General Science Practice Questions
Course Introduction
General Science is an interdisciplinary course designed to provide students with a foundational understanding of key concepts in biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences. The course emphasizes scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and practical applications of scientific principles in everyday life. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, laboratory experiments, and problem-solving activities, students explore the basic structures and processes that govern the natural world, the methods used to investigate scientific questions, and the relevance of science in shaping technological advancements and addressing global challenges. This course is ideal for students seeking a broad overview of the sciences and a platform for further study in specialized scientific fields.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Geology 4th Edition by Stephen Marshak
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1380 Verified Questions
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Earth in Context
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hydrocarbons,such as petroleum and natural gas,are classified as ____________.
A) minerals
B) fluid rocks
C) organic materials
D) alloys
Answer: C
Q2) Earth's geothermal gradient is the rate of temperature change that would be observed if one could move in which of the following ways?
A) increasing altitude in the atmosphere
B) increasing depth at ocean trenches
C) traversing from either pole toward the equator
D) traversing down within Earth's interior
Answer: D
Q3) The most common minerals within Earth are ____________.
A) silicates
B) carbonates
C) oxides
D) hydroxides
Answer: A
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Page 3
Chapter 2: The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics
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Sample Questions
Q1) If you were using both a compass and a map marked with latitude and longitude to navigate,you might note the angle difference between your compass and what is marked on the map,called _____________.
A) magnetic inclination
B) magnetic declination
C) magnetic dipole
D) magnetic reversal
Answer: B
Q2) Tectonic plates move at rates that are approximately ____________.
A) 1 to 5 cm every 1,000 years
B) 1 to 15 cm/year
C) 1 to 15 m/year
D) 10 to 100 m/year
Answer: B
Q3) The thickness of oceanic lithosphere is ____________.
A) uniformly 100 km
B) greatest at the geographic poles and least near the equator
C) greatest near the mid-ocean ridges and thins out away from the ridges
D) least near the mid-ocean ridges and thickens away from the ridges
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Patterns in Nature: Minerals
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Sample Questions
Q1) If humans were able to see a wider range of wavelengths,which physical property/properties of minerals would be affected?
A) color
B) streak
C) luster
D) Both a and b are correct.
E) Both a and c are correct.
Answer: D
Q2) What is not required for the production of diamonds?
A) carbon
B) extreme temperatures and pressures
C) subduction or collision
D) graphite
Answer: C
Q3) In nature most examples of minerals do NOT grow as large,well-formed,euhedral crystals.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Up From the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the volatile content of magma is increased,its viscosity will ____________.
A) increase
B) decrease
C) stay the same
Q2) Geologically,melts are equivalent to both ____________ and ____________.
A) felsic magma; mafic magma
B) felsic lava; mafic lava
C) lavas; magmas
D) fine-grained igneous rocks; coarse-grained igneous rocks
Q3) All of the Earth's internal heat was acquired very early in its history through meteoric impact and differentiation of the core.The Earth's interior loses heat to space but does not currently receive heat through any known process.
A)True
B)False
Q4) If a body of magma is subjected to fractional crystallization,the rock that results is expected to be ____________.
A) identical in chemical composition to the magma
B) more mafic than the magma
C) more felsic than the magma
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Chapter 5: The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why do all lava flows not look the same?
A) Eruptive styles of volcanoes vary by geography.
B) Chemical composition and gas content of lava vary.
C) Lava flows depend on the type of volcano from which they are erupting for their characteristics.
D) All of the above are correct.
Q2) Olympus Mons,the largest known volcano in the solar system,is found on ___________.
A) Earth
B) Mars
C) Neptune
D) Io, a moon of Jupiter
Q3) The Hawaiian island chain is an example of a(n)____________.
A) island volcanic arc
B) continental volcanic arc
C) hot-spot island chain
D) stratovolcanic assembly
Q4) Large-scale volcanic eruptions can cause a drop in global temperatures.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Pages of Earths Past: Sedimentary Rocks
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following would NOT be definitive evidence that a geologist was looking at a package of rocks from a formerly coastal environment?
A) rippled sedimentary structures
B) medium-grained sandstone
C) sediment composed of predominantly calcium carbonate
D) coal deposits
Q2) Which of the following would NOT be definitive evidence that a geologist was looking at a package of rocks from a formerly marine environment?
A) the presence of chert
B) medium-grained sandstone
C) sediment composed of predominantly calcium carbonate
D) evidence of worms and mollusks
Q3) Topset,foreset,and bottomset beds are indicative of ____________.
