Natural Disasters exam 1
1. What provides the energy for the external processes (hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.) on Earth?
a. The Sun
b. The ocean
c. The atmosphere
d. The magnetic field of the Earth
e. The internal heat of the Earth
2. Which statement best compares natural hazards with natural disasters?
a. Natural hazards have affected humans over the past couple million years or so, whereas natural disasters have affected planet Earth over billions of years.
b. A natural hazard poses a threat to human life or property (i.e. has the potential to cause death and destruction), whereas a natural disaster actually results in a significant amount of death and destruction
c. Natural hazards refer only to earthquakes and volcanoes, whereas natural disasters refer to all natural processes that can cause death and destruction.
d. Natural disasters are caused entirely by people whereas Earth's natural processes cause natural hazards.
3. Which of the following states is NOT at risk for tropical cyclones (hurricanes)? Hint- it’s the state nowhere near a coast!
a. Florida
b. Louisiana
c. Texas
d. Mississippi
e. Idaho
4. Which of the following areas of the United States is NOT at risk for any natural disaster?
a. Los Angeles, CA
b. Atlanta, GA
c. Denver, CO
d. Stephenville, TX
e. All areas of the United States are at risk for some kind of natural disaster
5. __________________ occur as a result of the process itself, such as water damage during a flood.
a. Primary effects
b. Secondary effects
c. Tertiary effects
d. Personal effects
6. A small (EF1) tornado touches down in Stephenville. The damage is limited to the area just north of Tarleton, no one is seriously injured, and the response is handled entirely by local resources. This is example of a(n)
a. emergency
b. disaster
c. catastrophe
d. extinction-level event
7. A large (EF4) tornado touches down in Weatherford. 14 people are killed and a State of Emergency is declared. This is an example of a(n)
a. emergency
b. natural disaster
c. catastrophe
d. extinction-level event
8. Why do lightning strikes have a low potential for catastrophe?
a. Lightning is very rare in general.
b. Lightning doesn't normally hurt people.
c. Lightning doesn't usually affect people and property on a large scale.
d. It is incredibly easy to protect people and property from lightning strikes
9. Tornadoes belong to which natural hazard subgroup?
a. Geophysical
b. Meteorological
c. Hydrological
d. Climatological
e. Extraterrestrial
10. Snow Avalanches belong to which natural hazard subgroup?
a. Geophysical
b. Meteorological
c. Hydrological
d. Climatological
e. Extraterrestrial
11. _______________ refers to the way a hazard or disaster will affect human life and property.
a. Risk
b. Disaster
c. Vulnerability
d. Catastrophe
12. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti caused an extraordinarily high number of deaths for a magnitude 7 earthquake. Which factor did NOT play a role as to why there so many deaths?
a. Poverty
b. Construction style/building codes (or lack thereof)
c. Shallow sloping coastline allowed tsunami to surge far inland
d. High population density
13. Alfred Wegener proposed the_______________
a. Continental Drift Hypothesis
b. Theory of Plate Tectonics
c. Theory of Relativity
d. Theory of Seafloor Spreading
14. Alfred Wegener’s supercontinent was called ___________.
a. Panthalassa
b. Mesosaurus
c. Pangaea
d. Tethys
e. Trumpland
15. One line of evidence that supports Wegener’s hypothesis is that ____.
a. the same magnetic directions exist on different continents
b. major rivers (i.e. Amazon and Mississippi) on different continents match
c. land bridges connecting major continents still exist
d. absolutely identical fossils (i.e. Lystrosaurus, Mesosaurus, Cynognathus) have been found on continents that are now separated by oceans
16. What was the main reason Wegener’s hypothesis was rejected?
a. He was not well liked by American scientists because he was German
b. He could not explain how the continents moved
c. His evidence was incorrect
d. He was not a degreed geologist
17. When was the Theory of Plate Tectonics developed?
a. After the Civil War (Civil War ended in 1865)
b. After WWI (WWI ended in 1918)
c. After WII (WWII ended in 1945)
d. After the Vietnam War (Vietnam War ended 1975)
18. What is the importance of magnetic reversals to the Theory of Plate Tectonics?
a. they cause earthquakes
b. they provide evidence for seafloor spreading
c. they cause volcanic eruptions
d. they are associated with mass extinction events
19. What does Plate Tectonic Theory predict about the distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes?
a. They should be evenly distributed throughout the earth
b. They should occur primarily along plate boundaries
c. They should occur primarily in deep ocean basins
d. They should occur primarily on continents
20. Geologists tested the model of sea floor spreading by dating rocks from the ocean floor. The model successfully predicted that ocean rocks
a. get younger with increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge (i.e. oldest rocks found at spreading centers/mid-ocean ridges)
b. get older with increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge (i.e. youngest rocks found at spreading centers/mid-ocean ridges)
c. get older moving from south to north along the top of a mid-ocean ridge
d. show no particular pattern of age with respect to the mid-ocean ridges
21. Approximately how old is the oldest oceanic crust?
a. 6,000 years
b. 1,000,000 years
c. 180,000,000 years
d. 1.8 billion years
e. 4.54 billion years
22. Reversals of the Earth's magnetic polarity
a. occur with a regular periodicity; the next one will happen in 140 years.
