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2017 Fall Exam 1 Test A

  1. ~13.82 billion years ago, the Big Bang created the _____________ from a point source.

    • Universe

  1. Where did the heavier elements (like C, O, Si, Ca, Mg, K, and Fe) that make up the bulk of the Earth originate?

    • In very massive stars

  2. A very massive star may collapse and explode at the end of its life. This is a:

    • Supernova explosion

  1. Which is the best explanation for the formation of the moon?

    • A planetesimal the size of Mars struck the earth, ejecting large volumes of matter. A disk of orbiting material was formed, and this matter eventually condensed to form the Moon in orbit around the Earth

  1. Which of the following best describes the material that makes up the Earth's asthenosphere?

    • a rigid solid

  1. The lithosphere is made up of the uppermost mantle and the

    • Crust

  1. ________________ is thick (30 - 75 km), old (up to 4,400,000,000 years), composed of felsic (granitic) silicates, light (~2.7 g/cm3), and is highly deformed by folding

    • Continental crust

  1. Which is the thinnest physical (mechanical) layer of the Earth?

    • Lithosphere

  1. Approximately how old is the oldest oceanic crust?

    • 180,000,000 years

  1. The Earth’s core is composed mainly of

    • Iron

  1. The only layer of the Earth that is a liquid is the

    • Outer Core

  1. Which of the following principles CANNOT be used to determine the relative age of rocks?

    • Relativity

  1. An undeformed sedimentary layer is __________ than the layer above and ____________than the layer below.

    • older--- younger

  2. The cross sections of crust below represent two regions of sedimentary rock layers that have been altered. The sedimentary bedrock in both regions originally formed as ________________.

  • Horizontal layers

  1. The study of fossil succession allows ___________.

    • matching of similarly-aged rocks from different outcrops

  1. Which is the youngest feature in the figure below?

  • Dike A

  1. Which geologic principle was most useful in determining the answer in the preceding question?

    • Cross-Cutting Relationships

  1. A disconformity is ___________.

    • an erosional surface between horizontal sedimentary rocks

A

  1. Which of the following units is the youngest?

    • A

  1. George Geologist finds that unit F contains eroded pieces of granite (unit G). Which of the following statements is true?

    • Unit F is younger than unit G

  1. The horizontal line labeled X-X' is a(n) ________ .

  2. Fault

  3. Angular unconformity

  4. Nonconformity

  5. Disconformity

  1. ___________________ was a classical and biblical scholar who created a careful and critical chronology of human history, including the date of the Creation of the Earth (4004 BC).

  2. James Ussher

  3. Edmond Halley

  4. George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

  5. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

  6. Ernest Rutherford

  1. Who actually figured out that radioactive decay can be used to date rocks?

  2. James Ussher

  3. Edmond Halley

  4. George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

  5. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

  6. Ernest Rutherford

  1. Which of the following represents the longest time period?

  2. Precambrian (name collectively given to Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic eons)

  3. Mesozoic

  4. Cenozoic

  5. Paleozoic

  1. You live in the ________________ era.

  2. Cenozoic

  3. Mesozoic

  4. Paleozoic

  5. Phanerozoic

  1. Tyrannosaurus Rex lived during the Upper Cretaceous period (roughly 100-66 Ma ago) in the ________________era.

  2. Cenozoic

  3. Mesozoic

  4. Paleozoic

  5. Phanerozoic

  1. Both you and Tyrannosaurus Rex live (lived in the case of T-Rex…) in the _____________ eon.

  2. Hadean

  3. Archean

  4. Hadean

  5. Phanerozoic

  1. ______________ describes two atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers.

  2. solid solution

  3. polymorphism

  4. isotopes

  5. isomorphs

  1. Atoms of AA decay to atoms of BB with a half-life of 100,000 years. If there are 20,000 atoms of AA to begin with (and 0 atoms of BB), how long will it take for there to be 2,500 atoms of AA? Hint- how many half-lives have elapsed?

