Geology 100 H.F. Wang
MW 2:25 M. Stoklosa
May 15, 1996
FINAL EXAM
MULTIPLE CHOICE AND TRUE-FALSE: (1.5 points each)
1. If folded rock unit A is overlain by horizontally bedded unit B:
a. folding occurred after the horizontal unit was deposited
b. A and B were deposited at the same time
Xc. folding occurred before B was deposited
d. the rocks were deposited in a marine environment
2. A correct ordering of geologic periods form OLDEST to YOUNGEST would
be:
a. Silurian, Cambrian, Tertiary
Xb. Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian
c. Quaternary, Triassic, Jurassic
d. Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic
3. Arrange the radioactive elements in order of increasing length of
half-life:
Xa. C-14, U-238, Rb-87
b. Rb-87, C-14, U-238
c. U-238, Rb-87, C-14
d. K-40, C-14, Rb-87
4. An orogeny (or mountain-building process) that did NOT occur in the
Paleozoic Era is:
a. Taconian
Xb. Alpine
c. Acadian
d. Alleghenian
5. A good reservoir rock for oil would be:
a. shale
Xb. sandstone
c. granite
d. marble
6. About how many billion barrels of oil per year does the U.S. consume?
Xa. 6
b. 25
c. 2
d. 100
7. The oldest evidence of life is:
a. blue-green algae
b. found in South Africa
c. 3.2 billion years old
d. (a) and (c)
Xe. all of the above
8. The Mid-Continent gravity high is due to:
a. oil found in subsurface rocks
Xb. higher density of subsurface basalt rocks
c. thrust faulting in the area
d. the Baraboo quartzite
9. If a transgression (or sea-level rise) had occurred in an area, the
succession of rocks one might expect, from bottom to top would be:
a. limestone, sandstone, basalt
b. granite, limestone, shale
c. shale, sandstone, conglomerate
Xd. sandstone, shale, limestone
10. The most abundant element in the earth's crust
a. hydrogen
Xb. oxygen
c. silicon
d. potassium
11. According to Bowen's Reaction Series, which mineral has the LOWEST
crystallization or melting temperature?
a. pyroxene
b. pyrite
c. olivine
Xd. quartz
12. The largest volume of sedimentary rocks is
Xa. shale
b. sandstone
c. limestone
d. granite
13. A primary wave
a. can be set up by earthquakes
b. is the first to arrive at a seismograph station
c. is faster than a secondary wave
Xd. all of the above
14. Which of the following is an example of a convergent plate boundary?
a. Mid-Atlantic Ridge
b. North American and Pacific plates at the San Andreas Fault
Xc. Nazca and South American plates at the Peru-Chile Trench
d. the equator
15. According to Darcy's Law, discharge is greater if
a. hydraulic conductivity is smaller
b. distance is greater
c. cross-sectional area is smaller
Xd. hydraulic gradient is larger
16. Which of the following is most likely to be the POOREST aquifer?
Xa. clay
b. porous limestone
c. sandstone
d. gravel
17. Which is not a typical landform associated with glaciation?
a. U-shaped valleys
Xb. V-shaped valleys
c. drumlins
d. moraines
18. A common soil found in the southwestern U.S. is
a. humus
b. pedalfer
c. laterite
Xd. pedocal
19. Creep, slumps, and rockfalls are all examples of
Xa. mass wasting
b. plate tectonics
c. glacial deposits
d. observational maps
20. The order of periods in the Mesozoic from oldest to youngest is
a. Triassic, Jurassic, Cambrian
b. Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, Permian
c. Jurassic, Triassic, Cretaceous
d. Mississippian, Permian, Pennsylvanian
Xe. none of the above
21. Which of the following is NOT true about oil. It is
a. found in the pore space of sedimentary rocks
b. sometimes trapped in a unit that pinches out
c. a finite resource
Xd, found typically in synclines
22. The Mohorovicic discontinuity is the
a. old name for the San Andreas fault
b. edge of the Serbian iron deposits
c. pressure at which a rock fractures
d. stratigraphic break between the Precambrian and the Cambrian
Xe. boundary between the crust and the mantle
23. An intrusive rock is
Xa. younger than the rock into which it intruded
b. older than the rock into which it intruded
c. the same age as the rock into which it intruded
d. not obviously older or younger without doing an absolute age
24. Which of the following represents oldest geologic time?
a. Cretaceous
b. Carboniferous
c. Cenozoic
Xd. Cambrian
e. Question is ambiguous because eras and periods overlap.
25. Which of the following properties is/are characteristic of an index
fossil.
a. it must be easily identifiable
b. it should exist over a wide range of geologic time
c. it should have a wide geographic distribution
d. a and b
Xe. a and c
f. b and c
26. Basalt is
a. an extrusive igneous rock
b. similar in composition to gabbro
c. relatively low in SiO2
Xd. all of the above
27. The concept that the earth's crust is in a floating equilibrium with
the mantle is known as
Xa. isostasy
b. plate tectonics
c. paradigm
d. subsidence
28. Remanent magnetism and magnetic reversals provide key evidence for
which one of the following geological theories?