A) alluvial fans
B) lake bottoms
C) deltas
D) deep-marine settings
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Chapter 7: Metamorphism: a Process of Change
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why is dynamic metamorphism different from the other types of metamorphism?
A) It only requires high temperatures.
B) It only requires high pressures.
C) It is the result of only compressional stress.
D) It is the result of only shear stress.
Q2) Metamorphism brings changes in mineral arrangement and the texture of rocks,but it never leads to new mineral assemblages.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A buried body of aragonitic limestone is recrystallized at low temperatures and pressures,producing calcite; this is an example of ____________.
A) diagenesis
B) erosion
C) metamorphism
D) weathering
Q4) Burial metamorphism produces ____________.
A) foliated rocks only
B) nonfoliated rocks only
C) both foliated and nonfoliated rocks
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Chapter 8: A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which earthquake intensity scale assesses the effects of an earthquake on humans and human-made structures?
A) Richter scale
B) Mercalli scale
C) seismic-moment magnitude scale
Q2) Why do some earthquakes last longer than others?
A) The substrate in which it occurs is stronger.
B) The distance from the epicenter is greater.
C) The frequency of the waves is greater.
D) The distance from the focus is greater.
Q3) The point within Earth where an earthquake takes place is termed the
A) hypocenter (focus)
B) epicenter
C) eye of the fault
D) vertex
Q4) Virtually all of the deaths attributed to major earthquakes have resulted from the collapse of buildings.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Crags, cracks, and Crumples: Crustal
Deformation and Mountain Building
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why are Mt.Everest and the surrounding Himalayan Mountains still growing?
A) They experience no erosion.
B) The Indian Plate is still moving.
C) India is made of stronger lithosphere than Asia.
D) Both a and c are correct.
E) Both b and c are correct.
Q2) In a ____________ fault,the fault plane is less than 35° from horizontal and the hanging-wall block moves upward relative to the footwall block.
A) detachment
B) normal
C) reverse
D) thrust
Q3) Orogenesis (mountain building)leads to the production of ____________.
A) metamorphic rocks only
B) igneous rocks only
C) sedimentary rocks only
D) any of the three rock types listed above
Q4) Within a platform,sedimentary rocks always have a horizontal orientation.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Deep Time: How Old Is Old
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which method of correlation is more reliable for determining age equivalence among bodies of rock that are physically isolated by vast distances?
A) lithologic correlation
B) fossil correlation
Q2) Two atoms of a single element that differ in number of neutrons are said to represent two distinct ____________ of that element.
A) isomers
B) isotopes
C) isotherms
D) atomic species
Q3) In an unweathered sample of igneous rock,the ratio of an unstable isotope to its stable daughter isotope is 1/15.If no daughters were present at the time the rock cooled below closure temperature,and the half-life of the reaction is 50 million years,how old is the rock?
A) 200 million years
B) 400 million years
C) 750 million years
D) None of the above are correct.
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Chapter 11: A Biography of Earth
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Sample Questions
Q1) Earth became internally differentiated,with a metallic core distinct from the rocky mantle,during the ____________.
A) Archean Eon
B) Hadean Eon
C) Proterozoic Eon
D) Paleozoic Era
Q2) The Hadean is a time in Earth history when ____________.
A) the first abundant shelly organisms appear in the fossil record
B) Earth's interior was so hot that any outer crust was likely being extensively remelted
C) stable continental interiors, termed cratons, first formed
D) the dinosaurs appeared and came to dominate large-scale terrestrial life
Q3) Geographically,a shield and surrounding platform together are ____________.
A) a low-lying region where Precambrian rocks crop out
B) a low-lying region where Precambrian rocks are covered by Phanerozoic sedimentary strata
C) a region of compressed rock located behind a volcanic arc at a convergent continental margin
D) synonymous with "craton"
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13
Chapter 12: Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of these materials is used in making glass?
A) salt
B) granite
C) limestone
D) sand
Q2) Nearly all of the minerals that are commercially exploited are either native metals or ore minerals.
A)True
B)False
Q3) ____________ is/are harnessed from the potential energy of water.
A) Hydroelectric power
B) Solar energy
C) Biofuels
D) Hydrologic energy
Q4) Concrete is ____________.
A) synonymous with the term cement
B) synonymous with the term Portland cement
C) a combination of cement, sand, and gravel
D) powdered rock of any lithology mixed with water and allowed to set overnight
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Chapter 13: Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following types of mass movement takes place most gradually?