  2. 100,000 years

  3. 200,000 years

  4. 300,000 years

  5. 400,000 years

  1. Which of the following radioactive isotopes is most useful for dating a very young sample (<20,000 years) of wood?

  2. rubidium-87

  3. uranium-238

  4. carbon-14

  5. potassium-40

  6. Silicon-28

  1. Which of the following is NOT one of the several naturally occurring radioactive isotopes useful for dating rocks?

  2. Uranium-238

  3. Uranium-235

  4. Potassium-40

  5. Silicon-28

  6. Rubidium-87

  1. Radiometric dating is possible if a rock contains a measurable amount of ________ .

  2. only parent isotopes

  3. only daughter isotopes

  4. both parent and daughter isotopes

  5. either parent or daughter isotopes

  1. Uranium-238 decays to which of the following daughter isotopes?

  2. rubidium-87

  3. uranium-235

  4. lead-206

  5. nitrogen-14

  1. Which of the following is the correct order from LONGEST to SHORTEST time span?

  2. Period, era, eon

  3. Era, eon, period

  4. Eon, era, period,

  5. Period, eon, era

  6. Era, period, eon

  1. Who proposed Continental Drift?

  2. Harry Hess

  3. Alfred Wegener

  4. Sam Warren Carey

  5. William Smith

  1. The supercontinent in the Continental Drift hypothesis was called ___________

  2. Gondwana

  3. Laurasia

  4. Pangaea

  5. Rodinia

  1. Which of the following was NOT used in support of the Continental Drift hypothesis?

  2. fossil evidence

  3. ancient climate belts

  4. fit of the continents  (particularly South America and Africa)

  5. paleomagnetism

  1. The map below shows the present-day locations of South America and Africa. Remains of Mesosaurus, an extinct reptile, have been found in similarly aged bedrock at locations X and Y. Which statement represents the most logical conclusion to draw from this evidence?

  1. Mesosaurus migrated across the ocean from location X to location Y

  2. Mesosaurus came into existence on several widely separated continents at different times.

  3. The continents of South America and Africa were joined when Mesosaurus lived.

  4. The present climates at locations X and Yare similar

  1. __________________ are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion.

  2. Striations

  3. Tills

  4. Sediments

  5. Breccias

  1. Evidence about ancient climates indicates that ____________.

  2. glacial ice once covered much of what is now India and Australia

  3. continents in the Northern Hemisphere today were once centered over the South Pole

  4. continents in the Southern Hemisphere today were once centered over the North Pole

  5. no continents occupied the Southern Hemisphere

  1. What was the main reason the Continental Drift hypothesis was rejected?

  2. The scientist who proposed it was not well liked by other scientists

  3. The scientist who proposed it could not provide a mechanism for the movement of the continents

  4. The evidence supporting Continental Drift was sketchy at best

  5. It did not coincide with Biblical accounts

  1. When did geologists develop the theory of plate tectonics?

  2. in the mid-1800’s

  3. in the early 1900’s

  4. in the 1940’s

  5. in the 1960’s

  1. According to the theory of plate tectonics, ____

  2. the asthenosphere is divided into plates

  3. the lithosphere is divided into plates

  4. __the a__sthenosphere moves over the lithosphere

  5. __the a__sthenosphere is strong and rigid

  1. In the plate tectonic theory, a plate can be made up of ____.

  2. continental lithosphere only

  3. oceanic lithosphere only

  4. both continental and oceanic lithosphere

  5. both continental and oceanic asthenosphere

  1. Which of the following statements about convection is true?

  2. Heat is transferred from hot material to cool material without inducing a flow.

  3. cool material flows upward and displaces hot material

  4. hot material flows upward and displaces cool material

  5. random circulation occurs

  1. Approximately how fast does a tectonic plate move?

  2. several millimeters per year

  3. several centimeters per year

  4. several meters per year

  5. several kilometers per year

  1. New seafloor is created at a ____________?

  2. deep-sea trench

  3. mid-ocean ridge

  4. subduction zone

  5. volcanic mountain chain

Use the figure below to answer the following questions:

