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geology test 1 > geology test 1 > Flashcards

geology test 1 Flashcards

1
Q

Geology as a science deals with

A

Great variations in scale and time

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2
Q

A very important concept in geology is that

A

Earth is constantly changing

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3
Q

Measurements show that climate is changing at an alarmingly fast rate, but the details of the mechanism for the change are still being worked out. Does this make global climate change a Theory, Hypothesis, Observation, Fact, or a completely disproven idea?

A

Observation

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4
Q

The assumption, presented in your textbook, that the natural world behaves in a consistent and predictable manner that is comprehensible given sufficient study is consistent with which of the following

A

Uniformitarianism

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5
Q

You have learned that Earth has four important spheres: the Biosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, and Geosphere. They interact to make the environment we live in. Which of the following geologic features most closely shows the interaction of all four spheres

A

Soil

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6
Q

Wet mud and earthworms found on the edge of a lake would be considered to be part of

A

A combination of spheres

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7
Q

“Big Bang” is estimated to have occurred

A

between 10 billion and 15 billion years ago

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8
Q

The Nebular Hypothesis states that

A

Earth and the other planets formed at essentially the same time from the same primordial matter as the Sun

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9
Q

Why are the inner planets different from the outer planets

A

The inner planets contain heavier elements because they were very hot and had a weak gravitational field that could not hold the lighter elements

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10
Q

On Earth, chemical differentiation led to the formation of layers in Earth based on the ______________of the materials that make up those layers

A

density

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11
Q

What is the major difference between the crust and the mantle?

A

Composition

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12
Q

If you have a metamorphic rock, and you bury it and heat it until it melts, and then bring it closer to the surface where it cools and solidifies again, the resulting rock would be

A

Igneous

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13
Q

One of the most important reasons geologists study rocks is

A

To understand the geological history of Earth

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14
Q

The boundary between the oceanic crust and the continental crust is

A

in the continental slope

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15
Q

The oldest rocks on Earth would be exposed primarily in the

A

shields

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16
Q

Ocean floor lies about 3.8 k m (2.4 miles) beneath the sea surface, while continents extend about 0.8 k m (0.5 miles) above the sea surface because

A

Continents are less dense than ocean floor and both are floating on weak mantle material

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17
Q

The primary difference between Physical and Historical Geology is that

A

Physical Geology is about the processes that have shaped Earth over time and Historical Geology is about how we can reconstruct the record of change on Eart

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18
Q

Prior to the 1960s, most scientists thought the continents were

A

Old and stationary

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19
Q

What was the major problem with Wegener’s suggestion that tidal forces could move continents?

A

Tidal forces are not strong enough to move continents

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20
Q

A plate boundary where one plate is moving under another plate is a _____________ boundary

A

Convergent

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21
Q

The major difference between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere is

A

Their behavior. Lithosphere will bend or break, while asthenosphere will flow

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22
Q

The Himalayan mountain range is the result of ___________

A

A continent–continent collision

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23
Q

What happens at divergent boundaries?

A

The seafloor spreads and magma rises up to fill the gap, forming underwater features like oceanic ridges and submarine volcanoes

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24
Q

What type of plate boundary is the San Andreas fault zone

A

Transform

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25
Q

Which of the following Plate boundaries is the least common

A

Transform

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26
Q

The sediments on the ocean floor get thicker with increasing distance from the ridges because

A

The seafloor gets older as it moves away from the ridge and so more sediment has time to accumulate farther from the ridge

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27
Q

Which one of these processes does NOT contribute to plate motions

A

Tidal forces

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28
Q

Which of these locations is located on a divergent boundary

A

Iceland

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29
Q

The rate of seafloor spreading is typically around

A

50 mm/yr

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30
Q

Why does subduction occur

A

Because the oceanic lithosphere becomes more dense than the asthenosphere with age

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31
Q

The three most common volatiles in magma are

A

Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and water vapor

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32
Q

Why are lava flows typically finer grained than intrusive igneous rocks

A

The lava flow cools quickly on the surface of Earth so the mineral grains do not have time to grow

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33
Q

What does texture usually tell us about an igneous rock

A

How quickly the rock cooled

34
Q

Glassy igneous rocks form when the magma

A

cools so fast that mineral grains cannot crystallize and grow

35
Q

According to Bowen’s Reaction series, which of these minerals will crystallize first

A

Olivine

36
Q

A Batholith is

A

a large group of intrusions that coalesce

37
Q

Which of the following rocks is likely to have the most quartz within it and why

A

Granite, because it is an intrusive rock that formed from the cooling of relatively high-silica magma

38
Q

Decompression melting occurs because

A

The melting temperature of hot material is lowered as the confining pressure decreases

39
Q

The chemical equivalent of granite is

A

Rhyolite

40
Q

Where does most magma come from

A

The upper mantle

41
Q

Bowen’s reaction series is based on

A

Laboratory experiments involving melting rocks

42
Q

What is the most important factor for whether magma cools slowly or quickly

A

The temperature of the environment: higher T = slower magma cooling

43
Q

What is the difference between primary and secondary magmas

A

A primary magma is the parent from which the secondary magma forms through differentiation

44
Q

Sedimentary rocks are particularly important to humans because

A

They contain resources such as water, oil and gas, uranium, and iron

45
Q

Which of the following is not a category of sedimentary rocks

A

Mechanical

46
Q

Which of the following sedimentary rocks would you expect to have been formed from sediments deposited in a “quiet” environment like a lake or swamp?

