Geoscience Fundamentals
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Course Introduction
Geoscience Fundamentals introduces students to the essential principles and concepts that form the foundation of earth sciences. Covering key topics such as Earth's structure, mineralogy, rock formation, plate tectonics, geologic time, and the processes shaping our planet's surface, this course emphasizes the interconnectedness of physical, chemical, and biological systems. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, students will develop a broad understanding of how geological processes influence landscapes, natural resources, and environmental challenges, preparing them for more advanced studies in geoscience fields.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Geology 3rd Edition by Stephen Marshak
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Chapter 1: The Earth in Context
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Q1) A light year is a unit that measures ____________.
A) time
B) mass
C) distance
D) luminous intensity
Answer: C
Q2) As the Universe has evolved,____________.
A) hydrogen has been lost through fusion to form helium within stars
B) hydrogen concentration has increased through the fission of helium atoms
C) hydrogen concentration has increased through the fusion of helium atoms
D) the number of hydrogen atoms has likely remained constant
Answer: A
Q3) Chemically,the Moon is quite similar to ____________.
A) seawater
B) Earth's crust
C) Earth's mantle
D) Earth's core
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics
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Q1) In the terminology of plate tectonics,an active margin is ____________.
A) synonymous with "subduction zone"
B) a 5-mile radius surrounding an active volcano
C) a continental coastline that coincides with a plate boundary
D) anywhere on Earth where earthquakes are especially frequent
Answer: C
Q2) The apparent polar-wander path obtained from magnetite crystals in basalts on the North American continent is now interpreted to be the result of ____________.
A) wandering of the geomagnetic north pole
B) drifting of the North American continent
Answer: B
Q3) The age of oceanic crust ____________ with increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge.
A) increases
B) decreases
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Patterns in Nature: Minerals
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Q1) The most useful diagnostic property of minerals is their color in hand sample.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) A single mineral may take on multiple crystalline lattice structures.
A)True
B)False Answer: False
Q3) Gemstones are commonly found in pegmatites,which are igneous rocks that are
A) exceptionally mafic
B) extrusive, forming from lava
C) exceptionally coarse-grained
D) exceptionally fine-grained
Answer: C
Q4) Two distinct minerals may have the same chemical formula.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter
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Q1) Coarse-grained granite is most similar in mineral composition to fine-grained
A) andesite
B) basalt
C) komatiite
D) rhyolite
Q2) Coarse-grained gabbro is most similar in mineral composition to fine-grained ____________.
A) andesite
B) basalt
C) komatiite
D) rhyolite
Q3) If the volatile content of magma is increased,its viscosity will ____________.
A) increase
B) decrease
C) stay the same
Q4) Volatiles refer to substances that ____________.
A) crystallize most rapidly out of a melt
B) melt immediately upon contact with a hot body of magma
C) have a tendency to evaporate and are stable as gases
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Chapter 5: The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions
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Q1) One of the reasons volcanic eruptions are so deadly is that there is no way to predict where an eruption will occur in the near future.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Of the three primary forms of subaerial volcanoes,____________ are sometimes referred to as "composite volcanoes."
A) stratovolcanoes
B) cinder cones
C) shield volcanoes
Q3) Rhyolitic lavas ____________.
A) do not flow as far from the vent as basaltic lavas do
B) cool much more slowly than basaltic lavas do
C) are associated with volcanoes that almost never emit pyroclastic debris
D) all of the above
Q4) Gases that are abundantly emitted by volcanoes include ____________.
A) water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide
B) oxygen, ozone, and water vapor
C) oxygen, hydrogen, and neon
D) carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and oxygen
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Chapter 6: Pages of Earths Past: Sedimentary Rocks
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Q1) A clastic rock comprised of sand-sized grains derived from the physical weathering of granite and containing a sizable proportion of feldspar is termed ____________.
A) metasandstone
B) lithosandstone
C) graywacke
D) arkose
Q2) Which type of sediment settles at greater fluid velocities than sand?
A) clay
B) gravel
C) mud
D) silt
Q3) A fine-grained clastic rock that splits into thin sheets is ____________.