http://dtc.pima.edu/blc/183/08

  1. What process is illustrated in the figure?

  2. __Su__bduction

  3. Sea floor spreading

  4. Destruction of old crust

  5. __M__etamorphism

  1. What do the stripes represent?

  2. Magnetic reversals

  3. Different types of sedimentary rocks

  4. Different colored basalts

  5. Different types of metamorphic rocks

  1. The descent of the oceanic lithosphere into the mantle is the process of ______.

  2. Accretion

  3. Subduction

  4. Divergence

  5. Contraction

  1. Which of the following features is not associated with a convergent plate boundary?

  2. a mid-ocean ridge

  3. __eart__hquakes

  4. a deep-sea trench zone

  5. __volc__anic activity

  1. Which of the following is a geographic example of a transform boundary?

  2. San Andreas Fault, California

  3. Andes Mountains, West Coast of South America

  4. Cascade Mountains, West Coast of North America

  5. Sunda Megathrust Fault, Indonesia

  1. An example of modern continental rifting (divergent plate boundary) is

  2. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge

  3. The East African Rift Valley

  4. The East Pacific Rise

  5. The Andes Mountains

  1. A _____________ plate boundary is illustrated in the figure below.

  2. Convergent

  3. Divergent (ocean-ocean)

  4. Divergent (continental rift)

  5. Transform

  1. Each element has a unique number of :

  2. Protons

  3. Neutrons

  4. Electrons

  5. All of these

  1. How many neutrons are in an atom of 6C12?

  2. 6

  3. 18

  4. 12

  5. Not enough information is given

  1. The atomic mass number of an element is the __________.

  2. number of protons

  3. number of neutrons

  4. number of protons plus neutrons

  5. number of electrons

  1. Atoms that have gained or lost electrons are no longer electrically neutral are called :

  2. Polymorphs

  3. Ions

  4. Isotopes

  5. Isobars

  1. H2 is an example of which type of bonding?

  2. Ionic

  3. Covalent

  4. Metallic

  5. Bail

  1. Which of the following is NOT included in the definition of a mineral?

  2. Naturally occurring

  3. Inorganic

  4. Solid substance

  5. Specific, orderly crystalline structure

  6. Variable chemical composition

  1. The two most abundant elements in the Earth's crust are _______________.

  2. calcium and carbon

  3. oxygen and nitrogen

  4. iron and nickel

  5. oxygen and silicon

  1. Most common rock-forming minerals are ______________.

  2. Silicates

  3. Carbonates

  4. Oxides

  5. Sulfides

  1. What is the most common structural element of the silicate mineral group?

  2. a silicon-oxygen octahedron

  3. a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron

  4. a silicon-aluminum tetrahedron

  5. a silicon-nitrogen tetrahedron

  1. Clay minerals are common examples of _________ silicate structures.

  2. 3D framework

  3. single chains

  4. 2D sheet silicates

  5. Independent tetrahedral

  1. What type of mineral is calcite (CaCO3)?

  2. carbonate

  3. single chain silicate

  4. double chain silicate

  5. ring silicate

  1. Magnetite (Fe3O4) is a member of which mineral group?

  2. Carbonates

  3. Halides

  4. Oxides

  5. Sulfides

  1. A(n) ______________ is a negatively charged element or element group such as Cl- or CO3 -2

  2. Anion

  3. Cation

  4. Radioactive ion

  5. Polymorph

  1. ________________ is/are the most common member of the silicate group, comprising more than 50% of Earth’s crust.

  2. Quartz

  3. Feldspars

  4. Micas

  5. Olivine

  1. Which of the following minerals does NOT belong to the Native Element mineral group?

  2. Gold

  3. Copper

  4. Silver

  5. Diamond

  6. Quartz

2017 Fall Exam 1 Test A

  1. ~13.82 billion years ago, the Big Bang created the _____________ from a point source.

