ESS 101 exam 2 WITH COMPLETE
SOLUTIONS
1. The stress rate __________ the strain rate for elastic deformation.
a. is greater than
b. is less than
c. is proportional to
d. is variable compared to e. never changes relative to - correct answer- c. is
proportional to
2. Where do earthquakes occur in the Pacific Northwest?
a. near the surface within the North American plate
b. deep within the Juna de Fuca plate
c. along the Cascadia subduction zone
d. all of the above are correct
e. only answers a and c are correct - correct answer- d. all of the above are correct
3. According to Brian Atwater's research along the Washington coastline, the
recurrence interval of large Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes is ___________.
a. ~3500 years
b. ~5000 years
c. ~10,000 years
d. ~1,000,000 years
e. none of the above recurrence intervals are correct - correct answer- e. none of the
above recurrence intervals are correct
, 4. How did geologists determine the exact day of offset on the Cascadia subduction
zone in 1700 AD?
a. they counted tree rings of dead cedar trees
b. they used radiocarbon dating of buried peat
c. they had accurate tsunami logs from Japan that recorded this event
d. they had accurate tsunami logs from native Americans that recorded this event
e. there were no records of this event - correct answer- c. they had accurate tsunami
logs from Japan that recorded this event
5. The Great Lakes basin presently drains through the St. Lawrence River drainage.
Why will the Great Lakes basin eventually drain south through the Mississippi River
drainage?
a. The northern Great Lakes area is still isostatically rising and will change the drainage
topography
b. The southern Great Lakes area is still isostatically rising and will change the drainage
topography
c. The northern Great Lakes area is still isostatically subsiding and will change the
drainage topography
d. The southern Great Lakes area is still isostatically subsiding and will change the
drainage topography
e. The Niagra escarpment is still tectonically active and is causing the northern Great
Lakes to uplift - correct answer- a. The northern Great Lakes area is still isostatically
rising and will change the drainage topography
6. Zigzag outcrop patterns are the result of ___________.
a. erosion of normal faults
b. erosion of monocline folds
c. erosion of symmetric anticline and syncline folds
d. erosion of plunging anticline and syncline
e. erosion of zigzag deposition features - correct answer- d. erosion of plunging
anticline and syncline
7. What factors influence earthquake intensity?
a. magnitude of the earthquake
b. proximity to the earthquake's epicenter
c. substrate that underlies the surface
d. all of the above factors influence earthquake intensity
e. only answers a and b are correct - correct answer- d. all of the above factors
influence earthquake intensity
8. Tsunamis may be generated _________.
a. along vertical offset normal faults at divergent margins
b. along subduction zones where vertical offset has occurred on the ocean floor
c. along transform margins where horizontal offset has occurred on the ocean floor
d. submarine landslides due to seismic events
, e. answers b and d are both correct - correct answer- e. answers b and d are both
correct
9. A minimum of _______ seismic stations is necessary to determine the focus of an
earthquake.
a. 3
b. 10
c. 1
d. 300 e. 5 - correct answer- a. 3
10. If an earthquake occurs, the _________ waves are the first to arrive at a seismic
station.
a. surface
b. shear
c. S
d. P
e. all of the seismic waves travel at the same velocity. - correct answer- d. P
11. Topset beds of a delta _________.
a. are graded to the elevation of the lake or sea level
b. are deposited at the bottom of a lake embayment
c. are prograded in the direction that a stream flows into a lake
d. all of the above answers are correct
e. only answers a and b are correct - correct answer- a. are graded to the elevation of
the lake or sea level
12. In order to relieve stress buildup that would cause a magnitude 7 earthquake,
approximately how many magnitude 5 earthquakes would have to occur?
a. 3
b. 30
c. 300
d. 900
e. 27,000 - correct answer- b. 30
13. If you dated a volcanic rock that unknowingly lost argon through diffusion the
resulting potassium- argon age _________.
