Geological Science Exam
Review
Course Introduction
Geological Science is the study of the Earth, its structure, processes, materials, and history. This course explores the physical and chemical properties of rocks and minerals, the dynamic processes such as plate tectonics, volcanism, and erosion that shape the planets surface, and the methods used to interpret Earths past. Topics include the formation and classification of rocks, the geologic time scale, Earths internal structure, and the impact of geological processes on the environment and human society. Students gain hands-on experience with field investigations, laboratory analysis, and scientific reasoning, preparing them for understanding natural resources, environmental challenges, and the history of our planet.
Recommended Textbook
GEOL 2nd Edition by Reed Wicander
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Chapter 1: Understanding Earth: A Dynamic and Evolving Planet
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Jovian planets are:
A)Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,and Neptune.
B)Mercury,Venus,Earth,and Mars.
C)Earth,Mars,and Jupiter.
D)Uranus,Neptune,and Pluto.
E)Mercury,Earth,Mars,and Pluto.
Answer: A
Q2) Anthropology is the study of human beings.Therefore,the name of the system that refers to humans on Earth is the ____________________.
Answer: anthrosphere
Q3) What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?
Answer: A rock is an aggregate of minerals.Minerals are naturally occurring,inorganic,crystalline solids that have definite physical and chemical properties.
Q4) Earth's solid portion is divided into concentric layers of rock and other materials that may be solid,liquid,or partially molten.From the center to the surface,these are known as the inner
Answer: core,core,mantle,crust
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Chapter 2: Plate Tectonics: A Unifying Theory
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Q1) Briefly explain why the movement of continents over geologic time was the best explanation for polar wandering.
Answer: Since the Earth has only one magnetic north pole now,it is extremely unlikely that there would have been more than one in the past,but this would have been required to explain the different polar wander paths of the different continents.The only other possible explanation is that the continents were once joined and have since moved.
Q2) Radiometric dating shows that the oldest ocean crust is ____________________ years old and the oldest continental crust is ____________________ years old.
Answer: 180 million,3.96 billion
Q3) Who was the first person to suggest that all of the continents had been once joined together as a supercontinent called Pangaea and when was that idea proposed?
Answer: The German meteorologist Alfred Wegener proposed the existence of Pangaea in 1915.
Q4) The heat that drives thermal convection cells comes primarily from ____________________ and is supplemented by ____________________.
Answer: the core,radioactive decay
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Chapter 3: Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks
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Sample Questions
Q1) Give one example of each of the carbonates,sulfates,sulfides,and halides.
Answer: Calcite/dolomite,gypsum,pyrite/sphalerite/galena,halite/fluorite.
Q2) What is the most distinctive physical property of the mineral halite?
Answer: The salty taste.
Q3) Name three properties commonly exhibited by minerals that have metallic bonding. Answer: Choose any three of the following: metallic luster,electrical conductivity,thermal conductivity,higher specific gravity,and malleability.
Q4) Which of the following are all examples of minerals?
A)bronze,steel,glass,aluminum,pencil lead
B)gold,silver,uranium,lead,silica,iron
C)copper,ice,quartz,topaz,diamond,corundum
D)water,mercury,metallic hydrogen,limestone
E)petroleum,coal,iron,feldspar,basalt
Answer: C
Q5) Carbon-12 (C¹²),carbon-13 (C¹³),and carbon-14 (C¹ )are all ____________________ of the ____________________ carbon.
Answer: isotopes,element
Q6) How many minerals have been identified and described?
Answer: More than 3,500.
Page 5
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Chapter 4: Igneous Rocks and Intrusive Igneous Activity
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Q1) What phenomena does Bowen's reaction series help explain?
Q2) What are the effects of assimilation on magma composition?
Q3) What are flood basalts?
Q4) What is viscosity? What is the effect of temperature and composition on the viscosity of magma? At the same temperature,which composition of magma will be the most viscous: felsic,intermediate,or mafic? Which will be the least viscous?
Q5) ____________________ are concordant,mushroom-shaped plutons.
