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Practice Questions for Chapters 25 and 26
Geology 1200
Use these questions to test your knowledge of Chapters 25 and 26
1) Louis Agassiz attributed all of the following to the work of ancient glaciers EXCEPT:
(a) moraines
(b) outwash plains..
(c) erratic boulders
(d) scoured bedrock.
2) The one epoch of the Cenozoic that was NOT based upon the proportion of contained fossils
representing still-living species is the:
(a) Pleistocene.
(b) Holocene..
(c) Pliocene.
(d) Eocene.
3) The Earth attained its familiar form during the Cenozoic by:
(a) fragmentation of Gondwana..
(b) accretion of Eurasia.
(c) fragmentation of Eurasia.
(d) accretion of Gondwana.
4)
The Alpine-Himalayan belt is a continuous zone of:
(a) rifting.
(b) faulting.
(c) volcanism.
(d) mountain building..
5) The main difference between the Alpine-Himalayan belt and the circum-Pacific belt is:
(a) type of climate in each.
(b) type of tectonic processes in each.. (collision vs. subduction + volcanic arc)
(c) age in which each originated.
(d) frequency of earthquakes in each.
6) All of the following mountain ranges are a part of the Alpine Orogen EXCEPT:
(a) Alps.
(b) Apennines.
(c) Himalayas..
(d) Pyrenees.
7) The complex folding and faulting of the Alpine Orogen was due to:
(a) the fragmentation of Gondwana.
(b) the Messinian salinity crisis.
(c) subduction along the circum-Pacific belt.
(d) the closing of the Tethys Sea..
8)
Flysch deposits are formed by:
(a) volcanic eruptions.
(b) submarine landslides..
(c) glaciers.
(d) flooding rivers.
9)
Nappes are produced by:
(a) rifting of continents.
(b) volcanic activity.
(c) thrust faulting.. (often with drag folds)
(d) normal faulting.
10) The best evidence for the Messinian salinity crisis is :
(a) the hot, dry climate of the region. [Why is today's climate important to the Messinian?]
(b) 2,000 meters of gypsum and halite on the basin floor.
(c) the downcut river channels at the edge of the basin. [what does this imply?]
(d) All of the above..
11) In the Pliocene Epoch, a three-way rift opened between:
(a) Arabia and Iran.
(b) Europe and Africa.
(c) Africa and Arabia..
(d) Europe and Arabia.
12) Which of the following statements concerning the Arabian plate is NOT true?
(a) The Zagros Mountains were produced by rifting between Iran and Arabia..
(b) The Gulf of Aden was the first arm to open of the three-way rift.
(c) The Red Sea was the second arm to open of the three-way rift.
(d) The East Africa Rift was the slowest arm to open.
13) Sediment scraped from the subducted Indian oceanic plate was deposited:
(a) as an accretionary wedge.. [from any subducted oceanic plate]
(b) in the forearc basin.
(c) along the passive margin.
(d) as pieces of oceanic crust.
14) All of the following tectonic events occurred in the Himalayan Orogeny EXCEPT:
(a) rifting between Eurasia and India..
(b) slight subduction of the Indian continental crust.
(c) folding and faulting of the accretionary wedge and passive margin sediments.
(d) squeezing up of the forearc and accretionary wedge sediments between India and Eurasia.
15) Which plate is NOT a part of the circum-Pacific belt?
(a) Juan de Fuca.
(b) Cocos.
(c) Indian..
(d) Nazca.
16) Which plate was NOT involved in the formation of the Andean Cordillera?
(a) Nazca.
(b) Juan de Fuca.. [too far north]
(c) Farallon.
(d) South America.
17) What type of tectonic process was responsible for the formation of Central America?
(a) Rifting of a continental plate.
(b) Continental collison.
(c) Arc accretion of crustal blocks (they mean small terranes; plus later subduction and more
volcanic arc building) ..
18) Which of the following statements concerning Tertiary climates is NOT true?
(a) Early Tertiary warmth may have resulted from volcanic activity in the Caribbean region.
[Yes, adds greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere]
(b) Mid Tertiary cooling was a result of fragmentation of Gondwana. [southern ocean
isolated Antarctica from the currents that originate in the tropics]
(c) The Late Tertiary chill was caused by the landbridge between North and South America.
