GEOG- Exam 1

Question 1

What is geology?

Answer 1

Study of Earth’s materials, structures, and processes.

Question 2

What does physical geology examine?

Answer 2

Earth’s materials and processes.

Question 3

What is the focus of historical geology?

Answer 3

Earth’s past.

Question 4

Define physical geography.

Answer 4

Study of Earth’s physical features and climate.

Question 5

What is the definition of science?

Answer 5

Systematic study of the natural world.

Question 6

What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?

Answer 6

Hypothesis is a testable idea; a theory is well-supported by evidence.

Question 7

What are natural hazards?

Answer 7

Earth processes (e.g., earthquakes, volcanoes, floods) that pose risks.

Question 8

What is a setback levee?

Answer 8

A levee built farther from the river to reduce flood risk.

Question 9

List reasons to study Earth science.

Answer 9

• Understand hazards
• Manage resources
• Mitigate environmental problems

Question 10

What are the four spheres of Earth?

Answer 10

• Atmosphere (air)
• Hydrosphere (water)
• Geosphere (land)
• Biosphere (life)

Question 11

What event did the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980 demonstrate?

Answer 11

The impact of geological events.

Question 12

How does human influence affect flooding?

Answer 12

Urbanization, deforestation, levees.

Question 13

What are drawbacks of levees?

Answer 13

Can worsen downstream flooding, fail under extreme conditions.

Question 14

What are tectonic plates?

Answer 14

Large, rigid sections of Earth’s lithosphere.

Question 15

What happens at divergent plate boundaries?

Answer 15

Plates move apart (seafloor spreading, rift valleys).

Question 16

What occurs at convergent plate boundaries?

Answer 16

Plates collide (subduction zones, mountain formation).

Question 17

Describe transform plate boundaries.

Answer 17

Plates slide past each other (e.g., San Andreas Fault).

Question 18

What characterizes a ridge and a trench?

Answer 18

• Ridge: elevated seafloor at divergent boundaries
• Trench: deep depression at subduction zones.

Question 19

What is seafloor spreading?

Answer 19

New oceanic crust forms at mid-ocean ridges.

Question 20

Define continental rifting.

Answer 20

Process of continents splitting apart.

Question 21

What happens during subduction?

Answer 21

Denser plate sinks under another.

Question 22

How many major tectonic plates are there?

Answer 22

7 major plates.

Question 23

What is the average rate of plate movement?

Answer 23

~1-10 cm per year.

Question 24

Where is the youngest rock on the ocean floor found?

Answer 24

Near mid-ocean ridges.

Question 25

What was Alfred Wegener's hypothesis?

Answer 25

Continental drift, but lacked a mechanism.

Question 26

What type of plate boundary is non-volcanic?

Answer 26

Transform boundaries.

Question 27

Why do mountains formed by continental-continental convergence have no volcanoes?

Answer 27

No subduction occurs; rock layers warp and fold.

Question 28

Define a mineral.

Answer 28

Naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a crystalline structure.

Question 29

Differentiate between ambiguous properties and diagnostic properties.

Answer 29

* Ambiguous: Vary between samples (e.g., color) * Diagnostic: Consistent (e.g., hardness, cleavage).

Question 30

What is luster in minerals?

Answer 30

How a mineral reflects light (metallic vs. non-metallic).

Question 31

What does hardness measure in minerals?

Answer 31

Resistance to scratching (Mohs Hardness Scale).

Question 32

What is streak in mineralogy?

Answer 32

Color of powdered mineral.

Question 33

Differentiate between cleavage and fracture in minerals.

Answer 33

* Cleavage: breaks along planes of weakness * Fracture: irregular breakage (e.g., conchoidal fracture).

Question 34

Why is ice considered a mineral but liquid water is not?

Answer 34

Ice is solid with a crystalline structure; water is liquid.

Question 35

Why is glass not classified as a mineral?

Answer 35

Lacks an orderly atomic structure.

Question 36

What is the purpose of the luster test in mineral identification?

Answer 36

Determines if mineral is metallic or non-metallic.

Question 37

What does the streak test reveal?

Answer 37

Shows true color of mineral powder.

Question 38

What does the hardness test compare?

Answer 38

Resistance to scratching.

Question 39

What does the cleavage/fracture test identify?

Answer 39

How minerals break.

Question 40

What happens to water height during tsunamis near shore?

Answer 40

Water height increases as it slows down.

Question 41

What caused the 2022 Tonga eruption?

Answer 41

Water-magma interaction caused the explosion.

Question 42

What did geologists discover on Tofua?

Answer 42

Confirmed indigenous reports of past activity.