Midterm Flashcards
(198 cards)
1
Q
Earth is ________ years old.
A
4.6 billion
2
Q
A(n) ________ is a well-tested and widely accepted view that best explains certain scientific observations.
A
theory
3
Q
Which of the following is not necessary for a hypothesis to be accepted by the scientific community?
A
there must be alternative hypotheses proposed
4
Q
The Universe began about ________ years ago.
A
13.7 billion
5
Q
The theory that describes the formation of the solar system is known as the __________.
A
Nebular theory
6
Q
The exchange of energy between the surface of the earth, the atmosphere, and space causes _____________.
A
weather
7
Q
In the figure below, what is represented by the bracket including the top-most layers, from the brown section through to the top?
A
lithosphere
8
Q
The loop that represents the movement of Earth’s water among the various spheres is called the __________.
A
hydrologic cycle
9
Q
Continental shields and platforms are ___________.
A
areas in the interior of continents that have not experienced mountain building for billions of years
10
Q
A major cause of the differences in elevation of ocean basins and continents is _________ of the crust.
A
density
11
Q
Which of the following is a mineral as defined by a geologist?
A
salt
12
Q
Why is sugar not considered a mineral?
A
It is organic in nature.
13
Q
What determines the physical and chemical properties of an atom?
A
the number of protons
14
Q
Electrons have a ________ charge and a mass that is ________ than that of protons.
A
negative; smaller
15
Q
Atomic bonding, which involves two atoms “sharing” one or more electrons, is known as _________.
A
covalent bonding
16
Q
Atomic bonding that involves the transfer of electrons from one atom to another, is known as _________.
A
ionic bonding
17
Q
When an atom loses an electron, it becomes _______.
A
a positively charged ion
18
Q
Which of the following minerals has the highest hardness value?
A
Quartz
19
Q
Which one of the following describes a mineral’s response to mechanical impact?
A
Cleavage
20
Q
Which of the following minerals is most likely the one shown here?
A
calcite
21
Q
What is the most abundant element found near the surface of Earth?
A
oxygen
22
Q
The silicon-oxygen tetrahedron, the most fundamental basis for forming minerals, contains___________.
A
our oxygen atoms and one silicon atom
23
Q
_________ rocks always originate at the surface of the solid Earth.
A
Sedimentary
24
Q
Which one of the following statements is not correct?
A
Sedimentary rocks may weather to igneous rock.
25
Intrusive igneous rocks are often characterized as coarse-grained because ____________.
they cool slowly at depth, allowing large crystals to grow
26
All igneous rocks have _____________.
a solid mass of interlocking crystals
27
Generally speaking, ________________.
felsic rocks are light-colored
28
Consider Bowen’s reaction series. Which mineral would you expect to see as a phenocryst in a porphyritic basalt?
olivine
29
About what percent of Earth’s land areas are covered by sediments and sedimentary rocks?
75%
30
Detrital sedimentary rocks are those that form ________.
from an accumulation of material that is transported as solid particles
31
The main mineral component of limestone is _________.
calcite
32
The single most characteristic feature of sedimentary rocks is/are _________.
beds
33
How are detrital sedimentary rocks classified?
based on particle size
34
The major role of thermal energy (heat) in metamorphism is _______.
driving chemical reactions that lead to recrystallization
35
_________ is the nearly flat arrangement of mineral grains or structural features within a rock.
Foliation
36
Metamorphism of limestone produces _________.
marble
37
Many of the most productive deposits of gold, silver and mercury occur in ________.
hydrothermal vein deposits
38
Wegener’s theory of continental drift was largely dismissed because _________.
He could not explain how the continents moved
39
The jigsaw-like fit of __________ provided evidence for continental drift.
South America and Africa
40
The range of the fossil remains of Mesosaurus helped to support the idea of continental drift because:
The fossils are found only on landmasses that are now widely separated, and it is unlikely that that the living organism could have crossed the barrier of a broad ocean.
41
The asthenosphere is part of _________.
the mantle
42
_________ occur(s) where plates move apart.
Divergent boundaries
43
Oceanic ridges occur above _________.
divergent boundaries
44
Deep-ocean trenches are found above _________.
subduction zones
45
Island arcs form at _________ boundaries.
oceanic-oceanic
46
A transform plate boundary is characterized by ______________.
a deep, vertical fault along which two plates slide past one another in opposite directions
47
Today, ________ is in about the same geographic position as it was about 90 million years ago.
