Physical Geology
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
Physical Geology is an introductory study of the Earth's physical features and the dynamic processes that shape our planet. This course explores minerals and rocks, earth structures, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering, erosion, and the formation of landscapes. Students will learn about the Earth's interior and surface phenomena, enhancing their understanding of natural disasters and the constant changes affecting the Earth's crust. Emphasis is placed on the scientific methods used to investigate geological materials and processes, providing foundational knowledge for advanced studies in geology and environmental science.
Recommended Textbook
Visualizing Geology 3rd Edition by Barbara W. Murck
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16 Chapters
1211 Verified Questions
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Chapter 1: Earth As a Planet
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Sample Questions
Q1) Impact craters cover the surface of large parts of other terrestrial bodies in the solar system,such as Mars and the Moon.Why don't we see many covering Earth's surface?
Answer: Earth's surface was bombarded,as were all of the inner planets,by rocky,metallic,and icy debris early in its history.Impact craters record this early accretionary period.Earth's dynamic processes - reflected in the tectonic,hydrologic,and rock cycles - have acted to erase this early history of bombardment.
Q2) Continental crust is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Which one of the following Earth materials is not part of the regolith?
A)muds in river valleys
B)sands in deserts
C)soil
D)rock fragments from meteorite impacts
E)All of the above are part of Earth's regolith
Answer: E
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Chapter 2: Earth Materials
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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
Q2) To which of the following groups do most minerals in Earth's crust belong?
A)oxides
B)halides
C)carbonates
D)silicates
Answer: D
Q3) A hypothetical ion X has an electrical charge of -2.Which of the following statements best describes the relative number of electrons and protons in the atom?
A)The X ion has 2 less electrons than protons.
B)The X ion has 2 more electrons than protons.
C)The X ion has the same number of electrons as protons.
D)The X ion has 1 less electron than protons.
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: How Old Is Old the Rock Record and Geologic
Time
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Sample Questions
Q1) Lord Kelvin based his estimate of Earth's age on how long it must have taken Earth to cool by conduction.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) A(n)_____ is a unit of geologic time across which you would expect to find the greatest changes in the fossil record.
Answer: Era
Q3) How did William Smith's discovery of faunal succession lead to the correlation of rock strata and eventually the geologic column?
Answer: Based on Smith's discovery that each group of strata contained a specific assemblage of fossils,geologists were able to show that the faunal succession in northern France was the same as the faunal succession in southern England where Smith worked.Soon,worldwide correlations were made.This provided a means of equating the ages of rocks from different localities,which eventually led to the establishment of the geologic column (time scale).
Q4) Magnetic _____ is the north-south directionality of Earth's magnetic field.
Answer: polarity
Page 5
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Chapter 4: Plate Tectonics
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Sample Questions
Q1) The sloping land at the edge of the continent is called the _______.
Q2) Pangaea is the name of the supercontinent proposed by Harry Hess. A)True
B)False
Q3) The new volcano that is currently forming off the coast of Hawaii is known as _______.
Q4) The volcano in Hawaii that has been erupting constantly since 1983 is _______.
Q5) Hawaii and Yellowstone sit over 'hot spots' known as _______.
Q6) The transform plate margin found in the western United States is characterized by the _______ fault.
Q7) A hypothesis is a scientific theory that has been tested.
A)True
B)False
Q8) What is a plate and how does it relate to isostasy?
Q9) Which type of plate boundary results from two or more plates coming together?
A)convergent
B)divergent
C)transform
D)hot spot
E)ridge
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Earthquakes and Earths Interior
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Sample Questions
Q1) A place along a fault where an earthquake has not occurred in a long time is called paleoseismology.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The thickness of the crust beneath the continents averages _______.
Q3) A large,destructive ocean wave sometimes caused by an earthquake is called a _______.
Q4) Discuss the differences between Earth's outer and inner core.