b. have occurred in the past and represent times when the south magnetic pole was swapped in location with the north magnetic pole.
c. have occurred randomly in the past and represent times when the Earth turned upside-down
d. are a consequence of major earthquakes such as the 3/11/2011 M9.0 Tohoku, Japan Earthquake
23. Which of the following is TRUE about plate tectonics?
a. Explains that continents drift around the globe, whereas the oceanic crust does not move over geologic time
b. Explains that the Earth's crust is split into plates that float on a completely molten mantle.
c. It is a controversial idea that most geologists now think is incorrect.
d. Explains that the Earth's lithosphere is split into large pieces that move on top of a weak and hot layer called the asthenosphere.
24. As a result of seafloor spreading:
a. new ocean crust (seafloor) is generated at ridges to accommodate the spreading plates
b. continents attached to the plates on each side of the ridge slowly move apart
c. a record of paleomagnetic reversals is recorded in rocks that formed at the ridge
d. all of the above
25. Which of the following is true about the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
a. It is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean
b. It is a divergent boundary where tectonic plates move apart
c. It is a place where new lithosphere (ocean crust or seafloor)is created
d. It is a site of underwater volcanoes
e. All of these are true about the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
26. The surface expression of a mantle plume is an area of volcanism called a ________.
a. hot spot
b. cold spot
c. cinder cone
d. bolide
e. flame structure
27. Which of the following hazards would you expect to see at a transform plate boundary?
a. moderate strength earthquakes; effusive volcanic eruptions
b. very large earthquakes; explosive volcanic eruptions
c. very large (M 9+) shallow, intermediate, and deep earthquakes; no volcanoes
d. shallow earthquakes; no volcanoes
28. Which of the following hazards would you expect to see at a divergent plate boundary?
a. shallow, intermediate and deep earthquakes; volcanic eruptions
b. only shallow earthquakes; volcanic eruptions
c. shallow, intermediate, and deep earthquakes; no volcanoes
d. shallow earthquakes; no volcanoes
29. Which of the following hazards would you expect to see at a convergent plate boundary associated with a subduction zone?
a. shallow, intermediate and deep earthquakes; volcanic eruptions
b. only shallow earthquakes; volcanic eruptions
c. shallow, intermediate, and deep earthquakes; no volcanoes
d. shallow earthquakes; no volcanoes
30. Why aren't volcanoes associated with continent-continent convergence?
a. Continental plates are too buoyant to sink into the asthenosphere.
b. The continental plate isn't hot enough to cause volcanoes.
c. The melting point of continental crust is too high for the rocks to melt.
d. Rising magma from melted plates can't break through continental crust.
31. At an ocean-continent convergent margin (subduction zone), the (1) ________ plate always subducts beneath the (2) __________ plate because (3) ______________________.
a. (1) overriding (2) underriding (3) it is less dense
b. (1) continental (2) oceanic (3) it is thicker
c. (1) oceanic (2) overriding (3) it is more easily deformed
d. (1) oceanic (2) continental (3) it is denser
32. A volcanic island arc is a chain of volcanoes associated with (1) ______. An example is (2) _______.
a. (1) ocean-continent convergent plate boundaries (2) the Cascades
b. (1) ocean-ocean convergent plate boundaries (2) the Andes
c. (1) ocean-ocean convergent plate boundaries (2) Japan
d. (1) hotspots (2) the Himalayas
33. An example of where a new ocean basin (continental rift) is trying to form is:
a. the East Africa Rift Valley (Afar Triangle)
b. the mid-Atlantic ridge
c. the Eastern Snake River Plain
d. the Himalayas
34. The characteristic type of tectonic plate motion associated with a transform plate boundary is
a. plates move laterally past each other with horizontal motion.
b. plates move directly towards each other and one plate sinks deep into the mantle.
c. plates move directly towards each other and one plate slides beneath the other.
d. plates move directly away from each other.
