Where is oceanic crust generated?
A) Along divergent plate boundaries
B) Where volcanic lava meets the sea
C) Where continents collide
D) Where magma bodies are emplaced deep in the crust
In a desert environment, in which area would surface water infiltrate into the local
groundwater system most effectively?
A) Playa lakes with thick mud bottoms
B) Streams flowing across an alluvial fan
C) Streams flowing across bare bedrock
D) Steep-walled mountain streams
How can tree rings provide information about past climates?
A) Thickness and spacing of tree rings reflect environmental conditions
B) Tree rings turn colors depending on the climate
C) Tree rings trap gas bubbles that can be used to interpret atmospheric conditions
D) Tree rings can measure past CO2 concentrations
Which of the following processes created the lunar maria?
A) Solar winds eroded wide, shallow basins, which were later filled with ejecta.
B) Large impact craters were then filled with basaltic lava flows.
C) Liquid water flowed across the landscape, which later froze.
D) Rocks exposed to the solar winds oxidized.
Match the collection of rocks below into the three categories of rocks.
1. Igneous rocks
2. Sedimentary rocks
3. Metamorphic rocks
A) Slate, schist, quartzite, phyllite
B) Granite, gabbro, rhyolite, basalt
C) Limestone, conglomerate, arkose, dolomite
What materials make up Earth’s core?
A) Perovskite and silica
B) Iron and nickel
C) Olivine and pyroxene
D) Sulfur and aluminum
Which of the following components makes up the largest percentage of most soils?
A) Mineral portion
B) Pores filled with water
C) Organic portion
D) Pores filled with air
________ metamorphism tends to occur in regions where massive amounts of
sedimentary or volcanic materials accumulate in a subsiding basin, pushing older rocks
further into the interior.
A) Contact
B) Hydrothermal
C) Burial
D) Regional
Which type of fault was responsible for the devastation associated with the 1906
earthquake in San Francisco?
A) Transform
B) Normal
C) Reverse
D) Thrust
________ is the angle of inclination of the surface of a rock unit measured from a
horizontal plane.
A) Dip
B) Faulting
C) Strike
D) Plunge
What is the main mineral source of phosphorous in phosphate fertilizers?
A) Topaz
B) Calcite
C) Kaolinite
D) Apatite
Match the landform with the correct description.
A) Small deposits that form in the stream channel
B) Form where streams enter large lakes or oceans
C) Formed by mountain streams emerging onto a flat plain
D) Formed by floodwaters on either side of a stream
1. Delta
2. Levee
3. Alluvial Fan
4. Bar
Which of the following regions will primarily erupt silica-rich lavas?
A) Oceanic mantle plumes
B) Oceanic rift zones
C) Continental margins
D) Impact craters
A stream is flowing over a hill covered in thick soil. The stream is eventually blocked to
create a small pond in order to free land downhill for construction. What will ultimately
happen to the strength and cohesion of the soil in the area around this pond?
A) Strength and cohesion will decrease.
B) Strength and cohesion will increase.
C) Strength will decrease and cohesion will increase.
D) Neither will be affected.
Which of the following is not a fossil fuel?
A) Coal
B) Bauxite
C) Natural gas
D) Petroleum
From a climatological perspective, a region is a desert if ________.
A) yearly precipitation exceeds evaporation
B) yearly precipitation is equal to evaporation
C) yearly precipitation is less than evaporation
Assume that a modern rabbit dies and becomes fossilized. Which of the following
groups of animals would represent an accurate fossil assemblage to find with that
rabbit?
A) Coral, brachiopods, and fish
B) Squirrels, birds, and mice
C) Trilobites, brachiopods, and clams
D) Fish, birds, and coral
Nonmetallic minerals used for abrasives include ________.
A) topaz and fluorite
B) talc and gypsum
C) apatite and hematite
D) corundum and garnet
Archbishop James Ussher used the Bible to construct a chronology to date the creation
of the Earth to ________.
A) 1776 A.D
B) 46,000 B.C.E
C) 79 A.D
D) 4004 B.C.E
What is the geologic definition of a stream?
A) A river of water that carries large volumes of water and has many tributaries
B) A stagnant body of water with little current and low oxygen content
C) A large lake system
D) A channelized body of water flowing down gradient
What kind of continental margin is visible in this image?
A) Active
B) Rift
C) Passive
D) Transform
According to the plate tectonics model, most global mountain ranges are associated
with which kind of plate boundary?
A) Divergent
B) Convergent
C) Transform
Match the geologic era to the correct translation.
A) Old Life
B) New Life
C) Middle Life
1. Mesozoic
2. Paleozoic
3. Cenozoic
Photovoltaic cells are used to generate ________ energy.
A) tidal
B) nuclear
C) solar
D) hydroelectric
Match the wave characteristics with the correct definition.
A) The vertical distance between the trough and the crest
B) The time it takes for one full wave to pass a given point
C) The horizontal distance between successive crests
1. Wave height
2. Wavelength
3. Wave Period
If shale is buried to a depth of 20 km and the temperature is raised to 450C, which
mineral would form according to the image above?
A) Andalusite
B) Kyanite
C) Sillimanite
What is the definition of a placer deposit?
A) Sorting of particles by a water current according to a material’s specific gravity
B) Emplacement of hydrothermal fluids into a fracture
C) Concentration of minor amounts of metals in soil via weathering
D) Metallic deposit near the base of a black smoker due to precipitation
Conchoidal fractures are indicative of the mineral ________.
A) muscovite
B) quartz
C) fluorite
D) pyroxene
What is the average geothermal gradient in the crust?
A) 20C/km
B) 30C/km
C) 45C/km
D) 100C/km
How does water get from the surface to the middle of the mantle?
A) Percolation via pores and fractures
B) Subterranean streams
C) Seawater seeping into the interior at mid-ocean rifts
D) Subducting oceanic lithosphere