle
D) orogenic cycle
What is the controlling force of mass wasting?
A) Water
B) Gravity
C) Friction
D) Hydration
Match the type of renewable energy with the source that generates it.
A) Falling water pushes turbines.
B) Organic material can be burned to produce energy.
C) Trapping underground reservoirs of steam and hot water.
D) Turbines are driven by rising and falling levels of coastal water.
1. Geothermal energy
2. Hydroelectric energy
3. Tidal energy
4. Biofuels
The oldest rocks on Earth date back to 4.28 billion years old and were found in western
Australia.
Which of the following is a natural disaster?
A) A hurricane forming in the ocean
B) A landslide striking a city
C) A volcano erupting on an uninhabited island
D) An earthquake occurring in the desert
Match the deformation with the correct definition.
A) Rocks will change shape due to pressure but return to their original state when
pressure is released.
B) Rocks will shatter due to pressure.
C) Rocks will change.
1. Elastic deformation
2. Ductile deformation
3. Brittle deformation
How did researchers in the mid-twentieth century obtain ocean floor samples in order to
determine the age of the seafloor?
A) Satellite imagine images
B) Deep-diving manned submersibles
C) Hydraulic vacuum tubes
D) Drilling ships
Which seismic wave(s) would be most useful in determining the extent and thickness of
the Earth’s interior layers?
A) P waves
B) P and S waves
C) S waves
D) Surface waves
Which crevasse will form perpendicular to the terminus as a glacier stretches to fill a
valley?
A) Esker
B) Longitudinal
C) Transverse
D) Moulin
Match the paleoclimate proxies to the information they can provide about the past
climate.
A) Provide information about past temperature
B) Provide periods of plentiful rain and drought
C) Trapped gases provide info about the atmosphere
D) Provide vegetation patterns for a location
1. Tree Rings
2. Pollen
3. Ice Cores
4. Corals
What planet/feature marks the division between the terrestrial planets and the Jovian
planets?
A) Kuiper Belt
B) Jupiter
C) Neptune
D) Asteroid belt
Which type of coal would have been of major economic importance in Illinois?
A) Lignite
B) Subbituminous coal
C) Bituminous coal
D) Anthracite coal
________ is the speed required for an object to escape a planet’s gravitational force.
A) Obliquity
B) Impact weathering
C) Escape velocity
D) Terminal velocity
As of 2015, what was the deepest drill core yet taken that allowed scientists to study the
Earth’s interior?
A) 7.6 km
B) 12.3 km
C) 15 km
D) 50.5 km
What is the definition of metasomatism?
A) The rearrangement of ions already present due to changes in heat
B) The lengthening of mineral crystals due to directed pressure
C) The change in chemical composition because hot fluids are bringing or removing
ions
D) The more compact organization of mineral crystals due to confining pressure
Match the soil horizon with the correct definition.
1. O horizon
2. E horizon
3. C horizon
4. A horizon
5. B horizon
A) Accumulation of clay particles from upper layers
B) Partially altered parent material that is easily identifiable
C) Composed of a mixture of humus and mineral material
D) Consists largely of organic material, still identifiable in uppermost layer
E) Light-colored, depleted of soluble materials, little organic material
________ states that the angles between equivalent faces of crystals of the same
mineral are always the same.
A) The law of conservation of mass
B) The law of constancy of interfacial angles
C) The law of superposition
D) The law of opposite interior angles
As the quantity of energy transferred to the wave increases, what will happen to the
height and the steepness of the wave?
A) Wave height increases and steepness decreases.
B) Wave height decreases and steepness increases.
C) Both the wave height and steepness decrease.
D) Both the wave height and steepness increase.
________ occurs when a rock is gradually dissolved by flowing water.
A) Abrasion
B) Corrosion
C) Quarrying
D) Exfoliation
A ________ is not the sole cause of a mass wasting event, but the last of many causes
that initiate the downslope movement of materials.
A) debris flow
B) slide
C) repose angle
D) trigger
When considering evidence of glaciation on the southern continents, why did Wegener
reject the explanation that the entire planet had experienced a period of extreme
cooling?
