Geology Test 1

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Geology Test 1
2010-09-15 00:18:41

Ch1-5 Quiz questions
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  1. The science of ______ literally means "study of Earth."
  2. The _____ suggest that the bodies of the solar system evolved from an enormous rotating cloud composed mostly of hydrogen and helium.
    nebular hypothesis
  3. The age of Earth is approximately ______
    4.5 billion years
  4. The global ocean covers nearly ___ percent of Earth's surface.
  5. Loosely defined, a ___ can be any size group of interacting parts that form a complex whole
  6. True or False:
    Earth consists of four major spheres: hydroshpere, atmosphere, solid earth, and ecosphere.
  7. _____ resources can be replenished over relatively short time spans.
  8. which of the following is not directly part of the physical environment?
    human activities
  9. An understanding of Earth is essential for....
    • A. minimizing the effects of natural hazards.
    • B. dealing with the human impact on the engironment.
    • C. the location and recovery of basic resources
    • D. All of the above
  10. Everything that surrounds and influences and organism is best described as
  11. The dynamic movement of water by evaporation and precipitation are part of what sphere?
  12. The outer crust of Earth is known as the
  13. When isotopes are unstable they can spontaneously disintegrate through a process called _____
    radioactive decay
  14. Which one of the following statements concerning minerals is not true?
    • A. solid
    • B. naturally occurring
    • C. organic
    • D. definite chemical structure
  15. The cleavage of a mineral is described by _____
    the number and angles of the planes of the breakage
  16. The nucleus of an atom contains ______
    protons and neutrons
  17. Isotopes are defined as atoms of the same element with different numbers of ____
  18. Minerals are composed of ______
  19. Some of the properties of minerals would include ______
    • A. Streak
    • B. Hardness
    • C Magnetism
    • D. All of the above
  20. True or False:
    An ion is an atom that has gain or lost an electron
  21. Atoms of the same element possess the same number of ____
  22. True or False:
    Only 10 elements compose the bulk of the rock-forming minerals in the earth's crust.
    False. 8 elements.
  23. A "native" element such as copper would be classfied as a ______
    nonsilicate mineral
  24. True or False:
    Metallic minerals that can be mined at a profit are known as ores.
  25. The rock cycle shows the interrelationship among ______
    the 3 major rock types
  26. Igneous Rocks form from _____ within the earth
  27. The size of the crystal formation in an igneous rock is an indication of _____
    how long it took the rock to cool
  28. True or False:
    Sedimentary rocks from from cooling magma.
  29. Rock outcrops on Earth's surface consist of ___ % of sedimentary rocks.
  30. Sedimentary rocks are important to geological dating because they often contain ____
  31. An example of a chemical sedimentary rock would be ___
  32. Metamorphic rocks form from which type of rocks?
    • A. Igneous
    • B. Sedimentary
    • C. Metamorphic
    • D. All of the above
  33. Two of the most important metamorphic agents are ____
    heat and pressure
  34. An example of a foliated metamorphic rock would be ____
  35. When magma reached the earth's surface, it is known as ____
  36. True or False:
    The process of breaking down rock into sediment is known as weathering
  37. Breaking of rock or fragmentation is part of _______
    Mechanical Weathering
  38. The most important chemical weathering agent is ____
  39. Which type of the following does not determine the rate of weathering?
    biological activity
  40. True or False:
    The terms "weathering" and "erosion" are interchangeable.

    • Weathering is the break down of rocks.
    • Erosion is the transport of the break down
  41. Which of the following processes contributes to the breakdown of rock materials?
    • A. weathering
    • B. mass wasting
    • C. erosion
    • D. All of these
  42. After a series and freezing and thawing events, rock may be broken into pieces in a process called ___
    frost wedging
  43. ____ is the interface in the earth system
  44. the most influential control of soil formation is ______
  45. soils often contain variations and vertical differences observed as general zones or layers called _____
  46. The rapid movement of material along a curved surface on an overstepened slope is _____
  47. The slowest movement of soil and regolith downhill, often characterized by tilting fences is _____
  48. What is the most important agent sculpting Earth's land surface?
    moving water
  49. The lowest point to which a stream can erode is ______
    base level
  50. THe ultimate base level is ____
    sea level
  51. Streams can ______
    • A. Transport material
    • B. Cause erosion
    • C. ground level
    • D. All of these
  52. Rapids and water falls are found in waht type of stream valley?
  53. features of a floodplain include all of the following except _____
  54. the largest reservoir of fresh water that is available to humans is ____
  55. Water soaks into the ground througha process known as ____
  56. _____ is the upper limit of the zone of saturation
    water table
  57. Well pumping can form ____ in the water table
    a cone of depression
  58. Karst topography can include a serious geologic hazard called a ______
  59. Which of the following is not a problem associated with groudwater?
    not enough runoff

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