A

Shale

47
Q

Which of the following sedimentary rocks would you expect to have originally been deposited by fast-moving streams

A

Conglomerate

48
Q

If shale is such a common rock in the sedimentary rock world, why isn’t it as prominently exposed at the surface as sandstone

A

Shale crumbles easily, causing increased mechanical weathering, whereas sandstone resists weathering more effectively

49
Q

Which of the following sediments would be most likely to give direct information about the type of rocks the particles were derived from

A

Gravel

50
Q

Which of the following sedimentary rocks is most likely to have a crystalline texture

A

Limestone

51
Q

Which of the following is NOT one of the three major depositional environments

A

Island

52
Q

Much of the CO2 in the atmosphere is believed to come from

A

volcanoes

53
Q

How does carbon get into the oceans to form the shells of animals?

A

It combines chemically with water to form H2CO3, which can be reduced to a bicarbonate ion during weathering and transported to the sea

54
Q

Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock that is classified based on its

A

predominant grain size

55
Q

Petrified wood forms by

A

the replacement of wood with chert

56
Q

Dolostone is somewhat of a mystery to scientists because

A

It is abundant but no marine organisms use it to make shells

57
Q

Sedimentary rocks are particularly important to humans because

A

They contain resources such as water, oil and gas, uranium, and iron

58
Q

Which of the following is not a category of sedimentary rocks

A

Mechanical

59
Q

Which of the following sedimentary rocks would you expect to have been formed from sediments deposited in a “quiet” environment like a lake or swamp

A

Shale

60
Q

Which of the following sedimentary rocks would you expect to have originally been deposited by fast-moving streams

A

Conglomerate

61
Q

If shale is such a common rock in the sedimentary rock world, why isn’t it as prominently exposed at the surface as sandstone?

A

Shale crumbles easily, causing increased mechanical weathering, whereas sandstone resists weathering more effectively

62
Q

Which of the following sediments would be most likely to give direct information about the type of rocks the particles were derived from

A

Gravel

63
Q

Which of the following sedimentary rocks is most likely to have a crystalline texture

A

Limestone

64
Q

Which of the following is NOT one of the three major depositional environments

A

Island

65
Q

Much of the CO2 in the atmosphere is believed to come from

A

volcanoes

66
Q

How does carbon get into the oceans to form the shells of animals

A

It combines chemically with water to form H2CO3, which can be reduced to a bicarbonate ion during weathering and transported to the sea

67
Q

Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock that is classified based on its

A

predominant grain size

68
Q

Petrified wood forms by

A

the replacement of wood with chert

69
Q

Dolostone is somewhat of a mystery to scientists because

A

It is abundant but no marine organisms use it to make shells

70
Q

What is the main reason the mineralogy of a rock changes during metamorphism

A

Some minerals are only stable under limited conditions of temperature and pressure, so they change when the conditions change.

71
Q

Why is it important to know that every metamorphic rock has a parent rock

A

All metamorphic rocks form from a pre-existing solid rock, and the composition of the parent rock will predict what new minerals will form during metamorphism

72
Q

What is the most important factor driving metamorphism and why

A

Heat, because it causes atoms within a mineral to vibrate more rapidly allowing them to migrate more freely

73
Q

A porphyroblast is

A

An unusually large mineral that is surrounded by finer grained minerals

74
Q

Which of the following factors is most likely to produce foliation

A

Differential stress

75
Q

Which of the following types of foliated rock is likely to result from the flattening and alignment of micas

A

Schist

76
Q

Why do some metamorphic rocks develop a foliation

A

Because the minerals have distinctly different dimensions in at least two dimensions

77
Q

The parent rock type for most foliated metamorphic rocks is

A

Shale

78
Q

Black smokers are commonly associated with

A

Ocean crust formed at nearby divergent boundaries

79
Q

In which setting would regional metamorphism be most likely

A

At great depths in the crust where two continents are colliding

80
Q

Which response best represents the conditions of contact metamorphism

A

Low pressures, shallow burial, and heat supplied by a nearby magma body

81
Q

If you know the metamorphic facies of a metamorphic rock (example: zeolite), what can you deduce about the rock

A

Pressure and temperature of formation

82
Q

In which of the major types of metamorphism does confining pressure play a major role

A

Burial metamorphism

geology test 1 (2 decks)

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