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Geology Quiz
Chapter 9 Earth Structures – Folds, Faults, and Fabrics
Chapter 12 Plate Tectonics and the Formation of the Earth's Oceans
Chapter 13 Continental Tectonics and the Formation of the Earth's Continents
1) In geology, the term "stress" refers to:
A) stretching of a rock unit.
B) compression of a rock unit.
C) any deformation of a rock unit.
D) forces that might cause deformation of a rock unit.
2) Rocks in which elastic deformation occurs:
A) return to their original shape when the stress is released.
B) remain in their deformed shape when the stress is released.
C) become fractured but retain their original shape.
D) show no response to stress.
3) Which of the following statements about rock deformation is NOT true?
A) Plastic deformation is likely to occur in rocks under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions.
B) Elastic deformation is likely to occur if rocks are stressed to only a very minor degree.
C) Plastic deformation is likely to occur rocks under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions.
D) Brittle failure is likely to occur in rocks under low-temperature and low-pressure conditions.
4) Rocks subjected to low amounts of stress over a long period of time will most likely:
A) exhibit plastic deformation.
B) exhibit brittle failure.
C) show no evidence of deformation.
D) continue to experience elastic deformation.
5) Which one of the following rocks will most likely exhibit brittle failure upon stress?
A) Wet limestone.
B) Wet schist.
C) Dry sandstone.
D) Wet shale.
6) The strike and dip of a rock refer to:
A) the directions in which a rock points.
B) the orientation of a rock unit in relation to neighboring rock units.
C) the orientation of a rock unit in relation to the surface of the Earth.
D) the orientation of the exposed surface of a rock.
7) Mapping the strike and dip of all the rock units in a region is important because:
A) it shows the location, elevation, and slope gradient of all the hills and valleys.
B) it delineates the three-dimensional subsurface form of rock structures barely visible at the surface.
C) it correlates the locations of all the outcroppings of rocks.
D) it establishes the points at which stress was applied to each of the rock units.
8) Which of the following statements about folds is NOT true?
A) Synclines are concave, trough-like folds, and anticlines are convex, arch-like folds.
B) Broad open synclines and anticlines are far more common than tightly folded ones in regions near convergent
plate margins.
C) Folding produces alternating synclines and anticlines with adjacent folds sharing a common limb.
D) Overturned folds are caused by prolonged directed pressure on asymmetrical folds.
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9) A fold in which the axial plane is horizontal with the surface of the Earth is a(n):
A) asymmetrical fold.
B) overturned fold
C) recumbent fold.
D) plunging fold.
10) Which of the following statements about domes or basins is true?
A) In a dome, the youngest rocks are in the center.
B) Domes and basins are probably caused by vertical forces.
C) Basins are probably caused by collapse of low-density materials.
D) Domes and basins are probably caused by lateral forces.
11) All of the following are stresses capable of forming joints EXCEPT:
A) earthquakes.
B) frost wedging.
C) unloading.
D) contraction of cooling magma.
12) All of the following features define a fault EXCEPT:
A) displacement of layers on either side of the fault.
B) symmetrically oriented joint sets extending through this fault.
C) crushed rock along the fault surface.
D) abrupt disappearance of a distinctive rock bed.
13) The type of fault most commonly found in transform plate boundaries is a:
A) normal fault.
B) reverse fault.
C) strike-slip fault.
D) dip-slip fault.
14) Vertical displacement occurs in all of the following EXCEPT:
A) strike-slip faults.
B) thrust faults.
C) normal faults.
D) reverse faults.
15) A normal fault occurs as a result of:
A) tensional stress, and the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall.
B) tensional stress, and the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall.
C) compressional stress, and the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall.
D) compressional stress, and the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall.
16) All of the fault type/plate boundary associations below are correct EXCEPT:
A) normal faults-continental collisions.
B) reverse faults-subduction zones.
C) thrust faults-convergent plate boundaries.
D) strike-slip faults-transform plate boundaries.
17) Historically, the search for petroleum deposits focused on locating and drilling:
A) the crests of anticlinal structures.
B) the flanks of anticlinal structures
C) the crests of synclinal structures.
D) the flanks of synclinal structures
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18) All of the following statements describe the effects of plate tectonics on Earth Systems EXCEPT:
A) convergent zones may have been the site where complex organic molecules formed.