[blocked the Atlantic-Pacific mixing, Atlantic became saltier, denser, warm water sinks
before it reaches the Arctic]
(d) The Pleistocene Ice Age was the end result of assembly and southward migration of
Gondwana.. (No, Gondwana was no more, only Antarctica in polar regions)
19) The warm climate of the Early Eocene was indicated by fossils of:
(a) tropical plants near the equator.
(b) tropical plants near the polar regions..
(c) tropical plants in the high latitudes.
(d) tropical plants in the deserts.
20) During the Tertiary, temperatures cooled and mid-latitude climates became drier, so:
(a) grasslands changed to forests
(b) forests changed to grasslands..
(grasses have drought-tolerant carbon cycles)
(c) deserts changed to grasslands
(d) forests change to deserts
21) Formation of the Gulf Stream can be attributed to:
(a) the landbridge between North and South America..
(b) the separation between Antarctica and Australia.
(c) the separation between Antarctica and South America.
(d) the landbridge between Asia and North America.
22) All of the following stages represent glacial advances EXCEPT:
(a) Illinoian.
(b) Nebraskan.
(c) Sangamon.. [This is an interglacial time; glacial stages are named for states]
(d) Wisconsinan.
23) The best record of glaciation is preserved in:
(a) glacial striations
(b) glacial outwash.
(c) glacial till.
(d) the tests of planktonic foraminifera .. [using stable oxygen isotopes from their "shells"]
24) During glacial ages, the proportion of 18O isotope compared to 16O isotope IN THE OCEAN
is:
(a) about the same.
(b) greater.. [On average, light water and CO2 evaporate, and get held by glaciers. Heavy
isotopes stay in the ocean]
(c) less.
(d) none of the above.
25) The transitional period between the end of a glacial stage and the onset of an interglacial
stage can last:
(a) about 100,000 years.
(b) from 10,000 to 15,000 years.
(c) a few tens of years..
(d) there is insufficient evidence to predict the time interval.
26) The glacial stage for which standard radiocarbon (carcon-14) dating can be applied is the:
(a) Kansan.
(b) Nebraskan.
(c) Illinoian.
(d) Wisconsinan.. (that is the most recent)
27) Evaporation of Lake Bonneville left behind:
(a) Lake Lahontan.
(b) Great Salt Lake..
(c) Lake Missoula.
(d) Lake Superior.
28) All of the following represent the effects of lowered sea level EXCEPT:
(a) river valleys cut into the continental shelf.
(b) continental shelves with forests and animal populations.
(c) formation of landbridges.
(d) glacial rebound.. [glaciers melted, sea level is higher, not lower]
29) The Holocene period of global warmth, which exceeded that of today was the:
(a) Medieval warm period, between A. D. 900 and A. D. 1300..
(b) Sangamon interglacial stage, between 125,000 and 75,000 years ago.
(c) Yarmouth interglacial stage, between 300,000 and 265,000 years ago.
(d) Aftonian interglacial stage, between 500,00 and 435,000 years ago.
30) The Holocene period of global cooling, which exceeded that of today was the:
(a) Little Ice Age, between about A. D. 1300 and A. D. 1850.. some effects as early as 1253
(b) Wisconsinan glacial stage, between 75,000 and 10,000 years ago.
(c) Illinoian glacial stage, between 265,000 and 125,000 years ago.
(d) Kansan glacial stage, between 435,00 and 300,000 years ago.
31) The rejuvenation of the Rockies, Sierra Nevada and Tetons were the result of:
(a) volcanism.
(b) arc magmatism.
(c) mantle upwelling..
(d) erosion.
32) A continental hot spot beneath western North America has been implicated in the formation
of all the features below EXCEPT:
(a) Columbia Plateau.
(b) Snake River Plain.
(c) Cascade volcanoes..
(d) Yellowstone Plateau.
33) All of the following Cascade volcanoes have been active in historic times EXCEPT:
(a) Mount Rainier.
(b) Mount St. Helens.
(c) Mount Mazama (Crater Lake)..
(d) Mount Lassen.
34) All of the following statements describe the structure of the Basin and Range province
EXCEPT:
(a) the crust here is the thickest in any part of the Cordillera..
(b) the narrow mountain ranges are bounded by normal faults.
(c) these mountain ranges were formed by extensional forces.
(d) breakup of the buoyantly subducted Farallon plate beneath the continent caused
upwelling and stretched the crust.
