Geology 111 Exam Questions And Answers (Verified And Updated)

Geology 111 Exam Questions And Answers (Verified And Updated) Most natural disasters are which of the following? - answerrarely if ever cyclic because there are too many overlapping effects The costs of catastrophic events continue to increase primarily because ____. - answermore people are moving into areas at high risk for natural disasters When is a large event such as a major earthquake not a disaster? - answerwhen it happens in an area without any people Which of the following was the main reason why most scientists did not believe in the concept of continental drift? - answerThe originator of the concept of continental drift did not adequately explain how the continents could move. The theory of continental drift was explained and replaced by the theory of plate tectonics. - answerTrue Which of the following is not true with respect to the San Andreas fault? - answerThe San Andreas fault represents the convergent boundary between the North American and the Pacific plates. How did mountain ranges like the Himalayas, Alps, and Appalachians form? - answerthey all formed along continent-continent convergent plate boundaries The meteorologist who originally proposed the idea of continents being able to move around on Earth's surface was _____. - answerAlfred Wegener The originator of the theory of continental drift called the single landmass _______. - answerPangaea A transform plate boundary involves - answertwo plates sliding laterally past each other. How do we know about the internal structure of the earth? - answerBy using the behavior of seismic waves as they travel through the earth. The Midcontinent Rift which underlies part of Iowa is evidence of what past geologic event? - answerThe Midcontinent Rift is evidence that the central part of the North American continent was once the site of a divergent boundary that failed. When the Dec. 16, 1811 New Madrid earthquake occurred in Missouri, church bells in New York rang in response to shaking from this earthquake. - answerTrue Which of the following is not true with respect to the strongest aftershock during the earthquakes? - answerThe strongest aftershock caused the formation of the bluffs along the Missouri River near Council Bluffs, Iowa. The New Madrid earthquakes occurred _______. - answerall of the above Which of the following did not occur during the Dec. 16, 1811, New Madrid earthquake? - answerDowned power lines caused numerous small fires along the Mississippi River. The Reelfoot Rift formed when the supercontinent of Pangaea began to split apart around 700 million years ago. - answerFalse The Reelfoot Rift formed _______. - answeras a result of the breakup of Rodinia over 700 million years ago. Which of the following would be a modern analogy to the Reelfoot Rift when it was active? - answerthe triple junction centered around the Afar Triangle in northeast Africa. Sand boils and mud volcanoes form when _____. - answerintense shaking ejects overpressured mud and sand to the surface along narrow fractures. The New Madrid Seismic Zone does not include which of the following states? - answerIowa Why does the intensity map for the Dec. 16, 1811, earthquake not show any intensities on the west side of the map? - answerIntensities are not shown on the west side of the map because the population of European settlers in that part of the U.S. was sparse. Moment magnitude depends on what main factor(s)? - answershear strength of the rocks displaced, total surface area of rocks ruptured, and average slip distance on the fault What does the Richter Magnitude Scale depend on? - answerthe maximum amplitude of earthquake waves on a seismograph Earthquakes occur in association with convergent and transform fault boundaries, but not divergent boundaries. - answerFalse The point along a fault where movement first occurs during an earthquake is called the earthquake's ______. - answerfocus Which type or types of seismic waves can travel through the mantle of the Earth and be recorded by seismographs? - answerboth P and S waves Earthquakes associated with reverse faulting results in crustal shortening, which is generally found at which type of boundary? - answerConvergent