Course Introduction
Physical Geology Exam Preparation Guide
Physical Geology is an introductory course that explores the dynamic processes and materials that shape the Earth's surface and interior. Students will examine topics such as minerals, rocks, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering, erosion, and the formation of landscapes. Emphasis is placed on understanding the scientific methods used by geologists to investigate earth processes, as well as the relevance of geology to natural resources, environmental issues, and human society. Through lectures, laboratory exercises, and field observations, students gain foundational knowledge essential for more advanced studies in earth sciences.
Recommended Textbook
Visualizing Geology 3rd Edition by Barbara W. Murck
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2
Chapter 1: Earth As a Planet
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Q1) ______ is the older,thicker,and less dense part of Earth's crust that forms the majority of Earth's land masses.
Answer: Continental crust
Q2) Earth's four very large subsystems are the geosphere,hydrosphere,atmosphere,and ______.
Answer: biosphere
Q3) Activity on Earth's surface has erased all traces of ancient meteorite impacts,such as those still visible on the moon.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Continental crust is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q5) Volcanism is common to the histories of all of the terrestrial planets.What type of volcanic rock is common to all of the terrestrial planets?
Answer: The volcanic rock basalt is common to all of the terrestrial planets.
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Chapter 2: Earth Materials
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Q1) Based on the definition of a mineral - being a naturally occurring solid,formed by inorganic processes,with a characteristic crystal structure and specific chemical composition,which materials will be classified as minerals?
A)water and ice
B)ice and steel
C)steel and coal
D)ice and quartz
Answer: D
Q2) What's the difference between a rock and a mineral?
Answer: A rock is an aggregate of mineral grains or possibly non-mineral matter.A rock may consist of many grains of different kinds of minerals mixed together.
Q3) Ionic bonds are the strongest chemical bonds,and elements and compounds with ionic bonds (such as diamond)tend to be strong and hard.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) _____ and silicon are the two most common elements in Earth's crust.
Answer: Oxygen
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4
Chapter 3: How Old Is Old the Rock Record and Geologic
Time
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Q1) A magnetic reversal is a period of time in which Earth's magnetic polarity reverses itself.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Magnetic _____ is the north-south directionality of Earth's magnetic field.
Answer: polarity
Q3) A(n)______is a surface of erosion in which the orientation of older strata,below,are parallel to younger strata,above.
Answer: disconformity
Q4) Eras of geologic time are subdivided into a number of smaller divisions called _____.
Answer: periods
Q5) A(n)_____ is a unit of geologic time across which you would expect to find the greatest changes in the fossil record.
Answer: Era
Q6) Of the many radiometric dates obtained from Precambrian rocks,the oldest is about _____ billion years.
Answer: 4.0
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Chapter 4: Plate Tectonics
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Q1) The sloping land at the edge of the continent is called the _______.
Q2) The deep,flat ocean floor is known as the _______.
Q3) According to Wegener's model,what evidence,left by glaciers,supports the existence of Pangaea?
A)striations
B)glacial lakes
C)fossils
D)soil deposits
E)ice
Q4) The rate at which plates move apart is approximately 1 to 10 cm/year.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The idea proposed by Alfred Wegener to explain the continental shapes and positions is known as _____.
A)Pangaea
B)plate tectonics
C)continental drift
D)rift valley
E)sea floor spreading
Q6) The slow and gentle process in which Earth releases heat is known as _______.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Earthquakes and Earths Interior
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Q1) Measurements on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale range from _______.
Q2) Discuss the differences between Earth's outer and inner core.
Q3) P-waves travel by compression-expansion.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Swarms of tiny earthquakes that may occur before large earthquakes are known as _______.
Q5) The scientific study of earthquakes and seismic waves is known as _______.
A)seismograph
B)seismogram
C)seismology
D)vulcanology
E)tectonics
Q6) A large,destructive ocean wave sometimes caused by an earthquake is called a _______.
Q7) Primary waves can travel approximately 6 km/sec in the uppermost portion of the crust.
A)True
B)False
Q8) _______ waves travel at approximately 3.5 km/sec.
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Chapter 6: Volcanoes and Igneous Rocks
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Q1) Crater Lake in Oregon is the remnants of a stratovolcano named Mount Mazama.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Sulfur dioxide,which is released during volcanic eruptions,forms small droplets in the atmosphere called _______.
Q3) A volcanic pipe is a remnant of a channel that once fed magma to the vent.
A)True
B)False
Q4) _______ igneous rocks are composed of dark-colored minerals rich in magnesium and iron.
A)felsic
B)mafic
C)intrusive
D)vesicular
E)extrusive
Q5) Basaltic magma has a high amount of dissolved gases and is very explosive.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How does the presence of water affect the melting temperature of a rock?
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Q7) Rocks usually melt _______as fast under the seafloor as under the continents.
Chapter 7: Weathering and Erosion
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Q1) A rockslide involves rotational movement of rock and regolith along a curved surface.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Partially decayed organic matter in soil is called _______.
A)humus
B)sand
C)kaolin
D)clay
E)slurry
Q3) The "bouncing" of grains along a stream bed is known as _______.
Q4) _______ often involve(s)the massive displacement of rock or sediment straight down a steep slope.
Q5) Discuss the difference between slump and creep.
Q6) In a soil profile,the A and E layers are both layers that are leached.
A)True
B)False
Q7) The Old Man in the Mountain in New Hampshire was a victim of dissolution.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 8: From Sediment to Sedimentary Rock
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Q1) Glacial till is an example of a deposit that is _____.
A)well sorted
B)poorly sorted
C)well rounded
D)Mediumly rounded
E)spherical
Q2) Mudcracks are sedimentary structures formed in wet/dry environments.
