Which of the following statements describe what happens to sediment when a longshore current meets a jetty?
answer
Sediment is deposited on the up-current side of a jetty and eroded on the down-current side of a jetty.
question
Which of the following describes the general pattern of movement of sand on a shoreline?
answer
The incoming waves push the sand onshore at an angle and the outgoing wave pulls the sand out perpendicular to the shore, resulting in a net movement that is parallel to the shore.
question
Of the following options, which is the most common type of chemical weathering in a desert?
answer
Oxidation, iron-bearing silicates can produce a rust-colored stain tinting the desert landscape.
question
What size sediment can be transported by wind?
answer
Sand, clay, silt
question
What does the term saltation refer to?
answer
The skipping and bouncing of sand grains along the surface
question
Most of the erosional work in a desert is done by
answer
running water
question
What characteristic defines deserts?
answer
a dry climate, more evaporation than precipitation
question
At what latitudes do the large-scale, atmospheric convection cells bring dry air downward toward the Earth's surface?
answer
Between 20-30° north and south
question
Deserts that lie outside of 20-30° north and south are most likely the result of
answer
the presence of a rainshadow
question
Precipitation occurs on the __________ of the mountain range, while the __________ is dry.
answer
windward side; leeward side
question
When air __________, it is compressed and warmed.
answer
sinks
question
Which of the following describes favorable conditions for transverse dune formation?
answer
Areas with steady prevailing winds and abundant sand
question
Which of the following is a difference between barchan and parabolic dunes?
answer
The tips of a parabolic dune point into the wind, while the tips of a barchan dune point downwind.
question
Barchanoid dunes are an intermediate form of
answer
barchan and transverse dunes
question
What are cross beds?
answer
Inclined layers in sediment or sedimentary rocks that reveal the direction of wave or wind transport
question
What do cross beds represent?
answer
The moving front of a ripple or dune
question
Why do desert dunes migrate?
answer
Wind erodes material on the back side of the dune and deposits it on the front side of the dune.
question
What size sediment can be transported by glaciers?
answer
All sediments sizes can be transported by glaciers
question
Which two regions currently contain the world's last remaining ice sheets?
answer
Antarctica and Greenland, Climate conditions support a glacier's growth
question
When was the last time North America had major ice sheets?
answer
18,000 years ago, the Wisconsin Episode Glaciation.
question
Which landform marks the furthest extent of an advancing glacier?
answer
Terminal moraine, This ridge of glacial debris will be the furthest one from the glacier's source.
question
What feature is responsible for creating eskers?
answer
Streams that flowed below, in, or on the glacier, glacial ice acts like a mold, trapping the stream's sediments to preserve the shape.
question
Which of the following is a characteristic of glacial till?
answer
The particles are often scratched and polished.
question
What is the term used for the pulverized rock produced by the grinding power of glacial ice?
answer
rock flour
question
Where do glaciers develop?
answer
on land only
question
Which part of a glacier will see the build-up of ice and snow over the course of a full year?
answer
The Zone of Accumulation is where ice and snow will build up over time.
question
How does a glacier lose ice through sublimation?
answer
Sublimation will convert solid ice to water vapor, particularly in dry regions, changes from solid to gas
question
Which of the following budget scenarios describes a glacial advance?
answer
More ice and snow accumulates than melts each year.
question
During a glacial retreat, a glacier will flow _____ while the terminus moves _____
answer
forward; backward. Glacial ice will always move forward, even when the terminus appears to be backing up.
question
A __________ is defined as a glacial lake within a cirque.
answer
tarn
question
What is a horn?
answer
Horns are peaks that have been eroded on all sides by glaciers.
question
How is an arête formed?
answer
This arête formed between two U-shaped glacial valleys.
question
Which of the following statements about relative and absolute age dating is most accurate?
answer
Relative age dating places rocks and events in chronological order but does not provide information about absolute age.
question
What is the principle of original horizontality?
answer
Sedimentary rocks are close to horizontal when deposited.
question
What is the principle of superposition?
answer
Within a sequence of rock layers formed at Earth's surface, rock layers lower in the sequence are older.
question
What is the principle of cross-cutting relationships?
answer
Geologic features that cut through rocks must form after the rocks that they cut through.
question
Five layers of rock are cut by two faults. Both faults cut through all five layers of rock. Fault A breaks through to the surface, whereas fault B does not. Which of the following statements about faults A and B is most accurate?
answer
Fault A is younger than fault B, and both are younger than the five layers of rock.
question
Which principle of relative age dating is important for determining the relative age of igneous rock that has intruded into overlying rock?
answer
the principle of cross-cutting relationships
question
A fault (F) breaks three layers of sedimentary rock (S). An igneous intrusion (I1) has broken through the bottommost layer of rock. A second igneous intrusion (I2) has moved up the fault and pooled on top of the uppermost layer of rock. Which event would be considered the youngest?
answer
The intrusion of I1 or I2 is the youngest event. Without more information, we cannot know which igneous rock is youngest.
question
A sandstone contains inclusions of metamorphic rock. An igneous dike cuts both the sandstone and inclusions. List the rocks from youngest to oldest.
answer
igneous dike, sandstone, metamorphic rock
question
If a sequence of sedimentary units is cut by a fault, what does the principle of cross-cutting relationships tell a geologist?
answer
All of the sedimentary units must have been deposited and lithified before being cut by the fault.
question
Which of the following describes the principle of original horizontality?
answer
Folded sedimentary layers were originally laid down flat and later deformed.
