Download First Exam, Spring 2013 Geology 1- Gavilan College

First Exam, Spring 2013
Geology 1- Gavilan College
Put your answers on the answer sheet.
1. Which of the following is the definition of geology?
a. The science of soils.
b. The study of minerals.
c. The study of the Earth.
d. The study of fossils.
2. What are the three types of rocks?
a. igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
b. minerals, soils, and rocks.
c. weathering, transportation, and deposition.
d. igneous, sedimentary, and molten.
3. What is the name of the theory that states "the physical, chemical, and biological laws that
operate today have also operated in the geologic past."
a. hypothesis
b. superposition
c. uniformitarianism
d. historical geology
e. catastrophism
4. What is the outermost layer of the solid Earth.
a. the atmosphere
b. the hydrosphere
c. the mantle
d. the crust
e. the core
5. Current estimates put the age of the Earth at about:
a. 12-14 billion years
b. 15 thousand years
c. 6000 years
d. 4.6 million years
e. 4.6 billion years
6. Which of the following is a well-tested and widely accepted view that best explains certain
observable facts?
a. theory
b. scientific method
c. rule
d. hypothesis
e. observation
7. Relative dating involves:
a. using the law of superposition to compare the ages of rock layers.
b. comparing fossils found in rock layers.
c. placing events in their proper sequence or order without knowing their exact age in years.
d. all of the above.
e. using the decay of radioactive isotopes to find the age of a rock.
8. Earth's physical environment is divided into three major parts.
a. the solid earth, the core, and the mantle.
b. the surface, the atmosphere, and space.
c. the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.
d. the Arctic, the desert, and the forest.
e. the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
9. An object that enters the atmosphere and explodes with great force is called a:
a. galaxy
b. comet
c. asteroid
d. bollide
e. meteorite
10. Except for a simply hydrogen atom, the nucleus of an atoms are made up of:
a. protons and neutrons
b. neutrons and electrons
c. electrons and protons
d. none of the above
11. Which is NOT a characteristic of a mineral?
a. naturally occurring inorganic substance
b. have a definite chemical composition
c. have a unique chemical structure.
d. may be composed of a mixture.
e. none of the above.
12. Which is a characteristic of a rock?
a. they may have organic residue components.
b. they may be a mixture of minerals.
c. they may be composed of a single type of mineral.
d. they preserve evidence of the environment in which they form.
e. all of the above.
13. Which of the following does not occur as a mineral?
a. gold
b. carbon
c. sulfur
d. iron
e. helium
14. The most abundant element in the Earthʼs crust is?
a. oxygen
b. silicon
c. aluminum
d. calcium
e. sodium
15. What is true about the mineral calcite?
a. itʼs chemical formula is CaCO3.
b. it is the primary component in seashells.
c. it is the primary component of limestone.
d. it is the primary component of marble.
e. all of the above.
16. Examples of sheet silicate minerals include:
a. mica
b. biotite
c. muscovite
d. clay minerals
e. all of the above
17. Mafic rocks are:
a. rocks enriched in iron- and magnesium- silicate minerals.
b. light in color.
c. rich in aluminum.
d. only igneous in origin.
e. none of the above.
18. The relative age of a volcanic intrusion might be determined by:
a) the Law of Original Horizontality
b) the Law of Superposition
c) the Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships
d) the Law of Angular Unconformities
e) all of the above
19. Minerals classed as “salts”:
a) are held together by covalent bonds
b) are held together by ionic bonds
c) are held together by metallic bonds
d) are held together by Van der Waal bonds
e) none of the above.
20. In 1912, Alfred Wegener proposed the basic outline of a hypothesis called:
a. uniformitarianism.
b. seafloor spreading.
c. catastrophism.
d. continental drift.
e. subduction.
21. The theory of continental drift was supported by what kind of evidence?
a. matching fossils on different continents
b. shapes of continents appear to fit like a jigsaw puzzle
c. matching rocks and mountain ranges on different continents
d. all of the above
e. there was no known mechanism capable of moving continents
22. Fossils of marine organisms found at high elevation in mountain ranges are believe to
suggest:
a. sea level was once higher than the mountains.
b. the rock in these mountains were once below sea level and were later uplifted.
c. the fossils were organisms that live in mountain lakes.
d. mountains only form in ocean basins.
