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?

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?

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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Created by: Ashlynt0304 on 2011-06-30