Q6) Igneous rocks with a texture that is so fine-grained that the crystals are too small to see is:
A)aphanitic.
B)porphyritic.
C)glassy.
D)phaneritic.
E)pyroclastic.
Q7) The lowest temperature mineral on Bowen's reaction series is olivine.
A)True
B)False
Q8) The presence of country rock inclusions in an intrusive igneous rock is evidence that the rock underwent the process of ____________________.
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Chapter 5: Volcanoes and Volcanism
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Q1) An example of a caldera is:
A)Mount St.Helens,Washington.
B)Paricutín,Mexico.
C)El Chichon,Mexico.
D)Krakatau,Java.
E)Crater Lake,Oregon.
Q2) Describe composite volcanoes.How do they differ from shield volcanoes and cinder cones?
Q3) One common but dangerous gas emitted from volcanoes,which was responsible for many deaths in Cameroon,is ____________________.
Q4) Describe igneous activity at convergent plate boundaries.
Q5) Which magma type usually erupts from fissures?
Q6) What is volcanism,and what types of rocks does it produce?
Q7) How did recent eruptions of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines and Kilauea in Hawaii differ?
Q8) How could you distinguish a volcanic crater from a caldera?
Q9) Why are there volcanoes on the west coast of North America but not on the east coast?
Page 7
Q10) How do pillow lavas form?
Q11) What produces columnar jointing in lava flows?
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Page 8
Chapter 6: Weathering, Soil, and Sedimentary Rocks
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Q1) A rock may be subjected to either mechanical or chemical weathering,but never both at the same time.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A vertical sequence of a(n)____________________ facies shows an offshore facies superposed on nearshore facies.
Q3) Which coal contains the most carbon and is the hottest burning?
A)lignite
B)anthracite
C)bituminous
D)peat
E)subbituminous
Q4) What processes lead to soil degradation?
Q5) Sedimentary layers in which grain size decreases from bottom to top are called graded beds.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How does graded bedding form?
Q7) What two sedimentary structures can be useful in determining ancient current directions?
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Chapter 7: Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks
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Q1) The most important fluid promoting metamorphism is ____________________.
Q2) The various colors of slate result from differing intensities of deformation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The region between two adjacent isograds makes up a single metamorphic facies.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe the characteristics of marble.How does it form,and what is it used for?
Q5) A foliation found in metamorphic rocks with more than 50% plate and elongated minerals is known as ____________________,and the rock this foliation is found in is called ____________________.
Q6) If metamorphic rock contains biotite,garnet,and staurolite,it is ____________________ grade.
Q7) The type of metamorphism that occurs over large areas,commonly at convergent plate margins,and is responsible for the production of most metamorphic rocks is ____________________.
Q8) What is a metamorphic facies,and how are metamorphic facies named?
Q9) What is an aureole?
Page 10
Q10) Foliated metamorphic rocks are further classified on the basis of what observable properties?
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Chapter 8: Earthquakes and Earths Interior
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Q1) What happens to P- waves and S-waves when they encounter the core-mantle boundary,and what does this change in behavior indicate about the core?
Q2) Why are all intermediate- to deep-focus earthquakes generated at convergent plate boundaries?
Q3) Explain the differences between the magnitude and the intensity of an earthquake,in terms of cause and effect.
Q4) When "the big one" hits Southern California,Los Angeles is likely to slip into the ocean. A)True
B)False
Q5) Which type(s)of seismic waves do seismographs record?
Q6) The composition of the core is:
A)peridotite.
B)basalt.
C)granite.
D)iron.
E)iron and nickel metal.
Q7) The increase of temperature with depth is known as the
Q8) How does elastic rebound theory explain when earthquakes occur?
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Chapter 9: Deformation, Mountain Building, and the Continents
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Q1) What happens first when a stress is applied to a rock? What two things could happen if the stress continues to the next step?
Q2) What are stress and strain? How are they related to deformation?
Q3) Rocks that are now tilted were deposited ____________________.
Q4) Rocks that are tilted were deposited:
A)on a slope in their present orientation.
B)in an unknown orientation and then were tilted into their current position.
