Which of the following describes the inclination of the Earth's magnetic field from the equator to the poles?

A. It becomes more vertical

B. It becomes more horizontal

C. It rotates increasingly clockwise

D. It rotates increasingly counterclockwise

E. It is independent of latitude.

We can determine the distance of a continent from the equator when a rock formation forms by analyzing which of the following from the rocks:

A. Magnetic inclination           B. Magnetic declination

C. Total strength of the magnetic field

D. How many magnetic reverals are preserved

E. Symmetry of the magnetic field

If a plate is moving as shown in the figure below, which of the following features would you likely find at "X"?

^^Plate^^

X

Which of the following volcanoes is composed primarily of basaltic lava flows?

A. Shield Volcano

B. Stratovolcano

C. Composite Volcano

D. Cinder Cone

E. None of the above.

Which combination of viscosity and volatile content produces spectacular  "lava fountains"?

A. Low viscosity and high volatile content

B. Low viscosity and low volatile content

C. High viscosity and high volatile content

D. High viscosity and low volatile content

E. B or D

Convergent: Melting occurs when one plate sinks back into the Earth because water is dragged down which triggers the melting)

Divergent: Melting occurs when two plates move apart which thins out the lithosphere and lowers the pressure which causees melting.

1. jigsaw fit of continents

2. distribution of mountain ranges and structures

3. distribution of animals and plants

4. distribution of climate belts (glacial tills, coal etc)

5. paleomagnetic data (constrains lattitude and rotation of land mass)

Which of the following chemical bonds is the weakest (other things being equal)?

A. Covalent bonds

B. Ionic bonds

C. Metallic bonds

D. van der Waals bonds

E. not necessarily any of the above

Which of the following describes the relationship between wavelength and energy of the electromagnetic wave?

A. The energy is independent of wavelength

B. Shorter wavelength corresponds to higher energy

C. Shorter wavelength corresponds to lower energy

D. It depends on the color of the light.

E. A single wavelength can have a number of energies

Which of the following colors has the highest energy?

A. Red

B. Orange

C. Yellow

D. Green

E. Blue

E. Blue

(it is closest to Violet which has the highest energy)

Which of the following elements was NOT on our list of those that commonly cause color in minerals?

A. Al (Aluminum)

B. Fe (Iron)

C. Cr (Chromium)

D. Ti (Titanium)

E. V (Vanadium)

If an round object undergoes strain and becomes smaller, what kind of stress has deformed it?

A. increased confining pressure

B. compressional directed stress

C. extensional directed stress

D. shear stress

E. all of the above

Which of the following stresses is the main reason for the formation of "Basin and Range province" in the western US?

A. Increased confining pressure

B. compressional differential stress

C. Extensional differential stress

D. shear stress

E. all of the above

Which of the following is a typical sequence of events during experimental deformation of rock?

A. failure, ductile deformation, elastic deformation

B. ductile deformation, elastic deformation, failure

C. elastic deformation, ductile deformation, failure

D. elastic deformation, failure, ductile deformation

E. none of the above

Which of the following favors ductile deformation?

A. Lower temperatures

B. Lower confining pressures

C. Slow Strain rate

If an earthquake hits your hometown, which would be the most useful to know if yu are concerned about damage to your home?

A) location of the epicenter

B) location of the focus

C) the magnitude

D) the intensity

E) the type of fault that produced the earthquake

Which of the following locations, generates the most earthquakes? 

A. continental edges, like the Andes.

B. continental interiors, like the New Madrid area

C. The ocean basins, like the Pacific.

D. Island groups, like Indonesia.

E. Tectonic plate boundaries, regardless of geography.

All of the following are characteristics of seismic "P-waves", except:

A. Travel faster than S waves.

B. Travel only through solids.

C. Compress and dilate rocks as they pass.

D. It is the first wave received by seismometers.

E. They can travel through the core.

The moment magnitude of an earthquake depends on all of the following except:

A. the total length of the fault from which the earthquake was generated.

B. the size of the area that ruptured on the fault surface

C. the rigidity of the rock

D. the amount of fault displacement during the earthquake

Which of the following is common threat when an earthquake occurs in water-saturated, unconsolidated material such as in river deltas or old lakes?