35) The formation of the San Andreas transform involved the nearly complete subduction of the:
(a) Juan de Fuca plate.
(b) Farallon plate..
(c) Cocos plate.
(d) the Nazca plate.
36) The modern rise of sea level is due to all of the following EXCEPT:
(a) thinning of the Greenland ice sheet.
(b) melting of alpine glaciers.
(c) expansion of oceanic surface waters as they warm.
(d) increased rates of seafloor spreading..
37) The warm, tropical climate of the Eocene Epoch is supported by all of the following
EXCEPT:
(a) fossils palms and ferns
(b) nearby glacial moraines.. (Hint: not Eocene)
(c) formation of limestone beds
(d) fossil rhinoceroses nearby.
End of Chapter 25
------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 26
38) Which of the following is NOT true concerning marine invertebrates of the Cenozoic?
(a) Ammonite cephalopods survived the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction to radiate still again..
(b) Bivalves and gastropods were little affected by the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction.
(c) Scleractinian corals returned to prominence as important reef-builders.
(d) Bryozoans came to be important components of modern temperate reefs.
39) The one marine vertebrate predator that would NOT expected to occur in strata of Tertiary
age is the:
(a) giant shark Carcharodon.
(b) plesiosaur Elasomosaurus..
(c) early whale Protocetus.
(d) later whale Basilosaurus.
The earliest whale ancestor is a:
(e) wolf-sized carnivore with hooves..
(f) larger aquatic form named Pakicetus.
(g) larger, later fully aquatic form named Procetus.
(h) large, very long whale named Basilosaurus.
40) The plants best adapted to the drier, cooler climate of the Miocene Epoch were:
(a) gymnosperms.
(b) seedless vascular plants.
(c) conifers.
(d) grasses..
41) The main difference between grasses and herbaceous plants is:
(a) grasses grow taller than herbaceous plants.
(b) grasses do not grow from the top of the plant.. [so they are not killed by grazers]
(c) grasses require certain insects to pollinate.
(d) grasses produce more seed than herbaceous plants.
42) All of the following reptiles survived the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event EXCEPT:
(a) crocodiles.
(b) lizards.
(c) mosasaurs..
(d) turtles.
43) The Eocene bird Diatryma was a:
(a) hawk.
(b) songbird.
(c) vulture
(d) giant flightless predator..
44) Large flightless birds survived until the Pleistocene in:
(a) Asia.
(b) Madagascar..
(c) North America.
(d) South America.
45) The remains of early mammals that are most likely to be fossilized are:
(a) limb bones.
(b) skull bones.
(c) individual teeth..
(d) individual vertebrae.
46) The group of mammals that arose during the Mesozoic but went extinct in the early Cenozoic
was the:
(a) placentals.
(b) multituberculates..
(c) monotremes.
(d) marsupials.
47) Which of the following statements concerning monotremes is NOT true?
(a) They have always been a diverse group of mammals..
(b) They lay eggs.
(c) They nurse their young.
(d) Their fossil remains extend back to the Cretaceous Period.
48) Marsupials can be distinguished from other mammals by their:
(a) egg-laying ability.
(b) night vision
(c) underdeveloped young, which mature in an external pouch..
(d) advanced system of reproduction.
49) Which of the following statements concerning marsupials is NOT true?
(a) Marsupials originated in North America.
(b) Marsupials migrated to South America in the Cretaceous.
(c) In South America, marsupials evolved side by side with placental mammals.
(d) In Australia, pressure from placentals forced marsupials into extinction..
50) Familiar placental mammals that resemble modern forms evolved in the:
(a) Pliocene Epoch..
(b) Eocene Epoch.
(c) Paleocene Epoch.
(d) Cretaceous Period.
51) All of the following are edentate mammals except:
a) opossums..
b) armadillos.
c) anteaters.
d) tree sloths.
52) Which mammal is NOT a type of rodent ?
a) Mouse.
b) Rat.
c) Shrew..
d) Beaver.
53) Which mammal is NOT a type of carnivore?
a) Panda.
b) Rabbit..
c) Seal.
d) Hyena.
54) What type of mammal was the famous saber-tooth cat Smilodon?
a) A canid carnivore.
b) A felid carnivore..
c) A pinniped carnivore.
d) An edentate herbivore.
