GEOL 1500 EXAM 1 CAMPBELL ECU QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED SOLUTIONS LATEST UPDATE
2026
T/F You use large quantities of geologic materials every single day? - Answers True
What is Geology? - Answers is the natural science that seeks to understand the Earth
What is physical geology? - Answers study of earth materials and processes
What is historical geology? - Answers The study of Earth's long history.
What is a paradigm? - Answers a well documented and broadly applicable super theory
What is a theory? - Answers well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations
What is a hypothesis? - Answers a tentative or preliminary explanation based on limited data
What is the age of the universe? - Answers 14 Ga or 14 billion years old
What is the age of the Earth? - Answers 4.5 Ga or 4.5 billion years old
What are the three types of rocks? - Answers Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic
What is the rock cycle? - Answers diagram showing the processes of creating and modifying
geologic materials over time
How are igneous rocks formed? - Answers formed by the cooling and solidification of magma
How are sedimentary rocks formed? - Answers formed from weathering of rocks accumulated in
layers at earths surface
How are metamorphic rocks formed? - Answers formed by applying heat and pressure to a pre-
existing rock
Layers of the Earth - Answers crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
Gravity is the driving force for - Answers Mass wasting, Erosion, Surface water movement,
Glaciers, Tides
What are the two primary sources of energy? - Answers The Sun and Earths Interior Heat
What is almost found everywhere on earth? - Answers Water
What is a common constituent for minerals and rocks? - Answers Water
What is fundamental to life on earth? - Answers Water
What are Compression waves? - Answers P waves are fastest and travel through both liquids
and solids
, What are shear waves? - Answers cannot travel through liquids
What are seismic waves? - Answers can be reflected off boundaries, and the waves path is
refracted when passing form one material and into another
What increases with depth in the earth? - Answers Temperature, Pressure, and Density
What is the crust? - Answers is a rocky skin ranging from 2 miles thick to 45 miles thick
T/F The oldest crust in on the continents, while the youngest is on the ocean floor - Answers
True
What is the density and composition of the continental crust? - Answers Continental crust has
an average density of 2.7 g/cm^3 and composed of granite
What is the density and composition of the oceanic crust? - Answers Oceanic crust has an
average density of 3.0 g/cm^3 and composed of basalt and gabbro
What is 84% of Earths volume? - Answers The mantle
What is the depth of the mantle? - Answers 1800 miles
What are hot spots? - Answers rising blobs of deep mantle rock
What is 15% of earths volume? - Answers the core
What is composition of core? - Answers iron and nickel
Density and composition of outer core - Answers it is a liquid and has a density of 11 g/cm^3
Density and composition of inner core - Answers it is a solid and has a density of 13 g/cm^3
What does the core generate? - Answers A magnetic field
What is the lithosphere? - Answers outermost physical layer that consists of crust and mantle
What is the asthenosphere? - Answers solid yet deformable upper mantle beneath the
lithosphere. plastic like
What causes convection in the mantle? - Answers uneven distribution of heat cause convection
which moves the lithosphere plates
What is the main force the drives Plate Tectonics? - Answers Convection flow in the mantle
Who proposed continental drift? - Answers Alfred Wegener
What was the mega continent called? - Answers pangaea
How many tectonic plates are there? - Answers 20
2026
T/F You use large quantities of geologic materials every single day? - Answers True
What is Geology? - Answers is the natural science that seeks to understand the Earth
What is physical geology? - Answers study of earth materials and processes
What is historical geology? - Answers The study of Earth's long history.
What is a paradigm? - Answers a well documented and broadly applicable super theory
What is a theory? - Answers well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations
What is a hypothesis? - Answers a tentative or preliminary explanation based on limited data
What is the age of the universe? - Answers 14 Ga or 14 billion years old
What is the age of the Earth? - Answers 4.5 Ga or 4.5 billion years old
What are the three types of rocks? - Answers Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic
What is the rock cycle? - Answers diagram showing the processes of creating and modifying
geologic materials over time
How are igneous rocks formed? - Answers formed by the cooling and solidification of magma
How are sedimentary rocks formed? - Answers formed from weathering of rocks accumulated in
layers at earths surface
How are metamorphic rocks formed? - Answers formed by applying heat and pressure to a pre-
existing rock
Layers of the Earth - Answers crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
Gravity is the driving force for - Answers Mass wasting, Erosion, Surface water movement,
Glaciers, Tides
What are the two primary sources of energy? - Answers The Sun and Earths Interior Heat
What is almost found everywhere on earth? - Answers Water
What is a common constituent for minerals and rocks? - Answers Water
What is fundamental to life on earth? - Answers Water
What are Compression waves? - Answers P waves are fastest and travel through both liquids
and solids
, What are shear waves? - Answers cannot travel through liquids
What are seismic waves? - Answers can be reflected off boundaries, and the waves path is
refracted when passing form one material and into another
What increases with depth in the earth? - Answers Temperature, Pressure, and Density
What is the crust? - Answers is a rocky skin ranging from 2 miles thick to 45 miles thick
T/F The oldest crust in on the continents, while the youngest is on the ocean floor - Answers
True
What is the density and composition of the continental crust? - Answers Continental crust has
an average density of 2.7 g/cm^3 and composed of granite
What is the density and composition of the oceanic crust? - Answers Oceanic crust has an
average density of 3.0 g/cm^3 and composed of basalt and gabbro
What is 84% of Earths volume? - Answers The mantle
What is the depth of the mantle? - Answers 1800 miles
What are hot spots? - Answers rising blobs of deep mantle rock
What is 15% of earths volume? - Answers the core
What is composition of core? - Answers iron and nickel
Density and composition of outer core - Answers it is a liquid and has a density of 11 g/cm^3
Density and composition of inner core - Answers it is a solid and has a density of 13 g/cm^3
What does the core generate? - Answers A magnetic field
What is the lithosphere? - Answers outermost physical layer that consists of crust and mantle
What is the asthenosphere? - Answers solid yet deformable upper mantle beneath the
lithosphere. plastic like
What causes convection in the mantle? - Answers uneven distribution of heat cause convection
which moves the lithosphere plates
What is the main force the drives Plate Tectonics? - Answers Convection flow in the mantle
Who proposed continental drift? - Answers Alfred Wegener
What was the mega continent called? - Answers pangaea
How many tectonic plates are there? - Answers 20
