GEO FINAL

Temperatures on Earth would be lower if there were more carbon dioxide in the atmo- sphere.

False

Inductive reasoning uses specific observations to reach a general conclusion.

True

Paleontologists have examined the fossil record to determine that over 99% of all species that ever existed are now extinct.

True

Complex impact craters have a central peak, unlike simple craters.

True

Plutonic rocks form at or very near the surface.

False

Rocks formed at the Earth's surface from the breakup of other rocks are:
A) Igneous rocks.
B) Sedimentary rocks.
C) Metamorphic rocks.

B) Sedimentary rocks.

If radioactive decay begins with 800,000 parent isotopes atoms, how many will be left after three half-lives?
A) 400,000
B) 200,000
C) 100,000
D) 50,000
E) 25,000

C) 100,000

When it was first proposed, Alfred Wegener's continental drift hypothesis was heavily criticized by earth scientists. What was one of their primary objections to the conti- nental drift hypothesis?
A) Wegener couldn't explain the worldwide distribution of

C) Wegener did not offer an explanation for how the continents move.

What is a subduction zone?
A) Where one lithospheric plate is dragged or pushed below another lithospheric plate.
B) Where one lithospheric plate slides horizontally past another lithospheric plate.
C) Where a continental plate breaks and diverges.
D) Non

A) Where one lithospheric plate is dragged or pushed below another lithospheric plate.

________ Faults are most common at divergent plate boundaries.
A) Normal
B) Ductile
C) Reverse
D) Transform

A) Normal

The primary reason there are seasons on Earth is because
A) Earth spins with retrograde motion relative to the other planets in the solar system.
B) Earth's orbit is circular rather than elliptical C) the spin axis of Earth is tilted with respect to the p

C) the spin axis of Earth is tilted with respect to the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun.

Which relative time principle assumes that G is older than F? (In the Picture G is a couple layers lower than F).
A) superposition
B) cross-cutting
C) original horizontality
D) inclusions

A) superposition

Which relative time principle assumes that D is younger than G? (D is in the middle of layer G).
A) superposition
B) cross-cutting
C) original horizontality
D) inclusions

B) cross-cutting

Which type of volcanoes are most likely to explode and why?
A) Shield - because the magma is more viscous than stratovolcanoes
B) Strato - because the magma is more viscous than shield volcanoes
C) Shield - because the magma is less viscous than stratovol

B) Strato - because the magma is more viscous than shield volcanoes

What does the Moment magnitude scale measure?
A) The reaction of people during an earthquake.
B) The magnitude of the Earth shaking during an earthquake.
C) The number of tsunami as a result of an earthquake.
D) The amount of damage encountered during an

B) The magnitude of the Earth shaking during an earthquake.

What evidence indicated that Mount St. Helens was going to erupt?
A) Changes in shape
B) Earthquakes
C) Gas emissions
D) All of the above choices are correct

D) All of the above choices are correct

What happens to an air parcel as it rises in elevation within the troposphere?
A) Temperature and pressure decrease
B) Temperature and pressure increase
C) Temperature decreases, pressure increases
D) Temperature increases, pressure decreases

A) Temperature and pressure decrease

Which of the following is a high silica rock which cooled slowly
A) Granite
B) Rhyolite
C) Basalt
D) Gabbro
E) Andesite

A) Granite

The speed of plate motion is approximately
A) 1-10 km per year
B) 1-10 meters per year
C) 1-10 centimeters per year
D) 1-10 micrometers per year (one micrometer = 1 millionth of a meter)

C) 1-10 centimeters per year

In order for a substance to be considered a mineral it must have all of the following characteristics except
A) Solid
B) Naturally occurring
C) Definite chemical composition
D) Orderly internal arrangement of atoms
E) Organic in origin

E) Organic in origin

How large would an asteroid have to be to generate a 200 km diameter impact crater
like the Chicxulub crater on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula?
A) 1,000-2,000 km in diameter
B) 100-200 km in diameter
C) 10-20 km in diameter
D) 1-2 km in diameter

C) 10-20 km in diameter

What determines the atomic number of an element?
A) The number of electrons
B) The number of neutrons
C) The number of protons
D) All of the above

C) The number of protons

What must be true of a rock unit that is cut by an igneous intrusion?
A) The rock unit must be younger than the intrusion
B) The rock unit must be the same age as the intrusion
C) The rock unit must be older than the intrusion

