Geology 101 Midterm Questions/quiz Questions

Front 1

Dinosaurs first appeared during the:

Back 1

Triassic period.

Front 2

The Cambrian period is a time in Earth's history when:

Back 2

the first abundant shelly organisms appear in the fossil record

Front 3

Period names on the geologic time scale, such as Devonian and Permian, provide examples of _____.

Back 3

relative age

Front 4

The Earth is approximately how old?

Back 4

4.6 billion years

Front 5

Which gas found in today's atmosphere was absent in the Hadean's and Archean's?

Back 5

oxygen

Front 6

Convergence along the western margin of North America during the Cenozoic gave way to rifting forces that created the characteristic topography of the _____.

Back 6

Basin and Range Province

Front 7

Oil drilling not only provides gasoline and electric power but also material incorporated in _____.

Back 7

plastics

Front 8

Which of the following is a renewable resource?

Back 8

hydro-electric

Front 9

Petroleum forms

Back 9

by the decomposition of organic material in sedimentary rock

Front 10

The conditions necessary for the accumulation of oil in an economic deposit include all of the following EXCEPT

Back 10

high-grade metamorphism

Front 11

The most important energy source currently in use is

Back 11

fossil fuel

Front 12

In this drawing of a possible petroleum reservoir in an anticline, oil and gas would most likely be trapped where?

Back 12

Sandstone

Front 13

As the velocity of flow decreases, _____.

Back 13

flow tends to become more laminar
the maximum flow velocity decreases
suspended sediment starts to be deposited
All of the above are correct.

Front 14

The lowest elevation to which a stream can downcut is the _____.

Back 14

base level

Front 15

Where would you expect to see solifluction?

Back 15

Siberia

Front 16

Geometry of sand dunes is strongly influenced by _____.

Back 16

the strength of the wind
the consistency of wind direction
the abundance of sand

Front 17

Sediments deposited directly by glaciers as they melt are characterized by _____.

Back 17

very poor sorting

Front 18

The current interglacial interval began a little more than _____ years ago.

Back 18

10,000

Front 19

Some of the physiographic features that cause extreme aridity may be found together within a single desert, but the deserts found in the western United States are primarily due to being located _____.

Back 19

within the rain shadow of a mountain range

Front 20

Large continental glaciers are found today

Back 20

in Greenland and Antarctica

Front 21

Uplifted areas are subjected to erosion at the surface; this provides an example of _____.

Back 21

negative feedback

Front 22

Which of the following processes releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

Back 22

volcanism

Front 23

There is a correlation in Earth history between warm periods and _____.

Back 23

relatively large amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Front 24

Excessive pumping of a well

Back 24

will create a cone of depression
may cause saltwater invasion in coastal areas
may cause adjacent wells to become dry
will lower the water table locally

Front 25

Groundwater discharge occurs at

Back 25

wells
geysers
springs
streams

Front 26

Human manipulation of the groundwater system may result in

Back 26

chemical changes.
change in the water table level.
salt water invasion.
subsidence.

Front 27

The majority of fresh liquid water within the Earth exists in _____.

Back 27

pores within rock and sediment

Front 28

Material through which water readily flows is termed _____.
Question 2 answers

Back 28

permeable

Front 29

The topography of the water table _____.

Back 29

is a subdued (less steeply sloping) mimic of surface topography

Front 30

The ability of a porous solid to transmit a fluid is called

Back 30

permeability

Front 31

The water table is

Back 31

the surface that marks the top of the saturated zone

Front 32

The cone of depression surrounding a well

Back 32

enlarges and deepens as the rate of pumping increases

Front 33

Sediments deposited directly by glaciers as they melt are termed _____.

Back 33

till

Front 34

When sea level rises, causing the ocean to fill a glacially carved valley, a _____ results.

Back 34

fjord

Front 35

Valleys carved by glaciers tend to be shaped like the letter _____, whereas valleys carved by water tend to shaped like the letter _____.

