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Chapters 1-8

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Question
Answer
All silicate minerals contain which two elements?   silicon, oxygen  
Detrital sedimentary rocks are classified (named) primarily on the basis of ________.   particle size  
Most minerals have a higher specific gravity than water.   True  
The primary agent of contact metamorphism is ________.   heat  
A mineral can be composed entirely of one element.   True  
As the rate of cooling increases, the size of the crystals that form ________.   decreases  
________ is a strong, parallel alignment of different mineral bands in a metamorphic rock.   Foliation  
Which of these factors influence the type and rate of weathering?   all of these  
All atoms of the same element have the same atomic number.   True  
The ion at the center of a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron is surrounded by ________.   4 oxygen ions  
Which of the following is NOT one of the eight most common elements in Earth's crust?   carbon  
This igneous texture is characterized by two distinctively different crystal sizes.   porphyritic  
The most unreliable (variable) diagnostic property of minerals such as quartz is ________.   color  
Atoms that have an electrical charge due to a gain or loss of electrons are called ________.   ions  
Which one of the following is an igneous rock?   rhyolite  
All atoms of the same element have the same atomic number.   True  
What element is the most abundant in the Earth's crust by weight?   oxygen  
Metamorphism is commonly associated with mountain building.   True  
Which one of the following is NOT true about mechanical weathering?   does not affect metamorphic rocks  
An atom's mass number is 13 and its atomic number is 6. How many neutrons are in its nucleus?   7  
Isotopes of the same element have the same mass number.   False  
Which group of minerals are the most abundant in the Earth's crust?   silicates  
Most limestone has a biochemical origin.   True  
Which of the following best defines a mineral and a rock?   in a mineral the constituent atoms are bonded in a regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of different mineral grains  
Which of the following is correct for isotopes of the same element?   the atoms have different numbers of neutrons and the same number of protons  
In the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron there are more silicon atoms than oxygen atoms.   False  
All minerals exhibit cleavage   False  
Quartz is quite resistant to weathering and is an important component of sands in riverbeds and on beaches.   True  
Which one of the following is not true for minerals?   they can be a liquid, solid, or glass  
Metamorphism can affect only sedimentary rocks.   False  
Which pair of minerals is most common in detrital sedimentary rocks?   clay and quartz  
The resistance of a mineral to abrasion is known as ________.   hardness  
Sedimentary rocks ________.   all of these  
Rocks are aggregates of one or more minerals.   True  
Select the coarse-grained rock which is composed mainly of quartz and potassium feldspar from the list below.   granite  
Detrital sediments would predominate in all of the following environments except ________.   salt flat  
One magma can produce several different igneous rocks having different mineral compositions.   True  
Glassy igneous rocks form when magma cools so slowly that mineral crystals cannot grow.   False  
The strong tendency of certain minerals to break along smooth, parallel planes is known as ________.   cleavage  
Which of the following minerals is a silicate?   feldspar  
Olivine and quartz are commonly found together in the same rock.   False  
Which of the following best describes bedded gypsum and rock salt?   evaporites;chemical,sedimentary rocks.  
Evaporites have a biochemical origin.   False  
Electrically neutral atoms have equal numbers of electrons and protons.   True  
Atoms of the same element, zinc for example, have the same number of ________.   protons in the nucleus  
Which the following denotes the positively charged particles in an atom's nucleus?   protons  
The most abundant chemical sedimentary rock is ________.   limestone  
Intrusive rocks ________.   none of these  
Metamorphism may result from ________.   all of these  
The texture of an igneous rock ________.   the rate of cooling of the melt  
Moraines are the only glacial deposits composed of till.   False  
One environmental problem associated with groundwater is land subsidence caused by withdrawal.   True  
Abrasion and plucking generally involve what part of a glacier?   the basal, sliding zone  
________ is one of the two, major flow mechanisms in a glacier.   Basal slip  
Which one of the following applies to a valley glacier that lengthens (extends its terminus downslope) over a period of many years?   accumulation exceeds wastage  
A ________ cross-valley profile is typical of canyons and valleys eroded and deepened by alpine or valley glaciers   U-shaped  
Which one of the following is NOT true of glaciers?   exist only in the Northern Hemisphere  
________ is an irregular, usually thin till layer laid down by a retreating glacier.   ground moraine  
The single most important erosional agent is ________.   running water  
Loess consists mainly of silt-sized particles   True  
A fiord is a ________.   drowned glacial trough  
