Physical Geology
Chapter Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Physical Geology is an introductory course that explores the fundamental processes and materials that shape the Earth's surface and interior. Topics include the study of minerals and rocks, plate tectonics, volcanism, earthquakes, weathering, erosion, and the formation of landscapes. Through lectures, laboratory exercises, and fieldwork, students gain a comprehensive understanding of Earth's dynamic systems and the natural forces that continuously modify the planet. The course also examines the impact of geological processes on human activities and the environment, providing a solid foundation for advanced studies in Earth sciences.
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EARTH 1st Edition by Graham R. Thompson
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Earth Systems
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Q1) The atmosphere consists mainly of __________.
A) nitrogen and argon
B) nitrogen and oxygen
C) oxygen and carbon dioxide
D) carbon dioxide and argon
Answer: B
Q2) The biosphere consists solely of the thin zone on the surface of the continents that is inhabited by life.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Ground water saturating rock underground is a component of the:
A) atmosphere.
B) hydrosphere.
C) biosphere.
D) geosphere.
Answer: B
Q4) A __________ is any combination of interrelated, interacting components.
Answer: system
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Chapter 2: Minerals
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Q1) Calcite is a/an:
A) silicate mineral.
B) clay mineral.
C) oxide mineral.
D) carbonate mineral.
Answer: D
Q2) Which of the following best describes an element?
A) a small, dense, positively charged subatomic particle
B) a fundamental form of matter that can be broken into simpler substances by ordinary chemical processes
C) a fundamental form of matter that cannot be broken into simpler substances by ordinary chemical processes
D) a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a characteristic chemical composition and a crystalline structure
Answer: C
Q3) Every silicon atom surrounds itself with __________ oxygens in a silica tetrahedron.
Answer: four
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4
Chapter 3: Rocks
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Q1) The process by which rocks and minerals change in response to changing temperature, pressure, and/or chemical composition within the crust is __________.
Answer: metamorphism
Q2) The same mineral that solidifies slowly to form granite can also erupt to form
A) rhyolite
B) andesite
C) basalt
D) gabbro
Answer: A
Q3) Hydrothermal solutions scavenge and concentrate metals from crustal rock.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) __________ defines the size, shape, and arrangement of igneous mineral grains in a rock.
Answer: Texture
Q5) Water and air attack rocks at Earth's surface in a process called __________.
Answer: weathering
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Chapter 4: Geologic Time: a Story in the Rocks
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Q1) Parent and daughter isotopes occur when an isotope is __________.
A) stable
B) unstable
C) radioactive
D) b and c
Q2) Dinosaurs evolved during the __________ Era.
Q3) Carbon-14 dating is used to determine the age of materials older than 50,000 years.
A)True
B)False
Q4) When a parent isotope decomposes, the quantity of daughter isotopes in a sample decreases with time.
A)True
B)False
Q5) __________ __________ refers to the order in which geologic events occurred.
Q6) During a __________ __________, many life-forms on Earth die out suddenly.
Q7) The largest time units in the geologic column are periods.
A)True
B)False
Q8) __________ __________ refers to time measured in years.
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Chapter 5: Geologic Resources
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Q1) __________ energy resources are replenished by natural processes as we use them.
Q2) _______________ is formed as a residual deposit in warm climates.
A) Bauxite
B) Banded iron
C) A manganese nodule
D) A hydrothermal vein deposit
Q3) Mining of sand and gravel has made more money than mining of gold.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Natural gas is mostly methane.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The color of _______________ is caused by precipitation of fine-grained metal sulfide minerals.
A) black spitters
B) black smokers
C) black chimneys
D) black vents
Q6) __________ __________ form mineral deposits as liquid magma solidifies to form an igneous rock.
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Chapter 6: The Active Earth: Plate Tectonics
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Q1) Average oceanic crust is __________ kilometers thick, whereas average continental crust is __________ kilometers thick.
A) 20 to 40, 5 to 10
B) 50 to 100, 200 to 400
C) 4 to 7, 20 to 40
D) 200 to 400, 50 to 100
Q2) The __________ __________ is the undersea mountain chain located halfway between North and South America to the west, and Europe and Africa to the east.
Q3) The outer 75 to 125 kilometers of the Earth, including both the crust and upper mantle, consists of:
A) molten iron and nickel of the outer core.
B) weak, plastic rock of the asthenosphere.
C) hard, strong rock of the lithosphere.
D) solid iron and nickel of the inner core.
Q4) The Earth's __________ is about 2,900 kilometers thick.