Q5) The deepest hole ever drilled in the planet is located in South Africa.
A)True
B)False
Q6) The _______ is the point on the surface directly above the point of an earthquake.
A)epicenter
B)focus
C)elastic rebound
D)tsunami
E)xenolith
Q7) A measure of earthquake strength based on rupture size,rock properties,and displacement is known as _______.
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Chapter 6: Volcanoes and Igneous Rocks
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Sample Questions
Q1) Contrast igneous rock textures between those formed internally (intrusively)and those formed externally (extrusively).
Q2) The magma from erupting volcanoes has a temperature ranging between
Q3) Small pyroclasts welded together during an eruption results in the formation of a tuff.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Molten rock that reaches Earth's surface is known as _______.
A)magma
B)tephra
C)lava
D)pyroclasts
E)fumaroles
Q5) A _______ is a mixture of molten and solid rock.
A)tephra
B)pyroclastic flow
C)fractional melt
D)debris flow
E)complete melt
Q6) _______ are volcanic vents that emit only gas.
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Chapter 7: Weathering and Erosion
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Sample Questions
Q1) Air is 1200 times less dense than water.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The uppermost soil horizon that contains a high amount of organic matter is known as the _____ horizon.
A)A
B)E
C)B
D)O
E)none of the above
Q3) Stone Mountain,Georgia and Ayer's Rock in Australia are both examples of frost wedging.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe the difference between laminar and turbulent flow in a liquid.
Q5) Slurry flows can move down slope at speeds of _______ km/h.
Q6) "Black water" found in swamps is formed from a high amount of organic matter found in the _______ load.
Q7) What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
Q8) What role does climate play in erosion?
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Chapter 8: From Sediment to Sedimentary Rock
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Sample Questions
Q1) When gravel becomes lithified,_____ is formed.
A)conglomerate
B)shale
C)sandstone
D)siltstone
E)evaporite
Q2) A fine-grained sedimentary rock is known as _____.
A)sandstone
B)breccia
C)conglomerate
D)mudstone
E)coal
Q3) Discuss the classification of clastic sedimentary rocks based on their predominant grain size.
Q4) The group of processes that transform sediments into rock is known as _____.
A)compaction
B)transportation
C)diagenesis
D)oxidation
E)lithification
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Chapter 9: Folds, faults, and Geological Maps
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Sample Questions
Q1) A _____ is a fracture in rock along which movement has occurred.
A)tension
B)flanks
C)syncline
D)shear
E)fault
Q2) A _____ map shows the locations,kinds,and orientation of rock units.
A)topographic
B)geologic
C)bathymetric
D)political
E)road
Q3) _____ is a stress in that acts in directions parallel to the surface.
Q4) _____ is the difference between the highest and lowest points in a given area.
A)Isostasy
B)Relief
C)Composition
D)Strike
E)Topography
Q5) Describe the difference between an anticline and a syncline.
Page 12
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Chapter 10: Metamorphism: New Rock From Old
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Sample Questions
Q1) What are the factors that control metamorphism?
Q2) Slate is a type of a high-grade metamorphic rock.
A)True
B)False
Q3) _____are composite rocks composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Q4) The largest scale of metamorphism results from contact metamorphism.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The temperature boundary between diagenesis and metamorphism is about _____.
Q6) An igneous intrusion is commonly surrounded by a zone,or _____,of contact metamorphism.
Q7) Gneiss is a high grade metamorphic rock than is commonly banded. A)True B)False
Q8) Metamorphism commences at approximately 300°C. A)True
B)False
Q9) _____ is the metamorphic rock that forms from the metamorphism of limestone.
Q10) The mineralogical,chemical,textural,and structural changes that occur below the Page 13
region of sedimentation and diagenesis are known as _____.
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Chapter 11: Water on and Under the Ground
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Sample Questions
Q1) The vadose zone is above the water table and is not saturated.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Mississippi River is a good example of a braided stream.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Flood frequency curves can be used to calculate a _____,which is used to place a flood in a historical context.
