ESS 101 Midterm Mastery : Exam
Questions & Expert Answers
At what kind of plate margin would you expect to find this fault?
divergent
What hypothesis did we discuss to explain Basin and Range tectonics (i.e. to explain why a
divergent margin might be forming under Nevada and Utah)? Hint: we infer the same
geologic cause to explain the broad uplift of the continental crust and subsequent erosion of
Grand Canyon.
the spreading ridge was subducted under California and is now positioned under Nevada and
Utah
Overturned folds maybe evolve into ______.
thrust faults
The stress rate ______ the strain rate for elastic deformation.
is proportional to
Where do earthquakes occur in the Pacific Northwest?
all of the above are correct;
- near the surface within the North American plate
- deep within the Juna de Fuca plate
- at the Cascadia subduction zone
Why is quartz the most common mineral found in beach sand around Puget Sound?
quartz is lighter than all the other minerals and can be washed further by waves
As the northern Great Lakes isostatically rebound _____.
their waters will eventually drain south through the Mississippi river
Classic sedimentary rocks are subdivided ______.
based on grain size of the constituent clasts
Who was one of the only survivors of the St. Pierre Nuee Ardente?
Raoul Sarteret
If a xenolith included within an igneous pluton has a numerical age of 55 million years
(Ma) old, what can you infer about the age of the pluton?
the pluton formed after 55 Ma ago
Radiocarbon is first produced in the ______ when neutrons strike ______ atoms.
atmosphere; nitrogen-14
A minimum of ______ seismic stations is necessary to determine the focus of an
earthquake.
3
What conditions are necessary to form oolithic limestone?
all of the above answers are correct; - warm water conditions
- active waves and currents
- shallow water
- lots of marine plant life
Pillow basalts form when basalt is _____.
erupted into water
Strato volcanoes consist of ______?
,interlayered pyroclastic and lava flows
Which of the following statements about joints are not important to promote weathering in
rock?
joints increase tension in the rock causing weathering reaction rates to increase
Monuments and hoodoos form ______.
a resistant cap rock that protects the underlying weaker rock from weathering and erosion
Frost wedging occurs in rock because:
water expands when it freezes to form ice
The ripples shown below are ______ and are formed from _____.
asymmetric; wind or water currents
Besides oxidation reactions which of the following are examples of chemical weathering?
only answers a and c are correct;
- dissolution of limestone
- hydrolysis reactions of kaolinite
As solids age, the soil profile becomes ______.
all of the answers are correct;
- thicker
- redder
- more clay rich
Meandering streams deposit sediment towards the ______ of the meander where the
stream velocity is ______
inside; lower
Soil profiles can form ______.
only answers a and b are correct;
- in residual bedrock
- in unconsolidated sediment
The strike-slip fault shown below is ______.
right lateral
How might you recognize that a disconformity exists within layered sedimentary of rock?
answers a and d are both correct;
- you might observe a buried soil or weathering zone between the two units
- you might observe fossils assemblages that have large age differences between the two rock
units
Pyroclastic cones may collapse to form ______.
maars
Why do soils that form beneath conifer forests (i.e pine or spruce tress) tend to have lower
nutrient availability compared to soils that form beneath deciduous forests?
conifer forest soils tend to have higher acidity and soluble cations can be removed from the soil
profile
Chalk deposits, such as those exposed on the coastline near Dover, England ______.
are comprised of microscopic calcareous marine organisms
Where would you expect fossils to be most likely preserved?
fine-grained shale deposits
High temperature is conducive to ______ deformation in rock.
ductile
A high strain rate is conducive to ______ deformation in rock.
, brittle fracture
Strand lines form around the Hudson Bay, Canada _____.
as wave-cut benches isostatically emerge above the storm surge zone
The ______ is exposed in the center of an eroding syncline.
youngest rock
Why do rivers often erode along the axis of folds?
the axis of the fold represents the region of greatest deformation and the rock is weakest
What kind of faults are shown in the diagram above?
reverse faults
At what kind of plate margin would you expect to find this type of fault?
convergent
Which of the following statements are true regarding the displacement of layered
sedimentary rocks and this type of faulting?
only answers a and b are correct;
- older rock layers can overlie younger rock layers
- rock layers can repeat in vertical sections exposed in these types of fault zones
______ is an example of the elastic deformation.
only answers b and c are correct;
- filling and emptying a reservoir, such as Lake Roosevelt
- isostatic unloading of the earth's lithosphere following deglaciation
Which metamorphic rock has been subject to the highest grade of heat and pressure?
gneiss
Overturned folds may evolve into _____.
thrust faults
Which of the following changes may occur during the metamorphism of rock?
all of the above may occur during the metamorphism of rock;
- recrystallization of minerals
- growth of new minerals
- reorientation of existing minerals
Where have earthquakes occurred within the last 50 years in the Pacific Northwest?
only answers a and b are correct;
- near the surface within the North American plate
- deep within the Juan de Fuca plate
The recurrence interval of large Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes is ______.
-500 years
How did geologists determine the exact day of offset on the Cascadia subduction zone in
1700 AD?
they had accurate tsunami logs from Japan that recorded this event
What area(s) of North America are still isostatically rising today?
only answers a and c are correct;
- northern Great Lakes
- Hudson Bay, Canada
A tabular intrusive body that is oriented parallel to the existing sedimentary strata _____.
is a sill
The most recent eruption (1980) of Mt. St. Helens was _____ previous eruptions during the
Holocene (last 10,000 years).
