MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one
alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1) Many of the most important
metamorphic ore deposits are produced by __________ metamorphism.
A) thermal
B) regional
C) contact
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
2) The most abundant chemical
sedimentary rock is __________.
A) dolomite
B) limestone
C) chert
D) sylvite
E) rock salt
3) Cinder cones __________.
A) have very steep slopes
B) frequently occur in groups
C) consist largely of pyroclastics
D) are usually less than 300 meters (1000 feet) high
E) all of these
4) Which rock type is
associated with a high energy environment (such as a very turbulent stream)?
A) conglomerate
B) shale
C) both conglomerate and shale
D) neither conglomerate nor shale
5) The Columbia Plateau in
the northwestern United States is an excellent example of __________.
A) pyroclastic flow deposits
B) an eroded shield volcano
C) silica-rich lava flows
D) flood basalts
E) all of these
6) Rounded grains in a
sedimentary rock likely indicate transportation by __________.
A) glaciers
B) wind
C) either A or B
D) water
E) either B or D
7) Most of the heat for
contact metamorphism is supplied by __________.
A) radioactive elements
B) deep burial within Earth
C) heat trapped by cap rock
D) frictional heating along a fault
E) a nearby mass of magma
8) The largest igneous
intrusive body is called a __________.
A) laccolith
B) dike
C) batholith
D) sill
E) stock
9) The volcanic
(fine-grained) equivalent of granite is __________.
A) basalt
B) tuff
C) rhyolite
D) diorite
E) obsidian
10) The constructive processes
that alter Earth's surface depend upon Earth's internal __________ as their
source of energy.
A) heat
B) minerals
C) tectonics
D) magnetism
E) pressure
11) Sedimentary rocks
__________.
A) may contain fossils
B) hold important clues to Earth's history
C) may be economically important
D) are layered
E) all of the above
12) Assume that you have just
examined several flat-lying sedimentary layers. After much study you determine
that there is a considerable span of time for which no sedimentary rock layer
exists at this site. You have just discovered a(n) __________.
A) example of cross-cutting relation
B) series of conformable strata
C) angular unconformity
D) disconformity
E) none of the above
13) A(n) __________ has a
negative charge and a very small mass.
A) nucleus
B) proton
C) electron
D) isotope
E) neutron
14) The global ocean accounts
for nearly __________ percent of Earth's surface.
A) 66 B) 71 C) 45 D) 86 E) 33
15) Which one of the following
is NOT a type of plate boundary?
A) reverse B) divergent
C) convergent D) transform fault
16) Most often the directional
stresses that occur during mountain building are __________ forces.
A) magnetic
B) expansional
C) compressional
D) extensional
E) none of the above
17) Which one of the following
does NOT take place during the rapid cooling of magma?
A) Small crystals form.
B) Large numbers of crystal nuclei form.
C) Ions quickly lose their motion.
D) Ions migrate long distances.
E) Ions readily combine.
18) Many minerals that contain
water within their crystalline structures are said to be __________.
A) wet
B) desiccated
C) disassociated
D) hydrated
E) hydraulic
19) The intrusive equivalent
of basalt is __________.
A) andesite
B) granite
C) obsidian
D) gabbro
E) diorite
20) When the particles within
a single sedimentary layer gradually change from coarse at the bottom to fine
at the top, the layer exhibits a type of bedding called __________ bedding.
A) angular
B) ripple
C) selective
D) regular
E) graded
21) Igneous rocks are most
often classified by their __________ and mineral composition.
A) color
B) formation
C) texture
D) size
E) shape
22) Which one of the following
is NOT one of the solid Earth's principal units?
A) mantle B) tropopause
C) crust D) core
23) Which of the following
lists presents forms of coal in the correct order from the lowest grade to the
highest grade?
A) anthracite, bituminous, lignite
B) lignite, bituminous, anthracite
C) lignite, anthracite, bituminous
D) bituminous, anthracite, lignite
E) anthracite, lignite, bituminous
24) A type of plate boundary
where plates grind past each other without either generating new crust or
consuming old crust is a(n) __________ fault boundary.
A) divergent
B) reverse
C) transform fault
D) parallel
E) convergent
25) Igneous rocks that form at
the surface or as small masses within the upper crust possess a very fine-grained
texture called __________.
A) aphanitic
B) fragmental
C) conchoidal
D) phaneritic
E) porphyritic
26) The Cascade Range in the
western United States is associated with __________ volcanism.
A) intraplate
B) spreading center
C) geothermal
D) subduction zone
E) intercrustal
27) This metamorphic rock is
particularly prized as a building stone.
A) gabbro
B) phyllite
C) mica schist
D) marble
E) gneiss
28) Groups of fossil plants
and animals succeed each other in a definite and determinable order, and any
period of time can be recognized by its respective fossils. The preceding is a
statement of the __________.
