GEOL 105 PRACTICE EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS
Which statement is TRUE about the rock cycle? - Answer- It involves heat, pressure,
and cooling.
Describe the relationship between the crust and the lithosphere. - Answer- The crust is
the upper portion of the lithosphere.
At mid-ocean spreading ridges, the age of the oceanic crust: - Answer- gets older with
increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge.
Which of the following lists Earth's compositional layers from inside to out? - Answer-
Inner core, outer core, mantle, crust
Magnetic anomalies are evident in Earth's oceanic crust because: - Answer- magnetic
minerals in solidifying oceanic crust align with Earth's magnetic field, which occasionally
reverses polarity.
Reversals of the earth's magnetic polarity - Answer- have occurred randomly in the
past.
Tectonic plates move about as fast as - Answer- Fingernails grow.
At transform plate boundaries - Answer- plates move laterally past each other with
horizontal motion.
Earth's internal structure is also described by the physical behavior of its internal layers.
Which of the following statements best describes the behavior of the lithosphere and
asthenosphere. - Answer- The cool, brittle lithosphere floats atop the weak
asthenosphere.
The convective currents in Earth's mantle that drive plate tectonics are caused by -
Answer- heat in Earth's interior.
The geographic distribution of the Mesosaurus, a small swimming freshwater reptile that
lived during the late Paleozoic, shows that the reptile lived on the southwest coast of
what is now Africa and the southeast coast of what is now South America. This provides
evidence that - Answer- Africa and South America were once joined into one continent.
, The Hawaiian Islands are an example of - Answer- A volcanic hotspot.
The Himalayas are a striking example of which of the following tectonic plate
boundaries? - Answer- convergence of continental crust with continental crust (collision)
Where are earthquakes the LEAST likely to occur? - Answer- Central region of tectonic
plates
Which of the compositionally distinct layers of the Earth is liquid? - Answer- The outer
core.
Which of the following is FALSE about the mantle? - Answer- The mantle is mostly
liquid
Which of the following is NOT a significant source of the internal heat of the earth? -
Answer- Heat from the sun
Which of the following statements is TRUE about mid-ocean ridges? - Answer- They are
located at a divergent boundary where tectonic plates move apart.
Which tectonic plate setting is associated with the following features: great earthquakes;
explosive volcanic eruptions; oceanic plate sinks into mantle and remelts? The Andes
Mountains are a geographic example. - Answer- convergent plate boundary (subduction
zone)
Which tectonic plate boundary is associated with the following features: strong to major
earthquakes; no volcanoes or mountain ranges? The San Andreas fault is a geographic
example. - Answer- Transform plate boundary
Which tectonic plate setting is associated with the following features: volcanic eruptions;
magma rises from deep in the mantle; can produce a chain of extinct volcanoes with
increasing distance from the active volcano? Yellowstone National Park and the
Hawaiian islands are geographic examples. - Answer- Volcanic hotspot
A seismic gap is a region where no seismic activity ever occurs. - Answer- False
During an earthquake, strain is released and then accumulated again until the next
earthquake in a process called the _______________. - Answer- Elastic rebound cycle
Earthquakes are caused exclusively by plate tectonic activity and cannot be caused by
human activities. - Answer- False
In general, there is more ground shaking from an earthquake with - Answer- decreasing
depth from the surface and decreasing distance to the epicenter.
P-waves are the fastest seismic waves produced. - Answer- True
QUESTIONS WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS
Which statement is TRUE about the rock cycle? - Answer- It involves heat, pressure,
and cooling.
Describe the relationship between the crust and the lithosphere. - Answer- The crust is
the upper portion of the lithosphere.
At mid-ocean spreading ridges, the age of the oceanic crust: - Answer- gets older with
increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge.
Which of the following lists Earth's compositional layers from inside to out? - Answer-
Inner core, outer core, mantle, crust
Magnetic anomalies are evident in Earth's oceanic crust because: - Answer- magnetic
minerals in solidifying oceanic crust align with Earth's magnetic field, which occasionally
reverses polarity.
Reversals of the earth's magnetic polarity - Answer- have occurred randomly in the
past.
Tectonic plates move about as fast as - Answer- Fingernails grow.
At transform plate boundaries - Answer- plates move laterally past each other with
horizontal motion.
Earth's internal structure is also described by the physical behavior of its internal layers.
Which of the following statements best describes the behavior of the lithosphere and
asthenosphere. - Answer- The cool, brittle lithosphere floats atop the weak
asthenosphere.
The convective currents in Earth's mantle that drive plate tectonics are caused by -
Answer- heat in Earth's interior.
The geographic distribution of the Mesosaurus, a small swimming freshwater reptile that
lived during the late Paleozoic, shows that the reptile lived on the southwest coast of
what is now Africa and the southeast coast of what is now South America. This provides
evidence that - Answer- Africa and South America were once joined into one continent.
, The Hawaiian Islands are an example of - Answer- A volcanic hotspot.
The Himalayas are a striking example of which of the following tectonic plate
boundaries? - Answer- convergence of continental crust with continental crust (collision)
Where are earthquakes the LEAST likely to occur? - Answer- Central region of tectonic
plates
Which of the compositionally distinct layers of the Earth is liquid? - Answer- The outer
core.
Which of the following is FALSE about the mantle? - Answer- The mantle is mostly
liquid
Which of the following is NOT a significant source of the internal heat of the earth? -
Answer- Heat from the sun
Which of the following statements is TRUE about mid-ocean ridges? - Answer- They are
located at a divergent boundary where tectonic plates move apart.
Which tectonic plate setting is associated with the following features: great earthquakes;
explosive volcanic eruptions; oceanic plate sinks into mantle and remelts? The Andes
Mountains are a geographic example. - Answer- convergent plate boundary (subduction
zone)
Which tectonic plate boundary is associated with the following features: strong to major
earthquakes; no volcanoes or mountain ranges? The San Andreas fault is a geographic
example. - Answer- Transform plate boundary
Which tectonic plate setting is associated with the following features: volcanic eruptions;
magma rises from deep in the mantle; can produce a chain of extinct volcanoes with
increasing distance from the active volcano? Yellowstone National Park and the
Hawaiian islands are geographic examples. - Answer- Volcanic hotspot
A seismic gap is a region where no seismic activity ever occurs. - Answer- False
During an earthquake, strain is released and then accumulated again until the next
earthquake in a process called the _______________. - Answer- Elastic rebound cycle
Earthquakes are caused exclusively by plate tectonic activity and cannot be caused by
human activities. - Answer- False
In general, there is more ground shaking from an earthquake with - Answer- decreasing
depth from the surface and decreasing distance to the epicenter.
P-waves are the fastest seismic waves produced. - Answer- True