Q5) The __________ __________ system is an undersea mountain chain encircling the planet that forms at divergent plate boundaries.
Q6) The __________ is the hot, weak, and plastic uppermost portion of the mantle.
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Chapter 7: Earthquakes and the Earths Structure
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Q1) __________ are small earthquakes that precede a large quake by an interval ranging from a few seconds to a few weeks.
Q2) A seismogram records Earth vibrations.
A)True B)False
Q3) The boundary between the crust and the mantle is called the __________
Q4) Primary waves travel more slowly than either type of body wave. A)True B)False
Q5) When a wave passes from one medium into another, it refracts and sometimes __________.
Q6) Earthquakes are detected and measured with a device called a/an _____________.
Q7) Earthquakes never occur in plate interiors. A)True B)False
Q8) The San Andreas Fault zone is located at a transform plate boundary. A)True B)False
Q9) Surface waves radiate from the __________ along the Earth's surface. Page 9
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Chapter 8: Volcanoes and Plutons
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Q1) The higher silica content of granitic magma causes it to:
A) erupt at the surface.
B) solidify within the crust.
C) become highly viscous.
D) b and c
Q2) Granitic magma contains up to __________ percent water.
A) 50
B) 40
C) 25
D) 10
Q3) A/an __________ forms when magma oozes between layers of country rock as a sheet parallel to the layering.
Q4) Granitic magma has a __________ melting temperature compared to basaltic magma.
A) lower
B) higher
C) equal
D) much higher
Q5) A chaotic mixture of volcanic ash and rock fragments that is left behind when most of the gas escapes into the atmosphere during an ash flow and solidifies is called a/an
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Chapter 9: Mountains
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Q1) Continental mountain ranges rise because the crust becomes __________ where tectonic plates collide.
Q2) When a rock is stressed, it may deform plastically, or break by brittle fracture.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The sides of a fold in rock are called __________.
Q4) The term __________ refers to the process of mountain building.
A) orogeny
B) origami
C) orology
D) originy
Q5) Where two oceanic plates converge, one sinks beneath the other and dives into the mantle forming a/an:
A) Mid-Oceanic Ridge.
B) island arc.
C) Andean margin.
D) Himalaya-type margin.
Q6) In a normal fault, the hanging wall has moved __________ relative to the footwall.
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Chapter 10: Weathering, Soil, and Erosion
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Q1) Trees on a hill affected by slump:
A) don't show any changes.
B) grown much faster.
C) tilt uphill.
D) tilt downhill.
Q2) The least soluble major mineral in granite is:
A) calcite.
B) feldspar.
C) quartz.
D) mica.
Q3) Mechanical weathering:
A) reduces solid rock to small fragments by altering the chemical composition of rocks and minerals.
B) reduces solid rock to small fragments without altering the chemical composition of rocks and minerals.
C) causes iron to rust.
D) picks up and carries off weathered rocks and minerals.
Q4) Erosion involves little or no movement of the decomposed rocks and minerals.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Fresh Water: Streams, Lakes, Ground Water, and Wetlands
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Q1) Flood plains, marshes, and swamps are all __________.
A) springs
B) geysers
C) wetlands
D) aquifers
Q2) __________ __________ is the portion of a stream's load transported along its bottom.
Q3) A graded stream has a smooth, concave profile.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A stream's capacity is:
A) greatest during a time of low water.
B) constant regardless of water level.
C) minimal during a flood.
D) greatest during a flood.
Q5) Most streams carry the largest part of their load as bed load.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Downward stream erosion is called __________.
Q7) Low-gradient streams flow in a series of bends called __________. Page 14
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Chapter 12: Water Resources
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Q1) __________ is the irreversible sinking or settling of Earth's surface.
A) Subsistence
B) Subtraction
C) Sublimation
D) Subsidence
Q2) Ground-water contaminants normally spread slowly into an aquifer as a contaminant __________.
Q3) The amount of water underground is __________ percent greater than the amount of water above ground.
A) 60
B) 6
C) 16
D) 80
Q4) Sewage can contain high concentrations of:
A) radioactive materials.
B) disease organisms.
C) industrial organic compounds.
D) nonbiodegradable pollutants.
Q5) __________ is a technique that uses microorganisms to decompose a contaminant in ground water.
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Chapter 13: Glaciers and Ice Ages
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Q1) The Great Lakes and the Finger Lakes in New York are the result of:
A) scouring by alpine glaciers.
B) scouring by continental ice sheets.
C) ancient fjords.