Glacial melting and calving occur in the zone of wastage.   True  
________ are characteristics of downcutting streams and a youthful stage of valley evolution.   Rapids and lots of whitewater  
Which of the following terms is used to describe the way materials move during a mass wasting event?   all of these  
A ________ stream pattern is developed only on growing mountains like volcanoes or where the land surface is tectonically doming upward.   radial  
As its name implies, the water table is always very level (flat).   False  
The formation of stalactites and stalagmites occurs in the zone of saturation.   False  
Rapid surge movements of the Earth's tectonic plates offer a convincing explanation for the advances and retreats of the Pleistocene ice sheets.   False  
________ is not part of the water cycle?   Calcium carbonate dissolving in soil water and groundwater  
A broad accumulation of stratified drift deposited adjacent to the downstream edge of an end moraine is a ________.   outwash plain  
Fiords are found exclusively along the coast of Norway.   False  
A(n) ________ is likely to host a waterfall or steep rapids today.   hanging valley  
Point bars are depositional features located along the outer banks of meander bends.   False  
The water table is ________.   a boundary between saturated rock below and unsaturated rock above  
When water is pumped from a well, a depression is often produced in the water table. Such a depression is a(n) ________.   cone of depression  
A cirque represents an erosional feature formed in what was an important accumulation zone for snow and ice at the upstream head of a glacier.   True  
________ generally constitutes the highest percentage of the annual sediment load moved by a stream.   Suspended load  
Which of the following features characterize wide streams and valleys?   a natural levees; broad floodplains  
The transfer of rock material down slope under the influence of gravity is termed ________.   mass wasting  
A(n) ________ represents a former meltwater channel or tunnel in glacial ice that was filled with sand and gravel.   esker  
Alluvium is the general term for any sediment deposited by a stream.   True  
The controlling force of mass wasting is ________.   gravity  
More water is evaporated from the ocean than is returned by precipitation over the ocean.   True  
Desert and steppe lands cover about what percentage of Earth's land area?   30%  
At the head of a delta, the major channel splits into smaller channels that follow different paths to the sea. These smaller channels are known as ________.   distributaries  
A ________ forms when a block of ice is buried in drift and subsequently melts creating a pit.   kettle  
Running water is not an important erosional agent in deserts because rainfall is infrequent.   False  
The source of heat for most hot springs is hot igneous material beneath the surface.   True  
Which one of the following concerning artesian wells is NOT true?   when the well penetrates the aquifer, the water rises in the well to the bottom of the overlying aquitard  
The term "drift" ________.   means any sediments of glacial origin  
If you were to examine the longitudinal profile of a typical river, you would probably find that the gradient is ________.   steepest near the head  
Steppes are the driest of the true desert lands.   False  
Desert pavement is the result of ________.   deflation  
Where is the world's largest ice sheet located today?   Antarctica  
At a bend in a river, the main erosion is ________.   on the outside of the bend  
Loose, undisturbed particles assume a stable slope called the angle of repose.   True  
Drumlins are ________.   not found singly, but in clusters  
Blowouts are broad, shallow depressions excavated by deflation.   True  
Gravity plays an important role in all mass wasting events.   True  
Earth's radius and surface area are slowly increasing to accommodate the new oceanic crust being formed at mid-ocean ridges.   False  
Pull-apart, rift zones are generally associated with a ________ plate boundary.   divergent  
The modern-day Red Sea is explained by plate tectonics theory because it is ________.   a rift zone that may eventually open into a major ocean if Arabia and Africa continue to separate  
The volcanoes of Hawaii are localized above a deep mantle hot spot; they are not part of the East Pacific oceanic ridge.   True  
The ________ is an example of an active, continent-continent collision?   northward movement of India into Eurasia  
The temperature below which magnetic material can retain a permanent magnetization is called the ________.   Curie point  
The oldest rocks of the oceanic crust are found in deep ocean trenches far away from active, mid-ocean ridges.   True  
The rate of seafloor spreading is, on the average, about one meter per year.   False  
________ was never proposed as evidence supporting the existence of Pangaea.   Islands of Precambrian rocks along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge  
Seafloor spreading rates can be estimated if the geologic ages of the magnetic field reversals are independently known.   True  
Cooler, older, oceanic lithosphere sink into the mantle at ________.   subduction zones along convergent plate boundaries  
Where would you drill to recover samples of the oldest basalts of the oceanic crust, which are Jurassic in age?   oceanic side of the Aleutian trench  
