Name: ____________________ Student # _____________________
Please read through the exam and answer the questions as instructed. Try to relax and do not concentrate too long on one question. Please give the best answer to the question. Each question has only one correct answer. This exam has 7 pages. Circle the correct answer on your test and transfer to you scantron form.
1. All of the following types of weathering reduce the size of rocks without changing their chemical makeup except:
a. frost wedging
b. hydrolysis
c. thermal expansion and contraction
d. mechanical exfoliation
e. root penetration
2. Where is chemical weathering most dominant:
a. temperate climates
b. hot arid climates
c. polar climates
d. tropical climates
e. depends solely on lithology
3. A ____________ facing slope in the Puget Lowland would tend to have the strongest soil development.
a. northerly-
b. southerly-
c. easterly-
d. westerly-
e. none of the above are correct
4. A ____________ facing slope in Phoenix, Arizona would tend to have the strongest soil development.
a. northerly-
b. southerly-
c. easterly-
d. westerly-
e. none of the above are correct
5. The A horizon of a soil _______________.
a. is the zone of removal
b. tends to be darker in color than the underlying horizons
c. contains humus (decomposed organic matter).
d. all of the above are correct
e. none of the above are correct
6. As soil age increases ________________.
a. the horizon profile becomes thicker
b. clay content in the B horizon increases
c. the soil becomes redder
d. all of the above are correct
e. none of the above are correct
7. The greatest volcanic risk from Mt. Rainier is from _____________.
a. lava flows
b. ash flows
c. nuee ardentes
d. maar explosions
e. lahar flows
-2-
8. Frost wedging would be most prominent in:
a. polar regions where temperatures remain below freezing (0°C) throughout the year.
b. mid-latitude regions where temperature fluctuate around the freezing temperature during certain seasons.
c. low latitude rainforests where abundant moisture enters cracks and pores in the rocks.
d. arid regions where temperature fluctuate diurnally (daily).
e. all of the above are correct
9. The single most important factor controlling chemical weathering processes is:
a. temperature
b. living organisms
c. rock type
d. water
e. longitude
10. The dissolution of limestone to form caves results from water combining with:
a. nitrogen to form nitric acid
b. carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid
c. feldspar to form kaolinite clay
d. calcium to form calcite
e. oxidation of iron-bearing minerals
11. Symmetric ripples form from _____________.
a. wave oscillation
b. stream currents
c. tidal currents
d. blowing wind
e. all of the above are correct
12. Spheroidal weathering occurs because:
a. rock joints start out being rounded
b. rounding occurs because the portion of a rock at its corners and edges are less stable than portion in the interior of the rock
c. mineral grains within the rock have rounded corners
d. rounding occurs because the edges and corners of the rock surface offer more points of attack to chemical weathering processes than its planar surface
e. none of the above are correct
13. Which of the following transport agents generally results in the most poorly sorted sediment?
a. wind
b. ocean waves
c. rivers
d. glaciers
e. all of the above result in poorly sorted sediments
14. Which of the following statements about graded bedding is true?
a. Graded bedding occurs because heavier particles tend to settle out of water faster than lighter particles.
b. Graded bedding might occur where a stream channel migrates across its flood plain.
c. Graded bedding might occur where a submarine landslide deposits sediment along the continental slope.
d. all of the above answers are correct.
e. only answers a and c are correct.
-3-
15. Which of the following statements about the process of cementation is not true?
a. Cementation is a diagenetic process in which clastic materials are bonded together.
b. Cementing agent are generally materials that have been dissolved by chemical weathering processes.
c. Fine-grained sediments (silt and clay) are more likely to be cemented together than coarse-grained sediments (sand and gravels)
d. The most common cementing agents are calcite, silica and iron compounds.
e. all of the above are incorrect.