    • Universe

  1. Where did the heavier elements (like C, O, Si, Ca, Mg, K, and Fe) that make up the bulk of the Earth originate?

    • In very massive stars

  2. A very massive star may collapse and explode at the end of its life. This is a:

    • Supernova explosion

  1. Which is the best explanation for the formation of the moon?

    • A planetesimal the size of Mars struck the earth, ejecting large volumes of matter. A disk of orbiting material was formed, and this matter eventually condensed to form the Moon in orbit around the Earth

  1. Which of the following best describes the material that makes up the Earth's asthenosphere?

    • a rigid solid

  1. The lithosphere is made up of the uppermost mantle and the

    • Crust

  1. ________________ is thick (30 - 75 km), old (up to 4,400,000,000 years), composed of felsic (granitic) silicates, light (~2.7 g/cm3), and is highly deformed by folding

    • Continental crust

  1. Which is the thinnest physical (mechanical) layer of the Earth?

    • Lithosphere

  1. Approximately how old is the oldest oceanic crust?

    • 180,000,000 years

  1. The Earth’s core is composed mainly of

    • Iron

  1. The only layer of the Earth that is a liquid is the

    • Outer Core

  1. Which of the following principles CANNOT be used to determine the relative age of rocks?

    • Relativity

  1. An undeformed sedimentary layer is __________ than the layer above and ____________than the layer below.

    • older--- younger

  2. The cross sections of crust below represent two regions of sedimentary rock layers that have been altered. The sedimentary bedrock in both regions originally formed as ________________.

  • Horizontal layers

  1. The study of fossil succession allows ___________.

    • matching of similarly-aged rocks from different outcrops

  1. Which is the youngest feature in the figure below?

  • Dike A

  1. Which geologic principle was most useful in determining the answer in the preceding question?

    • Cross-Cutting Relationships

  1. A disconformity is ___________.

    • an erosional surface between horizontal sedimentary rocks

A

  1. Which of the following units is the youngest?

    • A

  1. George Geologist finds that unit F contains eroded pieces of granite (unit G). Which of the following statements is true?

    • Unit F is younger than unit G

  1. The horizontal line labeled X-X' is a(n) ________ .

  2. Fault

  3. Angular unconformity

  4. Nonconformity

  5. Disconformity

  1. ___________________ was a classical and biblical scholar who created a careful and critical chronology of human history, including the date of the Creation of the Earth (4004 BC).

  2. James Ussher

  3. Edmond Halley

  4. George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

  5. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

  6. Ernest Rutherford

  1. Who actually figured out that radioactive decay can be used to date rocks?

  2. James Ussher

  3. Edmond Halley

  4. George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

  5. William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

  6. Ernest Rutherford

  1. Which of the following represents the longest time period?

  2. Precambrian (name collectively given to Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic eons)

  3. Mesozoic

  4. Cenozoic

  5. Paleozoic

  1. You live in the ________________ era.

  2. Cenozoic

  3. Mesozoic

  4. Paleozoic

  5. Phanerozoic

  1. Tyrannosaurus Rex lived during the Upper Cretaceous period (roughly 100-66 Ma ago) in the ________________era.

  2. Cenozoic

  3. Mesozoic

  4. Paleozoic

  5. Phanerozoic

  1. Both you and Tyrannosaurus Rex live (lived in the case of T-Rex…) in the _____________ eon.

  2. Hadean

  3. Archean

  4. Hadean

  5. Phanerozoic

  1. ______________ describes two atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers.

  2. solid solution

  3. polymorphism

  4. isotopes

  5. isomorphs

  1. Atoms of AA decay to atoms of BB with a half-life of 100,000 years. If there are 20,000 atoms of AA to begin with (and 0 atoms of BB), how long will it take for there to be 2,500 atoms of AA? Hint- how many half-lives have elapsed?

