Mid term exam

Question 1

The grain size of clastic sedimentary rocks corresponds to

Answer 1

1. Distance from clast source
2. Flow speed of the water transporting the sediment (high energy or low energy)

Question 2

When phytoplankton grow in the photic zone, carbon is transferred from the

Answer 2

Hydrosphere to the biosphere

Question 3

When marine microorganisms die, fall to the seafloor and are buried, carbon is transferred from the

Answer 3

Biosphere to the geosphere

Question 4

When a subduction zone volcano erupts, carbon is transferred from the

Answer 4

Geosphere to the atmosphere

Question 5

What paleoenvironment is a mudstone that contains leaf fossils likely from

Answer 5

Fluvial floodplain

Question 6

The habitable zone around a star is determined by

Answer 6

Size and temperature of the star

Question 7

How did earth get most of its water

Answer 7

Accretion of meteors that contain clay minerals

Question 8

True or false, liquid water has been present on mars and earth but not venus due to its distance from the sun

Answer 8

True

Question 9

The largest reservoir of earths carbon is

Answer 9

Rocks

Question 10

What are the geological hazards associated with the Australia-Pacific plate boundary in New Zealand

Answer 10

Earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis

Question 11

What compositional layer of earth is most felsic

Answer 11

Continental crust

Question 12

What provides the principal evidence that earths outer core is liquid

Answer 12

Seismic S-waves

Question 13

Mantle/crust statements

Answer 13

1. Lithosphere is rigid
2. Movement of lithosphere is driven by earths internal energy
3. Movement of asthenosphere is caused by heat loss
4. Lithosphere and crust have different composition

Question 14

Which carbon reservoir operates on the longest timescale (100,000-1,000,00 yrs)

Answer 14

Rocks

Question 15

Which three reservoirs are important in the biogeochemical cycle of carbon on short (human) time scales

Answer 15

Atmosphere, biosphere and surface ocean