A) slump
B) creep
C) rock slide
D) mudflow
Q2) ____________occur(s)where thawed sediments move downslope over permafrost.
A) Avalanches
B) Slumps
C) Creep
D) Solifluction
Q3) A warming climate at both higher elevations and polar lattitudes would increase the extent or area in which solifluction occurs.
a. true
b. false
A)True
B)False
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Streams and Floods: the Geology of Running Water
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Sample Questions
Q1) With time,a river may erode terrain to produce a low-lying plain termed a(n)____________.
A) astral plain
B) antedeluvial plain
C) peneplain
D) plateau
Q2) Ephemeral streams ____________.
A) consist of a series of intertwined channels that are overloaded with sediment
B) have flowing water either episodically or during a portion of the year
C) have a channel that is highly sinuous (curvy)
D) divert flow from streams they have intersected through stream erosion.
Q3) The lowest elevation to which a stream can downcut is the ____________.
A) base level
B) floodplain
C) stream gradient
D) thalweg
Q4) All else being equal,water will flow faster in a stream that has a ____________.
A) steep stream gradient
B) gentle stream gradient
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts
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Sample Questions
Q1) Along beaches,groins have ____________.
A) solved the problem of beach drift
B) increased erosion rates immediately upcurrent from the groin
C) increased erosion rates immediately downcurrent from the groin
D) increased depositional rates immediately downcurrent from the groin
Q2) Which portion of the sea floor is most steeply sloped?
A) abyssal plains
B) continental shelves
C) continental slopes
D) continental rises
Q3) It is believed that global warming will result in higher sea levels and warmer ocean surface waters.How will this affect the Gulf Coast and southeast coast of the United States?
A) Flooding from combinations of storms and high tides will be more common.
B) Hurricanes will become more common.
C) Coral reefs within Lake Okeechobee and other lakes of the region suffer from increased acidity of waters around the globe.
D) Both a and b are correct.
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Chapter 16: A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater
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Sample Questions
Q1) Material through which water readily flows is termed ____________.
A) fluent
B) porous
C) permeable
Q2) Unconsolidated sediment typically has greater porosity than lithified rock which it forms.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which statement about recharge areas is NOT true?
A) Recharge areas typically are elevated with respect to neighboring areas.
B) Recharge areas are regions of relatively high precipitation.
C) Recharge areas are the same as discharge areas.
D) Recharge areas are areas where water infiltrates the sediment from above.
Q4) The relationship governing the rate of groundwater flux was discovered by ____________.
A) Alfred Wegener
B) Isaac Newton
C) Henri Darcy
D) Charles Richter
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Chapter 17: Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts
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Sample Questions
Q1) A geologist discovers several lithified horizons that contain ventifacts within matrices material that can be age-dated by carbon-14.Which of the following should the geologist NOT infer,even with good field and laboratory methods of research?
A) average rates of sediment deposition
B) the predominant type(s) of geologic materials being transported through the area at the time/age of each soil horizon
C) the predominant wind directions and age of each horizon
D) the age of the rock from which the ventifacts formed
Q2) Two other names for desert washes (dry gullies)are ____________.
A) barchans and wadis
B) wadis and arroyos
C) arroyos and inselbergs
D) inselbergs and wadis
Q3) The geometry of sand dunes is strongly influenced by the ____________.
A) strength of the wind
B) consistency of wind direction
C) abundance of sand
D) All of the above are correct.
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19
Chapter 18: Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages
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Sample Questions
Q1) The primary cause of permafrost is ___________.
A) nightly temperatures of -15°C or colder
B) cold seeping out of glaciers into underlying soil or sediment
C) average temperatures of -5°C or colder
D) the very long winter nights and very short winter days that occur in polar regions
Q2) Ice quakes are caused by ____________.
A) the sudden brittle failure of ice when large new crevasses form
B) the manner in which S-waves move through ice
C) surges in the flow of glaciers
D) tectonic uplift beneath large ice sheets
Q3) The average difference in sea level between ice ages and interglacial periods has been about ____________.
A) 1200 ft
B) 120 m
C) 120 ft
D) 12 ft
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Chapter 19: Global Change in the Earth System
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Sample Questions
Q1) Ice and snow reflect much more of the sun's energy than soils or vegetation.What effect would a permanent,complete covering of the Arctic Ocean by floating sea ice have on the extent of permafrost in arctic and high latitude lands?
A) The areal extent of permafrost would increase.
