Introduction to Geology Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Introduction to Geology offers a foundational understanding of the physical processes and materials that shape the Earth. This course explores topics such as the structure of the Earth, the dynamics of plate tectonics, the rock cycle, mineral identification, and the formation of landforms. Students will examine how geological processes like volcanism, earthquakes, weathering, and erosion influence landscapes and human activity. Through lectures, hands-on labs, and fieldwork, students will gain practical skills in observing and interpreting geological features, fostering a deeper appreciation of Earths history and the environmental challenges faced today.
Recommended Textbook Essentials of Geology 4th Edition by Stephen Marshak
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Chapter 1: The Earth in Context
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Q1) As compared to the rocks that make up the crust,Earth as a whole is
A) considerably more dense
B) considerably less dense
C) slightly less dense
D) about the same density
Answer: A
Q2) Hydrocarbons,such as petroleum and natural gas,are classified as ____________.
A) minerals
B) fluid rocks
C) organic materials
D) alloys
Answer: C
Q3) As seismic (earthquake-generated)waves travel downward and reach the Moho,they ____________.
A) speed up
B) slow down
C) continue at the same velocity
D) are all reflected directly back toward the surface
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics
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Q1) Sea-floor spreading is driven by volcanic activity ____________.
A) in the middle of abyssal plains
B) along mid-ocean ridges
C) at the edges of continental shelves
D) along fracture zones
Answer: B
Q2) The thickness of clay and planktonic microskeletons is greatest ____________.
A) along mid-ocean ridges
B) along fracture zones
C) at the edges of ocean basins
D) in the center of abyssal plains
Answer: C
Q3) Why does the surface area of Earth remain constant throughout time?
A) Subduction occurs.
B) Rates of sea-floor spreading are equal to sea-floor consumption.
C) Plates slip past each other.
D) Both a and b are correct.
E) Both b and c are correct.
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Patterns in Nature: Minerals
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Q1) The silicate tetrahedron that forms the backbone of all the silicate minerals is composed of silicon and what other element?
A) magnesium
B) oxygen
C) iron
D) carbon
Answer: B
Q2) If you were to drop a piece of calcite on the ground and a perfect cube broke off,this would be displaying calcite breaking ______________.
A) along already formed cracks
B) coincidentally as a perfect cube
C) in a fracture pattern
D) along weak bonds
Answer: C
Q3) Most commercially exploited metals are extracted from the ground as native elements.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Up From the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks
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Q1) A famous example of hot-spot volcanism occurs at ____________.
A) the Aleutian Islands of Alaska
B) the Andes Mountains
C) the island of Hawaii
D) Mt. St. Helens, Washington
Q2) A majority of the melts in the Earth form through the partial melting of ultramafic mantle rock.These newly formed magmas are ____________.
A) ultramafic
B) mafic
C) felsic
D) intermediate
Q3) If a body of igneous (source)rock is subjected to partial melting,the magma that is produced is expected to be ____________.
A) identical in chemical composition to the source rock
B) more mafic than the source rock
C) more felsic than the source rock
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Chapter 5: The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions
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Q1) Whether an eruption will primarily produce lava flows or pyroclastic debris is influenced by the ____________.
A) viscosity of the lava
B) composition of the lava
C) proportion of volatiles within the lava
D) All of the above are correct.
Q2) Of the three primary forms of subaerial volcanoes,____________ consist of alternating layers of tephra and solidified lava.
A) stratovolcanoes
B) cinder cones
C) shield volcanoes
Q3) As compared to subaerial basaltic lavas,submarine basaltic lavas differ in that they
A) always produce violent pyroclastic debris flows
B) produce large crystals of pyroxene and plagioclase
C) form pillow-like mounds because they cannot flow as far from their source
D) All of the above are correct.
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Chapter 6: Pages of Earths Past: Sedimentary Rocks
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Q1) Topset,foreset,and bottomset beds are indicative of ____________.
A) alluvial fans
B) lake bottoms
C) deltas
D) deep-marine settings
Q2) Unlike physically precipitated chert,biochemical chert ____________.
