Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, 11e (Tarbuck)
Chapter 7 Sedimentary Rocks
7.1 Multiple-Choice Questions
1) Which rock type can contain fossils?
A) Igneous Rocks
B) Sedimentary Rocks
C) Metamorphic Rocks
D) Minerals
2) Which rock type or combination of rock types makes up 90-95% of the outer 16 km of the
crust?
A) Igneous Rocks
B) Sedimentary Rocks and Igneous Rocks
C) Sedimentary Rocks
D) Igneous Rocks and Metamorphic Rocks
3) ________ are fragments of pre-existing materials that have been broken down through the
processes of weathering.
A) Sediments
B) Crystals
C) Fibers
D) Sedimentary Rocks
4) What is diagenesis?
A) The change from a sedimentary rock to a metamorphic rock
B) The weathering of carbonate rock due to dissolution
C) The textural, compositional, and other changes that occur to sediments after deposition
D) The two-stage cooling process that creates porphyritic rocks
5) Which of the following makes up the sediment that forms an organic sedimentary rock?
A) Gravel and sand
B) Shells and plant fibers
C) Weathered ions
D) Dissolved minerals
6) ________ is the process where sediments are converted into a sedimentary rock.
A) Diagenesis
B) Cementation
C) Imbrication
D) Lithification
7) Which minerals are the main constituents in most sedimentary rocks?
A) Calcite and Silica
B) Micas and Feldspars
C) Orthoclase and Plagioclase
D) Quartz and Clay Minerals
8) Which of the following mudstones displays fissility?
A) Claystone
B) Siltstone
C) Shale
9) Which environment would be likely to produce a black shale?
A) Shallow marine bay
B) Swamp
C) Forest
D) Eolian dunes
10) Which of the following methods of transportation will result in the best degree of sorting?
A) Waves on a beach
B) Streams
C) Glaciers
D) Wind
11) Which of the following methods of transportation will result in the coarsest sorting (poorest
sorting)?
A) Waves on a beach
B) Streams
C) Glaciers
D) Wind
12) ________ describes the range in particle sizes in a detrital sedimentary rock.
A) Sorting
B) Shape
C) Cementation
D) Size
13) Which of the following best describes the appearance and composition of a conglomerate?
A) Angular fragments; well sorted
B) Rounded fragments; poorly sorted
C) Angular fragments; poorly sorted
D) Rounded fragments; well sorted
14) Which rock is the most abundant chemical sedimentary rock?
A) Chert
B) Dolomite
C) Rock Gypsum
D) Limestone
15) ________ processes such as evaporation and chemical activity can precipitate chemical
sediments.
A) Biological
B) Detrital
C) Inorganic
D) Cementation
16) ________ is a biochemical sedimentary rock that often forms in carbonate reefs.
A) Limestone
B) Chert
C) Rock Salt
D) Bituminous Coal
17) Which of the following locations is famous for its oil-bearing Permian limestone reef?
A) West Texas/Southeastern New Mexico
B) Niagara Escarpment in eastern Wisconsin
C) Illinois Basin
D) Central Florida
18) ________ 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
19) ________ is the process where calcium ions in limestone are replaced with magnesium or
small amounts of iron.
A) Permineralization
B) Replacement
C) Precipitation
D) Dolomitization
20) Which of the following best describes interbedded gypsum and halite?
A) Biochemical sedimentary rocks
B) Detrital sedimentary rocks
C) Dolomite and limestone
D) Evaporite sedimentary rocks
21) Which of the following trace materials produces bright-red colors in some cherts?
A) Manganese
B) Clay particles
C) Iron Oxide
D) Calcite
22) What is the definition of sylvite?
A) A carbonate mineral that forms in shallow marine environments
B) A mineral that forms during the final stages of halite precipitation
C) A silica-rich material that precipitates in cavities in rock
D) A mineral that forms when volcanic ash settles out in a lake
23) Compaction will be the most significant lithification process for which of the following
rocks?
A) Conglomerate
B) Sandstone
C) Arkose
D) Shale
24) Which of the following does not describe the texture of nonclastic chemical sedimentary
rocks?
A) Sandy
B) Crystalline
C) Microcrystalline
D) Amorphous
25) The primary basis for classifying detrital rocks is ________ whereas the primary basis for
classifying chemical rocks is ________.
A) Particle shape; trace elements
B) Crystalline structure; Sorting
C) Particle size; mineral composition
D) Sorting; density
26) A ________ describes how, when a sedimentary layer is examined in cross-section laterally,
various parts of the layer consist of different sediments accumulating next to each other in
different environments of deposition.
A) Transitional environment
B) Facies
C) Delta
D) Turbidity current
27) Which of the following represents the single most common and characteristic feature of
sedimentary rocks?