B) The areal extent of permafrost would decrease.
C) The areal extent of permafrost would correlate more closely with the extent of the Arctic "ozone hole."
D) The areal extent of permafrost would correlate more closely with the extent of Arctic glaciers.
Q2) A greenhouse gas is one that __________.
A) affects the color of the sky (tending it toward subtle green-blue, as viewed from the Earth's surface during daytime)
B) absorbs more of the sun's incoming radiation
C) increases plant and vegetation growth around the planet
D) absorbs more of the long-wave radiation emitted from the Earth's surface
Q3) Change within the Earth system is unidirectional and cannot be reversed.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 20: Rock Groups
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Sample Questions
Q1) Composition describes the _______________.
A) degree of compaction and cementation
B) arrangement of minerals in a rock
C) presence of layers of minerals
D) chemical makeup of the rock
Q2) Which type of rock is formed by precipitation of minerals from a solution?
A) metamorphic
B) glassy
C) sedimentary
D) igneous
Q3) If a rock is subjected to high heat and pressure,a(n)_______________ rock will form.
A) igneous
B) molten
C) metamorphic
D) sedimentary
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Chapter 21: A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils
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Sample Questions
Q1) What type of weathering process would you expect to find occurring in a cold climate?
A) dissolution
B) salt wedging
C) frost wedging
D) oxidation
Q2) If the climate in an area has very little rainfall,what would the characteristics of the soil in the area be?
A) thick, with a lot of organic material
B) thin, with a lot of organic material
C) thick, with very little organic material
D) thin, with very little organic material
Q3) Which of the following is a type of physical weathering?
A) thermal expansion
B) dissolution
C) oxidation
D) hydration
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Chapter 22: The Rock Cycle
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Sample Questions
Q1) What must happen in order to transform a metamorphic rock into a sedimentary rock?
A) formation of a volcano
B) mountain building
C) formation of a glacier
D) subduction of oceanic crust
Q2) Why does uplifting metamorphic rocks during mountain building lead to the formation of sedimentary rocks?
A) because water can't penetrate the ground
B) because metamorphic rocks can only be eroded by air
C) because the rocks become exposed to the elements and erode
D) because metamorphic rocks are only found under mountains
Q3) What process transforms a sedimentary rock into an igneous rock?
A) erosion
B) metamorphism
C) deposition
D) melting
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Chapter 23: The Earths Interior Revisited: Insights From Geophysics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Geophysics is the study of _________.
A) how magma moves within the Earth
B) how Earth's layers change through time
C) the interior of Earth using seismicity, magnetics, and gravity
D) the surface of Earth using seismicity, magnetics, and gravity
Q2) Why are magnetic anomalies of continental crust so much more complicated than those of oceanic crust?
A) The continents are much older and thus have had more time for the minerals to become magnetized.
B) The continents contain abundant iron minerals, whereas the oceanic crust does not contain any iron minerals.
C) The continents contain a random orientation of minerals that become magnetized when they interact with the magnetic field.
D) The continents contain a complex distribution of igneous intrusions, lava flows, and iron-rich sediments.
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25
Chapter 24: Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why is the preservation potential of feathers so low?
A) because birds usually die in dry environments
B) because birds do not contain hard parts
C) because virds are very small and thus are not well preserved
D) because birds die in forests, areas with high oxygen levels
Q2) If two animals are members of the same kingdom,how closely are they related in comparison to two animals that are members of the same genus?
A) Animals of the same kingdom are less closely related than those of the same genus.
B) Animals of the same kingdom are more closely related than those of the same genus.
C) There is no way to tell how closely related either are without more information.
D) Animals of the same kingdom are not related at all.
Q3) In which of the following rocks might you find fossils?
A) gneiss
B) limestone
C) granite
D) marble
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Chapter 25: An Introduction to Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the area contains several small hills each with base elevation of 2,105 ft and summit elevations of 2,345 ft,2,456 ft,and 2,565 ft,what is the maximum relief in the area?
A) 220 ft
B) 460 ft
C) 2,565 ft
D) 2,105 ft
Q2) Why does some life activity strengthen the substrate while others weaken it?
A) Burrowing creatures distribute stronger soil around, while plants digest and weaken soil.
B) Burrowing creatures distribute stronger soil around, while plant roots wedge soil apart.
C) Plant roots help anchor soil, while burrowing into or mining out soil weakens it.
D) Some organisms secrete a binding agent in the soil, while plants digest and weaken soil.
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