Hawaii is the oldest island of the Hawaiian Island chain   False  
In the early part of the 20th century, ________ argued forcefully for continental drift.   Alfred Wegener  
A transform plate boundary is characterized by ________.   a deep, vertical fault along which two plates slide past one another in opposite directions  
________ most effectively outline the edges of the lithospheric plates.   Lines of earthquake epicenters  
Which of the following energy sources is thought to drive the lateral motions of Earth's lithospheric plates?   export of heat from deep in the mantle to the top of the asthenosphere  
In general, rocks of the oceanic crust are less dense than rocks of the continental crust.   False  
The continental drift hypothesis was rejected primarily because Alfred Wegener could not ________.   identify a mechanism capable of moving continents  
Which of the following statements apply to the asthenosphere, but not the lithosphere?   zone in the upper mantle that deforms by plastic flowage  
A very long-lived magma source located deep in the mantle is called a ________.   hot spot  
During various times in the geologic past, the polarity of Earth's magnetic field has been reversed.   True  
Which of the following paleoclimatic evidence supports the idea of the late Paleozoic super continent in the Southern Hemisphere?   tillites (rocks formed by glaciers) in South Africa and South America  
________ was an ancient reptile that lived in South America and Africa during the late Paleozoic.   Mesosaurus  
An extensive, late Paleozoic glaciation affected southern India, southern Africa and southeastern South America.   True  
Which of the following best describes how geysers erupt?   water slowly boils in a network of vertical cracks above the water table, sending up a plume of steam and hot water.  
In a reverse fault, the hanging wall block moves up relative to the footwall block.   True  
The ________ is (are) characterized by terrane accretion that has been active throughout most of Mesozoic and Cenozoic time.   western margin of North America  
The Mercalli Scale is a scale from ________.   I to XII that rates the structural damage due to an earthquake  
Which of the following combinations should favor folding rather than faulting?   high temperature and high confining pressure  
Basin and range topography, like that in the western and southwestern United States, indicates that compressive folding is active today or was active very recently, geologically speaking.   False  
Earthquakes result from the sudden release of elastic strain energy previously stored in rocks surrounding a zone of fault movement.   True  
Accretionary wedges develop along subduction zones where sediments and other rocks are scraped off a descending plate and piled against the leading edge of the overriding plate.   True  
The mechanism by which rocks store and eventually release energy in the form of an earthquake is termed ________.   elastic rebound  
The ________ in California is the boundary between the North American and Pacific plates. Question 9 answers   San Andreas strike-slip fault  
In a ________ fault, the hanging wall block moves up with respect to the footwall block.   reverse  
The lithosphere is defined as ________.   a rigid layer of crustal and mantle material  
The ________ earthquake was accompanied by extensive fire damage.   San Francisco, 1906  
Most of our knowledge about Earth's interior comes from ________.   seismic waves  
Which one of the following statements about the crust is NOT true?   oceanic crust is enriched in potassium, sodium, and silicon  
The record of an earthquake obtained from a seismic instrument is a(n) ________.   seismogram  
Approximately how much more energy is released in a 6.5 Richter magnitude earthquake than in one with magnitude 5.5?   30 times  
On a seismogram, ________ will show the highest amplitudes.   surface waves  
A horst is ________.   an uplifted block bounded by two normal faults  
The Richter magnitude of an earthquake is based on the ________.   amplitude of the largest seismic wave recorded  
Brittle deformation would be favored over plastic deformation in which of the following conditions?   cooler temperatures  
The Black Hills of South Dakota are a good example of a(n) ________   dome  
Oceanic crust is generally thicker than continental crust.   False  
The asthenosphere is located ________.   in the upper mantle  
S waves can travel through solid and liquid media.   False  
Large circular downwarped structures are called ________.   basins  
Ash and lapilli are different sized pyroclastic particles.   True  
Which type of basaltic lava flow has a fairly smooth, unfragmented, ropy surface?   pahoehoe  
Which of the following is associated with deep mantle hot spots?   the volcanoes of Hawaii and Quaternary activity in Yellowstone National Park  
In general, cinder cones are much larger than shield volcanoes.   False  
What volcanic events formed Crater Lake, OR? When did they take place?   caldera collapse followed major ash and pyroclastic-flow eruptions; 7000 years ago  
A ________ is a near surface, intrusive, igneous rock body that results from local inflation of a horizontal sill.   laccolith  
Kilauea and Mauna Loa are ________.   basaltic shield volcanoes  
Which type of basaltic lava flow has its surface covered with sharp-edged, angular blocks and rubble?   aa  
