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When an earthquake occurs, the place underground where the rock first failed is known as the

Hypocentre

Regarding seismic waves, those BODY waves where particles of material move perpendicular to the direction of travel are called

S-waves

A continental transform fault earthquake could occur in which major city/region?

San Francisco, USA

When a tsunami moves from the deep ocean to the shore, where water depths are shallower, it

slows down

Those surface seismic waves that cause the ground to ripple up and down are

Rayleigh Waves

Joints in rocks are a response to

tensional stress in brittle rocks

Striations (grooves) along a fault caused by friction during sliding are called

slickenslides

A fold in strata in which the centre of the fold is younger than the limbs of the fold is known as a(n)

syncline

Pulverized rock formed below surface in a shear zone is known as a

mylonite

When a mountain belt rises, it weighs down progressively on the surface of the crust to form a depression that fills with sediment. This depression is called a(n)

foreland basin

The first person to demonstrate that “tongue stones” are really fossilized sharks’ teeth was

Nicholas Steno

The first person to use fossils to correlate strata and produce the world’s first geological map was

William Smith

During fossilization, the original calcite forming a shell may be replaced by a new mineral of entirely different chemical composition, such as pyrite. This process is known as

replacement

The discovery of the double helix structure of DNA was made by

Crick and Watson

The first comprehensive biological classification was produced by

Carolus Linnaeus

The model of evolution characterized by pulses of rapid change followed by stasis is known as

gradualism

Looking at a now famous unconformity at Siccar Point in Scotland, he exclaimed "we find no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end." His name was

James Hutton

In the rock record one can distinguish between a lava flow and a sill using

Principle of inclusions

In an undeformed sequence of sedimentary rock, younger rocks always rest upon older rocks. This is known as the

Principle of superposition

The relative geological time scale was constructed mostly during the

19th century

A surface in a sedimentary sequence representing a period of non-deposition or erosion is known as an

unconformity

From oldest to youngest, which is the correct order for the periods of the Paleozoic?

Cambrian, ordovican, silurian, devonian, mississippian, pennsylvanian, permian

From oldest to youngst, which is the correct order for the periods of the mesozoic and cenozoic?

triassic, jurassic, cretaceous, tertiary, quaternary

a fault that does not intersect with the surface is said to be a

blind fault

a geologist who specifically stuides earthquakes is called a

seismologist

Place the following waves in their correct order of speed, beginning with the fastest

P-waves, s-waves, surface waves

An old-fashioned seismograph uses a pen that is firmly attached to a weight and suspended from a frame by a wire or spring. The pen makes a trace on a rotating drum. During an earthquake, which components actually move?

Only the frame

The S-wave shadow zone on Earth occurs because

the S-wave cannot travel through the outer core because it is liquid

In the field, the angle and direction of a tilted bedding plane are described by measuring the

dip and strike

In an undeformed, continuously deposited sequence of sedimentary rocks (first locality) comprising ten beds numbered 1 (at the base) to 10 (at the top), a number of fossils have the following ranges: trilobites (beds 1 and 2), conodonts (beds 2 and 3), brachiopods (beds 3 to 6), ammonites (bed 5), gastropods (beds 6-8), and bivalves (beds 8-10). In a second locality, rocks of unknown stratigraphic position contain brachiopods and ammonites. These rocks are biostratigraphically correlated to which bed(s) from the first locality?

bed 6

The age of Earth’s formation is presently based on the

radiometric dating of the oldest Moon rocks

During the Hadean Eon

the atmosphere was without free oxygen

Stromatolites

today grow as mounds of alternating layers of sediment and cyanobacteria

The word Archean derives from the

Greek meaning "ancient"

The earliest known supercontinent was

Rodinia

Increasing levels of free atmospheric oxygen during the Proterozoic are indicated by

Increasing levels of iron sulphides in the sediments

The Ediacaran biota represents

the first forms of multicellular life

During the Cambrian, the Niagara region was a

shallow tropical sea

By the end of this period, all major fish groups and the first amphibians had evolved, and forests had formed; but web-spinning spiders, flying insects, ad reptiles had yet to appear. Known as the "Age of Fish", this period is the

Devonian

Crucial to the development of reptiles was the evolution of

an amniotic egg

Pelycosaurs and therapsids (ancestors of mammals) evolved during this period, which ended with profound mass extinction known as the "Great Dying". This period is the

Permian

During this period, Tyrannosaurus rex was a top predator, Triceratops was a common large three horned herbivore, and flowering plants had evolved. It was the

Cretaceous

The Cenozoic Era is known as the "Age of..."