a. would not be affected by argon loss
b. would appear older than the true age of the volcanic rock
c. would appear younger than the true age of the volcanic rock
d. would be skewed towards the argon heat loss equation
e. none of the above answers are correct - correct answer- c. would appear younger
than the true age of the volcanic rock
14. A high strain rate is conducive to _______________ deformation in rock.
a. brittle fracture
b. elastic
SOLUTIONS
1. The stress rate __________ the strain rate for elastic deformation.
a. is greater than
b. is less than
c. is proportional to
d. is variable compared to e. never changes relative to - correct answer- c. is
proportional to
2. Where do earthquakes occur in the Pacific Northwest?
a. near the surface within the North American plate
b. deep within the Juna de Fuca plate
c. along the Cascadia subduction zone
d. all of the above are correct
e. only answers a and c are correct - correct answer- d. all of the above are correct
3. According to Brian Atwater's research along the Washington coastline, the
recurrence interval of large Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes is ___________.
a. ~3500 years
b. ~5000 years
c. ~10,000 years
d. ~1,000,000 years
e. none of the above recurrence intervals are correct - correct answer- e. none of the
above recurrence intervals are correct
, 4. How did geologists determine the exact day of offset on the Cascadia subduction
zone in 1700 AD?
a. they counted tree rings of dead cedar trees
b. they used radiocarbon dating of buried peat
c. they had accurate tsunami logs from Japan that recorded this event
d. they had accurate tsunami logs from native Americans that recorded this event
e. there were no records of this event - correct answer- c. they had accurate tsunami
logs from Japan that recorded this event
5. The Great Lakes basin presently drains through the St. Lawrence River drainage.
Why will the Great Lakes basin eventually drain south through the Mississippi River
drainage?
a. The northern Great Lakes area is still isostatically rising and will change the drainage
topography
b. The southern Great Lakes area is still isostatically rising and will change the drainage
topography
c. The northern Great Lakes area is still isostatically subsiding and will change the
drainage topography
d. The southern Great Lakes area is still isostatically subsiding and will change the
drainage topography
e. The Niagra escarpment is still tectonically active and is causing the northern Great
Lakes to uplift - correct answer- a. The northern Great Lakes area is still isostatically
rising and will change the drainage topography
6. Zigzag outcrop patterns are the result of ___________.
a. erosion of normal faults
b. erosion of monocline folds
c. erosion of symmetric anticline and syncline folds
d. erosion of plunging anticline and syncline
e. erosion of zigzag deposition features - correct answer- d. erosion of plunging
anticline and syncline
7. What factors influence earthquake intensity?
a. magnitude of the earthquake
b. proximity to the earthquake's epicenter
c. substrate that underlies the surface
d. all of the above factors influence earthquake intensity
e. only answers a and b are correct - correct answer- d. all of the above factors
influence earthquake intensity
8. Tsunamis may be generated _________.
a. along vertical offset normal faults at divergent margins
b. along subduction zones where vertical offset has occurred on the ocean floor
c. along transform margins where horizontal offset has occurred on the ocean floor
d. submarine landslides due to seismic events
, e. answers b and d are both correct - correct answer- e. answers b and d are both
correct
9. A minimum of _______ seismic stations is necessary to determine the focus of an
earthquake.
a. 3
b. 10
c. 1
d. 300 e. 5 - correct answer- a. 3
10. If an earthquake occurs, the _________ waves are the first to arrive at a seismic
station.
a. surface
b. shear
c. S
d. P
e. all of the seismic waves travel at the same velocity. - correct answer- d. P
11. Topset beds of a delta _________.
a. are graded to the elevation of the lake or sea level
b. are deposited at the bottom of a lake embayment
c. are prograded in the direction that a stream flows into a lake
d. all of the above answers are correct
e. only answers a and b are correct - correct answer- a. are graded to the elevation of
the lake or sea level
12. In order to relieve stress buildup that would cause a magnitude 7 earthquake,
approximately how many magnitude 5 earthquakes would have to occur?
a. 3
b. 30
c. 300
d. 900
e. 27,000 - correct answer- b. 30
13. If you dated a volcanic rock that unknowingly lost argon through diffusion the
resulting potassium- argon age _________.
a. would not be affected by argon loss
b. would appear older than the true age of the volcanic rock
c. would appear younger than the true age of the volcanic rock
d. would be skewed towards the argon heat loss equation
e. none of the above answers are correct - correct answer- c. would appear younger
than the true age of the volcanic rock
14. A high strain rate is conducive to _______________ deformation in rock.
a. brittle fracture
b. elastic