Xa. sea floor spreading
b. isostasy
c. elemental abundances in the crust
d. Bowen's reaction series of magnetic crystallization
e. the existence of the aesthenosphere
29. The most abundant fuel in this country's reserves is
a. oil
b. gas
Xc. coal
d. alcohol
30. Which mineral would undergo the most rapid chemical weathering?
a. quartz
Xb. calcium feldspar
c. sodium feldspar
d. mica
31. Groundwater always moves from higher to lower
a. elevation
b. pressure
c. gravity
Xd. head
32. The best estimate for the age of the earth is:
a. 3.8 billion years
b. 3.8 million years
c. 460 million years
Xd. 4.6 billion years
e. none of the above
33. A gap in a sedimentary sequence is called a (n)
a. mistake
b. quagmire
Xc. unconformity
d. intrusion
e. transgression
34. Which rock below could obtain a thermal remanent magnetism?
Xa. basalt
b. sandstone
c. limestone
d. shale
35. Which rock is not correctly identified as to its type?
a. granite - igneous
Xb. slate - sedimentary
c. limestone - sedimentary
d. dolomite - sedimentary
e. marble - metamorphic
36. Which statement about seismic waves is true?
Xa. at the crust-mantle boundary, P-waves increase in velocity
b. at the mantle-core boundary, S-waves increase in velocity, and
P-waves are lost
c. S-waves travel faster through the crust than P-waves
d. S-waves do not show wave refraction
37. The longest geologic era was the
Xa. Precambrian
b. Paleozoic
c. Mesozoic
d. Cenozoic
38. Oceanic crust is formed at
a. convection zones
b. subduction zones
c. reduction zones
d. advection zones
Xe. mid ocean ridges
39. The inclination of the earth's magnetic field is proportional to
a. time of day
b. geologic time
c. longitude
Xd. latitude
40. Silica tetrahedra can be found linked together in minerals to form all
but which of the following structures?
a. sheets
b. chains
Xc. spheres
d. frameworks
41. Which of the following minerals does not belong with the others?
Xa. Hematite
b. Quartz
c. Olivine
d. Ca-Feldspar
42. The peak of U.S. oil production occurred in
a. 1929
b. 1955
Xc. 1970
d. 1979
e. 1990
43. Free oxygen accumulated in the earth's atmosphere as a result of
a. the "iron catastrophe"
b. hydrolysis of water in primordial oceans
Xc. photosynthesis by primitive plants
d. radioactive decay
44. The Baraboo quartzite is deformed into a/an _____________ structure
a. transform fault
b. anticline
c. dome
Xd. syncline
e. fault
45. The energy that drives plate tectonics comes from
a. the sun
b. chemical reactions in the earth's core and mantle
Xc. decay of radioactive isotopes in the earth's interior
d. gravitational energy released by the sinking of iron toward the
earth's core
e. combustion of fossil fuels on subducted plate margins
Questions 46-48 refer to the geologic section below:
46. What event occurred first after deposition of shale (C)?
a. folding
b. migration of oil
Xc. faulting
d. deposition of B
47. In order for oil to migrate into bed A, the rock must be
Xa. permeable
b. magnetic
c. volcanic
d. limestone
48. What sequence of events occurred after deposition of B and before
deposition of C?
a. erosion
b. erosion and faulting
c. erosion and tilting
d. faulting, tilting, and erosion
Xe. tilting and erosion
49. Absolute age can be determined by
a. principle of superposition
b. cross-cutting between formations
Xc. radioactive dating
d. measuring mineral grain sizes
50. Major occurrences of banded iron formation were deposited during the
a. Early Precambrian
Xb. Middle Precambrian
c. Late Precambrian
d. Jurassic
TRUE-FALSE
51. Dinosaurs existed in the Cenozoic Era. T XF
52. The Carboniferous period is a time associated with extensive
coal formation. XT F
53. The Nashville Dome and Cincinnati Arch may have been produced
by flexural bulging of the earth's crust. XT F
54. Meteorite "Falls" are a more accurate representation of solar system
composition than are "Finds". XT F
55. Carbon-14 forms when hydrogen gas in the atmosphere is bombarded
by neutrons. T XF
56. The Mid-Continent Rift was forming at the same time that the boulders
at Parfrey's Glen were being deposited. T XF
57. The unsaturated tuffs at Yucca Mountain, Nevada are no longer being
considered as a geologic repository for nuclear waste. T XF
58. Basalt has a greater percentage of SiO2 than granite. T XF
59. Metamorphic rocks are the result of melting of sedimentary or
igneous rocks. T XF
60. Reversals in the polarity of the earth's magnetic field are recorded
in the seafloor created at an oceanic spreading ridge.XT F
61. Earthquakes most commonly occur at plate boundaries. XT F
62. Meanders increase the slope of a river. T XF
63. As waves approach shore and touch bottom, their height is amplified.
XT F
64. Groundwater typically flows in underground streams. T XF
65. The banded iron formations were formed in an oxygen-rich atmosphere.
T XF
66. The sudden appearance of extensive fossil records occurred in the
Cenozoic. T XF
67. The discrepancy between the estimates of domestic oil reserves by the
USGS and M. King Hubbert resulted from different assumptions about the
finding ratio. XT F
68. Rock B is older than Rock A. T XF
69. Montana contains extensive coal deposits. XT F
70. The rocks that are newly exposed as sea level falls tend to be the
only ones preserved for the geologic record. T XF
71. Ancient beach sands can be identified by comparing their grain size
distribution to those of modern beach sands. XT F
72. Sandstones tend to become purer in quartz as they are eroded and
redeposited. XT F
73. Petroleum deposits are formed by chemical precipitation from sea
water. T XF
74. Two-thirds of the energy used in the U.S. is produced from burning
natural gas. T XF
75. Days were shorter during the Precambrian because the earth rotated
faster. XT F
76. The hills of Baraboo were once islands in a Paleozoic sea. XT F
77. The "Age of Dinosaurs" occurred during the Mesozoic Era. XT F
78. The eastern U.S. experienced five transgressive-regressive cycles
during the early Paleozoic. XT F
79. Radioactive C14 is used to date the age of the earth. T XF
80. After three half-lives have elapsed, one eighth of the original amount
of a radioactive substance remains unchanged. XT F