B) rifting and associated volcanic activity may have contributed to extinctions.
C) gas emissions from subduction-zone volcanoes may alter the Earth's climate.
D) pieces of old subducted plates are recycled in the deep mantle.
19) Which of the following methods uses gravity anomalies to create maps of the ocean floor?
A) Echo-sounding sonar.
B) Seismic profiling.
C) Deep Sea Drilling Project.
D) SEASAT.
20) All of the following are examples of rivers that follow the course of ancient failed rift EXCEPT:
A) Africa's Niger River.
B) North America's Mississippi River.
C) Yukon River in Alaska.
D) South America's Amazon River.
21) In which stage of the rifting process are plate edges considered to be passive continental margins?
A) In the initial stages of continental rifting.
B) When seawater from an adjacent ocean inundates a young rift.
C) As basalts begin to fill the rift to form new ocean crust.
D) After rifting has been completed.
22) The chimney-like structures around the "black smokers" are encrusted with:
A) basaltic flows.
B) giant clams and exotic tubeworms.
C) mineral precipitates rich in metals.
D) copper, iron, zinc, and silver deposits.
23) At divergent zones, earthquakes commonly occur:
A) beyond the ridge segments, where segments move in the same direction.
B) between offset segments, where segments move in opposite directions.
C) at the ridge itself, where magma rises to the surface.
D) at the ridge itself, where normal faulting occurs.
24) Old, cold oceanic lithosphere is more dense than which of the following?
A) The underlying warm asthenosphere of the upper mantle.
B) The continental lithosphere.
C) Younger oceanic lithosphere.
D) All of the above.
25) A mélange is a:
A) composite metamorphic rock formation formed at continental collision zones.
B) metamorphosed sequence of rocks that formerly constituted a vertical column of oceanic lithosphere.
C) composite mixture of rock and sediment pressed against the inner wall of a subduction trench.
D) sequence of rocks produced by subduction-zone volcanism.
26) The breadth of an arc-trench gap at a subduction zone is determined by:
A) the width of the volcanic arc.
B) the angle at which the subducting plate descends.
C) the amount of material in the accretionary wedge.
D) the amount of material eroded from the adjacent continent and volcanic arc.
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27) Which of the following statements about suture zones is NOT true?
A) Thickening of the continental crust occurs because one plate is thrust slightly beneath the other.
B) The suture zone may contain large masses of ophiolite rocks.
C) Suture zones are likely zones of future rifting.
D) When the forward edges of two continental plates converge, neither subducts.
28) Hot spots can be used as "fixed" reference points for determining plate speed and direction because:
A) they move more rapidly than the overlying plates.
B) they move more slowly than the overlying plates.
C) they do not move at all.
D) they move in an opposite direction to the moving plate.
29) Which of the following are conclusions that can be drawn about a plate's speed and direction of movement from
a seamount chain?
A) The youngest seamount will be the farthest from the hot spot, and an arrow from the seamount to the hot spot
indicates the direction of plate movement.
B) The oldest seamount will be the farthest from the hot spot, and an arrow from the seamount to the hot spot
indicates the direction of plate movement.
C) The youngest seamount will be the farthest from the hot spot, and an arrow from the hot spot to the seamount
indicates the direction of plate movement.
D) The oldest seamount will be the farthest from the hot spot, and an arrow from the hot spot to the seamount
indicates the direction of plate movement.
30) Guyots are flat primarily because:
A) they are covered by horizontal layers of sediment.
B) they are the tops of submarine horsts, fault blocks that have been raised from the sea floor.
C) they have been planed off by weathering, stream erosion, and ocean waves.
D) they are volcanic and have been covered by horizontal basalt flows.
31) The Hawai'ian Islands and the Emperor Seamount chain were formed by:
A) the Pacific plate, which is moving in a northwest direction over a stationary hot spot.
B) the Pacific plate, which is moving in a southeast direction over a stationary hot spot.
C) a hot spot that migrates to the northwest beneath the Pacific plate.
D) a hot spot that migrates to the southeast beneath the Pacific plate.
32) The speed of tectonic plate movement varies from plate to plate in the range of:
A) 1 to 10 millimeters per year.
B) 1 to 10 centimeters per year.
C) 1 to 10 inches per year.
D) 1 to 10 feet per year.
