Introduction Geology

Introduction Geology

QUESTION 1 – Of the following, which problem would a geologist NOT study?

1. The chemical pathway that facilitates drug absorption into the blood.

1. The interaction of organic acids produced in soil on soil chemistry.

1. The geology of layered deposits found at the South Pole of Mars.

1. The presence of seismic discontinuities at the core-mantle boundary.

Question 2 – Geologists often use the scientific method and supporting data to propose new ideas and test the validity of these ideas. These new ideas are called:

1. theories

1. ideas

1. methods

1. hypotheses

Question 3 – The current idea that governs our understanding of planetary systems is called:

1. Collision Theory

1. Nebular Theory

1. Planetesimal Theory

1. Differentiation Theory

Question 4 – Largely due to information gathered by the Apollo missions, the moon is thought to be:

1. Made of cheese

1. a captured comet

1. a portion of the Earth sucked out by a close meteor encounter.

1. A portion of the Earth blasted into space by a large protoplanetary collision.

Question 5 – A lithospheric plate can be composed of which of the following:

1. Oceanic crust

1. Continental crust

1. Upper mantle

1. All of the above

Question 6 – In the quest for scientific exploration, Alfred Wegener attempted to explain geologic evidence he found in the Hypothesis of Continental Drift. The scientific community rejected Alfred Wegner’s hypothesis because he failed to explain the ____________________________________.

1. The mechanism for moving continents

1. The fit of the continents

1. The distribution of fossilized organisms

1. The distribution of glacial deposits

Question 7 – Crystal form is a physical property of mineral used in their identification. Which phrase best describes the concept of crystal form?

1. The way in which a mineral break

1. The external expression of a mineral’s internal structure

1. The color of the powdered mineral

1. The appearance of reflected light from a mineral’s surface

Question 8 – Quartz and calcite often are found in the same colors. Although these minerals can be discriminated from one another by cleavage and fracture, hardness is often used, as it is an easier property to utilize. Which of the following statements correctly describes the properties of calcite and quartz.

1. Calcite will not scratch glass and has fracture, whereas quartz will scratch glass and has good cleavage.

1. Calcite with scratch glass and has fracture, whereas quartz will scratch glass and has a good cleavage.

1. Calcite will not scratch glass and has cleavage, whereas quartz will scratch glass and has fracture.

1. Calcite will scratch glass and has good cleavage, whereas quartz will scratch glass and has fracture.

Question 9 – Many minerals belong to the large class of mineral called silicates. Pyrozene group mineral are on such group that happens to belong to what subclass of silicates?

1. Isolated tetrahedra silicates

1. Single Chain silicates

1. Double Chain silicates

1. Framework silicates

Question 10 – The Feldspar group of mineral (plagioclase feldspar and orthoclase feldspar) belong to what subclass of silicate minerals?

1. Isolated tetrahedra silicates

1. Single Chain silicates

1. Double Chain silicates

1. Framework silicates

Question 11 – A rock that crystallizes from __________ must be _______________________.

1. Magma; intrusive

1. Magma; extrusive

1. Magma; clastic

1. Lava; intrusive

Question 12 – Rocks with aphanitic textures are typically formed by ____________________ processes.

1. Extrusive

1. Pyroclastic

1. Intrusive

1. Porphyritic

Question 13 – An intrusive igneous rock formation that forms a tabular feature that cross cuts pre-existing strata is known as a:

1. Sill

1. Dike

1. Stock

1. Volcanic neck

Question 14 – A mafic igneous rock is likely to be ______________, in color.

1. Light (tan, light gray, pink)

1. Intermediate (medium gray or speckled black and white)

1. Dark (dark gray, black)

1. Bright green

Question 15 – An igneous rock that cools slowly typically has visible crystals. The resultant texture is known as:

1. Aphanitic

1. Porphyritic

1. Pyroclastic

1. Phaneritic

Question 16 – What volcano shape is built by successive lava flows, which accumulate to form a dome-shaped structure?

1. Cinder cone

1. Composite cone

1. Shield volcano

1. Stratovolcano

Question 17 – A rhyolitic lave would likely form which of the following volcanic features?

1. Lava tubes

1. Pillows

1. Columnar joints

1. Short, thick lava flows

Question 18 – Tephra is an important volcanic product, best described by which of the following descriptions?

