Always pick the BEST answer. Please indicate your answer clearly.
1) Catastrophists held that
A) all of Earth’s history would fit into 6,000 years.
B) all rocks had condensed from a global ocean.
C) the landscape had been shaped by a small number of catastrophes.
D) volcanoes and other indications of change were the result of minerals like coal burning underground.
E) All of the above were tenants of Catastrophism.
2) ________ was an important 18th-century English geologist and proponent of uniformitarianism.
A) Charles Lyell
B) Isaac Newton
C) James Hutton
D) James Ussher
E) All of the above were co-authors of the initial proposal and of uniformitarianism.
3) The peer reviewed best estimate for the age of Earth is ________ years.
A) 4.6 thousand
B) 6.4 trillion
C) 4.6 billion
D) 6.4 million
E) 4.6 billion plus or minus 4 billion
4) Which of the following best describes the fundamental concept of superposition?
A) Strata with fossils are generally deposited on strata with no fossils.
B) Older strata generally are deposited on younger strata without intervening, intermediate age strata.
C) Older fossils in younger strata indicate a locally inverted geologic time scale.
D) Any sedimentary deposit accumulates on top of older rock or sediment layers.
E) A black cat released from a closed box onto strata will always move toward the younger rocks.
5) A Theory
A) has undergone rigorous peer reviewed testing.
B) is an explanation of certain scientific observations that remains after the elimination of most other potential explanations.
C) will always be subjected to continued scrutiny by the scientific community.
D) is a definitive and final explanation of certain scientific observations.
E) All of the above describe a Theory
F) Only A), B) and C) can be used to describe a Theory.
6) All of the following are possible steps of scientific investigation except for ________.
A) the collection of scientific facts through observation and measurement
B) assumptionand acceptance of conclusions without prior experimentation or observation
C) the development of one or more working hypotheses or models to explain facts
D) development of observations and experiments to test the hypotheses
E) All of the above are routine steps of scientific investigations.
7) ________ rocks always originate at the surface of lithospheric plates.
A) Secondary
B) Igneous
C) Metamorphic
D) Sedimentary
E) All of the above
8) Which one of the following statements is not correct?
A) Metamorphic rocks may melt to magma.
B) Sedimentary rocks may weather to igneous rocks.
C) Magmas crystallize to form igneous rocks.
D) Igneous rocks can undergo metamorphism.
E) All of the above are correct.
9) The ________________________ states that fossil organisms succeed one another in a definite and determinable order.
10) The convective flow of liquid, metallic iron in the _____________________ is thought to generate Earth's magnetic field.
11) All other factors being equal (geothermal gradient, pressure, composition, and heat from other sources such as friction), why is magma generally produced in association with subduction zones as opposed to areas away from subduction zones?
A) Subduction zones are inherently unstable areas where volcanoes form.
B) Descending plates carry sea floor coal deposits down into rock that is hot enough to cause it to burst into flame and melt the surrounding rock.
C) Descending plates carry water and other volatiles down the geothermal gradient and the volatiles cause flux melting to occur.
D) All of the above are true.
E) Only A) and B) are true.
12) Which of the following best defines a mineral and a rock?
A) A rock has an orderly, repetitive, geometrical, internal arrangement of minerals; a mineral is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of rocks.
B) A mineral consists of its constituent atoms arranged in a geometrically repetitive structure; in a rock, the atoms are randomly bonded without any geometric pattern.
C) In a mineral the constituent atoms are bonded in a regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of different mineral grains.
D) A rock consists of atoms bonded in a regular, geometrically predictable arrangement; a mineral is a consolidated aggregate of different rock particles.
13) Atoms of the same element, zinc for example, have the same number of ________.
A) electrons in the nucleus
B) protons in the nucleus
C) neutrons in the outer nuclear shell
D) electrons in the valence bond level
14) Which carbonate mineral reacts readily with cool, dilute hydrochloric acid to produce visible bubbles of carbon dioxide gas?
A) calcite
B) quartz
C) dolomite
D) plagioclase
15) A cubic centimeter of quartz, olivine, and gold weigh 2.5, 3.0, and 19.8 grams respectively. This indicates that ________.
A) gold is 6 to 7 times harder than olivine and quartz
B) gold has a higher density and specific gravity than quartz and olivine
C) gold and olivine are silicates, quartz is elemental silicon
D) olivine and quartz powders are harder than metallic gold
16) Which of the following best characterizes ferromagnesian silicates?
A) They contain iron and magnetite, are black in color, and they have metallic lusters.
B) They are black to dark-green, silicate minerals containing iron and magnesium.
C) They contain magnetite and ferroite and they are clear to light green.
D) They are mostly clear, colorless, and rich in the elements magnesium and ferrium.
17) The ion at the center of a silicate tetrahedron is surrounded by ________.
A) 4 oxygen ions
B) 6 oxygen ions
C) 4 sodium ions
D) 4 silicone ions
18) What is the name given to an atom that gains or loses electrons in a chemical reaction?
A) molecule
B) ion
C) isotope
D) nucleon
19) In which type of chemical bonding are electrons shared between adjacent atoms?
A) ionic
B) subatomic
C) covalent
D) isotopic
20) What are the lightest or least massive of the basic atomic particles?
A) uranium nuclei
B) protons
C) electrons
D) neutrons
21) The physical property denoting a mineral's tendency to crack along parallel, planar surfaces is known as
__________________
22) Most glasses and some minerals exhibit a type of fracture characterized by nested, curved, spoon-shaped, crack
surfaces. What term describes this property? ___________________________
23) Sketch a Carbon Atom and Label the various parts.