Which of the following statements best describes the big Hawaiian volcanoes?   are situated in the interior of a large, Pacific plate above a hot spot deep in the mantle  
A ________ volcano is a very large, gently sloping mound composed mainly of basaltic lava flows.   shield  
________ destroyed the city of St. Pierre, Martinique in 1902.   A nueé ardente  
________ is a major dissolved constituent in both magmas and volcanic gases.   Water vapor  
Paricutin is an example of a ________.   cinder cone  
The most violent volcanic activity is associated with ________.   composite cones  
Vents that emit only heated, volcanic gases are called fumaroles.   True  
Kilauea is an example of a ________.   shield volcano  
The largest igneous intrusive body is called a(n) ________.   batholith  
Volcanism along divergent plate boundaries where seafloor spreading is occurring produces rocks which are ________.   andesitic in composition  
Magma generation at depth almost always involves partial melting, not complete melting of the source rock.   True  
Repeated eruptions of relatively fluid lava from fissures can eventually cause an area to be covered by flood basalts.   True  
________ tend to increase the explosive potential of a magma body beneath a volcano.   High viscosity and dissolved gas  
The recent (geologically) volcanic activity in Yellowstone National Park is ________.   related to intraplate, hot spot volcanism  
The active Hawaiian volcanoes are situated directly above a major boundary between two of the Earth's largest tectonic plates.   False  
Most of the stratovolcanoes on Earth are located in a belt known as the ________.   Ring of Fire  
Small amounts of water can lower partial melting temperatures in silicate rocks.   True  
Visualize five, horizontal, sedimentary strata exposed in a cliff or canyon wall identified by consecutive numbers, 1 being the lowest bed and 5 being the highest. Which of the following statements concerning the strata are true?   beds l and 3 are older than bed 4  
Which of the following is an essential characteristic of an index fossil?   the organism only lived for a short period of geologic time  
Which of the following describes radioactive decay by beta particle emission?   the atomic number of the daughter isotope is one more than the parent; the mass numbers are the same  
Radiometric dating means placing events in their proper sequence.   False  
The half-life of carbon-14 is about 6000 years. Assume that a sample of charcoal formed by burning of living wood 15,000 years ago. How much of the original carbon-14 would remain today?   between one-fourth and one-eighth  
What of the following refers to the investigative process by which geologists identify and match sedimentary strata and other rocks of the same ages in different areas?   correlation  
Sandstone strata and a mass of granite are observed to be in contact. Which of the following statements is correct geologically?   the granite is older if the sandstone contains pebbles of the granite  
By applying the law of superposition ________ dates can be determined.   relative  
The percentage of radioactive isotope remaining in a rock sample is 40%. How many half-lives have elapsed since the material was 100% parent atoms?   between l and 2  
Who is credited with formulating the doctrine of uniformitarianism?   Hutton  
After three half-lives, one-ninth of an original, radioactive, parent isotope remains and eight-ninths has decayed into the daughter isotope.   False  
Which of the following geologic observations would not bear directly on working out the sequence of geologic events in an area?   the feldspar and quartz contents of a granite  
A worm would stand a poor chance of being fossilized because ________.   worms have no hard parts  
Which of the following is not a very long-lived, radioactive isotope?   C-14  
________ is an erosional contact between tilted, older strata below and horizontal, younger strata above.   An angular unconformity  
About 88 percent of geologic time is represented by the time span called the ________.   Precambrian  
What fundamental concept states that in a horizontal sequence of conformable sedimentary strata, each higher bed is younger than the bed below it?   law of superposition  
When a radioactive isotope decays by electron capture, the electron ________.   combines with a proton in the nucleus; the atomic number of the daughter is one less than the parent  
An unconformity is a buried ________.   erosion surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous.  
Correlation of rock units between continents or widely separated areas is accomplished by using physical features such as color, texture, and thickness of units.   False  
The geologic time scale was devised before numerical dating using radioactivity was invented.   True  
The ________ is the idea or concept that ancient life forms succeeded each other in a definite, evolutionary pattern and that the contained assemblage of fossils can determine geologic ages of strata?   principle of fossil succession  
What is the age of the Earth accepted by most scientists today?   4.5 billion years  
Assume that you have just examined several flat-lying sedimentary layers. After much study you determine that there is a considerable span of time for which no sedimentary rock layer exists at this site. You have just discovered a(n) ________.   disconformity  


   


 

 

 
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