35. Based on the analysis of GPS data and sampling of ocean crusts, a typical rate of seafloor spreading (and thus plate motion) is:
a. 5 cm/year
b. 5 cm/thousand years
c. 5 cm/million years
d. 5 cm/billion years
36. Which plate setting is associated with the following features: volcanic eruptions; magma rises from deep in the mantle; can produce a chain of extinct volcanoes with increasing distance from the active volcano? Yellowstone National Park and Hawaiian islands are geographic examples.
a. divergent plate boundary
b. convergent plate boundary
c. transform plate boundary
d. hotspot
37. If stress is not equal from all directions then the stress is a ______________________ stress
a. confining
b. differential
c. defining
d. equivalent
38. When a rock is subjected to increasing differential stress, it changes its size, shape, volume or location. Such a change is referred to as ___________
a. chronic stress
b. strain
c. seismicity
d. loading
e. fracturing
39. ______________________ stress results in shortening and thickening of rock bodies.
a. extensional
b. compressional
c. shear
d. confining
40. Which type of fault is this?
a. Normal
b. Reverse
c. Thrust
d. Strike slip
41. The three successive stages of deformation are
a. elastic deformation, plastic (or ductile) deformation, and rupture (or fracture)
b. tensional deformation, compressional deformation, and confining deformation
c. translational deformation, rotational deformation, and tangential deformation
d. slippage, rotational deformation, and breakage
42. What type of material is this?
a. brittle
b. ductile
c. shearing
d. sliding
e. translational
43. Which type of fault is this?
a. Normal
b. Reverse
c. Oblique-slip
d. Strike slip
44. An earthquake of magnitude 7 occurs along a major underwater transform (strike-slip) fault, but the tsunami risk is assessed as very low. Why?
a. The earthquake is not strong enough to cause a tsunami.
b. The earthquake does not last long enough to cause a tsunami.
c. The motion that occurs during the earthquake is primarily horizontal.
d. The motion that occurs during the earthquake sucks the water down rather than pushing it up.
45. Which type of fault is this?
a. left-lateral strike slip
b. right lateral strike slip
c. normal
d. reverse
e. blind
46. Which is the footwall block?
a. Block A
b. Block B
47. Shallow-focus earthquakes are found ________
a. only on Convergent Plate Boundaries
b. only on Divergent Plate Boundaries
c. only on Transform Fault Boundaries
d. on all plate boundaries and within the plates
48. Deep and ultra-deep focus earthquakes are found ________________
a. only at Subduction zones
b. only on Divergent Plate Boundaries
c. only on Transform Fault Boundaries
d. on all plate boundaries and within the plates
49. Which statement correctly describes the diagram?
a. Point 1 is the focus, Point 2 is the epicenter, and Line 3 is the fault.
b. Point 1 is the epicenter, Point 2 is the fault, and Line 3 is the focus.
c. Point 1 is the epicenter, Point 2 is the focus, and Line 3 is the fault.
d. Point 1 is the focus, Point 2 is the fault, and Line 3 is the epicenter.
50. Which of the following statements is FALSE about P-waves?
a. P-waves are the fastest of the waves.
b. P-waves can move through solid, liquids, or gases.
c. P-waves are a type of compressional wave that moves with a push/pull motion (like a slinky).
d. P-waves cause the most damage in an earthquake.
51. Which seismic waves are the last to reach a seismograph station?
a. P-waves
b. S-waves
c. Surface waves
d. All seismic waves travel at the same speed and therefore reach any seismograph station at the same time
52. What type of seismic wave is illustrated below?
a. P=wave
b. S-wave
c. Love wave
d. Rayleigh wave
53. According to elastic rebound theory, earthquakes occur when:
a. Stress is dissipated through tectonic plate motion
b. Strain on a fault is released abruptly as the fault ruptures
c. Convection in the mantle causes a transform fault to form
d. A seismic gap builds up on a fault due to motion at an epicenter
54. The distance to the epicenter of an earthquake is found by
a. locating the area where most of the damage is centered.
b. comparing the arrival times of the P- and S-waves (first arrival of P-waves vs. first arrival of S-waves ).
c. comparing the magnitudes of the same seismic wave at different locations.
d. measuring the frequencies of seismic waves at different stations.
55. What is the difference between earthquake intensity and magnitude?
a. Only strong earthquakes have intensity; weak earthquakes have magnitude and intensity.
b. Intensity refers to the degree of shaking at a given location, while magnitude refers to the amount of energy released by the earthquake.
c. magnitude refers to the degree of shaking, while intensity refers to the amount of energy released.
d. Only weak earthquakes have intensity; strong earthquakes have magnitude and intensity.