Mammals

Canada is one of the world’s largest producers of this element, and the Manhattan Project was reliant on a Canadian supply. It is

uranium

The ingredients typically used in a blast furnace to smelt iron ore are

iron ore, limestone, coke

The primary target of the gold rush of 1849 in California was

placer deposits

Canada is a major exporter of aluminum, owing to hydroelectric power and an imported mineral formed by the extreme leaching of rocks. This mineral is

bauxite

Drywall used in construction is mostly made from

gypsum

Regarding seismic waves, those BODY waves where particles of material move parallel to the direction of travel are called

P-waves

A modern seismograph consists of an electrical coil surrounded by a heavy magnet. The coil is firmly fixed to a frame that is bolted to the bedrock, and the heavy magnet is suspended from the frame by springs. During an earthquake, which components actually move?

Only the frame

A mountain belt is termed a(n)

orogen

In the field, a flat but tilted plane intersected by an imaginary horizontal plane produces a line known as a

strike line

The first person to describe fossils in detail under the microscope was

Robert Hooke

The co-discoverer (with Charles Darwin) of evolution by natural selection was

Alfred Russel Wallace

The development of coal swamps in North America and Europe, a major evolution of flying insects, and first appearance of web-spinning spiders and reptiles, are all associated with

Carboniferous

The earliest birds had taken to the skies which they shared with flying reptiles, reptiles such as Ichthyosaurus were top predators in the seas, huge sauropod dinosaurs had evolved by the end of the period, but flowering plants had yet to appear. This was the

Jurassic

An iridium-rich layer of clay, glass spherules, and shocked quartz grains strongly suggest that the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary extinctions were at least partly caused by

the impact of a large bolide/meteorite

Which is in the correct order for increasing coal rank?

Peat, lignite, bituminous coal, anthracite

Ancient metamorphic rocks exposed at the surface form a large area of Canada known as the

Canadian shield

Caused by shearing under elevated pressures and temperatures, this metamorphic rock forms deep along fault zones. It is a

mylonite

The distinct belt of metamorphic rock that forms around an igneous intrusion is called a metamorphic

aureole

Lava erupted underwater in multiple globular masses up to about 1m across is known as

pillow lava

A large volcano of low-angle slope whose structure comprises a series of basaltic flows is called a

shield volcano

A mudflow pyroclastic debris mixed with water is known as a

lahar

Flood basalts of the Snake River Plain (Idaho) and Columbia River basalt (Oregon) were caused by

explosive volcanism

A fault with no lateral displacement, in which the hanging wall block has moved downwards relative to footwall block, it is termed a

normal fault

The P-wave shadow zone on Earth occurs because

the outer core refracts the P-wave towards it

An example of ductile deformation is

intricate flow-like folding in marble

In 1669 he wrote the "Prodromus" that explained how fossils were the remains of once-living creatures that had subsequently been incorporated into sediment. He was

Nicholas Steno

The aragonite shell of a bivalve will change to calcite with time. This process is known as

recrystallization

Plotting the numbers of genera of organisms against time for the past 500 million years shows

an overall increase in genera, interrupted by brief but major drops in numbers of genera

He used calculations from the Bible and from astronomical cycles to date the creation of the world at October 23, 4004 B.C. His name was

James Ussher

In scientific literature, the name of the following species is printed as

Archaeopteryx lithographica (In italics)

A crystal of zircon is found to contain one quarter of 235U and three quarters of 207Pb. Knowing that 235U has a half life of 713 million years, and that it decays directly to 207Pb with no subsequent loss of either isotope

The crystal is 1426 million years old

Greenstone belts are common in Archean cratons. The greenstone within these belts represents

metamorphosed oceanic crust

The Ediacaran fauna represents

the first fossils with hard parts

The beginning of the Cambrian is first marked by

rapid diversification of organisms with hard parts

These mounds of alternating mud and cyanobacteria, found living today in shallow waters of Australia, first appeared in the Precambrian. They are called

stromalites

The fragments of supercontinent Rodinia came together to form a new supercontinent towards the end of the Precambrian. This new supercontinent was known as

Pannotia

Which one of the following statements is FALSE?
a. Canada is an important source of diamonds
b. Sudbury, Ontario, is one of the world’s major producers of nickel
c. Pyrite is an important source of iron ore
d. Manganese precipitates today as nodules on the sea floor
e. Sulphides form as “chimneys” on the sea floor due to hydrothermal activity

c. Pyrite is an important source of iron ore

Which one of the following statements is TRUE a. A source rock derived from marine plankton produces both oil and gas b. An oil reservoir is a large underground lake of oil c. A gas hydrate comprises CO2 dissolved in water, and appears as a white icy material in sediment d. The oil sands of Alberta yield high quality oil that commands a high profit margin e. Shale oil and gas in the USA is likely to run out in the next 5 years

a. A source rock derived from marine plankton produces both oil and gas

Which one of the following statements is FALSE?
a. The ice-core record is one of the most valuable records of modern climate change
b. Fission tracks in volcanic glass are caused by spontaneous fission of 238U
c. At least one species of mollusc can live to be hundreds of years old
d. The Earth’s heat is entirely inherited from our planet’s early formation
e. Bertram Boltwood produced the first reliable radiometric dates

