Random Quiz Flashcards
The part of Earth that lies just beneath the crust is the:
a. tectonic plate
b. mantle
c. ionosphere
b. mantle
Areas known as karst are characterized by extensive cave systems and are commonly associated with what type of rock?
a. limestone
b. sandstone
c. marble
a. limestone
How old is the Earth?
4.54 billion years
Moraines are geologic features that can form ridges, rolling hills or wedge-shaped areas. What process causes them to form?
a. the colllision of two tectonic plates
b. the compression of sedimentary layers
c. glaciers depositing debris as they advance, melt and retreat
c. glaciers depositing debris as they advance, melt and retreat
What sedimentary rock is formed when plant matter is buried and compressed over millions of years?
a. coal
b. sandstone
c. turbidite
a. coal
What is the Ring of Fire?
a. an area around the perimeter of the Pacific Ocean characterized by frequent, intense seismic activity
b. a region in Siberia where surface coal deposits are constantly burning
c. a circular area of intense heat that forms around the cones of volcanoes
a. an area around the perimeter of the Pacific Ocean characterized by frequent, intense seismic activity
How do geologists think Earth’s moon formed?
a. It formed as the result of a massive impact on Earth.
b. t formed from several asteroids millions of years after Earth formed
c. It was one of Saturn’s moons, but a collision knocked it out of orbit, and it was later captured by Earth’s gravity.
a. It formed as the result of a massive impact on Earth.
How does beach sand form?
a. petrification of topsoil
b. compression of volcanic rocks
c. ocean waves grind rocks into tiny grains over an extremely long time
c. ocean waves grind rocks into tiny grains over an extremely long time
What causes geysers?
a. an underground river causes pressure to back up in a constrained chamber
b. groundwater heated by magma becomes superheated and flashes into steam
c. a shifting fault pressurizes an underground chamber of water
b. groundwater heated by magma becomes superheated and flashes into steam
How deep is the deepest man-made borehole on Earth?
a. 12,262 meters (40,230 feet)
b. 34,650 meters
c. 7,892 meters
a. 12,262 meters (40,230 feet)
Earth’s continents were once joined as a single massive supercontinent. What do geologists call it?
Pangaea
As you go deeper into Earth, the temperature
gets hotter
The subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Mariana Plate caused the formation of what unique geologic feature
the Mariana Trench
How have seismologists mapped Earth’s interior?
a. They infer the contents of the interior based on computer analysis of satellite images.
b. They use extremely strong radar waves.
c. They can see different types of waves from earthquakes propagate through areas of different density within the interior.
c. They can see different types of waves from earthquakes propagate through areas of different density within the interior.
One type of rock can only be formed from the sudden shock and heat of a meteorite impact. What is it called?
impactite
