Earth Science 2

25 July 2022
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80 test answers

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question
What is the principal source of energy for the hydrologic cycle?
answer
the sun
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Where is the majority of the water stored in the hydrosphere?
answer
the oceans
question
The release of water vapor to the atmosphere by plants is called ________.
answer
transpiration
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Which one of the following statements is correct?
answer
Sea level drops when water is stored in expanding ice sheets and continental glaciers.
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Which of the following is NOT part of the water cycle?
answer
calcium carbonate dissolving in soil water and groundwater
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More water is evaporated from the ocean than is returned to the ocean by precipitation.
answer
true
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Which of the following factors does not influence how much water soaks into the ground?
answer
temperature
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Which of the following is the correct definition of stream gradient?
answer
the drop in elevation of a stream divided by the distance the water travels
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Which one of the following factors does NOT influence stream velocity?
answer
discharge
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If you were to examine the profile of a typical river, you would probably find that the gradient is ________.
answer
steepest near the head
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Examine the words and/or phrases for the question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.
answer
capacity
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Gradients usually decrease downstream in a major river system.
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true
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Stream discharge is defined as the quantity of water flowing past a specific channel location per unit time.
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true
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The Mississippi River is North America's largest river in terms of discharge.
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true
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If two streams are identical in every respect except for gradient, the stream with the higher gradient would have the greater velocity.
answer
true
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In a river, what happens to the channel size and discharge downstream?
answer
Both channel and discharge size increase
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________ make up the suspended loads of most rivers and streams.
answer
Silt and clay-sized, detrital grains
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________ describes the total sediment load transported by a stream.
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capacity
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The suspended load of a stream ________.
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usually consists of fine particle
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________ generally constitutes the highest percentage of the annual sediment load moved by a stream.
answer
suspended load
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The single most important erosional agent is ________.
answer
running water
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The capacity of a stream measures the maximum size of particles it is capable of transporting.
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false
question
Alluvium refers to stream deposits, mainly sand and gravel.
answer
true
question
What do geologists investigate if they are interested in a stream's bed load?
answer
heavy particles that move along the bottom of the stream
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A natural, meandering, river channel is modified into a more or less straight and smooth, canal-like channel. Which of the following statements is correct?
answer
The natural channel had a lower gradient and higher friction than the straight channel.
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At a bend in a river, the main erosion is ________.
answer
on the outside of the bend
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________ is an abandoned, cutoff, meander loop.
answer
An oxbow
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Point bars are depositional features located along the outer portions of meander bends.
answer
false
question
What is another name for the zone of active erosion in an alluvial stream channel?
answer
the cut bank
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Which of the following must result in a lower base level for rivers and streams?
answer
sea level falls; land rises
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The lowest base level for most streams is sea level.
answer
true
question
One river can be the base level for another.
answer
true
question
Downcutting (also known as rejuvenation) of a stream may be due to ________.
answer
uplift of land
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________ are characteristics of downcutting streams and a youthful stage of valley evolution.
answer
Rapids and lots of whitewater
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A V-shaped valley and no floodplain indicate a youthful, downcutting stream.
answer
true
question
Why are wetlands at the mouth of the Mississippi River disappearing?
answer
levee construction, river channelization, dam building
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At the head of a delta, the major channel splits into smaller channels that follow different paths to the sea. These smaller channels are known as ________.
answer
distributaries
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A natural levee is ________.
answer
both a depositional feature and essentially parallel to its stream channel
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Which of the following features characterize meandering streams and valleys?
answer
natural levees; broad floodplains
question
Examine the words and/or phrases for the question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern
answer
Cut pattern
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A ________ stream pattern is developed only on growing mountains like volcanoes or where the land surface is tectonically doming upward.
answer
Radial
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A ________ stream pattern develops on lands underlain by alternating bands of resistant and less-resistant rock.
answer
trellis
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The most common drainage pattern is ________.
answer
dendritic
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A ________ drainage pattern is common in areas where the bedrock is criss-crossed by a series of joints and/or faults.
answer
rectangular
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Examine the words and/or phrases
answer
floodpains
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Today, what type of flood control do many scientists and engineers advocate?
answer
a nonstructural approach
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As a form of flood control, ________ involves altering a stream channel to speed the flow of water to prevent it from reaching flood height.
answer
channelization
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Creating artificial cutoffs increases stream velocity.
answer
true
question
Floods are the least destructive of all geologic hazards.
answer
false
question
A stream begins at an elevation of 200 meters and flows a distance of 400 kilometers to the ocean. What is the average gradient?
answer
0.5 m/km
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Permeable rock strata or sediment that transmit groundwater freely are called ________.
answer
aquifers
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________ is the volume of voids or open space in a rock or unconsolidated material.
answer
Porosity
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The water table is ________.
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a boundary between saturated rock below and unsaturated rock above
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Caves most commonly form in ________.
answer
limestone
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Examine the words and/or phrases for the question below and determine the relationship the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.
answer
aquitard
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Porosity is a measure of the volume of open space in rocks and unconsolidated geological materials such as alluvium and soils.
answer
true
question
As its name implies, the water table is always very level (flat).
answer
false
question
Hot springs are most numerous in which region of the United States?
answer
west
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Which of the following best describes how geysers erupt?
answer
With a slight reduction in pressure, water in a saturated, natural conduit suddenly boils, sending a plume of steam and hot water into the air above the vent.
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Most hot springs in the United States are located in the southeast, especially Georgia.
answer
false
question
The source of heat for most hot springs is hot igneous material beneath the surface.
answer
true
question
When water is pumped from a well, a depression is often produced in the water table. Such a depression is a(n) ________.
answer
cone of depression
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Lowering of the water table around a pumping well results in a cone of infiltration.
answer
false
question
Which one of the following concerning artesian wells is NOT true?
answer
When the well penetrates the aquifer, the water rises to the bottom of the aquitard above the aquifer.
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An artesian well is one in which ________.
answer
water rises above the top of the aquifer without any pumping
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For a well to be characterized as being artesian, water must flow freely at the surface.
answer
false
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Which of the following situations is closely linked to land subsidence?
answer
pumping groundwater for irrigation
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________ would have the largest capacity to naturally remove sewage pollutants.
answer
slightly clayey sand
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One environmental problem associated with groundwater is land subsidence caused by withdrawal.
answer
true
question
How do stalactites form?
answer
Stalactites form on the roof of a cave from the deposition of calcium carbonate by dripping water.
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Which of the following is associated with areas of karst topography?
answer
all of these
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A ________ is the icicle-like speleothem that grows down from the roof of a cavern.
answer
stalactite
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The term karst topography was first used in ________.
answer
the Republic of Slovenia, a province of the former Yugoslavia
question
Examine words, one that doesn't fit
answer
stalagmite stalactite sinkhole soda straw Sinkhole
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Most caves and caverns originate by solution of limestone.
answer
true
question
The formation of stalactites and stalagmites occurs in the zone of saturation.
answer
false
question
Karst topography is most commonly associated with areas underlain by massive sandstone strata.
answer
false
question
Sinkholes are actively forming in portions of the southeastern United States.
answer
true
question
The world's largest river in terms of discharge is the ________.
answer
Amazon
question
As stream discharge increases ________.
answer
velocity, width, and depth increase