  2. 100,000 years

  3. 200,000 years

  4. 300,000 years

  5. 400,000 years

  1. Which of the following radioactive isotopes is most useful for dating a very young sample (<20,000 years) of wood?

  2. rubidium-87

  3. uranium-238

  4. carbon-14

  5. potassium-40

  6. Silicon-28

  1. Which of the following is NOT one of the several naturally occurring radioactive isotopes useful for dating rocks?

  2. Uranium-238

  3. Uranium-235

  4. Potassium-40

  5. Silicon-28

  6. Rubidium-87

  1. Radiometric dating is possible if a rock contains a measurable amount of ________ .

  2. only parent isotopes

  3. only daughter isotopes

  4. both parent and daughter isotopes

  5. either parent or daughter isotopes

  1. Uranium-238 decays to which of the following daughter isotopes?

  2. rubidium-87

  3. uranium-235

  4. lead-206

  5. nitrogen-14

  1. Which of the following is the correct order from LONGEST to SHORTEST time span?

  2. Period, era, eon

  3. Era, eon, period

  4. Eon, era, period,

  5. Period, eon, era

  6. Era, period, eon

  1. Who proposed Continental Drift?

  2. Harry Hess

  3. Alfred Wegener

  4. Sam Warren Carey

  5. William Smith

  1. The supercontinent in the Continental Drift hypothesis was called ___________

  2. Gondwana

  3. Laurasia

  4. Pangaea

  5. Rodinia

  1. Which of the following was NOT used in support of the Continental Drift hypothesis?

  2. fossil evidence

  3. ancient climate belts

  4. fit of the continents  (particularly South America and Africa)

  5. paleomagnetism

  1. The map below shows the present-day locations of South America and Africa. Remains of Mesosaurus, an extinct reptile, have been found in similarly aged bedrock at locations X and Y. Which statement represents the most logical conclusion to draw from this evidence?

  1. Mesosaurus migrated across the ocean from location X to location Y

  2. Mesosaurus came into existence on several widely separated continents at different times.

  3. The continents of South America and Africa were joined when Mesosaurus lived.

  4. The present climates at locations X and Yare similar

  1. __________________ are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion.

  2. Striations

  3. Tills

  4. Sediments

  5. Breccias

  1. Evidence about ancient climates indicates that ____________.

  2. glacial ice once covered much of what is now India and Australia

  3. continents in the Northern Hemisphere today were once centered over the South Pole

  4. continents in the Southern Hemisphere today were once centered over the North Pole

  5. no continents occupied the Southern Hemisphere

  1. What was the main reason the Continental Drift hypothesis was rejected?

  2. The scientist who proposed it was not well liked by other scientists

  3. The scientist who proposed it could not provide a mechanism for the movement of the continents

  4. The evidence supporting Continental Drift was sketchy at best

  5. It did not coincide with Biblical accounts

  1. When did geologists develop the theory of plate tectonics?

  2. in the mid-1800’s

  3. in the early 1900’s

  4. in the 1940’s

  5. in the 1960’s

  1. According to the theory of plate tectonics, ____

  2. the asthenosphere is divided into plates

  3. the lithosphere is divided into plates

  4. __the a__sthenosphere moves over the lithosphere

  5. __the a__sthenosphere is strong and rigid

  1. In the plate tectonic theory, a plate can be made up of ____.

  2. continental lithosphere only

  3. oceanic lithosphere only

  4. both continental and oceanic lithosphere

  5. both continental and oceanic asthenosphere

  1. Which of the following statements about convection is true?

  2. Heat is transferred from hot material to cool material without inducing a flow.

  3. cool material flows upward and displaces hot material

  4. hot material flows upward and displaces cool material

  5. random circulation occurs

  1. Approximately how fast does a tectonic plate move?

  2. several millimeters per year

  3. several centimeters per year

  4. several meters per year

  5. several kilometers per year

  1. New seafloor is created at a ____________?

  2. deep-sea trench

  3. mid-ocean ridge

  4. subduction zone

  5. volcanic mountain chain

Use the figure below to answer the following questions:

