Multiple Choice Questions Introduction to Geology - Chapter 1

Each chapter will include a few questions designed to test your knowledge of material covered in the chapter and in the Internet-based resources. Your answers are not being recorded. Try the following.

Introduction to the Earth

1. Which of the following statements regarding the scientific methods is true?

A hypothesis must be agreed upon by more than one scientist

A theory is a hypothesis that has withstood many scientific tests

A theory is proven to be true, and therefore may not be discarded

A hypothesis cannot predict the outcome of scientific experiments

2. According to the principle of uniformatarianism,

geologic processes we observe today have operated in the past

geologic process in the past operated at the same rate as they do today

all of the planets formed from a uniform solar nebula

early Earth was covered by a uniform magma ocean

3. Approximately how long ago did the Big Bang take place?

10-15 thousand years ago

10-15 million years ago

100-150 million years ago

10-15 billion years ago

4. Under intense pressure and high temperature, hydrogen atoms combine to form helium. This process is called:

nuclear fusion

nuclear fission

metamorphism

convection

5. What are the two most abundant elements in nebula (gas clouds) in the universe?

nitrogen and oxygen

oxygen and silicon

hydrogen and helium

iron and nickel

6. The process by which an originally homogeneous Earth developed a dense core and a light crust is called:

metamorphism

differentiation

accretion

compression

7. The heat that caused melting in the Earth's early history was supplied from which of the following events or causes?

volcanic activity and radioactivity

solar heating and volcanic activity

a large impact event and radioactivity

a large impact event and solar heating

8. How thick is the crust of the Earth?

about 4 miles

about 4 km

about 40 km

about 400 km

9. The layer that separates crust from core is the?

magma layer

lithosphere

mantle

continent

10.What drives the Earth's internal heat engine?

radioactivity

solar energy

volcanoes

ocean tides

11.In general, igneous rocks:

form at relatively high temperatures

form by crystallization of solids from a liquid

form at high and low pressures

all of the above

12.Minerals:

can form by life-processes -- organic

are crystalline solids

have a unique chemical composition

can be any state (solid, liquid, or gas) as long as that state occurs naturally

13.Metamorphic rocks are changed rocks. Which of the following rock types could be the "parent" of a metamorphic rock?

sedimentary

igneous

metamorphic

all of the above

14._______involves transfer of heat by the physical movement of the material:

conduction

convection

metamorphism

radiation

15.__________is called the "father" of geology.

John Butler

Art Smith

James Hutton

Alfred Wegner

16.New seafloor is created at a ____________?

deep-sea trench

mid-ocean ridge

subduction zone

transform fault

17.The descent of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle is the process of _______?

accretion

subduction

divergence zone

contraction fault

18.Which of the following features is not associated with a convergent plate boundary?

a mid-ocean ridge

earthquakes

a deep-sea trench zone

volcanic activity

19.The greatest threat to our environment is ___________?

volcanoes

earthquakes

humans

bacteria

20.Earth materials always trace the complete rock cycle from sediment through igneous rocks.

True

False

21.The terms crust and lithosphere are synonymous.

True

False

22.The terms mantle and asthenosphere are synonymous.

True

False

23.Because we rarely witness dramatic changes in the Earth, we can conclude that the Earth is not changing very much.

True

False

24.The motions of the three types of plate boundaries would be described as divergent, convergent, and static.

True

False

25.The crust of the Earth is static and stable.

True

False

26.Features useful in defining plate boundaries include all except:

shorelines between continents and oceans

distribution of volcanoes

distribution of earthquakes

distribution of mountain ranges

all are correct

27.The age of the Earth is currently thought to be

about 6,000 years old

about 6 billion years old

about 4,500,000 years old

about 4,500,000,000 years old

none of the above

28.The contribution made to geology by James Hutton was:

the recognition that processes still active today could produce almost any known rock type.

the description of plausible processes for converting one rock type to

another.

a change in outlook on Earth processes from a catastrophic to a uniformitarian one.

all of the above

none of the above

29.One of geology's greatest contributions to human thought is:

the realization that the world is round

the realization that the sun not the Earth is the center of the solar system

the recognition of the long span of time involved in Earth history

the recognition that the Earth is the center of the solar system

30.Evidence of uniformitarian change includes:

glacial deposits in areas where no glaciers are presently found.

fossils of marine animals found at high elevation

continents covered by sediments deposited in an ocean

wide canyons cut by small streams

all of the above

none of the above

31.Living organisms have been on Earth for ______ of Earth's history?

less than 1%

about 20%

about 50%

about 80%

32.Humans have been on Earth for _________ of Earth;s history?

less than 1%

about 20%

about 50%

about 80%

33.What caused dust and condensing material to accrete into planetesimals?

heating of gases

gravitational attraction and collisions

nuclear fusion

rotation of the proto-sun

34.Which of the following is not one of the four inner planets?