Q4) What is the hydrologic cycle?
Q5) _____ are the flat,low-lying areas adjacent to streams that receive overbank flow.
Q6) Porosity measures the ability of a rock to transmit a fluid.
A)True
B)False
Q7) An aquifer in which the water is allowed to rise to its natural level is known as a confined aquifer.
A)True
B)False
Q8) _____ refers to the amount of void space in a rock.
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Q9) _____ are stream deposits laid down in semi-arid regions with sparse vegetation.
Chapter 12: The Ocean and the Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) Surface currents in the Northern Hemisphere tend to curve to the right (clockwise).
A)True
B)False
Q2) Atmospheric convection cells in low latitudes (0°-30°)are called _____cells.
Q3) Which of the following class of compounds is believed to cause destruction of stratospheric ozone?
A)alcohols
B)greenhouse gases
C)hydrocarbons
D)chlorofluorocarbons
E)methane
Q4) An enclosed bay inshore from a barrier bar is a(n)_____.
A)estuary
B)beach
C)wave-cut bench
D)lagoon
E)tidal bay
Q5) How does the Pacific Ocean El Nino current affect global climate?
Q6) The tiny coral animals are called_____.
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Chapter 13: Climatic Extremes: Deserts and Glaciers
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Sample Questions
Q1) The rocks at the base of an advancing glacier leave parallel scratches termed glacial _____.
A)till
B)moraines
C)drumlins
D)striations
Q2) Freeze-thaw cycles in tundra create _____ ground.
Q3) Invasion of desert conditions into non-desert areas is termed _____.
Q4) Which of the following is NOT a glacial deposit?
A)till
B)erratics
C)moraines
D)cirque
Q5) Rainshadow deserts form when a mountain range creates a barrier to the flow of moist air,causing a zone of low precipitation to form on the downwind side of the range.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How do glaciers shape the land across which they flow?
Q7) Why are the world's deserts located in bands centered on 30 N and 30 S latitude?
Page 17
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Chapter 14: Earths Climates: Past, present, future
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Sample Questions
Q1) If greenhouse gas levels remain the same as today,we can expect 50-year temperature increases in the range of _____ °C:
A)10-25
B)0)5-1.5
C)2-6
D)0)1-0.3
E)30-40
Q2) Explain the concept of Milankovitch cycles and how they may affect glacial events.
Q3) Paleoclimatology is the scientific study of ancient climates.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The anthropogenic greenhouse effect is the portion of greenhouse warming that results from human activities,rather than natural processes.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The study of paleoclimatology includes analysis of past surface temperatures.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: A Brief History of Life on Earth
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Sample Questions
Q1) Many experts believe DNA must have appeared before RNA in early life forms.
A)True
B)False
Q2) All fossils are altered as they are preserved.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Dinosaurs included the largest land animals that ever lived.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following is NOT a mode of fossilization?
A)mummification
B)mineralization
C)optimization
D)petrification
E)carbonization
Q5) During the Cretaceous Period,mammals out-competed dinosaurs.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Vascular plants exchange gases through adjustable leaf openings called _____.
Q7) The family that includes humans is the _____.
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Chapter 16: Understanding Earths Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Valuable mineral resources often precipitate from hot groundwater sources.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Earth's population is roughly seven billion.
A)True
B)False
Q3) __________ is NOT a category of Earth's resources.
A)Natural resources
B)Capital resources
C)Renewable resources
D)Nonrenewable resources
E)All of the above
Q4) There are now at least _____ billion humans on Earth.
Q5) Approximately 10 percent of the world's electricity is derived from nuclear power plants.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Thick deposits of peat indicate ancient ______ climates and swamp environments.
Q7) Why is using renewable over nonrenewable resources always a better plan?
Q8) Explain the necessary conditions needed to produce a petroleum trap.
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