Planet Earth
Exam Bank
Course Introduction
Planet Earth is an interdisciplinary course that explores the physical, chemical, and biological processes that shape our planet. Students examine Earth's structure, including its atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere, and investigate the dynamic interactions between these systems. Topics include plate tectonics, weather and climate patterns, the water cycle, natural resources, and environmental challenges. By integrating concepts from geology, geography, environmental science, and astronomy, the course provides a comprehensive understanding of Earth's past, present, and future within the context of planetary science.
Recommended Textbook
GEOL 2nd Edition by Reed Wicander
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Understanding Earth: A Dynamic and Evolving Planet
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Sample Questions
Q1) In 19th century,geologists developed the geologic time scale using A)fossils.
B)radiometric dating techniques.
C)absolute ages.
D)the principle of uniformitarianism.
Answer: D
Q2) What is Pluto now that it is no longer a planet,and what are the characteristics of that type of body?
Answer: Pluto is now a dwarf planet.These bodies are similar to planets,but they have not cleared their portion of space of debris.Pluto is found within the Kuiper Belt of comets and other icy debris.
Q3) Briefly explain the importance of the geologic time scale.
Answer: The geologic time scale is the result of work by many geologists worldwide who used fossils,the rock record,and radiometric dating techniques to determine a chronology for the evolution of Earth and its life through time.
Q4) The material in Earth's inner core is ____________________,while the outer core is ____________________.
Answer: solid,liquid
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Chapter 2: Plate Tectonics: A Unifying Theory
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why is plate tectonic theory so widely accepted?
Answer: Plate tectonic theory is supported by diverse lines of evidence from many scientific disciplines,such as geology and biology,and it explains many seemingly unrelated geological phenomena.
Q2) Changes in the Earth's magnetic field have occurred throughout geologic time,and these are called magnetic reversals.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Explain how mountain ranges can be used as evidence to support continental drift.
Answer: A mountain range forms under the same geological conditions along its length.This means that the same or nearly the same rock types are found along the range's length in the same or nearly the same sequence.The processes that form mountain ranges tend to create somewhat linear elevated features.So a mountain range that has been split,even if it has been separated by an ocean,is fairly easy to recognize.
Q4) What is the driving mechanism for plate tectonics?
Answer: Thermal convection cells.
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks
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Sample Questions
Q1) Minerals may have chemical compositions that vary within a range.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) What is a rock-forming mineral?
Answer: A mineral that is sufficiently common in a type of rock that it can be used for identification and classification of that rock type.
Q3) What makes a resource into a reserve? What is the distinction between them,and what factors does it depend on?
Answer: Resources are concentrations of a useful commodity that may be known or unknown.A reserve is the part of the resource that is known and can be economically recovered.There are several factors that may make a resource into a reserve,including geographic location,the value of the commodity,the distance of the commodity from where it will be used,the market price,and the technology available for recovering the commodity.
Q4) The number of neutrons in an atom always equals the number of protons.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Igneous Rocks and Intrusive Igneous Activity
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Q1) How are basalt and gabbro similar,and how are they different? How about andesite and diorite? Rhyolite and granite? How are basalt,andesite,and rhyolite the same,and how are they different? How about gabbro,diorite,and granite?
Q2) Why can an intruding mafic magma assimilate felsic country rock,but an intruding felsic magma cannot assimilate mafic country rock?
Q3) What are the three major classifications of magma? How are they defined? What elements increase or decrease in the composition of the three types?
Q4) Bowen's reaction series explains why Si-rich minerals are the last to crystallize from a magma.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Andesite and ____________________ are respectively ____________________-trusive and ____________________-trusive rocks formed in volcanic chains along ____________________ plate boundaries.
Q6) ____________________ are concordant,mushroom-shaped plutons.
Q7) What are the effects of magma mixing on magma composition?
Q8) What is viscosity?
Q9) What does a glassy texture tell us about the history of an igneous rock?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Volcanoes and Volcanism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Distinguish aa from pahoehoe flows.
Q2) Most volcanoes are located in:
A)the Mediterranean belt.
B)the mid-oceanic ridges.
C)the circum-Pacific belt.
D)the East African Rift Zone.
E)Indonesia.
Q3) How did recent eruptions of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines and Kilauea in Hawaii differ?
Q4) What is a lahar?
Q5) What are the reasons that volcanism is primarily a constructive process?
Q6) Describe composite volcanoes.How do they differ from shield volcanoes and cinder cones?
Q7) What is vog,and who named it? What are its risks?
Q8) A lava tube is a hollow space left when the lava within a flowing tube drains away,leaving only the outside as hardened rock.
A)True
B)False
Q9) How could you distinguish a volcanic crater from a caldera?
Q10) What is the difference between an active volcano and a dormant volcano? Page 7
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Page 8
Chapter 6: Weathering, Soil, and Sedimentary Rocks
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Q1) Three important chemical processes involved in chemical weathering are ____________________,____________________,and
Q2) What is soil made of?
Q3) Trace fossils are indications of organic activity,such as tracks and trails.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are rising due to the burning of fossil fuels.How might this increased level of carbon dioxide affect rates of weathering?
