Download AP CHAPTER STUDENT STUDY GUIDE:

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6/20/2017
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AP CHAPTER STUDENT STUDY GUIDE:
CHAPTER FIFTEEN – GEOLOGY AND
NONRENEWABLE MINERAL RESOURCES
Significant Statistics and Figures
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Sales of nanotech products are
expected to soar to $1 trillion by
2015
The oceanic crust covers 71% of the
earth’s surface
Tsunami walls can be as high as 65
meters (210 feet)
The tsunami in Indonesia killed over
221,000 people
The U.S., Germany, and Russia,
have only 8% of the world’s
population but consume about 75%
of the world’s most widely used
metals
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The U.S. currently depends on imports
of 50% or more of 24 of its 42 most
important nonrenewable mineral
resources
Surface mining extracts 90% of the
non-fuel mineral of rock resources and
60% of the coal used by the U.S.
At least 550,000 abandoned surfacemined sites dot the U.S. landscape
Cyanide heap extraction is used to
separate about 85% of the world’s gold
from gold ore
A Canadian company spent $1 million
developing a site, and removed $98
million of gold from it
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Daniel Reilly
6/20/2017
Per. 4
Depletion time (how long it takes to use up a certain proportion) is usually 80%
Between 1982 and 2004, U.S. mining companies received more than $6 billion in
government subsidies
Manganese modules cover about 25-50% of the Pacific Ocean floor
Recycling aluminum cans and scrap aluminum produces 95% less air pollution
and 97% less water pollution, and uses 95% less energy than mining and
processing aluminum
Significant Abbreviations
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BP – British Petroleum Company is a global oil and gas company centered in
London
IBM – International Business Machines is a multinational computer, technology
and IT consulting corporation
3M – Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company makes 60,000 products
and has sharply reduced its waste emissions
CaCO3 – Limestone
SiO2 – Quartzite
NaCl – Salt
Significant Laws
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In the United States, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
requires mining companies to restore most surface-mined land by grading and
replanting it
A Canadian company used a 1872 mining law to buy land in Colorado and extract
tons of gold from it
20 Practice Questions:
1. The area in the outermost part of the mantle is called the
a.
b.
c.
d.
lithosphere
troposphere
asthenosphere
mesosphere
2. True or False: The continental crust covers a majority of the earth’s surface.
3. Divergent plate boundaries create
a.
b.
c.
d.
Terraces
Subduction zones
Trenches
Oceanic ridges
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6/20/2017
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4. True or False: The 2004 tsunamis will benefit human life over the next few
decades.
5. Which of these is not associated with the process of weathering?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Frost wedging
Erosion
Mass wasting
Subsidence
6. True or False: Sand is mostly comprised of silicon dioxide (SiO2)
7. Which of these is not a major category classified as a mineral resource by the U.S.
Geological Survey?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Overburden
Identified resources
Undiscovered resources
Reserves
8. True or False: Japan controls much of the world’s metal resources.
9. All of these are types of rocks except
a.
b.
c.
d.
Sedimentary
Metamorphic
Igneous
Gangue
10. True or False: The rock cycle is the fastest of earth’s processes.
11. In open pit mining
a. Gigantic mechanized equipment strips away the overburden of soil and
rock
b. Machines dig holes and remove ores, sand, gravel, and stone
c. A huge power shovel cuts a series of terraces in the side of a hill
d. Huge machinery called draglines remove the top of a mountain
12. True or False: Subsidence can cause houses to tilt, crack sewer lines, break gas
mains, and disrupt ground water systems.
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6/20/2017
Per. 4
13. Removing the gangue from ores produces large piles of solid waste called
a.
b.
c.
d.
Smelt
Heap
Tailings
Trash
14. True or False: If geologists discover 10,000 possible deposits, all of them are
worth exploring.
15. All of these are factors that can limit the mining of lower grade ores except
a.
b.
c.
d.
Increased cost of mining
Environmental impacts of the increased land disruption
Short depletion time
Availability of freshwater to the area
16. True or False: Biological mining methods are economically feasible only with
low-grade ores for which conventional techniques are too expensive.
17. Piping now mostly consists of
a.
b.
c.
d.
Copper
Plastic
Steel
Lead
18. True or False: Manganese models are not a potential source of metals.
19. Which of these percentages is not of result of recycling aluminum beverage cans?
a.
b.
c.
d.
99% less waste
95% less energy than mining
97% less water pollution
95% less air pollution
20. True or False: Nanotechnology may soon lead to the development of materials
that can serve as substitutes for various metals.
Daniel Reilly
6/20/2017
Per. 4
ANSWER KEY:
1. C
2. False
3. D
4. True
5. D
6. True
7. A
8. False
9. D
10. False
11. B
12. True
13. C
14. False
15. C
16. True
17. B
18. False
19. A
20. True