23. A fault-bounded crustal block that has been accreted onto a continent is called a:
a. terrain.
b. terrane.
c. mountain belt.
d. craton.
e. shield.
24. At what type of plate boundary are most continental mountains formed?
a. divergent
b. hotspots
c. convergent
d. transform
e. passive margin
25. Which of these describes the current theory of plate tectonics?
a. it combines elements of continental drift and seafloor spreading.
b. it helps explain the location of volcanoes and earthquakes.
c. it suggests that the lithosphere is divided into pieces, called plates.
d. denser ocean crust sinks below less-dense continental crust along subduction zones.
e. all of the above.
26. A mid-ocean ridge is an example of what type of plate boundary?
a. convergent zone
b. divergent zone
c. transform zone
d. subduction zone
e. hotspot
27. The first to arrive at a distant location from an earthquake is:
a. a shear (S) wave.
b. a compression (P) wave.
c. a sound (S) wave.
d. a rupture.
e. none of the above.
28. Which feature is NOT an example of continental convergence region on the Earth today?
a. the Himalayas
b. Iceland on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
c. Japan
d. the Andes
e. The Aleutian Island Chain
29. Almost all deep-focus earthquake occur along or near what type of plate boundary?
a. convergent
b. passive
c. transform
d. divergent
30. Which type of plate boundary is in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay region?
a. passive
b. divergent
c. convergent
d. transform
31. Continental crust rises above sea level because it is:
a. denser than ocean crust.
b. is more mafic in composition than ocean crust.
c. contains more granitic rocks than ocean crust.
d. none of the above.
32. Crustal compression is more likely to form:
a. normal faults.
b. thrust faults and reverse faults.
c. strike-slip and transform faults.
d. oblique slip and normal faults.
33. The measure of ground shaking describing the local severity of an earthquake in terms of
its effects on the Earthʼs surface and on humans and their structures is called:
a. earthquake magnitude.
b. Richter scale.
c. earthquake intensity.
d. P-waves and S-waves.
34. Rift valleys, like the Great African Rift Valley, form as a result of:
a. crustal compression.
b. crustal extension.
c. stress and strain.
d. ductile deformation.
35. An unconformity represents:
a. older rocks moved by thrust faults over younger rocks.
b. a gap in the sedimentary record that represents a period of erosion or non-deposition.
c. represents a boundary between a lava flow and an igneous intrusion.
d. represents rocks that have been folded by tectonic forces.
36. Anticlines, synclines, domes, and basins are examples of:
a. folds.
b. features formed by faulting.
c. occur only in igneous rocks.
d. none of the above.
37. On a reverse fault:
a. the hanging wall moves down relative to the foot wall.
b. the foot wall moves up relative to the hanging wall.
c. the foot wall moves horizontally relative the the hanging wall.
d. the hanging wall moves up relative to the foot wall.
e. none of the above.
38. "Strike and dip" represents:
a. a method to describe the orientation of geologic features such as joints, faults, or layers
exposed on the earth surface.
b. is a method to help resolve a scientific dispute.
c. is a method perfected to study earthquake motion.
d. is a method to determine the composition of rocks and minerals found in fault zones.
39. Where a fault plane intersects the land's surface is called a:
a. joint.
b. fault line.
c. fault zone.
d. fault system.
e. earthquake fault.
40. Landscape features associated with strike-slip faults include:
a. offset streams.
b. linear valleys.
c. shutter ridges.
d. sag ponds.
e. all of the above.
Question A (10 Points): Using what you know about laws of “original horizontality,”
“superposition,” “cross-cutting relationships,” and unconformities: Interpret the order
of from OLDEST to YOUNGEST for labeled features (A to P) on the attached cross
section.
Question B (10 Points): On the back of the answer sheet, briefly describe the SEVEN
STEPS for Earthquake Preparedness (described in “Putting Down Roots in Earthquake
Country”