Chapter 1 Introduction to Natural Hazards
1) Where do the forces for most external processes on the Earth come from?
A) The sun
B) The ocean
C) The atmosphere
D) The magnetic field of the Earth
E) The internal heat of the Earth
Answer: A
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
2) Natural Hazards differ from Disasters in that
A) natural hazards have the potential to impact human life
B) natural disasters refer to the effects of a hazard on a particular area at a
particular time
C) natural hazards only refer to earthquakes and volcanoes
D) disasters mostly refer to hazards created by people
Answer: B
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
3) An earthquake in Mexico City with a moderate magnitude may cause a catastrophe
rather than a disaster because:
A) Mexico City is densely populated
B) Some buildings in Mexico City are not well built
C) Earthquake may produce slides
D) Bridges and Highways may not be able to withstand a quake
E) All of the above are reasons for a catastrophe.
Answer: E
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Application
4) Which of the following locations are not at risk for Hurricanes?
A) Florida
B) Louisiana
C) Texas
D) California
E) All of the above are at risk for Hurricanes.
Answer: D
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
,5) Which of the following areas of the United States are not at risk for any
natural disaster?
A) San Francisco, CA
B) New York, NY
C) Detroit, MI
D) Miami, FL
E) All areas of the United States are at risk for some kind of natural disaster
Answer: E
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
6) Which describes the recent trend in worldwide natural disaster occurrence?
A) It has been decreasing steadily
B) It has been decreasing exponentially
C) It has remained constant
D) It has been increasing steadily
E) It has been increasing exponentially
Answer: D
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
7) Which of the following Hazards has the greatest potential for Catastrophe?
A) Flood
B) Landslide
C) Drought
D) Lightning
E) Coastal Erosion
Answer: A
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
8) Which of the following Hazards causes the greatest number of deaths per year in
the United States?
A) Volcanoes
B) Hurricanes
C) Tornadoes & other windstorms
D) Landslides
E) Drought
Answer: C
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
,9) Why do lightning strikes have a low potential for catastrophe?
A) Lightning is very rare in general
B) Lightning doesn't normally hurt people
C) Lightning doesn't usually affect people and property on a large scale
D) Lightning only occurs in the summer
E) It is too easy to protect people and property from lightning strikes
Answer: C
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Application
10) Why would urbanizing a location increase that location's potential for
catastrophe?
A) People might be forced to live in low lying or unstable lands susceptible to
slides or floods
B) Urbanization would interfere with the drainage of the land making it more likely
to flood, slide or subside
C) Native plants would be removed increasing erosion of land
D) Higher population density would cause damage to become greater
E) All of the above are reasons why urbanization might increase catastrophes
Answer: E
Section: 1.1
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
11) Which of the following is something geologists look for in understanding the
history of natural disasters in an area?
A) Folds
B) Faults
C) Lava flows
D) Soil
E) All of the above
Answer: E
Section: 1.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
12) What is the importance of the notion that "hazards are repetitive"?
A) We need to look to past events to understand what is probable for the future
B) If something has already happened, like a volcanic eruption, then we won't need
to worry about it
C) New events will probably happen exactly like old ones, so we need to be prepared
D) Hazards keep happening constantly in an area, so people already know how to
react to them
E) All of the above are true
Answer: A
Section: 1.2
Bloom's Taxonomy: Application
, 13) Which of the following is not one of the Geologic Cycles?
A) The Tectonic Cycle
B) Kreb's Cycle
C) The Rock Cycle
D) The Hydrologic Cycle
E) The Biogeochemical Cycle
Answer: B
Section: 1.3
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
14) Which of the following would not be part of the Tectonic Cycle?
A) Earthquakes
B) Volcanoes
C) Mountain Building
D) Hurricanes
E) Continental formation
Answer: D
Section: 1.3
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension
15) How do Igneous Rocks form?
A) Crystallization of magma
B) Deposition of sediment
C) Transportation of sediment
D) Heat from earth's core
E) Earthquakes create them
Answer: A
Section: 1.3
Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge
16) Why is the Rock Cycle considered a "cycle"?
A) Rock goes from one form to the next in a very strict order
B) Rock material is constantly being recycled into different forms or back to magma
C) Rocks are round like a cycle
D) Rocks periodically change on a set time scale
E) It describes one form that rocks can take in their lifetimes
Answer: B
Section: 1.3
Bloom's Taxonomy: Comprehension