A)True
B)False
Q3) If peat is subjected to increasing heat and pressure due to deeper burial,it may become coal.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Seasonal lakes that form in arid areas are known as _____.
Q5) Discuss the similarities and differences between calcareous and siliceous ooze.
Q6) The Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah are primarily composed of _____ sediments.
Q7) _____ are volcanigenic sediments that are still hot when they form.
Q8) Coal is classified as a chemical sedimentary rock.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 9: Folds, faults, and Geological Maps
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Q1) A permanent but gradual change in a rock due to flowing or bending is known as ductile deformation.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The change in the shape or volume of a rock in response to stress is known as strain.
A)True
B)False
Q3) An elongated region of the crust that has been deformed by continental collision is known as a(n)_____.
A)anticline
B)strike
C)graben
D)axis
E)orogen
Q4) An orogen is an area of continental crust that has remained undeformed for a very long time.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the differences between a topographic map and a geologic map.
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Chapter 10: Metamorphism: New Rock From Old
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Q1) Greenschists and amphibolites form in moderate to high temperatures where pore fluids are present.
A)True
B)False
Q2) _____ is a foliation in low-grade metamorphic rocks that causes them to break into flat,platy fragments.
Q3) Please list the different type of metamorphic facies and the environments in which they form.
Q4) Marble and quartzite are both monomineralic metamorphic rocks. A)True
B)False
Q5) The largest scale of metamorphism results from contact metamorphism. A)True B)False
Q6) An igneous intrusion is commonly surrounded by a zone,or _____,of contact metamorphism.
Q7) The mineralogical,chemical,textural,and structural changes that occur below the region of sedimentation and diagenesis are known as _____.
Q8) _____are formed under low temperatures and low pressures.
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Chapter 11: Water on and Under the Ground
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Q1) The process by which water changes from a liquid to a vapor is known as _____.
A)transpiration
B)evaporation
C)compaction
D)condensation
E)infiltration
Q2) How does a hydrograph help society?
Q3) The replenishment of groundwater is known as _____.
A)discharge
B)recharge
C)runoff
D)eutrophication
E)porosity
Q4) The _____ is another name for a stream's point of origin.
A)headwaters
B)oxbow
C)drainage basin
D)delta
E)channel
Q5) A water-filled abandoned meander in a meandering stream is known as a(n)_____.
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Chapter 12: The Ocean and the Atmosphere
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Q1) Which of the following is NOT a significant benefit of coral reefs?
A)sandy beach creation
B)increased ecological diversity
C)recycled nutrients
D)dissipated wave energy
E)protected lagoons
Q2) The world ocean covers 71% of Earth's surface.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The salinity of seawater averages between 3.3-3.7 percent.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The process in which wave energy is realigned parallel to the contours of the seafloor is _____.
Q5) Global warming is suspected to be responsible for sea level changes of _____.
A).10 mm/yr
B)24 mm/yr
C)200 cm/yr
D)2.4 mm/yr
E)100 mm/yr
14
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Chapter 13: Climatic Extremes: Deserts and Glaciers
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Q1) Why are the world's deserts located in bands centered on 30 N and 30 S latitude?
Q2) Arid and semi-arid regions are collectively known as _____.
A)deserts
B)drylands
C)arroyos
D)bajadas
Q3) A ridge of material that rides along the middle of a glacial ice stream is called a _____ moraine.
A)terminal
B)recessional
C)medial
D)lateral
Q4) An abraded and wind-shaped sediment or rock is a(n)_____.
Q5) Suspension is a type of sediment transport in which the wind carries very fine particles over long distances and periods of time.
A)True
B)False
Q6) _____ is ground that is perennially below the freezing point of water.
Q7) Freeze-thaw cycles in tundra create _____ ground.
Q8) What caused the 1930s "Dust Bowl" in western United States?
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Chapter 14: Earths Climates:
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Q1) The peak of the last Ice Age,when glaciers blanketed much of North America,was _____ years ago.
A)500
B)21,000
C)120,000
D)18,000
E)55,000
Q2) The term albedo refers to the reflectivity of a surface as a percentage of the total reflected radiation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Glacial-aged aeolian deposits of fine sediment calledare _____ found south of the ice limit in the midwestern United States.
Q4) Tree rings are used as a climate proxy.
A)True B)False
Q5) Death Valley,California was almost entirely under water during the last ice age. A)True B)False
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Chapter 15: A Brief History of Life on Earth
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Q1) The Burgess Shale in British Columbia is famous for containing _____.
A)signs of a mass extinction
B)earliest life forms
C)soft-bodied fossils
D)volcanic ash deposits
E)the last dinosaur fossils
Q2) Dinosaurs included the largest land animals that ever lived.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is NOT a critical need for life on land?
A)internal aquatic environment
B)sexual reproduction
C)structural support
D)protective camouflage
E)gas exchange mechanism
Q4) Both fish and human beings belong to the phylum _____.
Q5) Natural Selection,in modern understanding,is always a process of slow changes.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Vascular plants exchange gases through adjustable leaf openings called _____.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Understanding Earths Resources
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Q1) Why is using renewable over nonrenewable resources always a better plan?
Q2) The following forms of energy are in common use EXCEPT ______,which is so far undeveloped.
A)ocean-wave power
B)photovoltaic cells
C)wind turbines
D)nuclear energy
E)hydroelectric
Q3) The original source of petroleum is ocean _____.
A)fossil animals
B)swamp plants
C)tree ferns
D)phytoplankton
E)dinosaurs
Q4) What are the ranks of coal,and how do they differ in general?
Q5) Why should we be concerned about future mineral resources?
Q6) Earth's population is roughly seven billion.
A)True
B)False
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Q7) Thick deposits of peat indicate ancient ______ climates and swamp environments.