Q5) Soils that are a result of intense weathering and are typically found in the tropics are ____________________.
Q6) The most important factor controlling soil formation is ____________________.
Q7) Which coal contains the most carbon and is the hottest burning?
A)lignite
B)anthracite
C)bituminous
D)peat
E)subbituminous
Q8) How does mechanical weathering differ from chemical weathering?
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Chapter 7: Metamorphism and Metamorphic Rocks
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is an isograd?
Q2) What are the sources of the heat,pressure,and fluids that cause rocks to metamorphose?
Q3) What is lithostatic pressure?
Q4) How can fluid activity promote metamorphism?
Q5) Foliated metamorphic rocks are further classified on the basis of what observable properties?
Q6) Metamorphic rocks indicate that an even older parent rock once existed in that place.
A)True
B)False
Q7) The type of metamorphism that occurs over large areas,commonly at convergent plate margins,and is responsible for the production of most metamorphic rocks is
Q8) What is a metamorphic zone?
Q9) The temperature of the intrusive magma has little effect on the metamorphic minerals formed.
A)True
B)False
Q10) Describe regional metamorphism.Where does it take place? Page 10
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Chapter 8: Earthquakes and Earths Interior
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Q1) How would an earthquake epicenter be located,using three seismograms,a map,and a protractor?
Q2) Why are earthquakes more likely to occur in Tokyo,Anchorage,and Los Angeles than they are in New York,London,or Paris?
Q3) The two types of body waves are ____________________ wave and ____________________ waves.
Q4) Explain the differences between the magnitude and the intensity of an earthquake,in terms of cause and effect.
Q5) Why are all intermediate- to deep-focus earthquakes generated at convergent plate boundaries?
Q6) Which type(s)of seismic waves do seismographs record?
Q7) The composition of the core is:
A)peridotite.
B)basalt.
C)granite.
D)iron.
E)iron and nickel metal.
Q8) What is Earth's average density,what are the average surface rock densities,and what does this tell us about the interior of Earth?
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Chapter 9: Deformation, Mountain Building, and the Continents
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Q1) The forces that have created the Basin and Range Province of the western United States are transformational.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What role do geologists play in engineering large structures like bridges and power plants?
Q3) The type of fold that forms traps for most of the world's produced petroleum is a(n)____________________.
Q4) What are some geologic processes that accompany orogenesis at oceanic-oceanic convergent plate boundaries?
Q5) At the San Andreas fault,the Pacific Plate is moving northwest relative to the southeast moving North American Plate.Therefore,movement along the San Andreas is:
A)compressional
B)tensional
C)right-lateral
D)left-lateral
E)vertical
Q6) An episode of mountain building is known as a(n)____________________.
Page 13
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Chapter 10: Mass Wasting
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Q1) What is the effect of reducing water on a slope to mass movements? How can this be done?
Q2) How does the geology (dip of rock layers or joints)on a slope affect slope stability?
Q3) Curved tree trunks,displaced monuments,tilted power poles,displaced and tilted fences,roadways moved out of alignment,and hummocky surfaces are all evidence of
Q4) How does weathering promote mass wasting?
Q5) The most common triggering mechanism for mass wasting is:
A)vibrations due to earthquakes.
B)a sudden influx of excessive water.
C)erosion of the slope base.
D)vibrations due to earthquake and a sudden influx of excessive water.
E)vibrations due to earthquakes,a sudden influx of excessive water,and erosion of the slope base.
Q6) What are some ways by which a slope can become oversteepened? How can oversteeping cause mass wasting?
Q7) Slumps occur most commonly in well-consolidated material.
A)True
B)False
Page 14
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Chapter 11: Running Water
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Q1) Describe the major drainage patterns.
Q2) What evidence reveals that water may once have been abundant on Mars?
Q3) A stream that cuts directly through ridges that lie in their paths are called ____________________.
Q4) Streams of rivers possess two kinds of energy.Kinetic energy is the energy of:
A)water molecules.
B)position.
C)gravity.
D)motion.
E)channeling.
Q5) Ridges of alluvium left along a stream's margins by repeated deposition during floods are called ____________________.
Q6) The Mississippi River is an example of channel flow.
A)True B)False
Q7) In meandering streams,the water velocity tends to be greatest in the ____________________ portion of the meander.
Q8) What are some of the reasons why running water is important to humans?
Q9) What are braided streams,and where do they form?
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Chapter 12: Groundwater
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Q1) A stream that just disappears has flowed into a(n)____________________.
Q2) Describe dripstone and how it forms.
Q3) A natural fountain that intermittently ejects hot water and steam into the air is a(n): A)hot spring.
B)volcano.
C)hydrothermal vent.
D)geyser.
E)aquiclude.
Q4) A very large cave or system of interconnected caves is called a(n)____________________.
Q5) The energy for the downward movement of groundwater is provided by gravity. A)True B)False
Q6) Why are porosity and permeability important to groundwater?
Q7) How do stalactites,stalagmites,columns,drip curtains,and travertine terraces form?
Q8) What are disappearing streams?