A) Mudcracks
B) Crystalline texture
C) Cross-bedding
D) Strata
28) A ________ marks the end of one episode of sedimentation and the beginning of another.
A) Cross-bedding
B) Ripplemark
C) Bedding plane
D) Graded beds
7.2 True/False Questions
1) There are no sediments on the deep sea floor.
2) Approximately 75% of the planet’s landmasses are covered by sedimentary and sedimentary
rocks.
3) Sediments and sedimentary rocks are secondary reservoirs of groundwater after fractured
igneous rock.
4) Particle shape is the primary basis for distinguishing among various detrital sedimentary
rocks.
5) Due to its size, stream gravels need a swift current to be transported whereas sands need a
current with less energy.
6) Shales are well cemented because of the high number of pore spaces.
7) Dark, poorly sorted sandstones with angular clasts are called arkose and are often associated
with turbidity currents.
8) Detrital sedimentary rocks are classified according to clast size whereas chemical sedimentary
rocks are classified based on their dominant minerals.
9) Water-dwelling organisms can form chemical sediments.
10) Chalk is a soft, porous rock composed of the hard parts of microscopic marine organisms.
11) The raw material for coal is dead marine organisms.
12) Folding and deformation will produce bituminous coal.
13) Graded bedding will display particle that are fine near the bottom of the layer and get
progressively coarser toward the top.
14) Burning of fossil fuels will release CO2 to the atmosphere.
15) The most active part of the carbon cycle is the movement of CO2 from the biosphere to the
hydrosphere and back.
16) The weathering of chert will release carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle.
17) Volcanic activity in the early history of the Earth is believed to be responsible for much of
the CO2 found in the atmosphere.
7.3 Short Answer Questions
1) List three major energy resources that are derived from sedimentary rocks.
2) What are the three compositions of sedimentary rocks?
3) What particle size(s) make up shale?
4) What is the most common sedimentary rock?
5) What are two examples of inorganic limestone?
6) What information can evaporites provide about the past environment of deposition?
7) List three common natural cements used in cementation.
8) Explain how changes in water velocity will determine which particle size of sediment is
deposited.
9) Name a sedimentary rock that will sequester CO2 in the geosphere.
10) Why would the release of carbon sequestered in carbonates and organic sedimentary rocks be
a concern?
17
7.4 Matching Questions
Match the rock with the appropriate category of sedimentary rock. (The choices may be used
more than once.)
A) Chemical
B) Detrital
C) Organic
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 7.2 – Origins of Sedimentary Rock, 7.3 – Detrital Sedimentary Rocks, 7.4 – Chemical
Sedimentary Rocks, & 7.5 – Coal: An Organic Sedimentary Rock
Focus/Concepts: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, & 7.5
Earth Science LO: 4.6 – Earth materials take many different forms as they cycle through the
geosphere.
2) Chert
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 7.2 – Origins of Sedimentary Rock, 7.3 – Detrital Sedimentary Rocks, 7.4 – Chemical
Sedimentary Rocks, & 7.5 – Coal: An Organic Sedimentary Rock
Focus/Concepts: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, & 7.5
Earth Science LO: 4.6 – Earth materials take many different forms as they cycle through the
geosphere.
3) Shale
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 7.2 – Origins of Sedimentary Rock, 7.3 – Detrital Sedimentary Rocks, 7.4 – Chemical
Sedimentary Rocks, & 7.5 – Coal: An Organic Sedimentary Rock
Focus/Concepts: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, & 7.5
Earth Science LO: 4.6 – Earth materials take many different forms as they cycle through the
geosphere.
4) Bituminous Coal
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 7.2 – Origins of Sedimentary Rock, 7.3 – Detrital Sedimentary Rocks, 7.4 – Chemical
Sedimentary Rocks, & 7.5 – Coal: An Organic Sedimentary Rock
Focus/Concepts: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, & 7.5
Earth Science LO: 4.6 – Earth materials take many different forms as they cycle through the
geosphere.
5) Rock Salt
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 7.2 – Origins of Sedimentary Rock, 7.3 – Detrital Sedimentary Rocks, 7.4 – Chemical
Sedimentary Rocks, & 7.5 – Coal: An Organic Sedimentary Rock
Focus/Concepts: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, & 7.5
Earth Science LO: 4.6 – Earth materials take many different forms as they cycle through the
geosphere.
6) Coquina
Diff: 1
Bloom’s Taxonomy: Knowledge
Global Sci Out: 7
Section: 7.2 – Origins of Sedimentary Rock, 7.3 – Detrital Sedimentary Rocks, 7.4 – Chemical
Sedimentary Rocks, & 7.5 – Coal: An Organic Sedimentary Rock
Focus/Concepts: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, & 7.5
Earth Science LO: 4.6 – Earth materials take many different forms as they cycle through the
geosphere.