1. El Nino climate effects are caused by: A) abnormally warm water in the equatorial Pacific; B) abnormally cold water beneath the Arctic ice cap; C) melting of the Arctic ice cap; D) greenhouse gases; E) volcanic ash in the stratosphere.

2. Exfoliation, a type of mechanical weathering, occurs because of: A) hydrolysis; B) dissolution of the mica minerals; C) pressure release due to unloading; D) expansion of salt crystals; E) abrasion.

3. The difference between a breccia and a conglomerate is: A) particle size; B) particle shape; C) color; D) quartz/calcite ratio; E) mineral composition..

4. Which of the following types of rocks can become metamorphic rocks: A) sedimentary rocks only; B) sedimentary or igneous rocks only; C) limestone only; D) sedimentary or metamorphic rocks only; E) any rock.

5. The age of the earth has been determined by measuring radioactive and radiogenic isotopes in: A) limestones; B) oceanic basalts; C) gneiss; D) continental granites; E) meteorites.

6. "La Nina" describes years when ________: A) the Indian ocean in abnormally warm; B) climate is normal; C) the Atlantic ocean is abnormally warm; D) the climate has opposite extremes of El Nino years; E) the Arctic ice cap recedes.

7. A variety of evidence suggests that a large meteorite hit the earth at the boundary between the: A) Precambrian and Paleozoic; B) Mesozoic and Cenozoic; C) Precambrian and Mesozoic; D) Paleozoic and Cenozoic; E) none of the preceding.

8. In the cross section below, what is the order of increasing age of the rocks (youngest to oldest)? A) schist, basalt, granite; B) granite, schist, basalt; C) basalt, schist, granite; D) basalt, granite, schist; E) schist, granite, basalt.

9. In the diagram above, the basalt is in an intrusive body called a _______: A) pluton; B) pahoehoe; C) sill; D) dike; E) batholith.

10. Which series shows the progression of rocks from original deposition to the highest grade of metamorphism: A) mud-gneiss-schist-slate-shale; B) mud-slate-schist-shale-gneiss; C) mud-shale-slate-schist-gneiss; D) mud-schist-gneiss-slate-shale; E) shale-mud-schist-slate-gneiss.

11. The fastest earthquake waves are _____ waves: A) P-; b) S-; C) Surface; D) Love; E) Sonic.

12. All unconformities result in part from: A) episodes of deformation; B) meteorite impacts; C) episodes of global sea level recession; D) episodes of non-deposition; E) episodes of global sea level rise.

13. Chemical weathering is likely to take place most quickly: A) in a hot, arid desert; B) in a cold, arid desert; C) beneath a glacier; D) in a tropical rainforest; E) at the poles.

14. Graphite recrystallizes to form diamond when _____ increases: A) temperature; B) carbon dioxide concentration; C) carbon monoxide concentration; D) pressure; E) the ascent velocity of magma.

15. Textures indicative of extreme shock in this mineral are evidence of meteor impact 66 million years ago: a) calcite; b) iridium; c) olivine; d) quartz; e) graphite.

16. A rock sample starts off with 2.0 gram of the radioactive isotope potassium-40. After two half-lives, the amount of potassium-40 remaining is: A) 0.75 gm; B) 0.5 gm; C) 0.33 gm; D) 0.25 gm; E) 0.125 gm.

17. The air in car tires typically has a pressure of 30 pounds/square inch. This pressure is the same as the stress made by a 120 pound women standing on a pole that is ____ square inches in area: A) 3600; B) 120; C) 40; D) 4; E) 1.

18. The picture below is a cross-section view of a: A) thrust fault; B) normal fault; C) right-lateral strike-slip fault; D) left-lateral strike-slip fault; E) none of the preceding.

19. The iridium-rich layer at the Mesozoic-Cenozoic boundary is unusual because: A) most of the earth’s iridium is in the core; B) most of the earth’s iridium is in sea water; C) the earth doesn’t have any iridium; D) the dinosaurs used up all the earth’s iridium; E) iridium is more abundant in metamorphic rocks.

20. Hot rocks, like those in the asthenosphere, deform mostly by ________ strain: A) earthquake; B) elastic; C) tectonic; D) plastic; E) fracture.

21. The oldest rocks yet found from the continental crust have radiogenic ages of approximately: A) 4.6 billion years; B) 4.0 billion years; C) 1.8 billion years; D) 4.6 million years; E) none of the preceding.

22. Strike-slip faults are most characteristic of ______ plate boundaries: A) continental collision; B) subduction zone; C) transform; D) continental rifts; E) divergent.

23. If a spherical rock is exposed to compressive stress and it undergoes elastic strain, after the stress is relieved the rock is: A) cigar-shaped; B) a sphere; C) pancake-shaped; D) normal-faulted; E) thrust-faulted.

24. The angle formed between a horizontal plane and tilted rock layers is called the: A) trend; B) azimuth; C) strike; D) recumbence; E) dip.

25. Arranging rocks in their order of emplacement is called: A) age dating; B) absolute dating; C) relative dating; D) geometric dating; E) paleontology.

26. Most block fault mountain ranges are due to what kind of stress? A) compressive; B) subduction; C) shear; D) tensional; E) transform.

27. At least __ seismic stations are required to locate the epicenter of an earthquake: A) 1; B) 2; C) 3; D) 5; E) 7.

28. Most of the earthquakes in the United States occur in California because California lies at a: A) continental rift; B) plate boundary; C) thrust fault; D) hotspot; E) craton.

29. A Richter magnitude 7 earthquake releases about __ times more energy than a magnitude 6: A) 1.2; B) 2; C) 4; D) 10; E) 30.

30. Most continents have an old craton in the middle surrounded by ________ orogenic belts: A) progressively younger; B) progressively older; C) hotspot-induced; D) rift-related; E) similar-aged.

31. What is the name of the process that converts feldspars to clays? A) hydrolosis; B) mechanical weathering; C) exfoliation; D) abrasion; E) oxidation.

32. El Nino and La Nina are most likely caused by: A) sunspots; B) volcanic activity; C) global warming/greenhouse effect; D) magma-dwelling organisms; E) no one really knows.

33. A sedimentary rock made mostly of calcite fossils is called a(n): A) sandstone; B) shale; C) granite; D) evaporite; E) limestone.

34. How can you tell contact metamorphism from regional metamorphism? A) you can see the crystals in a contact metamorphic rock but not in a regionally metamorphosed rock; B) regional metamorphic rocks are foliated; C) contact metamorphic rocks are associated with an intrusion D) they are impossible to tell apart; E) B and C.

35. Which of the following is not a rule used in relative dating? A) superposition; B) half-lives of different isotopes; C) original horizontality; D) inclusions; E) cross-cutting relations.

36. The principal danger of earthquakes to human life is: A) the giant ground cracks that form; B) after shocks; C) the global warming that they cause; D) the collapse of structures; E) when the epicenter is deep.

37. El Nino generally causes _______ in western South America and ________ in Australia: A) earthquakes, eruptions; B) eruptions, earthquakes; C) flooding, drought; D) drought, flooding; E) impacts, extinctions.

38. A fold where the two limbs dip outward (away) from the axis is called a(n): A) monocline; B) thrust; C) normal; D) anticline; E) syncline.

39. The extinction of the dinosaurs is most likely due to: A) the impact of a meteorite; B) a giant eruption; C) a giant earthquake; D) high-tar cigarettes; E) none of the preceding.

40. In general, seismic hazards are greatest: A) in areas of lots of small earthquakes; B) in areas where much elastic strain is built up; C) in areas where little elastic strain is built up; D) at plate interiors; E) in areas of extensive plastic strain.