Antarctica
48
Plate tectonic evidence indicates that which of the following is likely to occur in the future?
The Atlantic Ocean will eventually close.
49
The temperature below which magnetic material can retain a permanent magnetization is called the __________.
Curie point
50
The Hawaiian Islands formed above a _________.
hot spot
51
Which one of the following is used by researchers to measure relative plate motion?
mapping the age of the ocean floor
52
Which of the following energy sources is thought to drive the lateral motions of Earth’s lithospheric plates?
none of the above
53
When an earthquake occurs, energy radiates in all directions from its source. What is the another term for this source?
focus
54
The mechanism by which rocks store and eventually release energy in the form of an earthquake is termed _________.
elastic rebound
55
Which seismic waves arrive first at a seismograph station?
P waves
56
On a typical seismogram, _________ will show the highest amplitudes.
surface waves
57
How many seismic stations are required to locate the epicenter of an earthquake?
three
58
On the Richter scale, a magnitude 6 earthquake causes about ___________ times more ground shaking than a magnitude 4 earthquake.
100
59
How much more energy is released by a magnitude 8 earthquake compared to a magnitude 5?
32,000
60
Which one of the following best characterizes tsunamis?
They have relatively small amplitudes compared to their very long wavelengths.
61
Which of the following statements is true about earthquakes?
There have been several major earthquakes east of the Rockies since colonial times.
62
Areas where seismic zones had not produced a large earthquake in more than a century are known as ________.
seismic gaps
63
The study of the timing, location, and size of prehistoric earthquakes is known as ________.
paleoseismology
64
Our knowledge of Earth’s interior structure is based mainly on _________.
study of seismic waves
65
The lithosphere is defined as _________.
a rigid layer of crustal and mantle material
66
Which of the following is true of the eruption of Mt. St. Helen’s?
it was highly explosive and devastated a large area
67
________ are usually the most abundant gases in most magmas.
Water and carbon dioxide
68
Which of the following is associated with highly explosive eruptions?
felsic composition
69
Why are aa lava flows fragmented and rough while pahoehoe flows are smooth?
Aa lavas are cooler than pahoehoe
70
Which of the following pyroclastic materials is largest?
bomb
71
Volcanic activity typically begins when a ______ develops in Earth’s crust.
fissure
72
Shield volcanoes are formed from _________.
the eruption of basaltic magmas
73
Mauna Loa on the island of Hawai’i is a _________.
shield volcano
74
Cinder cones are formed from_________.
pyroclastics
75
Which of the following is an example of a cinder cone?
Parícutin
76
Which of the following is another name for composite volcano?
stratovolcano
77
Composite volcanoes tend to have _______ magma.
high viscosity
78
Which natural phenomenon occurs for many years after major explosive volcanic eruptions such as Tambora?
climatic cooling
79
Eruption-triggered fluid mudflows are known as ______.
lahars
80
The Columbia Plateau formed from ________
flood basalts
81
_______ are large, steep-sided depressionsthat have diameters exceeding 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) and have a somewhat circular form.
calderas
82
Which of the following is a tabular intrusive igneous body?
dike
83
Most magmas are formed from by ________.
partial melting
84
Water causes which of the following, related to magma formation?
rock to melt at lower temperatures
85
Which of the following is associated with hot spots?
The volcanoes of Hawai’i
86
The ________ ocean basin is rimmed by the most subduction zones.
Pacific
87
Brittle deformation would be favored over plastic deformation at _________ and _________.
cold temperatures; shallow depths
88
The movement of one part of a rock body past another one is known as _______.
shear
89
Of the following rock types, ________ are most likely to exhibit ductile deformation.
clay-rich sedimentary rocks
90
A syncline is a fold _________.
A syncline is a downfold, or trough, with the youngest strata in the center.
91
The _________ is the surface that connects all the hinge lines of the folded strata.
axial plane
92
In an overturned fold, ____________.
both limbs dip in the same direction
93
Normal faulting usually results from crustal _________.
stretching
94
In ________ faults, the dominant displacement is parallel to the trend of the fault surface.
strike-slip
95
In a ________ fault, the hanging wall block moves up with respect to the footwall block
reverse
96
The San Andreas Fault is an example of a __________.
strike-slip fault
97
_______ is the term for the processes that collectively produce a mountain belt.
Orogenesis
98
North and South America are characterized by _________ mountain belts.
north-south trending
99
Japan is an example of _________.
island arc-type mountain building
100
Subduction of oceanic lithosphere beneath a continent occurs during ___________.
