GLY 1010 EXAM WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS
Major effects of Ice Age glaciation - Answer- Sea-level changes, crustal rebound,
changes to river systems, creation of many lakes, and modification of soil and
landscapes.
Deserts: distribution and causes - Answer- Dry regions mainly at subtropical highs, rain
shadows, interiors of continents, or cold ocean currents.
Role of water and wind in arid landscapes - Answer- Infrequent but intense runoff does
most erosion; wind deflates and abrades surfaces.
Wind erosion and deposition; dunes vs loess - Answer- Wind removes fine particles
(deflation), sand-size grains form dunes, silt-size dust forms widespread loess deposits.
Shoreline as dynamic interface; wave characteristics and motion - Answer- Coast where
land, ocean, and atmosphere meet; waves are energy moving through water, causing
circular particle motion.
Longshore transport and beach drift - Answer- Movement of sediment along shore by
waves approaching at an angle and longshore currents.
Erosional vs depositional shoreline features - Answer- Erosional: sea cliffs, arches,
stacks, wave-cut platforms. Depositional: spits, bay-mouth bars, barrier islands.
Hurricanes and hurricane hazards - Answer- Intense tropical storms with strong winds,
heavy rain, storm surge, and coastal flooding/erosion.
Human responses to shoreline erosion - Answer- Hard stabilization (seawalls, groins,
breakwaters), beach nourishment, and retreat/relocation.
Tides and tidal currents - Answer- Periodic sea-level changes mainly due to Moon's
gravity; produce landward and seaward flows of water (flood and ebb currents).
Relative vs numerical dating - Answer- Relative: puts events in order without exact
ages. Numerical: gives actual ages in years.
, Principles of relative dating (superposition, original horizontality, cross-cutting, etc.) -
Answer- Younger on top, layers originally horizontal, features that cut others are
younger, inclusions are older, etc.
Unconformities - Answer- Gaps in the rock record where deposition stopped and/or
erosion removed previously formed layers.
Fossils and conditions for preservation - Answer- Remains/traces of past life; best
preserved by rapid burial and hard parts in sedimentary environments.
Radioactive decay, half-life, and radiometric dating - Answer- Unstable nuclei decay at
known rates; half-life is time for half to decay; radiometric dating uses parent/daughter
ratios to calculate ages.
Physical geology vs historical geology - Answer- Physical: studies present-day Earth
materials and processes. Historical: reconstructs Earth's origin and geologic history.
Uniformitarianism vs catastrophism - Answer- Uniformitarianism: "the present is the key
to the past," slow ongoing processes shape Earth. Catastrophism: Earth's features
formed mainly by sudden, short-lived events.
Hypothesis - Answer- A tentative, testable explanation for an observation or set of data.
Scientific theory - Answer- A well-tested, widely accepted explanation supported by a
large body of evidence.
Geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere - Answer- Geosphere: solid Earth;
hydrosphere: all water; atmosphere: gas envelope; biosphere: all living things.
System and Earth system - Answer- System: interacting parts forming a complex whole.
Earth system: linked spheres exchanging matter and energy.
Solar nebula hypothesis - Answer- Planets formed from a rotating cloud of gas and dust
that flattened into a disk around the young Sun.
Planetary differentiation - Answer- Early Earth melted, allowing dense materials to sink
(core) and lighter materials to rise (mantle, crust).
Crust, mantle, core - Answer- Crust: thin outer rock layer; mantle: thick, solid but
deformable layer; core: iron-rich center (liquid outer, solid inner).
Lithosphere vs asthenosphere - Answer- Lithosphere: rigid plates (crust + uppermost
mantle). Asthenosphere: weak, plastic mantle layer plates move over.
Rock cycle - Answer- Model showing how igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
rocks form and transform into one another.
SOLUTIONS
Major effects of Ice Age glaciation - Answer- Sea-level changes, crustal rebound,
changes to river systems, creation of many lakes, and modification of soil and
landscapes.
Deserts: distribution and causes - Answer- Dry regions mainly at subtropical highs, rain
shadows, interiors of continents, or cold ocean currents.
Role of water and wind in arid landscapes - Answer- Infrequent but intense runoff does
most erosion; wind deflates and abrades surfaces.
Wind erosion and deposition; dunes vs loess - Answer- Wind removes fine particles
(deflation), sand-size grains form dunes, silt-size dust forms widespread loess deposits.
Shoreline as dynamic interface; wave characteristics and motion - Answer- Coast where
land, ocean, and atmosphere meet; waves are energy moving through water, causing
circular particle motion.
Longshore transport and beach drift - Answer- Movement of sediment along shore by
waves approaching at an angle and longshore currents.
Erosional vs depositional shoreline features - Answer- Erosional: sea cliffs, arches,
stacks, wave-cut platforms. Depositional: spits, bay-mouth bars, barrier islands.
Hurricanes and hurricane hazards - Answer- Intense tropical storms with strong winds,
heavy rain, storm surge, and coastal flooding/erosion.
Human responses to shoreline erosion - Answer- Hard stabilization (seawalls, groins,
breakwaters), beach nourishment, and retreat/relocation.
Tides and tidal currents - Answer- Periodic sea-level changes mainly due to Moon's
gravity; produce landward and seaward flows of water (flood and ebb currents).
Relative vs numerical dating - Answer- Relative: puts events in order without exact
ages. Numerical: gives actual ages in years.
, Principles of relative dating (superposition, original horizontality, cross-cutting, etc.) -
Answer- Younger on top, layers originally horizontal, features that cut others are
younger, inclusions are older, etc.
Unconformities - Answer- Gaps in the rock record where deposition stopped and/or
erosion removed previously formed layers.
Fossils and conditions for preservation - Answer- Remains/traces of past life; best
preserved by rapid burial and hard parts in sedimentary environments.
Radioactive decay, half-life, and radiometric dating - Answer- Unstable nuclei decay at
known rates; half-life is time for half to decay; radiometric dating uses parent/daughter
ratios to calculate ages.
Physical geology vs historical geology - Answer- Physical: studies present-day Earth
materials and processes. Historical: reconstructs Earth's origin and geologic history.
Uniformitarianism vs catastrophism - Answer- Uniformitarianism: "the present is the key
to the past," slow ongoing processes shape Earth. Catastrophism: Earth's features
formed mainly by sudden, short-lived events.
Hypothesis - Answer- A tentative, testable explanation for an observation or set of data.
Scientific theory - Answer- A well-tested, widely accepted explanation supported by a
large body of evidence.
Geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere - Answer- Geosphere: solid Earth;
hydrosphere: all water; atmosphere: gas envelope; biosphere: all living things.
System and Earth system - Answer- System: interacting parts forming a complex whole.
Earth system: linked spheres exchanging matter and energy.
Solar nebula hypothesis - Answer- Planets formed from a rotating cloud of gas and dust
that flattened into a disk around the young Sun.
Planetary differentiation - Answer- Early Earth melted, allowing dense materials to sink
(core) and lighter materials to rise (mantle, crust).
Crust, mantle, core - Answer- Crust: thin outer rock layer; mantle: thick, solid but
deformable layer; core: iron-rich center (liquid outer, solid inner).
Lithosphere vs asthenosphere - Answer- Lithosphere: rigid plates (crust + uppermost
mantle). Asthenosphere: weak, plastic mantle layer plates move over.
Rock cycle - Answer- Model showing how igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
rocks form and transform into one another.