Questions & Expert Answers
At what kind of plate margin would you expect to find this fault?
divergent
What hypothesis did we discuss to explain Basin and Range tectonics (i.e. to explain why a
divergent margin might be forming under Nevada and Utah)? Hint: we infer the same
geologic cause to explain the broad uplift of the continental crust and subsequent erosion of
Grand Canyon.
the spreading ridge was subducted under California and is now positioned under Nevada and
Utah
Overturned folds maybe evolve into ______.
thrust faults
The stress rate ______ the strain rate for elastic deformation.
is proportional to
Where do earthquakes occur in the Pacific Northwest?
all of the above are correct;
- near the surface within the North American plate
- deep within the Juna de Fuca plate
- at the Cascadia subduction zone
Why is quartz the most common mineral found in beach sand around Puget Sound?
quartz is lighter than all the other minerals and can be washed further by waves
As the northern Great Lakes isostatically rebound _____.
their waters will eventually drain south through the Mississippi river
Classic sedimentary rocks are subdivided ______.
based on grain size of the constituent clasts
Who was one of the only survivors of the St. Pierre Nuee Ardente?
Raoul Sarteret
If a xenolith included within an igneous pluton has a numerical age of 55 million years
(Ma) old, what can you infer about the age of the pluton?
the pluton formed after 55 Ma ago
Radiocarbon is first produced in the ______ when neutrons strike ______ atoms.
atmosphere; nitrogen-14
A minimum of ______ seismic stations is necessary to determine the focus of an
earthquake.
3
What conditions are necessary to form oolithic limestone?
all of the above answers are correct; - warm water conditions
- active waves and currents
- shallow water
- lots of marine plant life
Pillow basalts form when basalt is _____.
erupted into water
Strato volcanoes consist of ______?
,interlayered pyroclastic and lava flows
Which of the following statements about joints are not important to promote weathering in
rock?
joints increase tension in the rock causing weathering reaction rates to increase
Monuments and hoodoos form ______.
a resistant cap rock that protects the underlying weaker rock from weathering and erosion
Frost wedging occurs in rock because:
water expands when it freezes to form ice
The ripples shown below are ______ and are formed from _____.
asymmetric; wind or water currents
Besides oxidation reactions which of the following are examples of chemical weathering?
only answers a and c are correct;
- dissolution of limestone
- hydrolysis reactions of kaolinite
As solids age, the soil profile becomes ______.
all of the answers are correct;
- thicker
- redder
- more clay rich
Meandering streams deposit sediment towards the ______ of the meander where the
stream velocity is ______
inside; lower
Soil profiles can form ______.
only answers a and b are correct;
- in residual bedrock
- in unconsolidated sediment
The strike-slip fault shown below is ______.
right lateral
How might you recognize that a disconformity exists within layered sedimentary of rock?
answers a and d are both correct;
- you might observe a buried soil or weathering zone between the two units
- you might observe fossils assemblages that have large age differences between the two rock
units
Pyroclastic cones may collapse to form ______.
maars
Why do soils that form beneath conifer forests (i.e pine or spruce tress) tend to have lower
nutrient availability compared to soils that form beneath deciduous forests?
conifer forest soils tend to have higher acidity and soluble cations can be removed from the soil
profile
Chalk deposits, such as those exposed on the coastline near Dover, England ______.
are comprised of microscopic calcareous marine organisms
Where would you expect fossils to be most likely preserved?
fine-grained shale deposits
High temperature is conducive to ______ deformation in rock.
ductile
A high strain rate is conducive to ______ deformation in rock.
, brittle fracture
Strand lines form around the Hudson Bay, Canada _____.
as wave-cut benches isostatically emerge above the storm surge zone
The ______ is exposed in the center of an eroding syncline.
youngest rock
Why do rivers often erode along the axis of folds?
the axis of the fold represents the region of greatest deformation and the rock is weakest
What kind of faults are shown in the diagram above?
reverse faults
At what kind of plate margin would you expect to find this type of fault?
convergent
Which of the following statements are true regarding the displacement of layered
sedimentary rocks and this type of faulting?
only answers a and b are correct;
- older rock layers can overlie younger rock layers
- rock layers can repeat in vertical sections exposed in these types of fault zones
______ is an example of the elastic deformation.
only answers b and c are correct;
- filling and emptying a reservoir, such as Lake Roosevelt
- isostatic unloading of the earth's lithosphere following deglaciation
Which metamorphic rock has been subject to the highest grade of heat and pressure?
gneiss
Overturned folds may evolve into _____.
thrust faults
Which of the following changes may occur during the metamorphism of rock?
all of the above may occur during the metamorphism of rock;
- recrystallization of minerals
- growth of new minerals
- reorientation of existing minerals
Where have earthquakes occurred within the last 50 years in the Pacific Northwest?
only answers a and b are correct;
- near the surface within the North American plate
- deep within the Juan de Fuca plate
The recurrence interval of large Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes is ______.
-500 years
How did geologists determine the exact day of offset on the Cascadia subduction zone in
1700 AD?
they had accurate tsunami logs from Japan that recorded this event
What area(s) of North America are still isostatically rising today?
only answers a and c are correct;
- northern Great Lakes
- Hudson Bay, Canada
A tabular intrusive body that is oriented parallel to the existing sedimentary strata _____.
is a sill
The most recent eruption (1980) of Mt. St. Helens was _____ previous eruptions during the
Holocene (last 10,000 years).