A) is bedded (layered)
B) is made up of the skeletons of radiolaria and foraminifera
C) does not occur as small nodules within bodies of limestone
D) All of the above are correct.
Q3) Chemical weathering takes place most rapidly in environments that are ____________ and ____________.
A) cool; dry
B) cool; wet
C) warm; dry
D) warm; wet
Q4) Sedimentary deposition is a continuous process: rivers,lakes,and the ocean deposit sediments nonstop at a fairly constant rate.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: Metamorphism: a Process of Change
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Q1) The preexisting rock that is subsequently altered to form a metamorphic rock is termed a ____________.
A) parent rock
B) source rock
C) protolith
D) premetarock
Q2) ____________ commonly serves as a protolith in the formation of slate.
A) Limestone
B) Sandstone
C) Shale
D) Slate
Q3) Which type of metamorphism affects the greatest volumes of rock?
A) thermal metamorphism
B) dynamothermal metamorphism
C) dynamic metamorphism
Q4) Thermal (contact)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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Q1) Vertical motion seismographs record earthquakes through the production of a squiggly diagram called a ____________.
A) wave sheet
B) seismogram
C) pictogram
D) camera lucida
Q2) Faulting and earthquakes are examples of ____________.
A) brittle behavior
B) ductile behavior
Q3) Faults that have moved recently or are likely to move in the future are referred to as
A) passive
B) active
C) normal
D) reverse
Q4) What geological setting(s)would you expect to produce seismic activity?
A) rift valley
B) basin
C) collisional mountain belt
D) All of the above are correct.
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Chapter
Deformation and Mountain Building
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Q1) A body of rock affected by compressive stress will likely undergo ____________.
A) shortening
B) stretching
C) shear strain
Q2) ____________ may help a geologist recognize a fault.
A) Displacement
B) Fault scarps
C) Breccia
D) All of the above are correct.
Q3) A body of rock under high pressure is more likely to exhibit ____________ than is a body of rock at low pressure.
A) brittle behavior
B) ductile behavior
Q4) Why do mountains occur in distinctive belts?
A) Rifts are linear features.
B) Plates move linearly over hot spots.
C) The processes that create mountains are linear.
D) Both a and c are correct.
E) Both b and c are correct.
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Chapter 10: Deep Time: How Old Is Old
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Q1) Which of the following always varies among multiple isotopes of a single element?
A) atomic number
B) atomic mass number
C) tendency to decay radioactively
D) None of the above are correct.
Q2) Presented with an outcrop containing a succession of beds and only the knowledge of relative-age dating,which of the following would be the best to look for to determine the story of the outcrop?
A) a fossil that could be found in all of the beds
B) an intrusion, as it would be older than the surrounding rock
C) a fossil found in only a few layers
D) a fault, as it would be older than the surrounding rock
Q3) 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
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Chapter 11: A Biography of Earth
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Q1) Permian,Triassic,and Jurassic forests were dominated by large ____________.
A) angiosperms (flowering plants)
B) mosses
C) conifers and cycads
D) club mosses and scouring rushes
Q2) The Cambrian explosion not only produced an abundance of new animal species but also gave rise to the first shells,spines,and active swimmers.This suggests the important influence of ____________ in driving animal evolution.
A) photosynthetic organisms
B) atmospheric oxygen
C) carnivorous predators
D) filter-feeding organisms
Q3) The Chicxulub crater is located in which country?
A) Mexico
B) Venezuela
C) Brazil
D) India
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Chapter 12: Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources
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Q1) A commercially viable oil deposit must include a source rock,a reservoir rock,a seal rock,and a ____________.
A) fracture system connecting the reservoir rock to the Earth's surface so that the oil can move freely upward
B) filter rock, between the source and the reservoir rock, to remove impurities
C) heater rock, beneath the source rock, to heat the oil and give it buoyancy
D) trap that prevents the oil from reaching the Earth's surface
Q2) The primary reasons that no more than 30% of the oil contained within most reservoirs is recovered are the viscosity of the oil and "patchy" (irregular)or low permeability.Which pair of techniques listed below would probably best increase the percentage of oil recoverable from a reservoir?