C)horizontally and then were tilted into their current orientation.
D)vertically and then were tilted into their current orientation.
E)on the continental shelf and then uplifted.
Q5) Small accreted lithospheric blocks of foreign origin that differ completely from the rocks in surrounding regions are called ____________________.
Q6) How did the monocline in the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming form?
Q7) Divergent plate boundaries are responsible for most orogenesis.
A)True
B)False
Page 13
Q8) If the mantle transmits S-waves,then how can it behave like a liquid,as implied by the principle of isostasy?
Q9) What are the three types of stress,and how do they affect rocks?
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Page 14
Chapter 10: Mass Wasting
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Q1) The type of mass movement that moves the greatest amount of material downslope is:
A)creep. B)slumps.
C)rockfall.
D)slides.
E)avalanches.
Q2) The type of mass wasting that is responsible for the greatest amount of monetary damage is:
A)creep. B)slumps. C)rockfall.
D)slides.
E)avalanches.
Q3) Creep is the most economically damaging and widespread type of material flow. A)True B)False
Q4) Curved tree trunks,displaced monuments,tilted power poles,displaced and tilted fences,roadways moved out of alignment,and hummocky surfaces are all evidence of
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Chapter 11: Running Water
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Q1) Briefly explain what will happen to a stream's behavior if one drains a lake that is a temporary base level for that stream.
Q2) What is/are the source(s)of dissolved load in most streams?
Q3) In meandering streams,the water velocity tends to be greatest in the ____________________ portion of the meander.
Q4) Describe the evolution of valleys.
Q5) How and where do alluvial fans form?
Q6) What are braided streams,and where do they form?
Q7) A stream that cuts directly through ridges that lie in their paths are called ____________________.
Q8) Braided streams have an intricate network of dividing and rejoining channels. A)True B)False
Q9) If a superposed stream erodes downward into resistant rock and cuts narrow canyons,the resulting feature is called a(n)____________________.
Q10) What are some of the techniques used to try to control floods?
Page 16
Q11) What causes a delta to form?
Q12) What is a superposed stream?
Q13) Describe the major drainage patterns.
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Page 17
Chapter 12: Groundwater
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Q1) Within the zone of saturation,groundwater flows from the region of ____________________ pressure to the region of ____________________ pressure.
Q2) A permeable layer that transports water is called a(n)____________________.
Q3) How do stalactites,stalagmites,columns,drip curtains,and travertine terraces form?
Q4) What is the immediate source of the water in groundwater?
Q5) How do landfills cause groundwater contamination? What can be done in the construction of a landfill that will make it less likely to contaminate groundwater?
Q6) The configuration of the water table is a subdued replica of the overlying land surface;it rises beneath hills and has its lowest elevation beneath valleys. A)True B)False
Q7) Rocks such as limestone and granite cannot be groundwater reservoirs. A)True B)False
Q8) The boundary between the zone of aeration and the zone of saturation is known as the ____________________.
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Chapter 13: Glaciers and Glaciation
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Q1) How does the water bound in glaciers eventually reenter the hydrologic cycle?
Q2) A glacier that is now longer flowing is called a(n)____________________ glacier.
Q3) What causes the rate of flow of a glacier to flow more rapidly?
Q4) Earth's orbit varies from nearly a circle to an ellipse and back again in about:
A)1,000,000 years.
B)100,000 years.
C)10,000 years.
D)1,000 years.
E)100 years.
Q5) What is a glacial surge?
Q6) What is a fiord,and how does one form?
Q7) Glacial till is:
A)any sediment deposited as a result of glacial activity.
B)boulders transported long distances and deposited by glaciers.
C)an elongated,spoon-shaped hill that has been shaped by an overriding glacier.
D)unstratified sediment deposited directly by a glacier.
E)a lake within an outwash plain.
Q9) What is a hanging valley,and how does one form? Page 19
Q8) Explain the origin of varves and their significance in the chronologies of glacial lake deposits.
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Page 20
Chapter 14: The Work of Wind and Deserts
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Q1) Wind erodes by:
A)saltation.