1. Solidified lava flows

1. Pyroclastic materials that solidify while flying through the air

1. Pyroclastic materials that rushes down the flanks of the volcano

1. Chunks of igneous rock ripped from the volcanic vent and ejected during an eruption

Question 19 – Rocks strata are subjected to various stresses causing them to deform in various ways. _______________ is the term used to describe a temporary change in the rocks’ original shape and volume.

1. Brittle deformation (failure)

1. Plastic deformation

1. Elastic deformation

1. Metasomatism

Question 20 – which of the following statements about rock deformation is NOT true?

1. Plastic deformation is likely to occur in rocks under high-temperature and high-pressure degree.

1. Elastic deformation is likely to occur if rocks are stressed to only a very minor degree

1. Plastic deformation is likely to occur rocks under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions

1. Brittle failure is likely to occur in rocks under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions

Question 21 – The strike and dip of a rock refer to:

1. The orientation of a rock unit in relation to the surface of the Earth

1. The orientation of a rock unit in relation to neighboring rock units

1. The directions in which a rock points

1. The orientation of the exposed surface of a rock

Question 22 – Resistant sandstone in the trough of a syncline would eventually form which topographic feature?

1. An anticlinal valley

1. A synclinal valley

1. A deep canyon

1. Topographic ridges

Question 23 – The Mercalli intensity scale is ineffective in providing information about tall of the following earthquakes effects EXCEPT:

1. Location of the earthquake epicenter

1. Determination of damage to actual ground motion

1. Utilization in uninhabited parts of the world

1. Characterization of historical earthquakes

Question 24 – Which of the following terms is NOT described correctly?

1. A seismic wave is the way earthquake energy is transmitted through the Earth

1. A seismograph is an instrument that measures the magnitude of an earthquake

1. A seismometer is the scale used for measuring seismic waves

1. A seismogram is a visual record of seismic waves and their amplitudes

Question 25 – Which of the following statements concerning liquefaction is NOT true?

1. It is caused when a substantial quantity of groundwater is forced into unconsolidated sediment

1. Previously cohesive sediment is caused to flow like a slurry of mud

1. Water pressure between sediment grains removes frictional contact between them

1. Liquefaction can cause virtual geysers of sand

Question 26 – When Benioff-Wadati zones are plotted on a map, they show:

1. Elastic modulus values in rocks within a subduction zone

1. Semiconcentric zones of varying degrees of earthquake damage

1. Earthquake numbers decreasing away from areas of oceanic rifting

1. Earthquakes foci becoming progressively deeper inland from ocean trenches

Question 27 – Major earthquakes are most likely to occur in all of the following tectonic setting EXCEPT:

1. Transform boundaries

1. Divergent boundaries

1. Subduction zones

1. Continental collision boundaries

Question 28 – Which type of rock is most likely to contain fossils?

1. Igneous rocks

1. Metamorphic rocks

1. Sedimentary rocks

1. All of the above

Question 29 – Of the following organisms, the best index fossils would be:

1. Cockroaches, because they have existed in widespread geographic areas almost since the first appearance of insects.

1. Bacteria, because they have existed in widespread geographic areas since life first began

1. A specific type of bryzoa that existed for only a short geologic time in very limited geographic areas

1. A specific type of trilobite that existed for only a short geologic time in widespread geographic areas

Question 30 – All of the following radiometric dating methods are useful for rocks older than 100,000 years EXCEPT:

1. Uranium lead dating

1. Potassium-argon dating

1. Rubidium-strontium dating

1. Carbon-14 dating

Question 31 – A rock or mineral becomes a closed system when it completely cols and crystallizes. Which of the following rocks would become a closed system most rapidly?

1. Granite

1. Basalt

1. Gneiss

1. Schist

Question 32 – The chain of volcanoes along the west coast of South America (the Andes Mountains) exist because:

1. The Pacific Plate is sliding past the South American Plate and heading toward the northwest

1. The Pacific Plate is rifting apart from the South American Plate

1. An oceanic plate is subducting under the western edge of the South America

1. Basalt is pushing up through the trench that parallels the west coast of South America

Question 33 – Pick out the FALSE statement. According to present plate tectonics theory:

1. Plates move at speeds of a few centimeters per year

1. A continental plate will subduct under an oceanic plate when the two converge

1. Plates are composed of the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle

1. Plates diverge at mid-ocean ridges

Question 34 – The huge trough down the center of the mid-ocean ridge is where:

1. The Hawaiian Island chain formed

1. Two continental plates converge

1. Molten basalt subducts back into the Earth

1. The actual divergent plate boundary is located

Question 35 – The portion of the Earth’s interior that flows and is partially responsible for the motion of tectonic plates is known as the:

1. Lithosphere

1. Asthenosphere

1. Mesosphere

1. Inner core

Question 36 – Old, cold lithosphere is more dense than which of the following?