A) injecting water into the reservoir, and hydraulically fracturing it
B) adding weight to the ground surface to compress the reservoir, and applying greater suction to the pumps on the oil wells
C) applying greater suction to the pumps on the oil wells and fracturing the reservoir
D) hydraulically fracturing the aquifer and injecting steam into it
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Chapter 13: Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements
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Q1) The United States Geological Survey (USGS)sometimes issues debris flow advisories for parts of coastal California-much like the severe weather forecasts or flood forecasts that are issued for other regions of the country.Which one of these factors is the USGS unlikely to consider important in forecasting the likelihood of debris flows?
A) forecasted rainfall
B) the steepness of slopes in the area
C) the seasonal and diurnal variation in water uptake by plant root systems
D) the expected air temperatures
Q2) Slumps typically arrive intact at the bottom of a slope.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following types of mass movement is likely to move most rapidly?
A) slump
B) creep
C) rock slide
D) solifluction
Q4) All regions are susceptible to mass movements.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Streams and Floods: the Geology of Running Water
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Q1) In a region with prominent orthogonal sets of joints,a ____________ drainage network is expected.
A) dendritic
B) radial
C) rectangular
D) trellis
Q2) V-shaped stream valleys result from the downcutting of stream erosion and ____________.
A) mass wasting on the valley sides
B) isostatic rebound
C) the "rule of the V's"
D) conservation of angular momentum
Q3) The primary stream fed by tributaries within a drainage basin is termed a ____________.
A) lead stream
B) trunk stream
C) taproot stream
D) pirate stream
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Chapter 15: Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts
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Q1) As waves approach shore in shallow water,their speed ____________.
A) increases
B) decreases
Q2) Lagoons are richer in sand than barrier islands.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The deepest segments of the ocean floor are found ____________.
A) along mid-ocean ridges
B) in the geographic centers of abyssal plains
C) in trenches associated with passive margins
D) in trenches associated with subduction zones
Q4) Rogue waves arise from constructive interference of multiple convergent waves and can be more than 100 ft high.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Most of the igneous rocks within oceanic abyssal plains are ____________.
A) exposed at the surface of the sea floor
B) covered by sand and gravel introduced by rivers at deltas
C) covered by clay and the skeletal remains of microplankton
D) covered by limestones made up of the fragments of large invertebrate shells
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Chapter 16: A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater
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Q1) Bioremediation of contaminated groundwater involves ____________.
A) introduction of laboratory-cultured viruses that can dissolve the plume
B) pumping nutrients into a contaminant plume to help local bacteria metabolize the plume
C) pumping out the contaminated groundwater and using it to irrigate genetically modified crops
Q2) Which factor listed here would not affect the flow of water at a spring?
A) the concentrations of various ions and man-made pollutants
B) conditions of either drought or heavy rainfall at the recharge area
C) the interconnectedness of fractures or pore spaces leading to the spring
D) a decline in the water table in the direction from which groundwater feeds the spring
Q3) Most large cave and karst systems have resulted from ____________ dissolving
A) carbonic acid; limestone
B) ascorbic acid; dolostone
C) phosphoric acid; shale
D) seawater; rock salt
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Chapter 17: Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts
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Q1) 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.
Q2) As compared to humid climates,rates of chemical weathering in deserts are ____________.
A) much faster
B) much slower
C) very similar
D) only a bit slower
Q3) In deserts,what is the primary process that causes mesas and buttes to shrink with time?
A) erosion by running water
B) erosion by wind
C) chemical weathering and downslope creep
D) bedrock separation along joints, along cliff-like slopes
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Chapter 18: Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages
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Q1) Areas on the southern margins of the continental glaciers of the northern hemisphere were much ____________ during Plio-Pleistocene glaciations than they are today,as suggested by evidence of large ____________ during this time.