55) Which of the following statements concerning ungulates is NOT true?
a) Elephants and whales may have descended from ungulates.
b) Horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs are odd-toed ungulates.
c) Odd-toed ungulates were the largest land mammals to have ever lived.
d) Horses have always had but a single toe..
56) The largest group of even-toed ungulates are the:
a) rhinoceroses.
b) hippopotamasus.
c) ruminants..
d) horses.
57) The high-crowned teeth of larger, later horses were a response to:
a) taller grass of the late Tertiary.
b) more abrasive, silica-rich grass of the late Tertiary..
c) deeper roots of the grasses in the late Tertiary.
d) a natural response to eating twigs and branches.
58) The extinctions of the Late Pleistocene were specific to:
a) large land animals..
b) large marine mammals.
c) small land animals.
d) small marine animals.
59) The rapid climate change hypothesis of Pleistocene extinctions is supported by all below
EXCEPT:
a) abrupt temperature changes occurred.
b) shifts in the types and locations of vegetation occurred.
c) increasing aridity occurred many landscapes.
d) such abrupt changes occurred in past interglacial periods with no resulting extinctions..
60) The overkill hypothesis for extinctions is supported by:
a) human hunters tend to prey on the largest animals available.
b) spear points of human hunters have been found near the bones of large mammals.
c) extinction of large mammals coincide with the arrival of humans in to those areas.
d) all of the above.
61) Human evolution is a difficult field of study because of:
a) controversy between investigators.
b) a sparse fossil record..
c) tremendous abundance of specimens available for study.
d) large size of the remains recovered.
62) Which of the following statements concerning primate characteristics is NOT true?
a) Primates have five fingers and five toes.
b) Primates have laterally set eyes with a wide field of view..
c) Primates have hands with opposable digits for grasping.
d) Primates have front-set eyes with overlapping fields of view for accurate depth
perception.
63) Tree shrews, lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers all belong to the primate subdivision of the:
a) anthropoids.
b) homonoids.
c) prosimians..
d) hominids.
64) The earliest known primate remains are referred to the genus:
a) Aegypoipithecus.
b) Purgatorius..
c) Eosimias.
d) Proconsul.
65) Anthropoids include the Old World Monkeys, The New World monkeys, and the:
a) lemurs.
b) tarsiers.
c) lorises.
d) hominoids..
66) Dryomorphs of the Miocene have all of the following ape-like characteristics EXCEPT:
a) skull.
b) a long torso and limbs..
c) jaws.
d) teeth.
67) Hominoids include the lesser apes, the great apes, and:
a) Old World monkeys.
b) humans..
c) New World monkeys.
d) lemurs.
68) All of the following are characteristics of hominids EXCEPT:
a) upright stature.
b) a flat face.
c) a large brain.
d) a distinctly long pelvis that is tilted forward..
69) The human-great apes divergence is estimated to have occurred sometime between 6 million
and 4 million years ago, based on:
a) estimated rates of genetic change in DNA between humans and chimpanzees..
b) remains of fossil chimpanzees dated at between 6 million and 4 million years ago.
c) remains of fossil humans dated at between 6 and 4 million years ago.
d) remains of both fossil chimpanzees and humans dated at between 6 and 4 million years
ago.
70) The australopithecines were apelike in all of the following features EXCEPT:
a) a large protruding jaw.
b) bony ridges above the eye.
c) long arms and shorter legs.
d) a short, vertically-oriented pelvis..
71) Which statement below concerning the DNA of modern humans and that of Neanderthals is
true?
a) The DNA of modern humans and Neanderthals is identical.
b) The DNA of modern humans and Neanderthals is distinct enough to separate them into
different species..
c) The DNA between modern humans displays more differences than between humans and
Neanderthals.
d) None of the above.
72) All of the following were characteristic features unique to Cro-Magnon culture versus
Neanderthal culture EXCEPT:
a) they constructed efficient stone tools..
b) they constructed jewelry of shells, teeth, and ivory.
c) they fashioned musical instruments.
d) they left elegant paintings on the cave walls where they lived.
E. Short Answers
1. What are nappes, and how did they form? Why are they easily seen in the Alps and
Himalayas?
2. Explain how the tests of planktonic foraminifera are used for stable oxygen isotope studies to
interpret the record of glaciation
Again, remember there also are lab questions on the test, not just the Lab Takehome.