24) What type of chemical bonding is shown in the diagram below?
a) covalent b) ionic c) metallic d) hybrid
25) Lava flows are typically finer grained than intrusive igneous rocks. Why?
A) Intrusive magma is cooler because it is well insulated by the surrounding rock and lithostatic pressure prevents large grains from growing.
B) Intrusive magma flows onto the Earth's surface and cools very slowly, allowing many small mineral grains to grow.
C) The extrusive magma cools quickly so ions do not have time to migrate and crystals do not have time to grow large.
D) The extrusive magma, because it is deep below the surface, cools very slowly producing very small mineral grains.
26) ________ magma cools and consolidates without growth of mineral grains
A. aphanitic B. porphyritic C. phaneritic D. glassy
27) ________ mineral grains are of roughly equal size and coarse enough to be seen without a microscope or magnifying glass.
A. aphanitic B. porphyritic C. phaneritic D. glassy
28) A ________ is an open cavity in a volcanic rock that was filled by a gas bubble when the lava was still mainly liquid.
A) porphyrocryst
B) vesicle
C) phenocryst
D) xenocryst
29) In a porphyritic volcanic rock, which mineral grains are the last to crystallize?
A) phenocrysts
B) vesicles
C) pegmatites
D) matrix or groundmass
30) The last minerals to crystallize on Bowen's Reaction Series result in igneous rocks with a ________ composition.
A) felsic
B) intermediate
C) mafic
D) ultramafic
31) Changing the composition of magma by incorporating surrounding host rock is known as ________.
A) magma mixing
B) partial melting
C) differentiation
D) assimilation
32) What type of magma, commonly erupted along oceanic ridge systems, originates by partial melting of mantle
peridotite? ____________________
33) Igneous rocks are classified on the basis of what two main characteristics?
________________________ ___________________________
34) What portion of an angular, fracture-bounded granitic block shows the highest rate of weathering?
A) theunfractured interior
B) the edges and corners
C) the crack surfaces not including edges and corners
D) All of the above show equal rates.
35) Which one of the following statements concerning mechanical weathering is not true?
A) reduces grain sizes of rock particles
B) allows for faster rates of chemical weathering
C) is important in the formation of talus slopes
D) involves major changes in the mineral composition of the weathered material
36) Assume that water filling a crack in a rock undergoes cycles of freezing and melting. Which of the following statement is true?
A) Water expands as it melts, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart.
B) Water shrinks as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be drawn closer together.
C) Water expands as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart.
D) Water shrinks as it melts, causing the crack walls to be pulled closer together.
37) Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, California, and Stone Mountain in Georgia, are shaped mainly by
what mechanical weathering process? _____________________
38) ________, a common mineral found in igneous rocks, is the most abundant mineral in detrital sedimentary rocks.
A) Calcite
B) Orthoclase
C) Quartz
D) Biotite
39) Which major component of detrital sedimentary rocks only rarely occurs as a primary mineral in igneous rocks?
A) clays
B) carbonates
C) quartz
D) ferromagnesian minerals
40) Which of the following best describes bedded gypsum and halite?
A) detrital sedimentary rocks
B) varieties of dolostone
C) varieties of coal and peat
D) evaporates; chemical, sedimentary rocks
41) What is the main difference between a conglomerate and a sedimentary breccia?
A) Breccia clasts are angular; conglomerate clasts are rounded.
B) A breccia is well stratified; a conglomerate is poorly stratified.
C) Breccia clasts are the size of baseballs; conglomerate clasts are larger.
D) Breccia has a compacted, clay-rich matrix; conglomerate has no matrix.
42) Which of the following describes the correct order for relative solubility of minerals in sedimentary rocks?
A) Evaporate minerals are more soluble than quartz and less soluble than calcite.
B) Evaporate minerals are less soluble than quartz and calcite.
C) Evaporate minerals aremore soluble than calcite and quartz.
D) Evaporate minerals, quartz, and calcite all have the same relative solubility.
43) Detrital sedimentary rocks are classified (named) based on the ________.
A) colors of the cementing minerals
B) grain sizes of the detrital particles
C) compositions of soluble minerals
D) degree of compaction and lithification
44) Flint, chert, and jasper are microcrystalline forms of ________.
A) quartz (SiO2)
B) hematite (Fe2 O3)
C) halite (NaCl)
D) calcite (CaCO3)
45) Which type of sediment undergoes the most compaction as it lithifies to sedimentary rocks?
A) marine mud
B) desert dune sand
C) reef limestone
D) coarse gravel
46) What is the chemical formula for dolomite, the major mineral in dolostones?
A) NaCl
B) CaSO4 2H20
C) SiO2
D) CaMg(CO3)2
47) Coal beds originate in ________.
A) shallow lakes in a dry, desert region
B) channels of fast-moving streams
C) deep, marine basins below wave action
D) freshwater coastal swamps and bogs
48) What are the three, most common, cementing agents for sandstones?
_________________________ ________________________ _____________________-
Essay Questions -- Your Essay Answers should be concise and neat. Label diagrams clearly. Answer ONLY TWO of the following four questions. Your answers must fit on the remainder of this page and the back of this page.
Essay Option 1-- Describe and discuss turbidity currents and their relationship to ‘graded beds’.
Essay Option 2—Compare and contrast Basic Science and Applied Science.
Essay Option 3: Sketch, label, and describe the Rock Cycle.
Essay Option 4: Describe the Peer Review Process.