http://dtc.pima.edu/blc/183/08

  1. What process is illustrated in the figure?

  2. __Su__bduction

  3. Sea floor spreading

  4. Destruction of old crust

  5. __M__etamorphism

  1. What do the stripes represent?

  2. Magnetic reversals

  3. Different types of sedimentary rocks

  4. Different colored basalts

  5. Different types of metamorphic rocks

  1. The descent of the oceanic lithosphere into the mantle is the process of ______.

  2. Accretion

  3. Subduction

  4. Divergence

  5. Contraction

  1. Which of the following features is not associated with a convergent plate boundary?

  2. a mid-ocean ridge

  3. __eart__hquakes

  4. a deep-sea trench zone

  5. __volc__anic activity

  1. Which of the following is a geographic example of a transform boundary?

  2. San Andreas Fault, California

  3. Andes Mountains, West Coast of South America

  4. Cascade Mountains, West Coast of North America

  5. Sunda Megathrust Fault, Indonesia

  1. An example of modern continental rifting (divergent plate boundary) is

  2. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge

  3. The East African Rift Valley

  4. The East Pacific Rise

  5. The Andes Mountains

  1. A _____________ plate boundary is illustrated in the figure below.

  2. Convergent

  3. Divergent (ocean-ocean)

  4. Divergent (continental rift)

  5. Transform

  1. Each element has a unique number of :

  2. Protons

  3. Neutrons

  4. Electrons

  5. All of these

  1. How many neutrons are in an atom of 6C12?

  2. 6

  3. 18

  4. 12

  5. Not enough information is given

  1. The atomic mass number of an element is the __________.

  2. number of protons

  3. number of neutrons

  4. number of protons plus neutrons

  5. number of electrons

  1. Atoms that have gained or lost electrons are no longer electrically neutral are called :

  2. Polymorphs

  3. Ions

  4. Isotopes

  5. Isobars

  1. H2 is an example of which type of bonding?

  2. Ionic

  3. Covalent

  4. Metallic

  5. Bail

  1. Which of the following is NOT included in the definition of a mineral?

  2. Naturally occurring

  3. Inorganic

  4. Solid substance

  5. Specific, orderly crystalline structure

  6. Variable chemical composition

  1. The two most abundant elements in the Earth's crust are _______________.

  2. calcium and carbon

  3. oxygen and nitrogen

  4. iron and nickel

  5. oxygen and silicon

  1. Most common rock-forming minerals are ______________.

  2. Silicates

  3. Carbonates

  4. Oxides

  5. Sulfides

  1. What is the most common structural element of the silicate mineral group?

  2. a silicon-oxygen octahedron

  3. a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron

  4. a silicon-aluminum tetrahedron

  5. a silicon-nitrogen tetrahedron

  1. Clay minerals are common examples of _________ silicate structures.

  2. 3D framework

  3. single chains

  4. 2D sheet silicates

  5. Independent tetrahedral

  1. What type of mineral is calcite (CaCO3)?

  2. carbonate

  3. single chain silicate

  4. double chain silicate

  5. ring silicate

  1. Magnetite (Fe3O4) is a member of which mineral group?

  2. Carbonates

  3. Halides

  4. Oxides

  5. Sulfides

  1. A(n) ______________ is a negatively charged element or element group such as Cl- or CO3 -2

  2. Anion

  3. Cation

  4. Radioactive ion

  5. Polymorph

  1. ________________ is/are the most common member of the silicate group, comprising more than 50% of Earth’s crust.

  2. Quartz

  3. Feldspars

  4. Micas

  5. Olivine

  1. Which of the following minerals does NOT belong to the Native Element mineral group?

  2. Gold

  3. Copper

  4. Silver

  5. Diamond

  6. Quartz

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