1. The underlying ware asthenosphere

1. The continental lithosphere

1. Younger oceanic lithosphere

1. All of the above

Question 37 – Of the following orogenic belts, which is still forming and growing today?

1. Appalachian

1. Urals

1. Caledonides

1. Himalaya

Question 38 – What evidence suggests that the Rocky Mountains were formed by plate convergence?

1. Strike slip faults are common

1. Continental basalts are common

1. Giant thrusts of sedimentary rock are common

1. Ophiolites are common

Question 39 – Which of the following statements concerning the most recent ice age is NOT true?

1. We now live in a warm interglacial period of an ice age

2. In some places in North America, ice was 2.5 miles during the last major ice advance

1. The last glacial advance occurred during the Pleistocene Epoch that ended about 10,000 years ago.

1. About 20,000 years ago, ice covered roughly 50% of the Earth’s land surface

Question 40 – Which of the following are reasons glacial ice forms?

1. Most precipitation in glacial areas consists of hard-packed snow pellets called firm

1. Water produced by pressure melting migrates to open spaces in the snowpack and refreezes

1. Winter low temperatures probably contribute less to glacial growth than cool, cloudy, brief summers

1. All of the above

Question 41 – Of the many contributing factors, the salinity-driven ocean currents are being studied as a major factor in ice-age glacial expansions because:

1. Salt lowers the freezing point of water

1. Dense saline water has a higher albedo than less saline water

1. Their heat-carrying capacity during nonglacial times transports heat from the lower latitudes to the higher latitudes

1. Dense saline currents are more able to transport large blocks of ice

Question 42 – The primary difference between resources and reserves is that:

1. Resources are materials currently available to the public, while reserves remain in the ground for future use

1. Resources exist but recovery is not currently profitable; reserves can be extracted for profit

1. Resources refer to all available useful materials, while reserves refer only to available fossil fuels

1. Resources still remain in the ground, while reserves have been mined and are in storage

Question 43 – Oil shale contains kerogen rather than oil because:

1. It was never buried deeply enough to raise its temperature to that required to produce oil

1. Shale is not permeable enough to allow the kerogen to move freely through the rock

1. The organisms required to produced oil were never deposited within the shale

1. There has not been sufficient time for further breakdown of the large kerogen molecules

Question 44 – The main drawback of geothermal energy is that:

1. Heat-resistant pipe materials through which magma can be circulated are extremely expensive

1. Utilization of this energy is limited to currently or recently active plate margins and hot spots

1. Utilization of this energy is limited to current or recently active plate margins and hot spots

1. Geothermal heat sources are buried beneath nearly impenetrable rock

Question 45 – Which of the following statements correctly differentiates between passive and active solar energy?

1. Passive solar energy heats areas by natural radiation, conduction, and convection, while active solar energy heats areas by the circulation of solar-heated water

1. Passive solar energy is used for stationary purposes, such as the heating of a building, while active solar energy is used for transportable purposes, such as running an electric car

1. Passive solar energy is used to generate heat, while active solar energy is used to generate electricity

1. Passive solar energy can be used in areas where there is abundant sunshine, while active solar energy is transported from sunnier regions to regions receiving very little sunshine

Question 46 – By the standard definition of a mineral, under what conditions can Ice (H20) be considered a mineral?

Need to write a paragraph essay and cited when necessary – no plagiarism

Question 47 – The sustainability of out civilization relies heavily upon providing the necessary mineral resources for future advances in technology, medicine, and electronics. Describe three methods by which we will meet tomorrow’s needs form mineral resources.

Need to write a paragraph essay and cited when necessary – no plagiarism

Question 48 – Describe the formation and thus subsequent breakup of the supercontinent Pangea, paying attention to the timing of events

Need to write a paragraph essay and cited when necessary – no plagiarism