A) Because the glacial debris was localized to a few small mountain valleys
B) Because he knew the “glacial debris” was actually a misinterpreted landslide
C) Because geologic evidence supported the existence of tropical swamps in the
Northern Hemisphere
D) Because the 16O/18O ratios in fossils supported an ice-free period
Match the type of meteorite with the correct definition.
A) Silicate minerals with inclusions of other minerals
B) Combinations of iron and silicate minerals
C) Mostly aggregates of iron with 5 percent to 20 percent nickel
1. Stony-iron
2. Iron
3. Stony
Which of the following scenarios would likely result in the development of a passive
continental margin?
A) Two tectonic plates colliding, creating a submarine trench
B) Continental blocks rifting apart and becoming separated by seafloor spreading
C) Two tectonic plates sliding past each other, rotating part of the crust
D) A mantle plume creating a chain of volcanic islands across the seafloor
What generates the heat necessary for convection in the Earth?
A) Volcanic eruptions
B) Friction between moving slabs
C) Chemical reactions between geologic materials and hydrothermal fluids
D) Decay of radioactive materials
For how long were dinosaurs the dominant species on the Earth?
A) 5 million years
B) 37 million years
C) 160 million years
D) 546 million years
Identify the stream drainage pattern with the correct name: Radial, Rectangular, Trellis,
or Dendritic. Also, in the space provided, describe what this drainage pattern indicates
about the underlying geology.
A) Drainage Pattern: Trellis
Underlying Geology: Alternating resistant and less resistant materials that have been
tilted or folded
B) Drainage Pattern: Radial
Underlying Geology: Topographic high in center of drainage pattern
C) Drainage Pattern: Dendritic
Underlying Geology: Underlying rock is relatively uniform
D) Drainage Pattern: Rectangular
Underlying Geology: Fractured bedrock
1.
2.
3.
4.
Provide three examples of how lahars can form.
You have a solution of salt dissolved in water. Why might a drop in temperature result
in the dissolved minerals precipitating out of solution?
How does decompression melting generate magma at rift zones?
The year 2010 was a big one for major earthquakes: Haiti (M 7.0), Chile (M 8.8),
Turkey (M 6.1), and New Zealand (M 7.1). With so many major earthquakes in a short
time, many people began to wonder about the status of the planet. One major author
(name withheld for privacy) even got on TV and stated that these earthquakes were
related and were triggering each other. Was this author correct? Why or why not?
How do scientists map the water table?
Compare and contrast confining pressure and compressional stress relating to
metamorphic rocks. What will happen to the mineral crystals in each situation? Also,
provide examples of geologic environments where such pressure would be the main
agent of metamorphism.
How are oceanic gas hydrates produced?
How does a glacial fjord form? What does it tell us about climate change after
glaciation?
Compare and contrast Earth’s moon and the planet Mercury.
What material makes up the flanks of cinder cones? Why does magma rising through
the conduit of a cinder cone volcano often break through the side of the volcano and
flow down the flank?
If new plate material is being created at divergent plate boundaries, is the Earth growing
larger? Explain why or why not.
How does the formation of a hanging valley differ from the formation of the main
glacial trough?
Assume you live near Mount St. Helens and the volcano is going through an explosive
eruption. Explain the effect pyroclastic materials would have on your home.
North American glaciations used to be described in four episodes. However, two of
those episode names, the Kansan and Nebraskan, are no longer used. What evidence did
scientists use to redefine the glacial history on the North American continent?
On January 12, 2010, the country of Haiti was rocked by a violent M 7.0 earthquake.
This quake caused widespread devastation and resulted in the death of over 300,000
people. A month later, an M 8.8 earthquake rocked central Chile, where over 80 percent
of the country’s population was concentrated. However, only 525 people were reported
dead for this disaster. Why would Chile’s earthquake, with a higher magnitude, have a
lower death toll than Haiti’s earthquake?
Which will have a greater impact on global temperatures: volcanic ash or volcanic
gases? Why?