EAS FINAL EXAM PREP QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
To determine the age of earthquakes that occurred before record keeping by humans,
scientists
A) use the magnetic anomally time scale and the orientation of magnetic particles in
layers of sediment
B) use carbon14 dating on carbonate minerals that form along the fault surface during
an earthquake
C) use carbon14 dating on silicate minerals that form along the fault surface during an
earthquake
D) use carbon14 dating and cross-cutting relations in layers of peat deposited on or
near active faults
E) none of the above - Answers -D) Use carbon14 dating and cross-cutting relations in
layers of peat deposited on or near active faults
A geologist is looking for metamorphic rocks thrust over Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in
the state of Georgia, in which geologic province will the geologist find them
A) Appalachian plateau
B) blue ridge
C) valley and ridge
D) coastal plain
E) piedmont - Answers -B) blue ridge
Coccolithophores are
A) Photosynthetic plankton with silica
shells
B) Non-photosynthetic zooplankton with
chitin exoskeletons
C) Photosynthetic plankton with
aragonite shells
D) Non-photosynthetic plankton with
calcite shells
E) Photosynthetic plankton with calcite
shells - Answers -E) Photosynthetic plankton with calcite
shells
The loess deposited in many parts of the
Midwest ________.
A) had its source in desert regions
B) was once glacial outwash deposits
C) was deposited by the Mississippi river
D) is uniformly thick
E) is in the form of transverse dunes - Answers -B) was once glacial outwash deposits
,Defining the age of ocean deep waters (3000m) as the last time these waters were at
the surface. The oldest deep waters would be found in which ocean basin
A) Atlantic
B) Antarctic
C) Indian
D) Pacific
E) none of the above - Answers -D) Pacific
The sediments at the end of the Cretaceous are characterized by
A) higher levels of scandium
B) higher levels of potassium
C) disappearance of elvarian fossils
D) higher levels of iridium
E) presence of large numbers of dandrite
fossils - Answers -D) higher levels of iridium
A geologist is looking for folded Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the state of Georgia, in
which geologic province will the geologist find them
A) blue ridge
B) Appalachian plateau
C) valley and ridge
D) piedmont
E) coastal plain - Answers -C) valley and ridge
Acidic waters responsible for the formation
of underground caverns in limestone ______
A) form from the removal of carbon dioxide during respiration in soils above the cavern
B) form from the addition of carbon dioxide during respiration in soils above the cavern
C) form from the reaction of aragonite to calcite
D) form from the oxidation of feldspar minerals in soils above the cavern
E) form from the reduction of feldspar minerals in soils above the cavern - Answers -B)
form from the addition of carbon dioxide during respiration in soils above the cavern
In which of the following climates will
chemical weathering be the slowest?
A) hot and wet
B) cold and wet
C) cold and dry
D) hot and dry
E) weathering rates are the same in all
climates - Answers -C) cold and dry
Sunlight can reach a maximum depth of
about _______ in seawater
A) 500 meters
B) 1000 meters
,C) 10 meters
D) 100 meters
E) 1500 meters - Answers -D) 100 meters
On a seismogram taken near an earthquake
focus, ________ will show the highest
amplitudes.
A) P waves
B) S waves
C) body waves
D) Rosby waves
E) surface waves - Answers -E) surface waves
The longest interval of Earth history is called the ________.
A) Paleozoic
B) Precambrian
C) Phanerozoic
D) Pleistocene
E) Mesozoic - Answers -B) Precambrian
Which of the following statements is true?
A) cementation increases porosity;
whereas compaction decreases
porosity
B) cementation and compaction both
decrease porosity
C) cementation and compaction both
increase porosity
D) cementation decreases porosity;
whereas compaction increases porosity
E) none of the above - Answers -B) cementation and compaction both decrease
porosity
Which of the following describes radioactive decay by beta particle emission?
A) The mass number of the daughter isotope is one more than the parent,
and both isotopes have the same atomic number.
B) The daughter isotope has an atomic number one less than the parent and a
mass number two less.
C) The atomic number of the daughter isotope is one more than the parent;
the mass numbers are the same.
D) The daughter isotope has an atomic number two less than the parent and a mass
number four less
E) None of the above - Answers -C) The atomic number of the daughter isotope is one
more than the parent; the mass numbers are the same.
Ores of metals like lead, zinc, copper and
, silver are typical found in minerals of which
group below?
A) halides
B) sulfates
C) carbonates
D) sulfides
E) silicates - Answers -D) sulfides
The lithosphere is defined as ________.
A) a plastic layer composed mainly of mantle material
B) a rocky layer having a relatively uniform chemical composition
C) a rocky layer composed mainly of crustal rocks
D) a rigid layer of crustal and mantle material
E) a rigid layer of mantle material - Answers -D) a rigid layer of crustal and mantle
material
Living dinosaurs and humans were present
together
A) during the entire Mesozoic
B) at the end of the Cretaceous
C) at the end of the Permian
D) during the Tertiary
E) none of the above - Answers -E) none of the above
The continental shelf is generally __________
on passive margins compared to active
margins
A) wider
B) narrower
C) the same width
D) more hydrothermally active
E) a and d above - Answers -A) wider
Which of the following slopes is least likely to be stable?