C) The rock unit must be older than the intrusion

This earthquake-generated hazard can occur when seismic waves shake water-saturated
soils.
A) Wildfires
B) Liquefaction
C) Airblast
D) Coccidioidomycosis (valley fever)
E) Aftershock

B) Liquefaction

Which of the following is a low silica rock which cooled slowly
A) Granite
B) Rhyolite
C) Basalt
D) Gabbro
E) Andesite

D) Gabbro

Rocks that are formed by the crystallization of new minerals in the solid state (i.e. without melting) due to heat and/or pressure are
A) Sedimentary
B) Metamorphic
C) Igneous
D) Molten

B) Metamorphic

Which processes would change an igneous rock to a sedimentary rock?
A) Weathering, transport, deposition, and lithification
B) Melting and crystallization
C) Increased temperature and pressure
D) all of the above

A) Weathering, transport, deposition, and lithification

The amplitude (size) of the seismic waves generated by a Moment magnitude 6 earth- quake is approximately times greater than the amplitude of waves produced by a magnitude 4 earthquake.
A) 1,000
B) 600
C) 100
D) 10
E) 3.14

C) 100

When did large numbers of fossils first appear in the geologic record?
A) About 4.6 billion years ago
B) About 2 billion years ago
C) About 500 million years ago
D) About 66 million years ago
E) About 3 million years ago

C) About 500 million years ago

What happens to the density of air with increasing elevation in the atmosphere?
A) it increases
B) it decreases
C) it stays the same
D) varies completely randomly

B) it decreases

Most of the mass of the atmosphere is located in which layer?
A) Thermosphere
B) Mesosphere
C) Stratosphere
D) Troposhere

D) Troposhere

35. Suppose you find a rock made up of mostly of decayed plant material. What type of rock have you found
A) Clastic
B) Chemical
C) Biochemical

C) Biochemical

Where are the deepest earthquakes generated? A) Near passive margins
B) At subduction zones
C) Along transform boundaries
D) At mid-ocean ridges

B) At subduction zones

What happens to a mountain root as erosion removes material from the summit?
A) It gets deeper
B) It stays the same (neither deeper nor shallower)
C) It gets shallower

C) It gets shallower

Where are the youngest seafloor rocks found? A) Nearest the continental margins.
B) Nearest the mid-ocean ridges.
C) Within the deep sea trenches.
D) Evenly distributed over the ocean basins.

B) Nearest the mid-ocean ridges.

Why are radioactive elements useful for determining the ages of rocks
A) Their half lives are sensitive to the environment that the rock has experienced
B) Their half lives increase predictably over time
C) Their half lives do not change over time
D) Thei

C) Their half lives do not change over time

Which two ideas were combined to form the theory of plate tectonics?
A) Continental drift and the scientific process B) Continental drift and seafloor spreading
C) Continental drift and the Big Bang

B) Continental drift and seafloor spreading

Which diagram below best illustrates the concept of isostacy and mountains?
A)a
B)b
C)c
Picture not shown.

A)a

What type of material forms most mountains? A) Crustal material
B) Mantle material
C) Volcanic material

A) Crustal material

Which component of the earth system relates to all living things on earth?
A) Biosphere
B) Hydrosphere
C) Geosphere
D) Atmosphere
E) Exosphere

A) Biosphere

What is the proper order of Earth's compositional layers from the surface, where we live, down into the interior?
A) core, crust, mantle
B) mantle, crust, core
C) crust, mantle, core
D) mantle, core, crust
E) crust, core, mantl

C) crust, mantle, core

What type of plate boundary is most likely to generate a tsunami?
A) Convergent
B) Transform
C) Divergent

A) Convergent

The difference in the arrival times of the P and S waves at a seismograph station allows you to determine what about the earthquake?
A) The depth of the earthquake
B) The kind of fault on which the earthquake was generated
C) Its distance from the seismog

C) Its distance from the seismograph station

What scale predicts the potential threat posed by an asteroid impact?
A) Richter scale
B) Fujita scale
C) Modified Mercalli scale
D) Torino

D) Torino

Where is seafloor returned to the mantle?
A) mid-ocean ridges
B) along transform boundaries
C) at subduction zones
D) at continent-continent collisions

C) at subduction zones

The name for the type of rock formed at midocean ridges is. (Hint: this rock is dense, and makes up most of the ocean crust)
A) opal
B) basalt
C) halite
D) granite
E) sandstone

B) basalt