Geological Sciences
Exam Solutions
Course Introduction
Geological Sciences is an interdisciplinary course that explores the dynamic processes shaping the Earth, from its origins to present-day phenomena. The course examines the Earth's structure, the composition and classification of rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, geologic time, and the agents of weathering and erosion. Students learn how to analyze geological data, interpret earth processes, and understand the impact of geology on the environment and society. Emphasis is placed on fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and critical problem-solving skills to provide a comprehensive understanding of Earth's systems and their relevance to natural resources, hazards, and global change.
Recommended Textbook
Physical Geology Earth Revealed 9th Edition by Diane Carlson
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Chapter
Tectonics,and Other Important Concepts
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is Earth's external heat engine?
A)geothermal power
B)solar power
C)All of Earth's heat is generated internally.
Answer: B
Q2) To understand geology one must understand how the solid Earth interacts with water,air,and living organisms.For this reason,it is useful to think of Earth as being part of a ____.
A)hydrosphere
B)system
C)trend
D)group
E)formation
Answer: B
Q3) While the reserves of petroleum hydrocarbons within the United States are limited,other geologic resources (iron,aluminum,copper,and tin)are available in great abundance.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Earths Interior and Geophysical Properties
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Sample Questions
Q1) The average heat flow of the continents is the same as the average heat flow of the sea floor.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Continental crust is ___ relative to oceanic crust.
A)the same thickness
B)thinner
C)thicker
D)hotter
E)of unknown relation
Answer: C
Q3) The upper mantle consists of _______.
A)granite
B)basalt
C)ultramafic rocks
D)metamorphic rocks
E)sedimentary rocks
Answer: C
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Page 4
Chapter 3: The Sea Floor
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Sample Questions
Q1) The continental rise is a wedge of sediment that extends from the lower part of the continent slope to the deep-sea floor.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Turbidity currents flow down the continental slope until they come to rest on ___.
A)the continental shelf
B)the mid-oceanic ridge
C)a guyot
D)the abyssal plain
E)a submarine trench
Answer: D
Q3) A contour current is a bottom current that flows parallel to the slopes of the continental margin.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Plate Tectonics
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Vine-Matthews hypothesis provided a means to measure the rate of sea-floor spreading.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The most common type of transform faults offset oceanic ____.
A)abyssal plains
B)microcontinents
C)continental shelves
D)trenches
E)ridge crests
Q3) The asthenosphere is a mantle zone of low seismic wave velocity that behaves in a ductile manner.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The portion of a fracture zone between two offset portions of a ridge crest is called a transform fault.
A)True
B)False
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Mountain Belts and the Continental Crust
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Sample Questions
Q1) Orogenies are not accompanied by metamorphism and igneous activity.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Isostatic adjustment takes place during orogeny.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A(n)_________ mountain range,such as the Basin and Range and Tetons,implies a horizontal extension strain.
A)fault block
B)erosional
C)volcanic
D)fold
E)strike-slip.
Q4) A(n)__________ is an episode of intense deformation of the rocks of a region.
A)isostatic adjustment
B)geosyncline
C)orogeny
D)buoyancy event
E)basin to dome event
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Chapter 6: Geologic Structures
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Sample Questions
Q1) In cross section a structural basin looks like a ______.
A)dome
B)normal fault
C)anticline
D)bowl
E)reverse fault
Q2) A rock that behaves in a(n)____ manner will bend under stress and does not return to its original shape.
A)elastic
B)brittle
C)plastic
D)rubber
E)tactile
Q3) A(n)_____ represents a vertical slice through the Earth.
A)elevation model
B)traverse
C)map
D)cross-section
E)fold
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Earthquakes
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Sample Questions
Q1) _____ waves tend to be incredibly destructive to buildings because they produce much ground movement and take a long time to pass.
A)Body
B)Love
C)Rayleigh
D)S
E)P
Q2) One suggested cause of deep focus earthquakes is ______.
A)collapse of minerals into denser forms
B)collapse of pore space in sedimentary rocks
C)collision of convection currents
D)friction between the core and the mantle
E)the rise of core material into the mantle
Q3) An earthquake of Richter magnitude 5 releases 32 times more energy than an earthquake of magnitude 4.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Paleoseismology studies the past record of earthquakes.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: Time and Geology
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Sample Questions
Q1) The ___ Era began with the appearance of complex life,as indicated by fossils like trilobites.