56. Compared to an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 2.0, an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 3.0
a. Releases 2 times more energy
b. Releases 32 times more energy
c. Releases half as much energy
d. Generates twice as many P and S waves
57. In general, there is more ground shaking from an earthquake when
a. the earthquake’s focus/hypocenter is shallow
b. the earthquake’s focus/hypocenter is deep
58. Mexico City was built on mud deposits. How will this affect the earthquake hazard there?
a. Earthquakes will be dampened (less shaking) there.
b. There will not be any earthquakes there.
c. Earthquakes shaking will be increased.
d. The ground will be susceptible to supershear, which will cause sonic booms that increase damage.
59. Strong earthquakes have been felt in Southeast Missouri, what causes these earthquakes?
a. Dip-slip faults from subduction
b. Strike-slip faults from a transform plate boundary
c. Megathrust earthquakes from a divergent plate boundary
d. These are intraplate earthquakes caused by ancient failed rifts
60. ________________________ are the site of the largest earthquakes (megathrust earthquakes)
a. Divergent plate boundaries
b. Convergent plate boundaries (subduction zones)
c. Transform plate boundaries
d. Hot spots
61. Which of the following is NOT an effect of earthquakes? In other words, earthquakes cause all of the following except _________)
a. Ground rupture
b. Liquefaction
c. Volcanic Eruptions
d. Fires
62. Which of the following hazards from an earthquake can threaten areas that may not be close enough to feel shaking? For example, this could threaten Hawaii after an earthquake in Japan.
a. Fires
b. Elevation changes
c. Tsunami
d. Liquefaction
63. Which kind of material would be prone to liquefaction during an earthquake?
a. Water-saturated sandy soil
b. Dry compacted clay
c. Sedimentary rock with horizontal layering
d. Volcanic rock that is very porous
64. Which of the following human activities is NOT known to cause earthquakes?
a. Underground nuclear explosions
b. Injecting liquid waste deep into the ground
c. Building a water reservoir
d. Excavating large amounts of materials to make new TSU buildings
65. Which of the following is NOT used to in the short-term prediction of earthquakes?
a. Pattern and frequency of earthquakes
b. Deformation of ground surface
c. Seismic gaps along faults
d. Geophysical and Geochemical changes
e. Gravitational attraction between the Moon and the Earth
66. Which of the following is NOT a practical way for communities to deal with the earthquake hazard?
a. retrofit old buildings
b. enact building codes for new construction
c. educate people on what to do during an earthquake
d. avoid living in an area where there are any earthquakes
67. Which of the following is the most realistic approach to minimizing earthquake hazards?
a. Publicize any prediction and immediately evacuate cities near the earthquake zone
b. Require any city near a plate boundary to be relocated
c. Bolt together each side of a fault to prevent future earthquakes
d. Legislate strict building codes that require strong and flexible buildings
68. If you live in Los Angeles, which of the following should you do?
a. have your home evaluated by a structural engineer
b. secure large objects
c. make a personal plan of how to react to a quake
d. if you experience an earthquake, leave the building AFTER the shaking stops
e. all of the above
69. Does a standard homeowner’s insurance policy cover earthquake damage?
a. Yes
b. No
70. After graduation from TSU, you stock up on umbrellas and move to the Seattle area. While house hunting, what type of house should you look for? Remember, "Earthquakes don't kill people, buildings do."
a. A brick (masonry) house
b. A concrete house
c. A stone house
d. A wood house
e. A super-cute house (who cares about construction?) in a wonderful neighborhood (location, location, location!)
71. What is the purpose of the plywood (arrow) in the construction of this house?
a. Bracing
b. Infilling
c. Framing
d. Buttressing
e. Isolation
72. Why are earthquakes less common in seismic gaps?
a. The rock on either side of the fault in a seismic gap is locked and stores rather than releases energy.
b. The rock on either side of the fault is softer than the surrounding rock and flows as strain builds up in it.
c. Seismic gaps are areas that experienced many earthquakes in the past, weakening the fault and preventing future earthquakes.
d. Seismic gaps are surrounded by thicker lithosphere, preventing the buildup of strain and the earthquakes that result.
Answers:
1. A
2. B
3. E
4. E
5. A
6. A
7. B
8. C
9. B
10. C
11. C
12. C
13. A
14. C
15. D
16. B
17. C
18. B
19. B
20. B
21. C
22. B
23. D
24. D
25. E
26. A
27. D
28. B
29. A
30. A
31. D
32. C
33. A
34. A
35. A
36. D
37. B
38. B
39. B
40. A
41. A
42. B
43. B
44. C
45. A
46. A
47. D
48. A
49. C
50. D
51. C
52. D
53. B
54. B
55. B
56. B
57. A
58. C
59. D
60. B
61. C
62. C
63. A
64. D
65. E
66. D
67. D
68. E
69. B
70. D
71. B
72. A