A) law of original horizontality
B) principle of numerical dating
C) concept of cross-cutting relationships
D) law of superposition
E) none of the above
29) This region exhibits
extensive flood basalts.
A) Mt. Rainier
B) Rocky Mountains
C) Columbia Plateau
D) Yosemite National Park
E) Yellowstone National Park
30) Detrital sedimentary rocks
are classified (named) primarily on the basis of __________.
A) particle size B) color
C) mineral composition D) type of bedding
31) The Himalayan mountains
were produced along a __________ boundary.
A) divergent
B) convergent (oceanic-oceanic)
C) convergent (continental-continental)
D) convergent (oceanic-continental)
E) transform fault
32) The law of __________
states that in layers of undisturbed sedimentary rocks or lava flows, the
youngest layer is on top and the oldest on bottom.
A) succession
B) superposition
C) uniformity
D) catastrophism
E) layering
33) The method of using a
seismograph to establish the strength of earthquakes was developed by
__________.
A) N.L. Bowen
B) H. Benioff
C) H.F. Reid
D) Giuseppe Mercalli
E) Charles Richter
34) On Mohs hardness scale,
which is the softest mineral?
A) apatite
B) feldspar
C) calcite
D) talc
E) quartz
35) The common rock produced
by the metamorphism of limestone is __________.
A) marble
B) phyllite
C) mica schist
D) hornfels
E) gneiss
36) The discovery of the
shadow zone __________.
A) pointed to the existence of the Moho
B) identified the location of the asthenosphere
C) was made by the deep-sea drilling ship Glomar Challenger
D) was strong evidence for the existence of a core
E) none of the above
37) This type of volcano is
usually created when andesitic lavas are extruded.
A) shield volcano
B) cinder cone
C) composite cone
D) lava dome
E) volcanic neck
38) The science of geology is
traditionally divided into two broad areasยนphysical geology and __________ geology.
A) historical
B) oceanography
C) mineralogy
D) tectonic
E) none of the above
39) Which of the following is
related to relative dating?
A) cross-cutting
B) superposition
C) inclusions
D) all of the above
E) both inclusions and superposition
40) Extensive areas of
metamorphic rocks are exposed on every continent in the relatively flat regions
known as __________.
A) shields
B) cores
C) plains
D) trenches
E) interiors
41) Most of the active
volcanoes on Earth are located in a belt known as the __________.
A) Mid-Pacific Ridge
B) Ring of Fire
C) Red Sea rift
D) Circum-Atlantic Belt
E) Gulf Coast Zone
42) Hot spots are believed to
originate __________.
A) by chemical reactions in the asthenosphere
B) because of concentrations of radioactive material in the upper mantle
C) when rock is subducted
D) during magnetic reversals
E) as columns of hot material rising through the deep mantle
43) Each element is defined by
the number of __________.
A) atoms
B) neutrons
C) nuclei
D) isotopes
E) protons
44) Which of the following is
used to describe what occurs to produce an earthquake?
A) Mercalli scale
B) elastic rebound
C) plastic deformation
D) Bowen's reaction series
E) none of the above
45) __________ are the remains
or traces of prehistoric life.
A) Minerals
B) Faults
C) Inclusions
D) Fossils
E) Rocks
46) A scientific __________ is
a preliminary, untested explanation of a natural phenomenon.
A) observation
B) hypothesis
C) theory
D) supposition
E) guess
47) The thinnest layer of
Earth is the __________.
A) inner core
B) low velocity zone
C) mantle
D) crust
E) outer core
48) The tendency of minerals
to break along smooth flat surfaces is called __________.
A) fracture
B) cleavage
C) polyhedral
D) conchoidal
E) streak
49) As magma migrates upward
it may incorporate some of the surrounding country rock in a process called
__________.
A) mixing
B) differentiation
C) acquiring
D) assimilation
E) none of the above
50) When peridotite first
begins to melt, the liquid that is produced has a composition __________.
A) similar to that of granite
B) similar to that of andesite
C) richer in iron and magnesium than peridotite
D) identical with that of peridotite
E) similar to that of basalt
51) The formation of the
Hawaiian Islands is associated with __________.
A) convergent boundaries
B) transform fault boundaries
C) divergent boundaries
D) no plate boundary of any kind
E) both divergent boundaries and convergent boundaries
52) Which origin of limestone
is by far the most common?
A) marine biochemical
B) detrital
C) inorganic
D) evaporite
E) none of the above
53) This metamorphic rock is
composed of alternating bands of light and dark silicate minerals.
A) mica schist
B) quartzite
C) gneiss
D) marble
E) phyllite
54) The geographic
distribution of Mesosaurus, a small swimming reptile that lived during
the late Paleozoic, provides evidence that __________.