A)Quaternary
B)Cenozoic
C)Mesozoic
D)Paleozoic
E)Precambrian
Q2) Isotopes of same element have different numbers of neutrons.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The relative-dating principle of __ states that fragments included in a host rock are older than the host rock.
A)inclusion
B)exclusion
C)intuition
D)supposition
E)superposition
Q4) In an unconformity the contact represents a gap in the geologic record.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Atoms,Elements and Minerals
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Sample Questions
Q1) Two examples of framework silicates are _____ and ______.
A)calcite; dolomite
B)olivine; pyroxene
C)quartz; feldspar
D)biotite; muscovite
E)amphibole; olivine
Q2) ____ has the property of generating electricity when squeezed in a certain crystallographic direction.
A)Copper
B)Mica
C)Amphibole
D)Gold
E)Quartz
Q3) _______ of an element are atoms containing different numbers of neutrons but the same number of protons.
A)Ions
B)Classes
C)Particles
D)Isotopes
E)Varieties
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Chapter 10: Volcanism and Extrusive Rocks
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Sample Questions
Q1) In 1902 the port city of St.Pierre on the island of Martinique was destroyed by a ___.
A)tsunami
B)lava flow
C)mud flow
D)poison gas cloud
E)pyroclastic flow
Q2) Over 34,000 people died as a result of the ______ generated by the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883.
A)tidal wave
B)suzuki
C)roller
D)tsunami
E)whitecap
Q3) Pahoehoe lava flow is characterized by a ropy or billowy surface.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Composite volcanoes are also called cinder cone volcanoes.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mineralogically and chemically equivalent rocks are ___ and __.
A)granite; rhyolite
B)gabbro; basalt
C)diorite; andesite
D)mafic; ultramafic
E)intermediate; felsic
Q2) Most of the basalt and gabbro on the ocean floor is created at mid oceanic ridges,which are also ____.
A)divergent plate boundaries
B)ocean-ocean convergent plate boundaries
C)transform plate boundaries
D)ocean-continent plate boundaries
E)intraplate igneous areas
Q3) Pegmatites are extremely coarse-grained igneous rocks.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The melting point of a rock decreases with increasing pressure.
A)True
B)False
13
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Chapter 12: Weathering and Soil
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Sample Questions
Q1) The B-horizon in soil is the zone of accumulation.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Water that has trickled down into a joint in a rock can freeze,expand,and _____.
A)glue the rock more tightly together
B)make the rock harder
C)seal the crack thereby preventing further weathering
D)widen the crack and hastening the rock's disintegration
E)displace surface acids that may weaken the rock
Q3) Transportation is the picking up or physical removal of rock particles by an agent such as running water or glaciers.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The only processes that affect rock are weathering and climate.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Because the crystal structure of ice is different from that of water,liquid water expands when it freezes.
A)True
B)False
14
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Chapter 13: Mass Wasting
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Sample Questions
Q1) One way to prevent slope failure is to __.
A)drain ground water from the slope
B)re-grade the slope so that it is more gently inclined
C)pin the rock onto the slope with rock bolts or other devices
D)retain or establish vegetation to protect the slope
E)All of the answers are correct.
Q2) ____ generally makes a slope more susceptible to mass wasting of soil.
A)New vegetation
B)Construction
C)Humid climates
D)Creep
E)Solifluction
Q3) Surface tension created by a small amount of water in soil decreases its shear strength.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Creep is very slow downslope movement of soil.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Sediment and Sedimentary Rocks
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Sample Questions
Q1) In order of decreasing size (largest listed first),sedimentary grain sizes include __.
A)clay,sand,silt,and gravel
B)gravel,sand,clay,and silt
C)sand,gravel,silt,and clay
D)gravel,sand,silt,and clay
E)gravel,silt,sand,and clay
Q2) Detrital sedimentary rocks form from cemented sedimentary grains that are fragments of a preexisting rock.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Rock salt is composed of the mineral ______.
A)calcite
B)trona
C)dolomite
D)halite
E)gypsum
Q4) A sandstone with more than 25% sand-sized feldspar is an arkose.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: Metamorphism, Metamorphic Rocks, and Hydrothermal Rocks
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Sample Questions
Q1) _______ metamorphism occurs adjacent to a pluton when a body of magma intrudes a relatively cool country rock.