D) isostasy.
Q2) Glaciers erode __________-shaped valleys.
A) C
B) O
C) U
D) V
Q3) Cycles identified by Milutin Milankovitch are caused by changes in:
A) the Earth's tides.
B) sunspot activity.
C) the Earth's orbital parameters (eccentricity, tilt, precession).
D) mountain uplift.
Q4) Ice in the upper 40 meters of a glacier fractures to form crevasses.
A)True
B)False
Q5) A ridge of sediment in the center of an alpine glacier that is formed when two lateral moraines merge is called a __________ __________.
Page 17
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Chapter 14: Deserts and Wind
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Q1) Most dunes are symmetrical.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In fossil dunes:
A) numerous fossils form limestone.
B) numerous fossils have been obliterated by wind action.
C) the dipping beds are the layering of the dune's windward face.
D) the dipping beds are the layering of the dune's slip face.
Q3) In the Atacama Desert of South America:
A) warm marine air encounters cool land, which absorbs moisture from the ground, creating a coastal desert.
B) cool marine air encounters warm land and heats up. The heated air then absorbs moisture from the ground, creating a coastal desert.
C) warm, moist air sinks, creating low pressure.
D) all of the moisture falls on the windward side of the range.
Q4) Any region that receives less than 25 centimeters of rain per year is considered to be a __________.
Q5) Sand grains are transported by wind close to the ground in a bouncing movement called __________.
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Chapter 15: Ocean Basins
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Q1) Oceanic crust is __________ than continental crust and therefore __________ isostatically.
A) denser, sinks
B) denser, rises
C) lighter, sinks
D) lighter, rises
Q2) __________ __________ is a mixture of clay carried from continents and the remains of tiny plants and animals that live in the surface waters of the oceans.
Q3) A circular coral reef that forms a ring of island around a central lagoon is a/an
Q4) The flattest surfaces on Earth are __________.
A) cratons
B) abyssal plains
C) mid-ocean ridges
D) continental shelves
Q5) Some of the world's richest offshore petroleum reserves are found on continental shelves.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 16: Oceans and Coastlines
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Q1) Longshore currents cannot carry sand and sediment for long distances.
A)True
B)False
Q2) __________ are continuous flows of water in a particular direction.
A) Currents
B) Waves
C) Gyres
D) Crests
Q3) A/an __________ is a continuous flow of water in a particular direction.
Q4) Most coastal erosion occurs during intense storms.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Circular paths of ocean currents are called __________.
A) atolls
B) guyots
C) belts
D) gyres
Q6) The deflection of currents caused by the Earth's rotation is called the __________
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Q7) The __________ is the distance between successive crests or troughs of a wave.
Chapter 17: The Atmosphere
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Q1) Most iron is mined from banded iron formations.
A)True
B)False
Q2) __________ is the release of volatiles from Earth's mantle in volcanic eruptions.
A) Intrusion
B) Oxidation
C) Outgassing
D) Photosynthesis
Q3) The pressure exerted by air is the __________ __________.
Q4) __________ are particles that are suspended in air.
Q5) As early organisms evolved and multiplied, they depleted oxygen from the atmosphere.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Ozone is both a pollutant and a beneficial component of the atmosphere, depending on elevation.
A)True
B)False
Q7) __________ in the stratosphere absorbs ultraviolet radiation.
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Chapter 18: Energy Balance in the Atmosphere
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Q1) Atmospheric convection is:
A) more effective than atmospheric conduction in transferring heat around the globe.
B) less effective than atmospheric conduction in transferring heat around the globe.
C) about equally effective as atmospheric conduction in transferring heat around the globe.
D) an unimportant process in transferring heat around the globe.
Q2) Carbon dioxide and methane can trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere and are therefore known as __________ gases.
Q3) The Earth's surface emits __________ radiation.
A) high-energy ultraviolet
B) low-energy ultraviolet
C) high-energy infrared
D) low-energy infrared
Q4) __________ is a composite of weather patterns from season to season, averaged over many years.
Q5) Visible light is a large portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 19: Moisture, Clouds, and Weather
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Q1) Hail falls only from cirrus clouds.
A)True
B)False
Q2) El Niño is a weather pattern caused by:
A) increased upwelling at the west coast of South America.
B) the slackening of the trade winds in the Pacific Ocean.
C) orographic lifting.
D) frontal wedging.
Q3) A/an __________ is a small, short-lived, funnel-shaped storm that protrudes from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud.
Q4) Sinking air exerts a downward force to form a/an __________ region.