A) mudstone
B) shale
C) sandstone
D) arkose
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Chapter 7: Metamorphism: a Process of Change
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Q1) Phyllite would most likely be found ____________.
A) in an aureole around a cooled igneous intrusion
B) at the eroding base of an ancient collisional mountain range
C) at depth within the mid-ocean ridge system
D) within a meteorite impact crater
Q2) ____________ commonly serves as a protolith in the formation of slate.
A) Limestone
B) Sandstone
C) Shale
D) Gneiss
Q3) Which of the following processes cannot occur in the formation of metamorphic rock?
A) realignment of minerals so that they develop a preferred orientation
B) segregation of minerals into layers of different compositions
C) solid-state rearrangement of atoms or ions to create a new assemblage of minerals
D) complete remelting of the rock, followed by solidification to form a new rock
Q4) Gneiss typically forms under higher pressures than hornfels.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes
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Q1) Which earthquake severity scale only takes vibration caused by the S-waves into account when estimating the size of an earthquake?
A) Richter scale
B) Mercalli scale
C) moment-magnitude scale
Q2) Earthquakes are likely to occur along ____________.
A) convergent plate boundaries only
B) divergent plate boundaries only
C) transform plate boundaries only
D) all three major types of plate boundaries
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) Faulting and earthquakes are examples of ____________.
A) brittle behavior
B) ductile behavior
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Chapter
Deformation and Mountain Building
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Q1) Tectonic foliation,such as elongation of quartz grains,always occurs parallel to the original bedding plane of a body of rock.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A fold shaped like an elongate arch is a(n)____________.
A) anticline
B) basin
C) dome
D) syncline
Q3) Motion along all faults is either strike-slip or dip-slip; combinations of these two types of displacement are never found together in a single fault.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A fold shaped like a right-side up bowl is a(n)____________.
A) anticline
B) basin
C) dome
D) syncline
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Chapter 10: Deep Time: How Old Is Old
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Q1) Numerical ages for recent geologic events can sometimes be determined by the study of ____________.
A) layering (growth lines) in shells
B) annual growth rings in trees
C) seasonal layering in glacial ice
D) all of the above
Q2) Basaltic clasts within the basal layers of the conglomerate imply which of the following statements? (Choose the most correct answer.)
A) The conglomerate must be the older of the two.
B) The basalt must be the older of the two.
C) The section must not have been overturned by tectonic activity at any time.
D) B and C are equally correct.
Q3) Which of the following geologic principles is a direct result of gravity?
A) baked contacts
B) cross-cutting relationships
C) original horizontality
D) inclusions
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Chapter 11: A Biography of Earth
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Q1) The eon represented by abundant deposits of strata with shelly fossils is the ____________.
A) Archean
B) Hadean
C) Proterozoic
D) Phanerozoic
Q2) Earth is approximately how old?
A) 15 billion years
B) 4.57 billion years
C) 40 million years
D) 6000 years
Q3) Through geologic time,continents have drifted over the surface of Earth,but each continent has always been about as large as it is today.
A)True
B)False
Q4) When did the human genus,Homo first appear on Earth?
A) 200 million years ago
B) 2.4 million years ago
C) 100,000 years ago
D) 10,000 years ago
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources
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Q1) The stereotypical gold rush prospector panning for gold in a stream bed is exploiting
A) magmatic deposits
B) placer deposits
C) residual mineral deposits
D) sedimentary deposits
Q2) A permeable and porous rock,regardless of lithology,is a good candidate to serve as a ____________ in an oil-producing scenario.
A) reservoir rock
B) seal rock
C) source rock
Q3) Permeability is a measure of ____________.
A) how many pores are present within a rock
B) the percentage of rock volume that is comprised of pores
C) how well the pores within rock are connected
D) the mass of a body of rock divided by the mass of an equal volume of water
Q4) Smelting is a technique applied to ____________.
A) native metals
B) ore minerals
C) quarried stone
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Chapter 13: Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements
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Q1) A rock slide into a reservoir triggered catastrophic flooding of the landscape below which dam?
A) Vaiont (Italy)
B) Aswan (Egypt)
C) Hoover (Nevada)
D) Glen Canyon (Arizona)
Q2) Which of the following types of mass movement always travels down a curved surface?