A)Sedimentary
B)Igneous
C)Regional
D)Burial
E)Contact
Q2) Metamorphic rock forms from pre-existing rock when heat and pressure cause solid-state transformations.
A)True
B)False
Q3) When a rock is buried to increasing depth it is subject to increasingly greater temperature and pressure and will undergo _____.
A)contact metamorphism
B)prograde metamorphism
C)shock metamorphism
D)retrograde metamorphism
E)hydrothermal metamorphism
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Chapter 16: Streams and Floods
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Sample Questions
Q1) A stream can lengthen its valley by headward erosion.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Drainage basins are bowl-shaped depressions with a lake in the middle,and all streams in the basin discharge their water and sediment into that lake.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Certain features on the planet Mars resemble _____ on Earth.
A)river channels
B)hydrologic cycle
C)alluvial fans
D)deltas
E)placer deposits
Q4) A ____ drainage pattern is one in which streams diverge outward likes spokes on a wheel.
A)jointed
B)tilted
C)compass
D)radial
E)conical
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Chapter 17: Ground Water
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Sample Questions
Q1) Gasoline leaked from gas station storage tanks is less dense than water and can rise to the top of the water in an aquifer.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A(n)_______ is a body of saturated rock or sediment through which water can move easily.
A)sediment
B)evaporite
C)caprock
D)aquifer
E)aquiclude
Q3) The saturated zone overlies the water table.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Most caves probably are formed by ground water circulating ___ the water table.
A)at
B)below
C)above
D)with an uncertain relation to
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Chapter 18: Deserts and Wind Action
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Q1) Sand moving over a dune surface by saltation typically forms ___.
A)graded beds
B)ripple marks
C)mud cracks
D)desert pavement
E)tool marks
Q2) Because sand grains are heavier than clay and silt particles,sand grains move close to the ground in a leaping pattern called ______.
A)slipping
B)jumping
C)saltation
D)parabolas
E)blowouts
Q3) Dune sand throughout the world is composed of the stable mineral quartz.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A transverse dune is a relatively straight,elongated dune oriented parallel to wind direction.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 19: Glaciers and Glaciation
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Q1) The boundary between the zone of accumulation and the zone of ablation is an irregular line called the _____.
A)equipotential surface
B)equilibrium line
C)balancing line
D)break-even curve
E)snow line
Q2) Support is growing for the idea that a late Precambrian ice sheet was so extensive that the surface of the world ocean was frozen.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The sediment deposited by debris-laden melt water is called _______.
A)fluvial
B)alluvial
C)discharge
D)outwash
E)pediment
Q4) Glaciers in temperate climates may have crevasses that extend to their base.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 20: Waves,Beaches and Coasts
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Q1) A ___ encompasses all land near the sea,including the beach and a strip of land inland from it.
A)coast
B)shoreline
C)shore
D)high tide
E)tidal range
Q2) You can get out of a rip current easily by swimming ____ to the beach instead of struggling against the current.
A)perpendicular
B)on your back
C)diagonally
D)parallel
E)There is no easy way out of a rip current.
Q3) A fiord is a glacially-cut valley flooded by rising sea level.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Estuaries,such as Chesapeake Bay,are drowned glacial-cut valleys.
A)True
B)False
Page 22
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Chapter 21: Geologic Resources
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Q1) When a drill hole first penetrates an oil reservoir the pent up gases may drive the petroleum to the surface.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Most of the easily recoverable uranium in the United States is found in sandstone in New Mexico,Utah,and Colorado.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Counting tar sands,_______ has the second largest oil reserves in the world.
A)the United States
B)Brazil
C)Mexico
D)Canada
E)Nigeria
Q4) Ores are naturally occurring materials that can be mined profitably.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The more carbon,the more combustible (economically desirable)the coal. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 22: The Earths Companions
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Q1) Small _____ are rocky or iron bodies in our solar system that remain irregular in shape because of their weak gravity.
A)asteroids
B)satellites
C)shooting stars
D)comets
E)quasars
Q2) To the best of our knowledge,the Earth,Sun,and Moon are all the same age,about _______ years old.
A)4.6 billion
B)4000
C)500 million
D)1 billion
E)100,000
Q3) The gravity of Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,and Neptune resulted in their becoming surrounded by envelopes of nitrogen-rich gas.
A)True
B)False
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