B)abrasion.
C)deflation.
D)saltation and abrasion.
E)abrasion and deflation.
Q2) Deserts mostly occur at ____ latitudes.
A)low
B)middle
C)high
D)low and middle
E)middle and high
Q3) As in more humid regions,streams in deserts draw upon groundwater to replace water lost to evaporation and absorption into the ground.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are alluvial fans,and why are they common in desert mountain ranges?
Q5) Why do most desert streams never reach the sea?
Q6) Explain how wind can be a significant intercontinental agent of erosion and deposition.
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Chapter 15: Oceans, Shorelines, and Shoreline Processes
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Q1) A coast that is straight and has marine terraces is a(n):
A)depositional coast.
B)erosional coast.
C)submergent coast.
D)emergent coast.
E)none of the above
Q2) How does the Moon generate tides? Why are there generally two high tides and two low tides a day?
Q3) The average salinity of seawater can be expressed as ____________________ grams per kilogram of seawater,____________________ parts per thousand,and ____________________ percent.
Q4) What are the primary agents of sediment transport and deposition along shorelines?
Q5) Outline the factors that create global surface circulation patterns and describe the patterns created.Where are the cold water currents and where are the warm water currents? How does this moderate Earth's temperature?
Q6) How do shoreline processes tend to straighten an initially irregular shoreline?
Q7) Briefly explain how sea level could fall in one region while it is generally rising elsewhere.
Page 22
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Chapter 16: Geologic Time: Concepts and Principles
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Q1) The loss of two protons and two neutrons from the nucleus is:
A)alpha decay.
B)beta decay.
C)electron decay.
D)electron capture.
E)half-life decay.
Q2) If you start with an element with 1,000,000 parent atoms,how many parents and how many daughters will there be after 6 half-lives?
Q3) How do geologists do correlation using rocks and fossils?
Q4) A sedimentary rock that shows evidence of contact metamorphism must be ____________________ in age than the igneous rock with which it is in contact,even if it lies above the igneous rock.
Q5) What is absolute dating,and what is it based on? What can absolute dating tell us?
Q6) All radioactive elements decay in only one decay step.
A)True
B)False
Q7) Different varieties of an atom that have a different number of neutrons in their nuclei are ____________________.
Page 23
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Chapter 17: Earth History
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Q1) What are the three main rock types that characterize Archean shield areas?
Q2) The Grenville orogeny was the culminating event of the amalgamation of Laurentia. A)True
B)False
Q3) How was the style of plate tectonics different in the Archean than it is today? When did the present style of plate tectonics begin?
Q4) Pennsylvanian rocks have a characteristic cyclical deposition sequence of ____ and ____ sediments called ____.
A)shale,carbonate,varves
B)marine,nonmarine,varves
C)carbonate,shale,cyclothems
D)marine,nonmarine,cyclothems
E)none of the above
Q5) What was the Sundance Sea?
Q6) Describe the four stages of the breakup of Pangaea.
Q7) The distinctive sedimentary rocks that were deposited in the early-formed Gulf of Mexico were ____________________.
Q8) Pangaea was formed from tectonic plates and ____________________.
Page 24
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Chapter 18: Life History
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Q1) What happened to marine invertebrates during the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Permian Period,and what caused it?
Q2) Mammals that give birth to live young that need little or no protection after birth are called ____________________ mammals.
Q3) Since the appearance of Cro-Magnon,what has been the major area of human evolution?
Q4) The ____________________ were characterized by a thickened dome-shaped skull.
Q5) What are stromatolites,and why are they important in Earth history?
Q6) The amalgamation of Pangaea may have played an important role in the Permian extinction because the shallow marine environment was greatly reduced.
A)True
B)False
Q7) What was the first line of evidence that the Cretaceous Mass Extinctions were caused predominantly by a large meteorite impact?
Q8) What evidence of life on Earth before stromatolites do we have?
Q9) What were the pelycosaurs,and why were they important?
Q10) What are fossils?
Q11) What is a symbiotic relationship? Page 25
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