A) slump
B) creep
C) rock slide
D) mudflow
Q3) The principal difference between a lahar and a mudflow is ____________.
A) the shape of the path taken by the moving mass
B) the grain size of the moving mass
C) that the former mass contains abundant water whereas the latter is dry
D) that the former mass contains pyroclastic debris from a volcanic eruption
Q4) Mass wasting always involves a sudden movement of material downslope.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Running Water: the Geology of Streams and Floods
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Q1) The flat-lying area surrounding a river channel is termed the ____________.
A) base level
B) floodplain
C) stream gradient
D) thalweg
Q2) Meandering 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) are those that divert flow from streams they have, through stream erosion, intersected
Q3) The sediment load of a stream consists of only those grains that are fine enough to stay in suspension.
A)True
B)False
Q4) All else being equal,water will flow faster in a stream with ____________.
A) well-developed meanders
B) a straight channel
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Chapter 15: Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts
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Q1) Approximately what percentage of Earth's surface is covered with water?
A) 30%
B) 50%
C) 70%
D) 85%
Q2) Which type of continental coastline features a much broader continental shelf?
A) passive continental margins
B) active continental margins
Q3) Every shoreline experiences a tidal reach (difference in elevation between high and low tide)of about 3 m.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Major oceanic surface currents travel ____________.
A) parallel to the prevailing wind direction in the region
B) in direct opposition to prevailing winds as a result of the Coriolis effect
C) at an angle to prevailing winds as a result of the Coriolis effect
D) at an angle to prevailing winds as a result of the Doppler effect
Q5) As waves approach shore in shallow water their speed ____________.
A) increases
B) decreases
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Chapter 16: A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater
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Q1) The majority of Earth's liquid freshwater exists in ____________.
A) lakes
B) rivers and streams
C) pores within rock and sediment
D) atmospheric clouds
Q2) Water flowing from hot springs ____________.
A) contains more dissolved minerals than water flowing from cool springs
B) contains fewer dissolved minerals than water flowing from cool springs
C) is never hotter than 40°C, so it is always safe to bathe in
D) only occurs in regions of active volcanism
Q3) A dry well will result whenever the base of the well is above the water table.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Sinkholes are a concern primarily for residents whose dwellings are constructed atop ____________.
A) sandstone
B) shale
C) limestone
D) granite
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Chapter 17: Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts
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Q1) Desert climate associated with a rain shadow is found ____________.
A) on the windward (shoreward) side of coastal mountain ranges
B) on the leeward (inward) side of coastal mountain ranges
C) in the middle of flat plains
D) along continental coastlines
Q2) The iron oxides and manganese oxides that produce desert varnish on the exterior surfaces of rocks are derived from ions ____________.
A) in the interiors of the rocks, which are transported outward by the capillary action of water
B) in the interiors of the rocks, which are transported outward by microorganisms
C) that occur naturally in rain water and precipitate out as oxides after the rain evaporates
D) that occur naturally on the surfaces of carbonate and silicate rocks
Q3) In most deserts,the scarcity of rainfall means that most of the physical weathering and erosion is accomplished by the wind.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 18: Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages
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Q1) The current interglacial interval began a little more than ____________ years ago.
A) 1000
B) 10,000
C) 100,000
D) 1,000,000
Q2) Walking across an Antarctic ice sheet during winter would not be very treacherous,because icy surfaces are not slippery if the temperature is well below freezing.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A glacier will always advance from its source area if the rate of accumulation is greater than the rate of ____________.
A) subsidence
B) melting
C) ablation
D) abrution
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Chapter 19: Global Change in the Earth System
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Q1) The factors that affect Earth's long-term climate are different from those that affect climate on shorter time scales.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following processes releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?
A) photosynthesis
B) weathering of silicate rocks
C) volcanism
D) deep burial of peat to produce coal
Q3) Which of the following processes removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?
A) exhalation by animals
B) burning of coal and other fossil fuels
C) volcanism
D) photosynthesis
Q4) The hole in the ozone layer has been brought about by anthropogenic emissions of ____________.
A) carbon dioxide
B) methane
C) chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
D) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Page 21
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