Andean-type mountain building
101
Continental collision orogenesis is characterized by _________.
During continental collisions, the crust is shortened and thickened, plutons are emplaced, and intense folding and faulting occurs.
102
The zone where two continents are “welded” together is called a(n) _________.
suture
103
Folded limestones that occur high in the Himalayas were originally deposited as sediments in a _________.
marine basin between India and Asia
104
The rising of continental crust due to the erosion of mountains is an example of _________.
isostasy
105
The gradual collapse of mountains under their own weight, this is called __________.
gravitational collapse
106
Which of the following is true of Earth’s external processes?
They are driven by the Sun.
107
A type of mechanical weathering caused by reduction in overburden pressure is _________.
sheeting
108
Chemical weathering is most effective in _________.
wet climates
109
Which of the following is/are most susceptible to chemical weathering by carbonic acid?
calcite
110
Chemical weathering of granite produces _________.
clay minerals and quartz grains
111
What two factors speed up the rates of chemical reactions and weathering in rocks and soils?
Warm temperatures, very moist
112
About _________ the total volume of a good quality-soil is composed of air and water.
50%
113
Which term describes a soil formed by weathering of the underlying bedrock?
residual
114
Which of the following statements about soil is true?
A steep slope will likely have thin or no soil.
115
Downward transport of fine particles within soils is termed __________.
eluviation
116
About ______ of total soil erosion in the United States can be attributed to flowing water.
65%
117
_________ can trigger mass movement.
a) oversteepening of slopes b)saturation of slopes c)removal of vegetation d)earthquakes
118
The steepest angle at which loose material remains stable is called the __________.
angle of repose
119
Mass movements in which there is a distinct zone of weakness separating the moving material from the more stable underlying material is called a _______.
slide
120
_________ tend to occur most frequently in semiarid mountainous regions.
debris flows
121
A lahar is best described as _________.
a volcanic debris flow
122
The hydrologic cycle is best described as _________.
cycling of water between the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere and biosphere
123
The main process that links water in the atmosphere with water on the earth’s surface is ____.
evaporation
124
The process of water soaking into the ground is known as _________.
infiltration
125
The zone of sediment production of a river system is located near ________.
the headwaters region
126
Sediment is neither stored nor produced in _____. It is primarily a zone of transport in a river system.
the trunk stream
127
Laminar flow, where water moves in approximately straight-line paths, characterizes _____________.
slow-moving streams
128
Stream discharge is equal to _________.
stream cross-sectional area x stream velocity
129
What is the typical shape of a stream longitudinal profile?
concave
130
The maximum load of solid particles a stream can transport per unit time is called _________.
capacity
131
The measure of a stream’s ability to transport particles based on size is called ________.
competence
132
_________ lake is an abandoned meander loop that is filled with water.
An oxbow
133
Which of the following features would you expect to see in a bedrock channel?
steps and pools
134
At a bend in a meandering river, the main erosion is ________.
on the outside of the bend
135
A stream’s base level is the ________.
lowest elevation to which a stream can erode
136
Stream terraces are__________.
remnants of former floodplains above the level of modern floodplains
137
At the head of a delta, the major channel splits into smaller channels that follow different paths to the sea. These smaller channels are known as _________.
distributaries
138
Which of the following is an example of a nonstructural approach to flood control?
appropriate zoning of floodplains
139
After ice sheets and glaciers, _________ contain(s) the next highest percentage of Earth’s freshwater.
groundwater
140
Which of the following is true of the water table?
it is highly variable, and can range from zero to hundreds of meters below the surface
141
Porosity is _________.
the amount of empty space in a material, as a percentage of the total volume
142
Permeability is _________.
a measurement which describes the ability for water to flow through subsurface material
143
An artesian well is best described as a well __________.
that penetrates a confined aquifer containing pressurized groundwater
144
When the water table intersects Earth’s surface, it is called a(n) ________.
spring
145
Overpumping of the High Plains Aquifer has led to __________.
substantial lowering of the water table
146
Most caverns are created __________.
at or just below the water table
147
Karst topography generally forms in _______.
areas underlain by limestone
148
During the Last Glacial Maximum, approximately _________ years ago, ice sheets covered North America, Europe, Siberia, Greenland, and Antarctica.