16. Clastic sedimentary rocks are composed predominately of:
a. organic carbon
b. carbonate minerals
c. oxide minerals
d. sulfide and sulfate minerals
e. silicate minerals
17. If you saw a sequence of sedimentary strata exposed in the wall of the Grand Canyon that had conglomerate at the base, overlain by sandstone, shale and then limestone, you might infer that relative sea level was ___________ over geologic time:
a. rising
b. falling
c. remaining stationary
d. falling and then rising
e. all of the above may be correct depending on the mineral composition
18. The main difference between a breccia and a conglomerate is:
a. particle size
b. particle shape
c. color
d. mineral composition
e. geographic location of the rock outcrop
19. Oolitic limestone forms as the result of:
a. the precipitation of calcium carbonate in concentric coats around grains of sand.
b. organic secretions of calcium carbonate around sand particles that have invaded the shells of oysters.
c. the precipitation of silica in concentric coats around particles of calcium carbonate
d. organcic secretions of silica around calcium carbonate particles that have invaded the shell of oysters.
e. all of the above could result in the formation of oolitic limestone.
20. According to the principle of uniformitarianism, all of the following are true except:
a. geological processes that are currently operating are the same ones that have operated throughout geologic time.
b. geological processes have always included both slow and rapid processes
c. our observations of modern geological phenomena can help us to interpret ancient geological times.
d. the rate at which geological processes occur has always remained constant throughout geologic time
e. James Hutton is given credit for formalizing the principle of uniformitarianism
21. If a horizontal layer of volcanic tephra lies between two horizontal, sedimentary strata, the principle by which the relative ages of each of these layers could be determined is:
a. the principle of original horizontality
b. the principle of superposition
c. the principle of cross-cutting relationships
d. the principle of inclusions
e. the principle of exclusions
-4-
22. According to the principle of cross-cutting relationships, if a fault is found cutting across sedimentary strata, the reasonable conclusion would be that:
a. the fault is younger than the strata
b. the fault is older than the strata
c. the fault and strata are the same age
d. it cannot be determined whether the fault or strata is older
e. none of the above are correct
23. According to the principle of faunal succession:
a. very old rocks would contain fossils of only simple organisms, while younger rocks would contain fossils of both simple and complex organisms.
b. simple organisms are found in sedimentary rocks more often than complex organisms.
c. very old rocks would contain fossils of only complex organisms, while younger rocks would contain fossils of both simple and complex organisms.
d. the success of an organism determines the abundance of its fossils
e. all of the above are correct
24-27. What type of unconformity is shown by each number
on the diagram below?
This would be a cross-section of the Grand Canyon (see your tex book
pg 245).
a. euconformity
b. disconformity
c. nonconformity
d. aconformity
e. angular unconformity
28. If you know the number of existing parent and daughter atoms (assuming the number of initial daughter atoms is zero) in a mineral grain, you can determine:
a. density of the target minerals
b. the number of initial parent atoms
c. the half-life of the isotopic system
d. the decay rate of the isotopic system
e. where the atoms first originated
29. The half-life of a radioactive isotope refers to:
a. one-half of the total life span of a parent isotope.
b. the time it takes for the ratio of parent to daughter isotopes to be 1:2 (half as many parent isotopes as daughter isotopes).
c. the time it takes for the ratio of parent to daughter isotopes to be 2:1 (twice as many parent isotopes as daughter isotopes).
d. the time it takes for half of the existing parent isotopes to decay to daughter isotopes
e. none of the above are correct
-5-
30. The direction of stress resulting in a monocline is ____________.
a. nondirectional
b. bidirectional (two)
c. multidirectional
d. there is no stress
e. unidirectional (one)
31. A shield volcano is formed of alternating layers of ________. Covered on midterm Autumn 2001.
a. pyroclastic and debris flows
b. pyroclastic and obsidian flows
c. lava and debris flows
d. basaltic lava flows
e. pyroclastic and andesitic lava flows
32. Carbon-14 works best on:
a. igneous rock
b. organic material less than 60,000 years old
c. sedimentary rock
d. organic material more than 60,000 years old
e. metamorphic rock
33. A minimum of _______ seismic stations are necessary to determine the focus of an earthquake.
a. 3
b. 10
c. 1
d. 300
e. 5
34. If an earthquake occurs, the _________ waves are the first to arrive at the seismic station.
a. surface
b. shear
c. S
d. P
e. all of the seismic waves travel at the same velocity.