A) a slope where the sedimentary layers are horizontal
B) a slope where the sedimentary layers dip perpendicular to the slope
C) a slope where the sedimentary layers dip parallel to the slope
D) All of the above slopes have the same stability - Answers -C) a slope where the
sedimentary layers
dip parallel to the slope
Dust blowing from desert regions over
certain ocean regions stimulates biological
productivity primarily through the addition
of ___________
A) magnesium
To determine the age of earthquakes that occurred before record keeping by humans,
scientists
A) use the magnetic anomally time scale and the orientation of magnetic particles in
layers of sediment
B) use carbon14 dating on carbonate minerals that form along the fault surface during
an earthquake
C) use carbon14 dating on silicate minerals that form along the fault surface during an
earthquake
D) use carbon14 dating and cross-cutting relations in layers of peat deposited on or
near active faults
E) none of the above - Answers -D) Use carbon14 dating and cross-cutting relations in
layers of peat deposited on or near active faults
A geologist is looking for metamorphic rocks thrust over Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in
the state of Georgia, in which geologic province will the geologist find them
A) Appalachian plateau
B) blue ridge
C) valley and ridge
D) coastal plain
E) piedmont - Answers -B) blue ridge
Coccolithophores are
A) Photosynthetic plankton with silica
shells
B) Non-photosynthetic zooplankton with
chitin exoskeletons
C) Photosynthetic plankton with
aragonite shells
D) Non-photosynthetic plankton with
calcite shells
E) Photosynthetic plankton with calcite
shells - Answers -E) Photosynthetic plankton with calcite
shells
The loess deposited in many parts of the
Midwest ________.
A) had its source in desert regions
B) was once glacial outwash deposits
C) was deposited by the Mississippi river
D) is uniformly thick
E) is in the form of transverse dunes - Answers -B) was once glacial outwash deposits
,Defining the age of ocean deep waters (3000m) as the last time these waters were at
the surface. The oldest deep waters would be found in which ocean basin
A) Atlantic
B) Antarctic
C) Indian
D) Pacific
E) none of the above - Answers -D) Pacific
The sediments at the end of the Cretaceous are characterized by
A) higher levels of scandium
B) higher levels of potassium
C) disappearance of elvarian fossils
D) higher levels of iridium
E) presence of large numbers of dandrite
fossils - Answers -D) higher levels of iridium
A geologist is looking for folded Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the state of Georgia, in
which geologic province will the geologist find them
A) blue ridge
B) Appalachian plateau
C) valley and ridge
D) piedmont
E) coastal plain - Answers -C) valley and ridge
Acidic waters responsible for the formation
of underground caverns in limestone ______
A) form from the removal of carbon dioxide during respiration in soils above the cavern
B) form from the addition of carbon dioxide during respiration in soils above the cavern
C) form from the reaction of aragonite to calcite
D) form from the oxidation of feldspar minerals in soils above the cavern
E) form from the reduction of feldspar minerals in soils above the cavern - Answers -B)
form from the addition of carbon dioxide during respiration in soils above the cavern
In which of the following climates will
chemical weathering be the slowest?
A) hot and wet
B) cold and wet
C) cold and dry
D) hot and dry
E) weathering rates are the same in all
climates - Answers -C) cold and dry
Sunlight can reach a maximum depth of
about _______ in seawater
A) 500 meters
B) 1000 meters
,C) 10 meters
D) 100 meters
E) 1500 meters - Answers -D) 100 meters
On a seismogram taken near an earthquake
focus, ________ will show the highest
amplitudes.
A) P waves
B) S waves
C) body waves
D) Rosby waves
E) surface waves - Answers -E) surface waves
The longest interval of Earth history is called the ________.
A) Paleozoic
B) Precambrian
C) Phanerozoic
D) Pleistocene
E) Mesozoic - Answers -B) Precambrian
Which of the following statements is true?
A) cementation increases porosity;
whereas compaction decreases
porosity
B) cementation and compaction both
decrease porosity
C) cementation and compaction both
increase porosity
D) cementation decreases porosity;
whereas compaction increases porosity
E) none of the above - Answers -B) cementation and compaction both decrease
porosity
Which of the following describes radioactive decay by beta particle emission?
A) The mass number of the daughter isotope is one more than the parent,
and both isotopes have the same atomic number.
B) The daughter isotope has an atomic number one less than the parent and a
mass number two less.
C) The atomic number of the daughter isotope is one more than the parent;
the mass numbers are the same.
D) The daughter isotope has an atomic number two less than the parent and a mass
number four less
E) None of the above - Answers -C) The atomic number of the daughter isotope is one
more than the parent; the mass numbers are the same.
Ores of metals like lead, zinc, copper and
, silver are typical found in minerals of which
group below?
A) halides
B) sulfates
C) carbonates
D) sulfides
E) silicates - Answers -D) sulfides
The lithosphere is defined as ________.
A) a plastic layer composed mainly of mantle material
B) a rocky layer having a relatively uniform chemical composition
C) a rocky layer composed mainly of crustal rocks
D) a rigid layer of crustal and mantle material
E) a rigid layer of mantle material - Answers -D) a rigid layer of crustal and mantle
material
Living dinosaurs and humans were present
together
A) during the entire Mesozoic
B) at the end of the Cretaceous
C) at the end of the Permian
D) during the Tertiary
E) none of the above - Answers -E) none of the above
The continental shelf is generally __________
on passive margins compared to active
margins
A) wider
B) narrower
C) the same width
D) more hydrothermally active
E) a and d above - Answers -A) wider
Which of the following slopes is least likely to be stable?
A) a slope where the sedimentary layers are horizontal
B) a slope where the sedimentary layers dip perpendicular to the slope
C) a slope where the sedimentary layers dip parallel to the slope
D) All of the above slopes have the same stability - Answers -C) a slope where the
sedimentary layers
dip parallel to the slope
Dust blowing from desert regions over
certain ocean regions stimulates biological
productivity primarily through the addition
of ___________
A) magnesium