Back 35

"U" ; "V"

Front 36

A lake that forms within a bowl-shaped depression formed by a mountain glacier is termed a(n)_____.

Back 36

tarn

Front 37

To qualify as a desert, a region must be _____.

Back 37

arid, with less than 25 cm annual precipitation and very low relative humidity

Front 38

As compared to humid climates, rates of chemical weathering in deserts are _____.

Back 38

slower

Front 39

Saltation of sand involves _____.

Back 39

grains hopping into the air, traveling for a short distance, and returning to the ground

Front 40

During glacial epoch, global sea level is
Question 8 answers

Back 40

lower because water is stored on the continents

Front 41

Loess is

Back 41

transported in suspension by the wind before deposition

Front 42

Which statement does NOT apply? Desertification occurs
Question 10 answers

Back 42

nly in small areas affecting at most a few million people of central Africa

Front 43

Which of the following processes may be responsible for short-term cooling, yet in the long term favor warm, greenhouse climate?

Back 43

volcanism

Front 44

The difference in average temperatures between the poles and the equator during most of the Mesozoic era was _____ that seen today.

Back 44

less than

Front 45

The factors that affect Earth's long-term climate are different from those that affect climate on shorter time scales.

Back 45

True

Front 46

Which of the following is an important long-term (acting over spans of tens of millions of years) factor in global climate change?
Question 5 answers

Back 46

atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide

Front 47

All changes within the Earth system are unidirectional and cannot be reversed.

Back 47

False

Front 48

Which of the following processes releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

Back 48

volcanism

Front 49

The factors that affect Earth's long-term climate are different from those that affect climate on shorter time scales.

Back 49

True

Front 50

One explanation for the hole in the ozone layer is that is has been brought about by human emissions of _____.

Back 50

chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Front 51

Which of the following increases the risk of mass movement?

Back 51

flooding the sediment with water beyond saturation

Front 52

The principal difference between a lahar and a mudflow is the _____.

Back 52

former mass contains pyroclastic debris from a volcanic eruption

Front 53

The path of movement of a water particle in a wave at sea is

Back 53

circular

Front 54

When sea level rises, the ocean may invade a river valley, producing a nearshore body of water of mixed and variable salinity termed a(n) _____.

Back 54

estuary

Front 55

As the Universe has evolved, ________.

Back 55

hydrogen has been lost through fusion to form helium within stars

Front 56

The concept of a geocentric Universe was first proposed during the time of the ancient Greeks. This model ________.

Back 56

as held to be true by thinkers throughout the Middle Ages, up until the Renaissance

Front 57

The stream of charged particles given off by the Sun, which disallowed the accumulation of hydrogen and helium in terrestrial planet formation, is called ________.

Back 57

solar wind

Front 58

The lightest layer of the Earth is the ________.

Back 58

crust

Front 59

Unlike the lithosphere, the asthenosphere ________.

Back 59

is able to flow over long periods of time

Front 60

Coarse-grained gabbro is most similar in mineral composition to fine-grained ________.

Back 60

basalt

Front 61

Cross-bedding is commonly found in

Back 61

sandstone

Front 62

Two common metamorphic rocks that typically lack foliation are _____.

Back 62

quartzite and marble

Front 63

If, during an earthquake, a hanging wall slides upward relative to a footwall, the fault is termed _____ if the fault is steep (closer to vertical than horizontal).

Back 63

reverse

Front 64

The epicenter of an earthquake is

Back 64

a point directly above the focus

Front 65

Which of the following statements is true of earthquakes?

Back 65

Shallow earthquakes coincide with the crest of oceanic ridges.
Shallow earthquakes occur along transform faults between midocean ridge crests.
Earthquakes at convergent plate margins occur in a zone inclined downward beneath the adjacent continent or island arc.
Earthquakes along transform faults originate from lateral movement.

Front 66

Dip and strike measurements are used to describe the orientation of

Back 66

bedding planes.
joints.
faults.
planar surfaces in metamorphic rocks.