A) high-pressure
B) low-pressure
C) rainstorm
D) orographic
Q5) If a large pressure difference occurs over a short distance:
A) there is little wind.
B) it snows.
C) there is a lot of wind.
D) wind blows slowly.
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Chapter 20: Climate
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Q1) The climate zone or biome associated with rainfall of less than 25 centimeters per year is:
A) tropical rainforest.
B) semiarid.
C) desert.
D) Mediterranean.
Q2) The __________ __________ __________ is the high-altitude wind marking the boundary between cold polar air and the warm, moist westerly flow that originates in the subtropics.
Q3) A/an ____________________ is a community of plants living in a large geographic area with a certain climate.
A) biological cluster
B) Hadley cell
C) organic community
D) biome
Q4) A/an __________ __________ is a tropical region with large seasonal variations in rainfall with a moderate amount of rain that supports grassland with scattered small trees and shrubs.
Q5) The __________ biome is characteristic of Arctic and high alpine regions.
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Chapter 21: Climate Change
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Q1) Oxygen isotope ratios in Greenland and Antarctic glaciers:
A) reflect sea surface temperatures 500 million to one billion years ago.
B) are the most useful method for determining global temperatures in the past 100 years.
C) reflect atmospheric temperatures within the past 110,000 years.
D) directly measure the temperature of the ocean depths 10,000 years ago.
Q2) The atmosphere has warmed by about __________ during the last 50 years.
A) 0.15°C
B) 5°C
C) 0.8°C
D) 1.5°C
Q3) Changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun:
A) cannot cause climate change.
B) cause climate change only when the continents are near the poles.
C) may cause climate change by altering the frequency of sunspots.
D) may have caused the advances and retreats of the Pleistocene glaciers.
Q4) Climate change does not follow linear relationships; instead, many __________ and __________ mechanisms are important
Q5) The Sun produces energy by __________ __________.
Q6) Carbon exists in the atmosphere mostly as methane and __________
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Chapter 22: Motions in the Heavens
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Q1) The constellation Orion is visible from North America during winter but is not seen on summer evenings. Which of the following statements is true?
A) Orion cannot be seen during the summer because the Sun is located between Orion and the Earth.
B) Orion is visible from South America during the summer.
C) Orion is visible from the opposite side of the Earth, in India, during the summer.
D) The stars in Orion pulsate, so they shine brightly for six months and then are dark for six months.
Q2) Newton recognized that __________ holds the planets in their orbits around the Sun.
A) retrograde motion
B) parallax
C) gravity
D) rotation
Q3) A full moon occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun and its entire sunlit area is visible.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 23: Planets and Their Moons
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Q1) Organic molecules have been detected in some meteorites.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following statements is not correct about Mars?
A) Liquid water once flowed across the Martian surface, but now, Mars is dry.
B) The largest volcano in the Solar System is found on Mars.
C) Ice caps on Mars are mainly frozen carbon dioxide.
D) The Martian atmosphere is dense with a high concentration of carbon dioxide.
Q3) Venus is much hotter than Earth because of a runaway __________
Q4) Both Uranus and Neptune:
A) can be seen with the naked eye.
B) have interiors composed of liquid metallic hydrogen.
C) have atmospheres composed primarily of helium and hydrogen.
D) are less dense than Saturn.
Q5) Europa is very similar to Earth in that its interior is composed of rock, and much of its surface is covered by water. However, Europa's surface is covered with __________.
Q6) Jupiter's middle layer, between its core and outer sea of liquid hydrogen, is composed of __________ __________ __________.
Q7) Europa is a moon of __________.
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Chapter 24: Stars, Space, and Galaxies
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Q1) If you were to shine a flashlight beam, a radar beam, or any kind of radiation at a black hole, the energy would be absorbed.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A red giant is cooler and brighter than a main-sequence star of the same mass.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Population II stars are originally composed of:
A) mostly heavy elements inherited from population I stars.
B) only hydrogen and helium.
C) mostly hydrogen and heavy elements.
D) mostly helium with small amounts of hydrogen and smaller amounts of heavy elements.
Q4) Neutron stars are:
A) dense stars where neutrons are fusing together to form iron.
B) composed of approximately 75% hydrogen, 24% helium, and 1% other elements.
C) so dense that light cannot escape from them.
D) compressed so tightly that the electrons and protons in the star are squeezed together to form neutrons.
Q5) During a full solar eclipse, the __________ appears as a halo around the Sun.
Page 28
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