Q9) Rounded depressions common in regions having limestone bedrock are known as ____________________.
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Chapter 13: Glaciers and Glaciation
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Sample Questions
Q1) A lake formed within a cirque is called a(n):
A)arête.
B)esker.
C)tarn.
D)fjord.
E)drumlin.
Q2) The zone of wastage is the portion of a glacier where ____________________ exceed ____________________.
Q3) Under what conditions do large crevasses develop in glaciers? What forces act to produce them,and where in the glacier are they found? What happens if a glacier descends over a steep precipice?
Q4) Basal slip becomes a more important means of glacier movement in warmer months when more meltwater collects at a glacier's base.
A)True
B)False
Q5) How can you tell a river valley from a glacial valley if there is no glacier within the valley?
Q6) Elongated,spoon-shaped hills that have been shaped by an overriding glacier are called ____________________.
Page 17
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Chapter 14: The Work of Wind and Deserts
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Q1) A playa forms by ____________________ of a playa lake.
Q2) What are the four major dune types generally recognized?
Q3) Briefly explain why most deserts develop in the mid-latitude dry climate zone.
Q4) Dunes that form when vegetation cover is broken by deflation and the dune tips point upwind are:
A)longitudinal.
B)transverse.
C)barchan.
D)parabolic.
E)none of the above
Q5) What can lithified or ancient sand dunes tell us?
Q6) The transformation of formerly productive lands into deserts is called ____________________.
Q7) How do dunes build their characteristic asymmetrical profile?
Q8) Briefly explain why sand is moved by wind before clay and silt during wind erosion.
Q9) What is air pressure,and how does it vary with temperature?
Q10) All deserts are found within the low and middle latitudes.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: Oceans, Shorelines, and Shoreline Processes
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Q1) A beach with a wide berm,a gentle slope,and a smooth offshore profile is a:
A)summer beach.
B)winter beach.
C)high-energy beach.
D)tide-dominated beach.
E)sediment-poor beach.
Q2) What is the cause of rising sea level?
Q3) The highest part of a wave is known as its ____________________,and the lowest part is its ____________________.The wave ____________________ is the difference between these two points.
Q4) Describe how waves are generated.
Q5) How are sea cliffs eroded?
Q6) What are longshore currents,and how do they form? Why are they important to shoreline processes?
Q7) Tides that occur when the Sun and Moon are at right angles to one another and have wave-generating abilities that cancel each other out are ____________________ tides.
Q8) What are spring tides and neap tides,and what causes them?
Page 19
Q9) What are winter beaches and summer beaches? How can the same beach have two such different seasonal profiles?
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Page 20
Chapter 16: Geologic Time: Concepts and Principles
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Q1) Which of the following was not among the early scientific attempts to determine Earth's age?
A)the cooling rate of a molten iron sphere of Earth's diameter
B)the rate of sediment deposition
C)the rate at which water precipitation accumulated in the ocean
D)the geologic principles and the inferred rates of change necessary to explain the fossil record
E)the rate of salt accumulation in the ocean
Q2) How were absolute ages added to the geologic time scale in the 20 century?
Q3) The age of the Earth is:
A)12.6 billion years.
B)12.6 million years.
C)4.6 billion years.
D)4.6 million years.
E)10,000 years.
Q4) How do geologists do correlation using rocks and fossils?
Q5) What is the principle of lateral continuity?
Q6) What is carbon-14 dating useful for in terms of age and type of sample?
Q7) What is the principle of inclusions?
Q8) What are the requirements for a useful guide fossil?
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Chapter 17: Earth History
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Q1) What do cyclothems represent?
Q2) During the breakup of Pangaea,the eastern margin of North America went first through a passive margin stage and then through a rift margin stage.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Outline the history of the Alpine-Himalayan belt.
Q4) During the entire Paleozoic,the western margin of North America could be described as:
A)tectonically active with the development of numerous mobile belts.
B)a passive margin with only localized mountain building events.
C)a passive margin with no evidence of orogeny.
D)an active margin with thick carbonate platforms.
E)a zone of active volcanism.
Q5) The Gulf of Mexico began to form in the ____________________ Period.
Q6) What role did microplates play in the formation of Pangaea?
Q7) Pangaea was formed from tectonic plates and ____________________.
Q8) Describe what happened to create the Sauk sequence from its beginning to the beginning of the Tippecanoe sequence.
Q9) In what two ways was the Laramide orogeny different from other orogenies?
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Chapter 18: Life History
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Q1) The dominant type of flora in non-swampy areas of the Late Paleozoic was
Q2) The sail-like fin on the pelycosaur may have served as all but which of the following?
A)sexual display
B)a means of locomotion
C)a means of protection
D)a means of defense
E)a thermoregulatory device
Q3) All of the following except which are features of primates?
A)increased brain size
B)stereoscopic vision
C)opposable thumb
D)grasping hands
E)more specialized teeth
Q4) What is an invertebrate?
Q5) How did transgressing and regressing seas affect the quantity and diversity of life forms in the Paleozoic?
Q6) What is important to know about the evolution of invertebrate phyla?
Q7) How were hominids different from other primates?
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