Where do most active geologic processes, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain-building, occur? A) at ocean-continent boundaries; B) near plate boundaries; C) at hotspots; D) at transform faults; E) on the continents.
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.
If a rock starts with no radiogenic daughter isotopes, after 2 half-lives, what is the ratio of the radioactive parent isotope to the radiogenic daughter isotope (parent/daughter)? A) 3; B) 2; C) 1/2; D) 1/4; E) none of the preceding (answer is 1/3).
Why is the iridium-rich layer at the Mesozoic-Cenozoic boundary unusual? 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.
Radioactive dating of what material is used to deduce the age of the earth? A) old gneisses in Missouri; B) basalts in Greenland; C) mid-ocean ridge basalts; D) hotspot basalts; E) meteorites.
The universe (as we know it) is thought to have formed about: A) 150 billion years ago, B) 15 billion years ago, C) 150 million years ago, D) 15 million years ago, E) 1.5 million years ago.
What type of atoms are shared to link silicate tetrahedra? A) silicon, B) iron, C) magnesium, D) calcium, E) none of the preceding.
Metamorphic rocks form by recrystallization of a previously existing: A) igneous rock; B) magma; C) sedimentary rock; D) A or B; E) A or C.
What is the atomic particle that is responsible for chemical bonding? A) nucleus, B) proton, C) neutron, D) electron, E) none of the preceding.
Oxygen with an atomic weight of 16 has: A) 8 protons, 8 electrons, and 8 neutrons, B) 10 protons, 6 electrons, and 2 neutrons, C) 9 protons, 7 electrons, and 8 neutrons, D) 7 protons, 9 electrons, and 7 neutrons, D) 8 protons, 7 neutrons, and 1 electron, E) none of the preceding.
All evidence thus far collect indicates that earth and sun are ______: A) 15 billion years old, B) 4.6 billion years old, C) 1.5 billion years old, D) 5 million years old, E) 1.5 million years old.
The hardest known mineral is ______ and the softest is ________: A) corundum, quartz; B) diamond, calcite; C) quartz, diamond, D) diamond, talc; E) quartz, calcite.
Cleavage is usually parallel to: A) planes of oxygen atoms, B) lines of oxygen atoms, C) planes of weak bonding, D) planes of strong bonding, E) lines of strong bonding.
What mineral group does calcite belong to? A) silicates, B) oxides, C) sulfides, D) carbonates, E) sulfates.
What is the evidence that the planets formed much more recently than the sun? A) the lack of radioactive isotopes in the sun; B) the relatively young ages of meteorites; C) the age of the earth's oldest rocks; D) the presence of the asteroid belt; E) the assertion is false - all observations and evidence indicate that the sun and planets formed together.
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.
Arranging rocks in their order of emplacement is called: A) age dating; B) absolute dating; C) relative dating; D) geometric dating; E) paleontology.
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) plate tectonics; E) their dining in a college cafeteria.
The innermost part of the earth is made of _______ and is called the "core": A) quartz; B) metal; C) lithosphere; D) agate; E) water.
Where were the elements heavier than iron made? A) during the big bang; B) during formation of our sun; C) by nuclear fusion in the earth's core; D) in the asthenosphere; E) none of the preceding.
What part of the earth makes up its tectonic plates? A) asthenosphere; B) hydrosphere; C) core; D) lithosphere; E) tectonosphere.
What is an isotope that spontaneously converts to another isotope called? A) cosmic; B) radiogenic; C) radioactive; D) neutronic; E) protonic.
What is the most abundant mineral group in the earth's crust and mantle? A) sulfides; B) silicates; C) carbonates; D) native elements; E) halides.
What is the basic unit of the pyroxene minerals? A) chains of silicate tetrahedra; B) triangles of silicate tetrahedra; C) triangles of iron; D) rings of magnesium; E) a 3-D grid of calcium.
From older to younger, which of the following sequences is in correct order? A) Mesozoic-Cenozoic-Precambrian; B) Precambrian-Cenozoic-Mesozoic; C) Paleozoic-Cenozoic-Mesozoic; D) Paleozoic-Mesozoic-Cenozoic; E) Cenozoic-Paleozoic-Precambrian.
All
unconformities are caused by: A) volcanic eruptions; B) erosion, then renewed deposition; C) deposition from streams; D) meteor impacts; E) organisms with no skeletons.
Increasing what physical property strongly increases the rate of radioactive decay of an isotope, as measured by its half-life? A) temperature; B) pressure; C) the amount of radiogenic daughter isotope; D) distance to the sun; E) none of the preceding - it is always constant.
All
igneous rocks form: A) by recrystallization of a preexisting rock; B) by deposition from air; C) by deposition from the ocean; D) from molten material called "magma"; E) during volcanic eruptions.
The principle of Uniformitarianism states that: A) geologic processes occur at uniform rates; B) the same geologic processes that occur today also occurred in the past; C) the earth's temperature is uniformly cold at depth; D) the sun has been uniformly active through earth's history; E) fossils are uniformly distributed in all rock types.
One of the main reasons that we study minerals it that nearly all of earth's ______ are made of minerals: A) atoms; B) isotopes; C) elements; D) rocks; E) oceans.
An atom is composed of several smaller parts: (a)_____ which have a positive charge, (b)_____ which have a negative charge, and (c)_____ which have a neutral charge: A. (a) neutrons, (b) electrons, (c) protons; B. (a) protons, (b) electrons, (c) neutrons; C. (a) protons, (b) neutrons, (c) electrons; D. (a) electrons, (b) protons, (c) neutrons; E. none of the above combinations.
Which type of rock always forms at the earth's surface? A) igneous; B) metamorphic; C) sedimentary; D) A and B; E) A and C.
Which of the following is not part of the definition of a mineral? A. naturally occurring; B. definite (but generally not fixed) chemical composition; C. random arrangement of atoms; D. solid; E. All of the above are part of the part of the definition of a mineral.
What are minerals named for? A) famous scientists; B) colors; C) physical properties like magnetism; D) localities; E) all of the preceding.
The giant explosion that ends the life of some stars is called _______: A) nuclear fusion; B) radioactivity; C) an isotope; D) a supernova; E) the Big Bang.
You read an article in the paper that claims that plate tectonics is moving San Francisco towards Los Angeles at a rate of 2 meters per year. What is wrong with this statement? A) plates move east-west but not north-south; B) there is no plate boundary between the two cities; C) earthquakes occur in Los Angeles but not San Francisco; D) it's too fast; the world's fastest plate is going only about 15 centimeters per year; E) there are no volcanoes in that region.
What causes convergent plate boundaries? A) subduction; B) transform movement; C) the earth's core; D) the biosphere; E) earthquakes.
Which of the following is an example of both an element and a mineral? A) ice; B) quartz; C) oxygen; D) gold; E) pyroxene.
What is the approximate age of the boundary between the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, which marks the extinction of the dinosaurs? A) 65,000 years; B) 4,500,000,000 years; C) 15,000,000,000 years; D) 65,000,000 years; E) 4,500,000 years.
What was the main force that drove the formation of the sun and planets from the solar nebulus? A) radioactivity; B) gravity; C) plate tectonics; D) the formation of the core; E) the formation of the atmosphere.