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Question 1

What is the most influential form of erosion?

Answer 1

Flowing water (streams and waves) — moves the most material annually.

Question 2

Why is wind erosion limited in most environments?

Answer 2

Because of vegetation and occasional moisture.

Question 3

What is mass wasting?

Answer 3

Downhill movement of rock/sediment due to gravity.

Question 4

Give one benefit and one danger of erosion.

Answer 4

Benefit: exposes ores & creates soil. Danger: causes flooding and landslides.

Question 5

How are mass wasting and stream erosion connected?

Answer 5

Mass wasting delivers sediment that streams carry away.

Question 6

What’s the difference between a slide and a flow event?

Answer 6

Slide = material moves together. Flow = mixed movement at different speeds.

Question 7

What causes a stream to flood?

Answer 7

Sudden water input exceeds the stream’s channel capacity.

Question 8

Why is water more erosive than wind in deserts?

Answer 8

Water, though rare, moves more material than weak wind.

Question 9

Why is mechanical weathering dominant in dry climates?

Answer 9

Lack of water limits chemical weathering.

Question 10

What are the three ocean movements that cause erosion?

Answer 10

Tides, waves, and currents.

Question 11

Which ocean movement poses the most danger?

Answer 11

Waves, especially during storms and tsunamis.

Question 12

What is submerged or exposed at submergent/emergent coastlines?

Answer 12

Offshore sediments like sand, silt, and clay.

Question 13

Name the four major storm types in Earth’s atmosphere.

Answer 13

Mid-latitude cyclone, tropical cyclone, tornado, thunderstorm.

Question 14

Why aren’t thunderstorms usually considered cyclonic?

Answer 14

They typically lack large-scale rotation.

Question 15

What do cyclonic storms have in common?

Answer 15

Rising, spiraling columns of low-pressure air.

Question 16

How are hurricanes related to thunderstorms?

Answer 16

Hurricanes are rotating walls of thunderstorms.

Question 17

How does continental drift differ from plate tectonics?

Answer 17

Drift = continents move over crust; Tectonics = plates move as solid sections.

Question 18

What evidence supports plate tectonics?

Answer 18

Fossils, rock formations, seafloor spreading, volcano/quake patterns.

Question 19

What is a hot spot?

Answer 19

A rising mantle plume forming volcanoes away from boundaries.

Question 20

What is subduction?

Answer 20

Ocean crust is pushed under another plate at a convergent boundary.

Question 21

What is the Mid-Oceanic Ridge?

Answer 21

Underwater mountain range formed at a spreading center.

Question 22

What are the three types of volcanic cones?

Answer 22

Cinder cone, shield cone, composite cone.

Question 23

Describe a cinder cone.

Answer 23

Small, steep, made of volcanic fragments (pyroclastics).

Question 24

Describe a shield cone.

Answer 24

Wide, flat, basaltic lava, quiet eruptions.

Question 25

Describe a composite cone.

Answer 25

Tall, alternating layers of lava and pyroclastics, explosive.

Question 26

How do volcanoes create islands?

Answer 26

Through subduction or hot spot eruptions in the ocean.

Question 27

Andes vs. Himalayas – what’s the difference?

Answer 27

Andes = volcanic, from subduction. Himalayas = sedimentary, from collision.

Question 28

What’s the difference between folding and faulting?

Answer 28

Folding = bending without breaking. Faulting = breaking with movement.

Question 29

How can magma influence folding and faulting?

Answer 29

Rising magma causes surface pressure that bends or fractures rock.

Question 30

What causes earthquakes?

Answer 30

Sudden release of built-up elastic energy in the crust.

Question 31

How are seismic waves used to find an earthquake's epicenter?

Answer 31

By measuring the time difference between P- and S-waves.

Question 32

What scales are used to measure earthquakes?

Answer 32

Richter scale (wave height) and Mercalli scale (damage level).

Question 33

Where are strong earthquakes most likely?

Answer 33

Along active plate boundaries and seismic gaps.

Question 34

What causes a tsunami?

Answer 34

Underwater earthquakes, landslides, or asteroid impacts.

Question 35

Fill in the blank: The area above normal wave reach is called the _______.

Answer 35

Backshore zone

Question 36

Fill in the blank: The theory of moving continents is known as _______.

Answer 36

Continental drift

Question 37

Fill in the blank: The largest intrusive igneous body is called a _______.

Answer 37

Batholith

Question 38

Fill in the blank: A volcanic mudflow is referred to as _______.

Answer 38

Lahar

Question 39

Fill in the blank: A broad volcano made of basaltic lava is known as a _______.

Answer 39

Shield cone

Question 40

Fill in the blank: The scale that measures earthquake damage is called the _______.

Answer 40

Mercalli scale

Question 41

Fill in the blank: The global undersea mountain range is known as the _______.

Answer 41

Mid-oceanic ridge

Question 42

Fill in the blank: The area between high and low tide is called the _______.

Answer 42

Foreshore zone

Question 43

True or False: The Richter scale measures the damage level of an earthquake.

Answer 43

False

Question 44

True or False: A tornado is a rotating funnel storm from a thunderstorm.

Answer 44

True