35. Earthquakes measuring 3 and 5 on the Richter scale differ in energy released by:
a. 3 times
b. 30 times
c. 300 times
d. 900 times
e. 27,000 times
36. In order to relieve stress buildup that would cause a Richter magnitude 7 earthquake, approximately how many magnitude 4 earthquakes would have to occur?
a. 3
b. 28
c. 300
d. 900
e. 27,000
-6-
37. High confining pressure is conducive to ______________ deformation in rock.
a. brittle fracture
b. elastic
c. ductile
d. all of the above are correct
e. none of the above are correct as confining pressure has no impact on the type of deformation rocks will undergo.
38. A low strain rate is conducive to _______________ deformation in rock. You would get credit for both answers.
a. brittle fracture
b. elastic
c. ductile
d. all of the above are correct
e. none of the above are correct as the strain rate has no impact on the type of deformation rocks will undergo
39. According to the national earthquake hazard map, the Puget Sound region is a _______ risk region of the nation.
a. low
b. moderate
c. high
d. no
e. indeterminate
40. An eroding anticline (upwarped fold) will have the __________ rocks exposed along its axis.
a. youngest
b. oldest
c. densest
d. lightest
e. answers b and c are both correct
41. A reverse fault _______________.
a. can have repeating strata exposed in a vertical cross-section
b. can result in older rock units overlying younger units in a vertical cross-section
c. results primarily from compressive stresses.
d. all of the above are correct
e. none of the above are correct
42. ________________ is an example of elastic deformation.
a. oblique faulting
b. tectonic uplift
c. isostatic unloading of the earth's lithosphere following deglaciation
d. liquifaction
e. monoclinal folding
43. The salinity of the ocean method underestimates the age of the earth because ____________.
a. oceans are younger than the earth itself
b. runoff and salinity input into the oceans has been variable over geologic time
c. much of the ocean's salt is precipitated and does no impact the current ocean's salinity
d. all of the above are correct
e. only answers b and c are correct
-7-
44. Why did Lord Kelvin underestimate the age of the earth using the earth's heat loss over time?
a. Lord Kelvin had no knowledge of thermal conductivity of earth surface rocks.
b. Lord Kelvin could not measure the tempurature of modern lavas
c. Lord Kelvin did not know about natural radioactive decay and did not compensate for that heat source
d. Lord Kelvin actually dated the age of the earth to within 10 million years using this method.
e. none of the above are correct
45. Symmetric ripples (each side of the ripple has the same dip angle) result from _______.
a. flowing water (i.e., rivers)
b. blowing wind
c. wave oscillation
d. tubidity currents
e. all of the above
Bonus Questions:
46. Why is East Africa so high?
a. compressive stresses due to subduction are causing uplift.
b. East Africa is a fold and thrust belt retion
c. Madagascar collided with the eastern margin of Africa
d. upwelling of the asthenosphere is heating the base of the rifting continent at this location.
e. none of the above are correct
47. Who was one of the lone survivors of the St. Pierre nuee ardente?
a. Guy Lafleur
b. Jacque Plante
c. Jean Beliveau
d. Raoul Sartret
e. Guy Carbonneau
48. Where do we find goethite and hematite together in a soil?
a. where the ground is saturated all year round.
b. where the water table fluctuates near the surface.
c. where pyroxene weathers from basaltic bedrock.
d. these two Fe oxides never occur together.
e. only in the A horizon
49. What is the most common mineral in igneous rocks near the surface of the earth?
a. quartz
b. micas
c. amphibole
d. feldspars
e. olivine
50. What happened during May 14, 2001 in lecture?
a. bulbs burned out of projectors
b. overhead projector had a short and started smoking
c. slide projectionist quit because the job was too taxing
d. we had to bring a technician in to lower the screens
e. We had a large plumbing leak at the entry way of Kane 120.
51. Where do earthquakes occur in the Pacific Northwest?
a. within the North American plate
b. within the Juna de Fuca plate
c. at the Cascadia subduction zone
d. all of the above are correct
e. only answers a and c are correct