18,000
149
________ covers the North Pole.
Sea ice
150
Today, glaciers cover about ____ of Earth’s surface.
10%
151
The uppermost 50 feet of a glacier is referred to as __________.
the zone of fracture
152
A cirque is a _________.
bowl-shaped depression on a mountain side
153
An esker is a _________.
sinuous ridge of sand and gravel
154
A(n) ________ is an irregular ridge of till laid down at the terminus of a retreating glacier.
end moraine
155
As glacial ice melts and drops its load of rock fragments, _______ is/are deposited.
till
156
Which of the following statements is correct?
Sea levels drop when water is stored in expanding ice sheets and continental glaciers.
157
What is the term for bodies of water formed when ice sheets and alpine glaciers act as dams and trap glacial meltwater?
proglacial lakes
158
What are some of the causes of ice ages throughout geologic time?
decreases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere b)increases in Earth’s overall albedo c)changes in ocean currents d)plate tectonics
159
Variations in the shape of Earth’s orbit around the sun is called _______.
eccentricity
160
The primary cause of expansive bands of desert in the low latitudes is _________.
subtropical high pressure zones
161
Which of the following is true of water and deserts?
Deserts often have intermittent or ephemeral streams.
162
Isolated erosional remnants on a late stage desert landscape are called ________.
inselbergs
163
Which of the following characteristics would suggest recent uplift of a desert mountain range?
steep slopes and small alluvial fans
164
“Deflation” refers to __________.
wind erosion of desert surfaces
165
If the central slip face of a barchan dune slopes downhill toward the east, then ________ is the prevailing wind direction.
west to east
166
Dunes that form parallel to the prevailing wind direction are _________.
longitudinal dunes
167
Loess is _________.
windblown silt
168
The basic concept of uniformitarianism is:
Earth changes constantly, but the rules that control those transformations do not change.
169
The principle of superposition refers to the idea that _________.
the oldest strata are at the bottom
170
An unconformity marks _________.
a gap in the geologic record
171
_________ are fragments of an older rock unit that are incorporated into another younger stratum.
Inclusions
172
When a shell or another structure is buried in sediment and then dissolved by underground water, a(n) ___________ is created.
mold
173
Which of the following is NOT a trace fossil?
impressions
174
__________ and __________ are two conditions that favor preservation.
Hard parts; rapid burial
175
Which of the following is an essential characteristic of an index fossil?
The organism only lived for a short period of geologic time.
176
Matching up rocks of similar ages in different regions is known as _________.
correlation
177
Carbon-14 is created __________.
in the atmosphere
178
Why is it challenging to assign numerical dates to sedimentary strata?
The grains in sedimentary rocks are older than the rocks in which they occur.
179
List the following geologic time periods in order from oldest to youngest.
Devonian-Mississippian-Pennsylvanian-Permian
180
The four basic units of the geologic time scale, from largest to smallest, are:
eon, era, period, epoch
181
If Earth were considerably larger, _________
it might have retained a thick, hostile atmosphere
182
Earth’s position in the Solar System affects _______.
its surface temperature
183
The universe began about ___________ years ago with the Big Bang.
13.8 billion
184
Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago from the _______, a large, rotating cloud of interstellar dust and gas.
solar nebula
185
Earth’s early atmosphere did not contain _________.
oxygen
186
Most banded iron deposits accumulated during the ________.
Precambrian
187
How much of Earth history does the Precambrian include?
about 90%
188
During the early Paleozoic era, the current continents of South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica and India comprised the vast southern continent of _________.
Gondwana
189
Regions in modern continents where ancient cratons are exposed at the surface are called ________.
shields
190
When Africa and North America converged during the formation of supercontinent Pangaea, the _________ were formed.
Appalachian Mountains
191
The supercontinent of Pangaea broke up during the __________.
Mesozoic
192
The most common Precambrian fossils are __________, layered mats of cyanobacteria.
stromatolites
193
The Cambrian explosion refers to __________.
a major expansion in biodiversity
194
An evolutionary adaptation that allowed reptiles to be the first true terrestrial vertebrates was _________.
shell-covered eggs
195
In the Mesozoic, ________ were the dominant life form.
reptiles
196
Most researchers have come to think that dinosaurs went extinct due to ________.
A combination of increasing temperatures and a meteorite impact.
197
Humans evolved during the _________.
Cenozoic
198
What makes mammals unique?
their hair