A) migration between North America and England was possible
B) the Pacific Ocean did not exist during this time period
C) England was covered by a shallow sea during the late Paleozoic
D) a land bridge existed between Australia and India
E) South America and Africa were once joined
55) The development of this
instrument greatly enhanced our knowledge of the ocean floor.
A) infrared opscanner
B) pulsar
C) tuzometer
D) submarine transit
E) echo sounder
56) Which one of the following
is NOT a process whereby sediment is lithified into solid sedimentary rock?
A) foliation B) cementation C) compaction
57) Through metamorphic
activity __________.
A) sandstone can change to marble
B) limestone can change to quartzite
C) granite can change to clay minerals
D) granite can change to gneiss
E) slate can change to shale
58) According to the plate
tectonics model, Earth's rigid outer shell is broken into large slabs called
__________.
A) ridges
B) boundaries
C) divergent zones
D) plates
E) convergent zones
59) Sediments derived
primarily from the products on the continents are called __________.
A) hydrogenous sediment
B) biogenous sediment
C) terrigenous sediment
D) both terrigenous sediment and biogenous sediment
E) terrigenous sediment, biogenous sediment, and hydrogenous sediment
60) The appearance or quality
of light reflected from the surface of a mineral is called __________.
A) streak
B) color
C) fluorescence
D) sheen
E) luster
61) The resistance of a
mineral to abrasion is known as __________.
A) conchoidal
B) cleavage
C) fracture
D) hardness
E) resistance
62) Which one of the following
is NOT one of the four "spheres" that constitute our environment?
A) biosphere
B) atmosphere
C) hydrosphere
D) lithosphere
E) exosphere
63) Which of the following
changes may occur during metamorphism?
A) The rock becomes more compact.
B) Certain minerals may recrystallize.
C) Crystals may grow larger.
D) all of the above
E) both A and B
64) The idea that continents
had moved about the face of Earth, proposed in the early 1900s, was referred to
as continental __________.
A) drift
B) mechanics
C) tension
D) conveyance
E) locomotion
65) The doctrine of __________
is commonly stated as "the present is the key to the past."
A) continuity
B) succession
C) catastrophism
D) exospherism
E) uniformitarianism
66) The mechanism by which
rocks store and eventually release energy in the form of an earthquake is
referred to as __________.
A) elastic rebound
B) seismic rebound
C) deformation
D) stress fracture
E) fault displacement
67) Which of the following is
NOT a characteristic of minerals?
A) possess a crystalline structure
B) either liquid or solid
C) definite chemical composition
D) formed by inorganic processes
E) a unique set of physical properties
68) The accepted age of Earth
is about __________ years.
A) 3.6 billion
B) 4.5 billion
C) 895 million
D) 6.4 million
E) 300 million
69) S waves __________.
A) are slower than surface waves
B) travel through solids, liquids, and gases
C) are the only waves recorded on seismographs
D) are slower than P waves
E) are the same as surface waves
70) The most abundant mineral
group in Earth's crust is __________.
A) carbonates
B) sulfides
C) halides
D) oxides
E) silicates
71) The most important factor
affecting the texture of an igneous rock is the __________ of the magma.
A) location
B) final temperature
C) composition
D) rate of cooling
E) starting temperature
72) Seafloor spreading goes
through various stages. Which of the sequences below correctly places these
locations in order so that the initial stage is depicted first and followed by
more advanced stages of development?
A) Red Sea, Atlantic Ocean, African Rift Valley
B) African Rift Valley, Red Sea, Atlantic Ocean
C) Red Sea, African Rift Valley, Atlantic Ocean
D) Atlantic Ocean, African Rift Valley, Red Sea
E) Atlantic Ocean, Red Sea, African Rift Valley
73) The metamorphic gradation
between slate and schist is __________.
A) gneiss
B) very high
C) phyllite
D) very low
E) none of the above
74) Hawaiian rocks would be
expected to have __________.
A) a granitic composition
B) dark color
C) high silica content
D) textures such as aa and pahoehoe
75) The term __________ refers
to large-scale deformation of Earth's lithosphere.
A) tectonics
B) drift
C) transform
D) magma
E) lithification
76) An atom that loses or gains
electrons is called a(n) __________.
A) proton
B) ion
C) isotope
D) neutrino
E) neutron
77) Divergent boundaries are
zones where plates __________.
A) move together
B) move apart
C) move together, then apart
D) slide past each other
E) move obliquely to each other
78) What type of metamorphic
rock will shale normally become following low-grade metamorphism?
A) mica schist
B) marble
C) slate
D) gneiss
E) none of the above
79) When muddy currents emerge
from the mouth of a submarine canyon onto the flat ocean floor, they deposit
sediment that forms a(n) __________.
