Geology Exam 1 Questions & Answers
1) The currently accepted age of Earth is
________ years.
A)6.4 trillion
B)4.6 billion
C)4.6 thousand
D)6.4 million - ANSWERSB)4.6 billion
2)What are the basic differences between the disciplines of
physical and historical geology?
A)physical geology involves the study of rock strata, fossils,
and deposition in relation to plate movements in the
geologic past; historical geology charts how and where
the plates were moving in the past
B)physical geology is the study of fossils and sequences of
rock strata; historical geology is the study of how rocks
and minerals were used in the past
C)historical geology involves the study of rock strata,
fossils, and geologic events, utilizing the geologic time
scale as a reference; physical geology includes the study
of how rocks form and of how erosion shapes the land
surface
D)none of the above - physical geology and historical
,geology are essentially the same - ANSWERSC)historical geology involves the study of rock
strata,
fossils, and geologic events, utilizing the geologic time
scale as a reference; physical geology includes the study
3)The ________ forms the relatively cool,
brittle plates of plate tectonics.
A) Eosphere
B) Astrosphere
C) Asthenosphere
D) lithosphere - ANSWERSD) lithosphere
4)Which one of the following observations
and inferences is consistent with the idea
of uniformitarianism?
A)lava flows on the seafloor precipitated
from seawater
B)sand rolling along a stream bottom shows
that sediment is moving downstream
C)erupting volcanoes overlie burning,
subterranean, coal beds
D)all of the above - ANSWERSB)sand rolling along a stream bottom shows
that sediment is moving downstream
5)________ was an important 18th century
English geologist and proponent of
, uniformitarianism.
A)James Ussher
B)James Hutton
C)Charles Lyell
D)Isaac Newton - ANSWERSB)James Hutton
6)A ________ is a well-tested and widely
accepted view that best explains certain
scientific observations.
A)Theory
B)Law
C)Hypothesis
D)generalization - ANSWERSA)Theory
7)Which of the following best defines a mineral and a rock?
A)a mineral consists of its constituent atoms arranged in a
geometrically repetitive structure; in a rock, the atoms
are randomly bonded without any geometric pattern
B)in a mineral the constituent atoms are bonded in a
regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified
or consolidated aggregate of different mineral grains
C)a rock has an orderly, repetitive, geometrical, internal
arrangement of minerals; a mineral is a lithified or
consolidated aggregate of rocks
D)a rock consists of atoms bonded in a regular,
geometrically predictable arrangement; a mineral is a
1) The currently accepted age of Earth is
________ years.
A)6.4 trillion
B)4.6 billion
C)4.6 thousand
D)6.4 million - ANSWERSB)4.6 billion
2)What are the basic differences between the disciplines of
physical and historical geology?
A)physical geology involves the study of rock strata, fossils,
and deposition in relation to plate movements in the
geologic past; historical geology charts how and where
the plates were moving in the past
B)physical geology is the study of fossils and sequences of
rock strata; historical geology is the study of how rocks
and minerals were used in the past
C)historical geology involves the study of rock strata,
fossils, and geologic events, utilizing the geologic time
scale as a reference; physical geology includes the study
of how rocks form and of how erosion shapes the land
surface
D)none of the above - physical geology and historical
,geology are essentially the same - ANSWERSC)historical geology involves the study of rock
strata,
fossils, and geologic events, utilizing the geologic time
scale as a reference; physical geology includes the study
3)The ________ forms the relatively cool,
brittle plates of plate tectonics.
A) Eosphere
B) Astrosphere
C) Asthenosphere
D) lithosphere - ANSWERSD) lithosphere
4)Which one of the following observations
and inferences is consistent with the idea
of uniformitarianism?
A)lava flows on the seafloor precipitated
from seawater
B)sand rolling along a stream bottom shows
that sediment is moving downstream
C)erupting volcanoes overlie burning,
subterranean, coal beds
D)all of the above - ANSWERSB)sand rolling along a stream bottom shows
that sediment is moving downstream
5)________ was an important 18th century
English geologist and proponent of
, uniformitarianism.
A)James Ussher
B)James Hutton
C)Charles Lyell
D)Isaac Newton - ANSWERSB)James Hutton
6)A ________ is a well-tested and widely
accepted view that best explains certain
scientific observations.
A)Theory
B)Law
C)Hypothesis
D)generalization - ANSWERSA)Theory
7)Which of the following best defines a mineral and a rock?
A)a mineral consists of its constituent atoms arranged in a
geometrically repetitive structure; in a rock, the atoms
are randomly bonded without any geometric pattern
B)in a mineral the constituent atoms are bonded in a
regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified
or consolidated aggregate of different mineral grains
C)a rock has an orderly, repetitive, geometrical, internal
arrangement of minerals; a mineral is a lithified or
consolidated aggregate of rocks
D)a rock consists of atoms bonded in a regular,
geometrically predictable arrangement; a mineral is a