33) All of the following are evidence of forces that drive plate movement EXCEPT:
A) tears and fissures occur in axial rift valleys.
B) plates that are undergoing subduction are moving faster than plates that lack subducting margins.
C) oceanic lithosphere moves laterally away from elevated mid-ocean ridges.
D) magma rising between diverging oceanic plates causes folding in the newly formed lithosphere.
34) What is the name for the process that occurred on the early Earth in which heavy materials sank to the core, and
lighter materials floated to the surface?
A) Differentiation.
B) Subduction.
C) Orogenesis.
D) Accretion.
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35) What is the source of the early Earth's atmosphere?
A) Rock weathering.
B) Erosion of sediments.
C) Volcanic eruptions.
D) Continental collision.
36) Where are the Earth's oldest rocks found?
A) Continental platform.
B) Continental shelf.
C) Coastal plain.
D) Continental shield.
37) The first landmasses on the Earth were probably:
A) volcanic islands.
B) continental shields.
C) accretionary sediments.
D) felsic batholiths.
38) Where are greenstone belts found?
A) On continental platforms.
B) On continental shields.
C) On continental shelves.
D) On coastal plains.
39) To qualify as a mountain, at least in geological terms, an area of land must have:
39) To qualify as a mountain, at least in geological terms, an area of land must have:
A) a summit, and be at least 1000 feet high.
B) sloping sides, and be at least 1300 feet high.
C) a summit and sloping sides, and be at least 1000 feet high.
D) a summit and sloping sides, and be at least 2000 feet high.
40) Which mountain range is still forming today?
A) Appalachian.
B) Urals.
C) Catskills.
D) Himalaya.
41) Which of the following statements about continental landmasses prior to the formation of Pangaea is NOT true?
A) A supercontinent named Rodinia occupied most of the Northern Hemisphere.
B) North America sat near the South Pole, wedged between Antarctica and Australia.
C) Gondwana comprised the landmasses that eventually became the southern part of Pangaea.
D) Laurasia became the northern half of Pangaea and included most of what is now North America and northern
Europe.
42) The Himalayan Mountains were formed by:
A) continental rifting.
B) hot spot volcanism.
C) continental collision.
D) transform faulting.
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43) Pangaea was formed by the collision of which two landmasses?
A) North America and South America.
B) Gondwana and Rodinia.
C) Gondwana and Laurasia.
D) Laurasia and Rodinia.
44) How thick is the continental crust of North America?
A) 2 to 5 km.
B) 25 to 55 km.
C) 50 to 100 km.
D) 250 to 550 km.
45) How was the Atlantic Ocean basin formed?
A) By continental collision.
B) By continental rifting.
C) By orogenesis.
D) By subduction.
46) Most of the displaced terranes of North America were accreted to the continent:
A) less than 200 million years ago, after the breakup of Pangaea.
B) about 300 million years ago during the formation of the mid-Atlantic ridge.
C) about 230 million years ago during the formation of Pangaea.
D) less than 100 million years ago, when North America collided with Wrangellia over the equator.
47) What evidence suggests that the Rocky Mountains were formed by plate convergence?
A) Strike slip faults are common.
B) Continental basalts are common.
C) Giant thrusts of sedimentary rock are common.
D) Ophiolites are common.
48) Why might subduction resume in the Atlantic Ocean basin?
A) The oceanic lithosphere is very thin there.
B) The oceanic lithosphere is very thick there.
C) The oceanic lithosphere is very young there.
D) The oceanic lithosphere is very old there.
Essay Questions:
Answer two questions Use 5+ sentences and a diagram
1) What are displaced terranes? Describe and list geographic examples of displaced terranes.
2) Describe the development of Gondwana and Laurasia into Pangaea.
3) Based on projections of current plate motions, what tectonic events are likely to occur in the future?
4) What are some of the basic assumptions of the theory of plate tectonics?
5) What is a suture zone? Describe the geologic materials that might be included in the folded and faulted
mountains that result from continental collisions.
6) Why do geologists consider it important to make strike-and-dip measurements on rocks?
7) How can geologists determine the type and direction of stress from the orientation of folds and direction of slip
in faults?
8) What is the difference between symmetrical, asymmetrical, overturned, and recumbent folds?
9) What is the difference between a strike-slip fault and a dip-slip fault?
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