NVCC GOL 105 EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027 – 8-WEEK ONLINE
SEMESTER | PRACTICE QUESTIONS & TEST PREP
Atmosphere - correct answer ✔✔The gaseous portion of a planet, the planet's envelope of air. One of
the traditional subdivisions of Earth's physical environment.
Physical Geology - correct answer ✔✔A major division of geology that examines the materials of Earth
and seeks to understand the processes and forces acting beneath and upon Earth's surface.
Continental Rise - correct answer ✔✔the gently sloping surface at the base of the continental slope
Theory - correct answer ✔✔well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations
Nebular Theory - correct answer ✔✔A model for the origin of the solar system that supposes a rotating
nebula of dust and gases that contracted to form the Sun and planets.
Hydrosphere - correct answer ✔✔All the water at and near the surface of the earth, 97% of which is in
oceans
continental shelf - correct answer ✔✔A gently sloping, shallow area of the ocean floor that extends
outward from the edge of a continent
Igneous Rock - correct answer ✔✔rock that forms when melted rock cools and hardens (crystallization of
magma)
Abyssal Plain - correct answer ✔✔very level area of the deep-ocean floor, usually lying at the foot of the
continental rise
Hypothesis - correct answer ✔✔a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited
evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
Rock Cycle - correct answer ✔✔A model that illustrates the origin of the three basic rock types and the
inter-relatedness of Earth materials and processes
Sediment - correct answer ✔✔unconsolidated particles created by the weathering and erosion of rock
by chemical precipitation from solution in water, or from the secretions of organisms, and transported by
water, wind, or glaciers
Stable Platform - correct answer ✔✔The part of a craton that is mantled by relatively undeformed
sedimentary rocks and underlain by a basement complex of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Shield - correct answer ✔✔A large, relatively flat expanse of ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks
within the craton
Catastrophism - correct answer ✔✔theory that states that (short-term) natural disasters such as floods
and volcanic eruptions shaped Earth's land-forms and caused extinction of some species
, Solar Nebula - correct answer ✔✔A large cloud of gas and dust such as the one that formed our solar
system
Geosphere - correct answer ✔✔the solid part of the earth consisting of the crust and outer mantle
Seamount - correct answer ✔✔A steep-sided volcanic mountain rising from the deep-ocean floor.
Geology - correct answer ✔✔The science that examines Earth, its form and composition, and the
changes that it has undergone and is undergoing
Continental slope - correct answer ✔✔a steep incline of the ocean floor leading down from the edge of
the continental shelf
Mid-Oceanic Ridge System - correct answer ✔✔A continuous submarine mountain
chain that encircles the globe.
Sedimentary Rock - correct answer ✔✔A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the
remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together
Biosphere - correct answer ✔✔Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists,
including land, water, and the atmosphere.
Asthenosphere - correct answer ✔✔the upper layer of the earth's mantle, below the lithosphere, in
which there is relatively low resistance to plastic flow and convection is thought to occur.
Core - correct answer ✔✔The central part of the earth below the mantle
Historical Geology - correct answer ✔✔A major division of geology that deals with the origin of Earth
and its development through time. Usually involves the study of fossils and their sequence in rock beds.
Crust - correct answer ✔✔Earth's outermost layer.
Metamorphic Rock - correct answer ✔✔A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed
by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions.
Outer Core - correct answer ✔✔the liquid layer of the Earth's core that lies beneath the mantle and
surrounds the inner core
Craton - correct answer ✔✔A long-lived block of durable continental crust commonly found in the stable
interior of a continent.
Lower Mantle (Mesosphere) - correct answer ✔✔the part of the mantle that extends from the core-
mantle boundary to a depth of 660 kilometers
Unifromitarianism - correct answer ✔✔belief espoused by James Hutton that geological forces act at a
continuous uniform rate
SEMESTER | PRACTICE QUESTIONS & TEST PREP
Atmosphere - correct answer ✔✔The gaseous portion of a planet, the planet's envelope of air. One of
the traditional subdivisions of Earth's physical environment.
Physical Geology - correct answer ✔✔A major division of geology that examines the materials of Earth
and seeks to understand the processes and forces acting beneath and upon Earth's surface.
Continental Rise - correct answer ✔✔the gently sloping surface at the base of the continental slope
Theory - correct answer ✔✔well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations
Nebular Theory - correct answer ✔✔A model for the origin of the solar system that supposes a rotating
nebula of dust and gases that contracted to form the Sun and planets.
Hydrosphere - correct answer ✔✔All the water at and near the surface of the earth, 97% of which is in
oceans
continental shelf - correct answer ✔✔A gently sloping, shallow area of the ocean floor that extends
outward from the edge of a continent
Igneous Rock - correct answer ✔✔rock that forms when melted rock cools and hardens (crystallization of
magma)
Abyssal Plain - correct answer ✔✔very level area of the deep-ocean floor, usually lying at the foot of the
continental rise
Hypothesis - correct answer ✔✔a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited
evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
Rock Cycle - correct answer ✔✔A model that illustrates the origin of the three basic rock types and the
inter-relatedness of Earth materials and processes
Sediment - correct answer ✔✔unconsolidated particles created by the weathering and erosion of rock
by chemical precipitation from solution in water, or from the secretions of organisms, and transported by
water, wind, or glaciers
Stable Platform - correct answer ✔✔The part of a craton that is mantled by relatively undeformed
sedimentary rocks and underlain by a basement complex of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Shield - correct answer ✔✔A large, relatively flat expanse of ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks
within the craton
Catastrophism - correct answer ✔✔theory that states that (short-term) natural disasters such as floods
and volcanic eruptions shaped Earth's land-forms and caused extinction of some species
, Solar Nebula - correct answer ✔✔A large cloud of gas and dust such as the one that formed our solar
system
Geosphere - correct answer ✔✔the solid part of the earth consisting of the crust and outer mantle
Seamount - correct answer ✔✔A steep-sided volcanic mountain rising from the deep-ocean floor.
Geology - correct answer ✔✔The science that examines Earth, its form and composition, and the
changes that it has undergone and is undergoing
Continental slope - correct answer ✔✔a steep incline of the ocean floor leading down from the edge of
the continental shelf
Mid-Oceanic Ridge System - correct answer ✔✔A continuous submarine mountain
chain that encircles the globe.
Sedimentary Rock - correct answer ✔✔A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the
remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together
Biosphere - correct answer ✔✔Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists,
including land, water, and the atmosphere.
Asthenosphere - correct answer ✔✔the upper layer of the earth's mantle, below the lithosphere, in
which there is relatively low resistance to plastic flow and convection is thought to occur.
Core - correct answer ✔✔The central part of the earth below the mantle
Historical Geology - correct answer ✔✔A major division of geology that deals with the origin of Earth
and its development through time. Usually involves the study of fossils and their sequence in rock beds.
Crust - correct answer ✔✔Earth's outermost layer.
Metamorphic Rock - correct answer ✔✔A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed
by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions.
Outer Core - correct answer ✔✔the liquid layer of the Earth's core that lies beneath the mantle and
surrounds the inner core
Craton - correct answer ✔✔A long-lived block of durable continental crust commonly found in the stable
interior of a continent.
Lower Mantle (Mesosphere) - correct answer ✔✔the part of the mantle that extends from the core-
mantle boundary to a depth of 660 kilometers
Unifromitarianism - correct answer ✔✔belief espoused by James Hutton that geological forces act at a
continuous uniform rate