A) deep-sea fan
B) atoll
C) slope fan
D) alluvial fan
E) none of the above
80) When an earthquake occurs,
energy radiates in all directions from its source. The source is also referred
to as the __________.
A) focus
B) inertial point
C) seismic zone
D) wave front
E) none of the above
81) __________ are the
spherical or elongated openings seen in many aphanitic rocks left by escaping
gas bubbles as magma solidifies.
A) Vesicles
B) Inclusions
C) Clasts
D) Phenocrysts
E) none of the above
82) Which one of the following
is NOT one of the three classes of rocks?
A) amorphous B) metamorphic
C) sedimentary D) igneous
83) Compaction would probably
be most significant as a lithification process for __________.
A) sandstone
B) shale
C) conglomerate
D) breccia
E) chert
84) Deep ocean trenches are
associated with __________.
A) transform fault offsets
B) rifting
C) sub-oceanic erosion
D) subduction zones
E) submarine extension
85) Which one of the following
is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock similar to gray granite, but lacking
visible quartz crystals?
A) peridotite
B) diorite
C) basalt
D) obsidian
E) andesite
86) All silicate minerals
contain the elements __________.
A) silicon and iron
B) silicon and oxygen
C) silicon and sodium
D) silicon and magnesium
E) silicon and calcium
87) The continents cover
approximately __________ percent of Earth's surface.
A) 30 B) 40 C) 50 D) 60 E) 70
88) Radiocarbon decays by
which one of these processes?
A) beta particle emission
B) proton capture
C) electron capture
D) alpha particle emission
E) neutron emission
89) A rock which has large
crystals embedded in a matrix of smaller crystals is said to have a(n)
__________ texture.
A) fragmental
B) glassy
C) phaneritic
D) aphanitic
E) none of the above
90) The most abundant
sedimentary rock is __________.
A) limestone
B) conglomerate
C) shale
D) sandstone
E) siltstone
91) The __________ is a hot,
weak zone that is capable of gradual flow located within Earth between the
depths of 100 and 350 kilometers.
A) asthenosphere
B) mantle
C) core
D) lithosphere
E) crust
92) Earth's __________ includes
the crust and part of the upper mantle.
A) lithosphere
B) mantle
C) core
D) asthenosphere
E) none of the above
93) The igneous activity in
the Yellowstone region can be classified as __________ volcanism.
A) geothermal
B) spreading center
C) intraplate
D) subduction zone
E) intracrustal
94) Insects are sometimes
preserved in the hardened resin of ancient trees. This material is called
__________.
A) caprolite
B) gastrolith
C) carbonization
D) amber
E) none of the above
95) Graded bedding is
characterized by __________.
A) being found only on the continental slope off the Newfoundland coast
B) an increase in sediment size from bottom to top
C) an unsorted mixture of many different sediment sizes
D) a decrease in sediment size from bottom to top
96) The left branch of Bowen's
reaction series is called a(n) __________ reaction series because each mineral
has a different crystalline structure.
A) intermediate
B) discontinuous
C) continuous
D) alternate
E) changing
97) If the gravel-sized
particles in a rock are angular rather than rounded, the rock is called
__________.
A) sandstone
B) conglomerate
C) siltstone
D) coquina
E) breccia
98) Most available information
favors the view that submarine canyons on the continental slope have been
generated by __________.
A) faulting
B) streams when sea level was much lower than it is today
C) submarine glaciation
D) turbidity currents
E) streams when sea level was much higher than it is today
99) The San Andreas fault
exemplifies this type of plate boundary.
A) divergent
B) convergent (oceanic-oceanic)
C) convergent (continental-continental)
D) convergent (oceanic-continental)
E) transform fault
100) In the early 1900s,
pioneering investigations by __________ established the sequence in which
minerals crystallize from magma.
A) Smith
B) Bowen
C) Playfair
D) Ussher
E) Lyell
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one
alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1) C
2) B
3) E
4) A
5) D
6) E
7) E
8) C
9) C
10) A
11) E
12) D
13) C
14) B
15) A
16) C
17) D
18) D
19) D
20) E
21) C
22) B
23) B
24) C
25) A
26) D
27) D
28) E
29) C
30) A
31) C
32) B
33) E
34) D
35) A
36) D
37) C
38) A
39) D
40) A
41) B
42) E
43) E
44) B
45) D
46) B
47) D
48) B
49) D
50) E
51) D
52) A
53) C
54) E
55) C
56) A
57) D
58) D
59) C
60) E
61) D
62) E
63) D
64) A
65) E
66) A
67) B
68) B
69) D
70) E
71) D
72) B
73) C
74) B
75) A
76) B
77) B
78) C
79) A
80) A
81) A
82) A
83) B
84) D
85) B
86) B
87) A
88) A
89) E
90) C
91) A
92) A
93) C
94) D
95) D
96) B
97) E
98) D
99) E
100) B