Mars

Earth

Neptune

Mars

35.The outer planets are composed mostly of ?

rocks and ice

oxygen and nitrogen

hydrogen and helium

helium and krypton

36.The moon is ?

older than the sun

older than most meteorites

older than the Earth

none of these

37.The name of the layer of the Earth that separates the crust from the core is the ___?

magma

lithosphere

asthenosphere

mantle

38.What powers the Earth's internal heat engine?

radioactivity

solar energy

volcanoes

ocean tides

39.The Earth's external heat engine is not responsible for which of the following:

climate

erosion

tides

winds

40.Oxygen built up in the Earth's atmosphere because:

the oceans separated from the crust

rocks weathered and released their oxygen

algae and other organisms employed photosynthesis

oxygen settled on Earth from planets further from the sun

41.Which of the planets is not geologically active?

Mars

Mercury

Venus

Earth

42.When did geologists develop the theory of plate tectonics

in the mid 1800s

in the early 1900s

in the 1950s

in the 1960s

43.The lithosphere is approximately ______ kilometers thick.

1-2

5-10

50-100

100-200

44.The asthenosphere is _________.

cool and strong

cool and weak

hot and strong

hot and weak

45.The Earth's lithosphere is broken into approximately ______ large, rigid plates.

2

12

50

100

46.A __________ plate boundary is illustrated in the figure show above.

transform fault

divergent

convergent - subduction

convergent - continent/continent collision

47.Which of the following statements about convection is true?

heat is transferred from hot material to cool material without inducing a flow.

cool material flows upward and displaces hot material

hot material flows upward and displaces cool material

random circulation occurs

48.Approximately how fast does an Earth lithospheric plate move?

several centimeters per year

several centimeters per day

several centimeters per hour

several centimeters per second

49.Which of the following is not a type of plate boundary?

convergent

divergent

transform fault

all of these are plate boundaries

50.New seafloor is created at a ________.

deep sea trench

mid-ocean ridge

subduction zone

transform fault

51.The descent of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle is the process of ______.

subduction

accretion

divergence

contraction

52.Approximately how deep (below sea level) are deep-sea trenches?

1 km

10 km

100 km

1000 km

53.Which of the following features is not associated with a transform plate boundary?

a mid-ocean ridge

earthquakes

a deep sea-trench 

volcanic activity

54.Volcanism is associated with which of the following types of plate boundaries?

convergent plate boundaries

divergent plate boundaries

transform fault plate boundaries 

divergent and convergent plate boundaries

55.The Andes Mountains of South America are a result of which type of plate boundary?

convergent

divergent

transform

they are not related to a plate boundary

56.Mount St. Helen's. a part of the Cascade Range of volcanoes, result from the subduction of which plate?

Pacific

Cocos

Juan de Fuca 

North American

57.What is the name of the large supercontinent that existed 200 million years ago when all of the continents were together?

San Andreas

Andian

Indian 

Pangaea

58.Why is our vulnerability to natural disasters growing?

because the frequency of volcanic eruptions is increasing

because the human population is increasing

because the number of earthquakes each year is increasing 

because the number of floods each year is increasing

59.The theory of plate tectonics was not initially widely accepted because ______..

land bridges would have blocked plate movement

rocks of the Earth's crust were considered too stiff for continents to move through them

fossils on South America and Africa did not match 

ocean floor mapping showed that older rocks occur away from mid-ocean ridges

60.Referring to the diagram above, path A is _______

cooling and crystallization

burial and lithification

weathering and deposition 

cooling and uplift

61.Referring to the diagram above, path B is _______

uplift, weathering and erosion, deposition

deposition, heat and pressure, weathering

melting, crystallization, heat and pressure 

deposition, lithification and crystallization

62.Referring to the diagram what factor(s) are responsible for path C?

melting

crystallization

 heat and pressure 

burial and lithification

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