question
An undeformed sequence of sedimentary rocks is exposed in a large river canyon. Which two principles would be demonstrated by the rocks?
answer
principles of superposition and lateral continuity
question
An igneous dike cuts through limestone, but not through the overlying sandstone. Which of the following statements is most accurate?
answer
First, the limestone was laid down, then intruded by the igneous dike, and lastly the sandstone was deposited.
question
A(n) __________ exhibits sedimentary layers that are parallel to each other above and below an erosive surface.
answer
disconformity
question
Which of the following is an accurate description of a nonconformity?
answer
younger sedimentary strata overlie uplifted and weathered igneous or metamorphic rocks
question
The sedimentary layers above an erosive surface are __________ relative to all rocks present below the surface.
answer
younger
question
Which of the following is a common feature that all unconformities exhibit?
answer
erosive surface
question
Cretaceous limestone overlying Cambrian granite is an example of a(n) ____.
answer
nonconformity
question
Which of the following includes all common types of radioactive decay?
answer
alpha particle emission, beta particle emission, electron capture
question
Which of the following statements regarding radioactive decay is true?
answer
More daughter products accumulate over time.
question
If one half-life has lapsed, what is the radioactive parent to stable daughter isotope ratio?
answer
50:50
question
Radioactive decay in mineral shows that two half-lives have elapsed, giving an age of approximately 1.4 billion years. Using Table 9.1, what is the correct radioactive parent and stable daughter isotope pair?
answer
U235, Pb207
question
Which rock is best suited for radiometric dating?
answer
Granite
question
How is the atomic number of an atom determined?
answer
Counting the number of protons in the nucleus. The atomic number for carbon is 6 because it has 6 protons in the nucleus.
question
Which process is not a common form of natural radioactive decay?
answer
Nuclear fission occurs when the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei and neutrons are released. Slow and rare process; and only among high atomic number elements
question
Which material, principle, or process enables a method of numerical dating?
answer
Radioactivity. Using the decay rates of various radioactive elements, you can determine a numerical age for minerals in igneous rocks. The resulting date is called a "radiometric age."
question
Which is an example of radioactivity that occurs when a neutron is converted to a proton and an electron is emitted from the nucleus?
answer
Emission of a beta particle, An atom can undergo radioactive decay by the loss of an electron from the nucleus and the conversion of a neutron to a proton
question
After four half-lives of decay, what is the ratio of radioactive parent isotope to stable daughter isotope? In other words, what percent of parent isotope remains?
answer
1:15 (6.25% parent). After the passing of four half-lives, the amount of radioactive parent isotope left would be 1/15, or 6.66 percent, of the original amount and its age would be four times the value of the half-life.
question
A radioactive element undergoes decay via the loss of two alpha particles to form a stable daughter isotope. Following the decay, what would the atomic number of this newly created stable isotope be?
answer
The atomic number of the daughter isotope would be four less than the original parent isotope. An alpha particle consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons, the parent isotope would lose a total of 4 protons, causing the atomic number to decrease by 4.
question
Which subdivision of the geologic time scale represents the greatest expanse of time?
answer
eons
question
By studying rocks, especially _____, geologists can unravel the complexities of past environments.
answer
sedimentary rocks
question
Which of the following scenarios best describes the deformation that will occur in different parts of the crust?
answer
Brittle deformation is dominant in the shallow crust; ductile deformation is dominant in the deep crust. Temperatures are lower near to the surface, making the rock "cold" and more likely to shatter.
question
Which of the following is an example of how rocks will respond to compressional stress?
answer
reverse faulting & folding; Reverse faults occur when the landscape is shortened. Folding occurs when the landscape is shortened.
question
Which tectonic stress will result in a lengthening of the crust?
answer
Tensional stress pulls things apart.
question
How a rock in the deep crust would be deformed as a result of shear stress?
answer
The rocks are at depth, the rocks will distort, but not fracture.
question
Which type of stress on rock is uniform in all directions?
answer
Confining pressure; In situations such as deep burial, confining pressure exerts uniform stress in all directions.
question
Which type of stress produces most crustal deformation?
answer
Differential stress; The influence of stress in a single direction via tension, compression, or shearing produces the most deformation of crustal rocks.
question
Which feature is not considered a rock structure?
answer
Aa is a feature that occurs in lava when it is cooling and the surface is brittle, while it is in the process of flowing.
question
Which type of stress would you expect to find at a transform boundary?
answer
Where two plates are sliding horizontally past each other at a transform boundary, you would observe shear stress being exerted on the rocks.
question
Which type of stress would you expect to find at a divergent boundary?
answer
Where two plates are moving away from each other at a divergent boundary, you would observe tensional stress being exerted on the rocks. This would result in relatively thinner crust along the boundary.
question
Which fault will see the hanging wall move down relative to the footwall?
answer
Normal faults are created by tension, which will pull the landscape apart.
question
Which fault will see the hanging wall move up relative to the footwall?
answer
Reverse faults are created when the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall.
question
What kind of force would create the reverse fault?
answer
Compressional force creates reverse and thrust faults.
question
__________ faults combine elements of strike-slip and dip-slip motions.
answer
Oblique-slip movements will pull blocks apart as well slide them past each other.
question
The majority of all rock deformation on Earth occurs _____.
answer
at plate boundaries
Haven't found what you need?
Search for quizzes and test answers now
Quizzes.studymoose.com uses cookies. By continuing you agree to our cookie policy