e. Bertram Boltwood produced the first reliable radiometric dates

Which one of the following statements is TRUE? a. Deposits having exceptional fossil preservation are known as bitterstätten b. Chalk can be composed almost entirely of microfossils c. Aerobic conditions and slow burial are usually favorable for preservation of fossils d. The Burgess Shale of British Columbia contains fossils of the earliest known bird e. Amber is fossilized sap from a tree

b. Chalk can be composed almost entirely of microfossils

Which one of the following is TRUE? a. Seismic stratigraphy, as used in the oil industry, utilizes natural earthquakes to image the fine structure of strata beneath the surface b. Hawai is too far away from a continent to be affected by a tsunami c. Seismic waves travel faster through sandstone than through peridotite d. The Earth’s mantle shows a stepwise change in seismic velocity with increasing depth e. During refraction, seismic rays bend away from the slower medium

c. Seismic waves travel faster through sandstone than through peridotite

Which one of the following statements is TRUE? a. A receding sea may signal the imminent arrival of a tsunami b. A tsunami may result from an unusually high tide c. A tsunami’s amplitude decreases as it enters shallow water d. A tsunami speeds up as it enters shallower water e. A tsunami usually results from transform faulting of the sea floor

a. A receding sea may signal the imminent arrival of a tsunami

Regarding earthquakes, which one of the following is TRUE? a. A six (6) on the moment magnitude scale is twice as powerful as a five (5) b. Only shallow-focus earthquakes occur at spreading ridges c. The Himalayas no longer have earthquakes d. Only shallow-focus earthquakes occur in the area around Japan e. The margins of the Pacific Ocean are mostly seismically inactive

b. Only shallow-focus earthquakes occur at spreading ridges

Which one of the following statements is TRUE a. A mature sandstone can make a good reservoir rock b. An oil reservoir is a large underground lake of oil c. A gas hydrate comprises CO2 dissolved in water, and appears as a white icy material in sediment d. The oil sands of Alberta yield high quality oil that commands a high profit margin e. Shale oil and gas in the USA is likely to run out in the next 5 years

a. A mature sandstone can make a good reservoir rock

Which one of the following statements is FALSE? a. Crinoids are sea lilies and are related to sea urchins b. Bryozoans are colonial organisms c. Graptolites have shells divided into two dissimilar halves d. Trilobites are arthropods divided lengthwise into three parts. e. Bivalves have shells divided into two similar halves

c. Graptolites have shells divided into two dissimilar halves

Which one of the following statements is FALSE a. The first orogeny of the Appalachian Mountains was the Grenville orogeny b. The western margin of Canada was formed by accretion of exotic terranes c. Gentle deformation of a craton is known as an epeirogeny d. In crustal dynamics, the process where buoyancy pushes up and gravity pulls down is isostacy e. Brock University is on the Canadian Shield

a. The first orogeny of the Appalachian Mountains was the Grenville orogeny

Which one of the following statements is FALSE? a. A receding sea may signal the imminent arrival of a tsunami b. A tsunami may result from a volcanic eruption c. A tsunami’s amplitude increases as it enters shallow water d. A tsunami speeds up as it enters shallower water e. A tsunami may result from normal faulting of the sea floor

d. A tsunami speeds up as it enters shallower water

Which ONE of the following statements is TRUE? a. Volcanism is presently known only on planet Earth b. Gases are rarely associated with volcanic eruptions c. A nuée ardente is a rapidly-flowing river of lava d. Tephra is a general term for unconsolidated debris erupted from volcanoes e. Vesuvius is the largest volcanic eruption ever documented on Earth

d. Tephra is a general term for unconsolidated debris erupted from volcanoes

Which one of the following statements is TRUE of basaltic lava? a. Its eruption is usually non-explosive b. It erupts at relatively low temperatures c. Its silica content is relatively high d. It flows at low speeds and over short distances e. Its viscosity is relatively high

a. Its eruption is usually non-explosive b. It erupts at relatively low temperatures

Which one of the following is TRUE? a. Sediment liquefaction was responsible for the devastation of Turnagain Heights, Alaska, during the earthquake of 1964. b. It is not possible to engineer buildings to improve their resilience against earthquakes. c. A deep earthquake caused by subduction devastated San Francisco (USA) in 1912. d. Love waves cause the Earth’s surface to bounce up and down. e. The Trans-Alaska pipeline was routed so as not to cross any seismically active areas.

e. The Trans-Alaska pipeline was routed so as not to cross any seismically active areas.

The Wadati-Benioff zone reflects a. rocks accumulating in an accretionary prism b. earthquakes along the inclined plane of a subducting plate c. the distribution of earthquakes around the Atlantic Ocean d. crushed and pulverized rock along any fault system e. lateral movement along a transform plate margin

b. earthquakes along the inclined plane of a subducting plate