A) warmer; tropical rainforests
B) wetter; tropical rainforests
C) drier; deserts
D) wetter; pluvial lakes
Q2) An intermediate product in the transformation of snow to glacial ice is
A) firn
B) sublimation
C) ablation
D) terminus
Q3) Cape Cod,Massachusetts,and Long Island,New York,are both examples of
A) drumlins
B) lateral moraines
C) eskers
D) end moraines
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Chapter 19: Global Change in the Earth System
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Q1) Global warming has caused Earth to become warmer in the last few decades than it has ever been in geologic history.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The warmest global temperatures since the end of the last ice age occurred
A) approximately 11 Ka, in the Younger Dryas
B) approximately 6 Ka, in the Holocene
C) approximately 1 Ka, in the Medieval Warm Period
D) in 1972, at the time that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed quotas and heavy price increases on the sale of oil to Western nations
Q3) Assume that a new family of bacteria species evolves and becomes widespread,and that it rapidly and easily combines atmospheric oxygen with previously stable minerals.What would you reconsider about the oxygenation of the atmosphere several billion years ago?
A) that it was a negative feedback
B) that it was an irreversible process
C) whether it really resulted in globally cooler temperatures.
D) that it did not really occur for the reasons that we think
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Chapter 20: Rock Groups
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Q1) Which of the following would NOT be considered a rock?
A) material composed of interlocking crystals.
B) a pile of unconsolidated sand.
C) material made of frothy glass.
D) material made of shells cemented together.
Q2) Geologists sometimes use analytical equipment to help identify rocks.One commonly used machine is the electron microprobe which focuses a beam of electrons on a sample to determine _______________.
A) the amount of radioactive minerals
B) how atoms are arranged
C) the atomic weight
D) the chemical composition
Q3) What type of rock would you expect to form from the material found along a beach?
A) crystalline
B) sedimentary
C) metamorphic
D) igneous
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Chapter 21: A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils
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Q1) The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was created by what phenomenon?
A) increased rainfall
B) lack of vegetation
C) increased wind storms
D) differential weathering
Q2) Differential weathering occurs when ___________________.
A) none of the layers weather at all
B) layers of rock weather at the same rate
C) layers of rock weather at different rates
D) weathering occurs in the tropics
Q3) Which of the following does NOT affect soil thickness?
A) time
B) types of animals
C) climate
D) vegetation type
Q4) Which of the following is NOT part of the definition of sediment?
A) fragments of shells
B) fragments of rock
C) cemented
D) precipitated crystals
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Chapter 22: The Rock Cycle
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Q1) Which of the following is NOT one of the three major rock groups?
A) igneous
B) crystalline
C) sedimentary
D) metamorphic
Q2) What process transforms a sedimentary rock into an igneous rock?
A) erosion
B) metamorphism
C) deposition
D) melting
Q3) If a rock is uplifted and exposed,what is the likely next type of rock that will form?
A) igneous
B) crystalline
C) metamorphic
D) sedimentary
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Chapter 23: The Earths Interior Revisited: Insights From Geophysics
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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) If a P-wave is traveling through sandstone and then encounters peridotite,the P-wave will ________________.
A) slow down
B) speed up
C) remain at the same speed
D) not travel through the peridotite
Q3) If a P-wave is traveling through the Earth and encounters a molten magma chamber,what will happen to the velocity of the P-wave?
A) It will slow down.
B) It will speed up.
C) It will stay the same speed.
D) It will drop to zero.
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Chapter 24: Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution
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Q1) Which major kingdom would a bivalve belong to?
A) Protista
B) Animalia
C) Plantae
D) Fungi
Q2) What type of fossil forms when a buried organism decays or is dissolved,but the original shape is preserved in the sediment?
A) body fossil
B) trace fossil
C) mold fossil
D) cast fossil
Q3) Which of the following is NOT necessary in order to be preserved as a fossil?
A) hard parts
B) rapid burial
C) anoxic environment
D) tough skin or fur
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Chapter 25: An Introduction to Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle
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Q1) Why is understanding the hydrologic cycle so important to understanding how landscapes form?
A) because water has the ability to seep underground and affect the layers of rock
B) because the oceans cover a vast majority of our planet and are a main erosional agent
C) because the rate at which groundwater moves through the subsurface determines erosion rates
D) because water is the main erosional and depositional agent on Earth
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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