A. Fires

B. Landslides

C. Liquefication

D. Tsunami

E. None of the above

Which of the following is thought to be associated with fracturing of rock just prior to a big earthquake?

A. unusually high release of Radon gas

B. Changes in water levels in wells

C. Unusual animal behavior

D. Changes in the electromagnetic field from rocks in the area

E. All of the above

 Choose one type of mountain and (a) explain how that type forms and (b) give an example of that kind of 

mountain

One type of mountain is a fold and thrust belt mountain. These mountains form in areas where the crust

is under compression and is contracting. As a result of the compression, the crust is folded and thrust faults form. As 

folding happens, some area of the crust move upwards (forming a mountain).  When the thrust faults move, the 

hanging wall block moves up, forming a mountain. An example of a fold and thrust mountain is the Rocky

Mountains of western North America

Long term predictions of an earthquake can be made based on our understanding of the way faults 

behave. Faults that are creeping do not have earthquake risks. Faults that are locked have the potential to generate 

earthquakes. Locked sections of faults that have not had an earthquake in a long time (called “seismic gaps”) are 

likely to have earthquakes. Locked areas right next to an area that has just had an earthquake are also high risk. 

Finally, if a section of fault has had several earthquakes in the past, the cyclicity of the earthquakes can also be used 

for long-term prediction

Color occurs in most minerals due to selective absorption of certain wavelengths (which correspond to 

certain colors or energies). Only certain elements in minerals are capable of doing the selective absorption; these 

are the “chromophores” such as Fe, Ti, and Cr. These elements have electrons that can jump to higher energy levels 

and absorb certain wavelengths (blue/violet, for example), but when the electrons drop down, they do so in steps 

and emit different (lower energy) wavelengths (like red or infrared/heat). The resulting color we see, is white light 

minus the absorbed color (minus blue/violet in this example), plus any emitted colors (red in this example).

Which soil horizon is our main source of aluminum?

A. O horizon- organic-rich layer

B. A horizon- mineral+organic mixed layer

C. E horizon- zone of leaching and eluviation

D. B horizon- zone of accumulation

E. C horizon- partly weathered regolith

Which of the following is the main product of chemical weathering on the Earth?

A. Clays

B. Feldspar

C. Quartz

D. Limonite

E. Smaller fragments of the original rock

Which of the following is the main product of mechanical weathering?

A. Clays

B. Feldspars

C. Quartz

D. Limonite

E. Smaller fragments of the original rock

What is the main cause of creep on a slope?

A. Removal of overlying rock causing expansion and fracturing of rock

B. Excessive rain causing the slope to be unstable

C. Extreme chemical weathering producing very thick soil

D. Cyclic expansion and contraction of the soil by, say, freezing and thawing.

E. Extreme cold such that the ground always remains frozen

Of all of Earth's near-surface water, what percent is groundwater?

Where does most of our aluminum come from? Explain how the aluminum is concentrated.

What is a “landslide”? Give an example of a landslide type and its definition. Describe one trigger for landslides.

What is creep and what causes it? (Describe and/or sketch how creep works.) What are some lines of evidence that creep is occurring on a slope?

Describe/sketch the different reservoirs of water on Earth and the processes of water transfer between those reservoirs

What are the three factors that control the velocity of a stream? Explain/describe the effect of each factor (e.g., “The greater the ?, the faster the velocity”).

The gradient or slope. The steeper the gradient, the higher the velocity.

The shape of the channel cross section. The less surface area of the channel in contact with water, the greater the velocity.

The size of the channel cross section. The larger the channel cross section, the greater the velocity.

Name and describe one potential problem associated with groundwater.

Which of the following comes closest to the typical speed of the tectonic plates on Earth?

A. a few inches per year

B. a few feet per year

C. a few yards per year

D. a few inches per million years

E a few feet per billion years

Which of the following plates does not contain any continents?

A. Nazca plate

B. India-Australian plate

C. South American plate

D. Antarctic plate

E. Eurasian plate

If one were to measure the magnetic inclination preserved in the ancient continental glacial deposits like those preserved in India, the inclination would likely be:

A) nearly vertical

B) nearly horizontal

C) reversed

D) around 45 degrees

E) unrelated to where the glaciers formed

Which of the following combinations of magma composition and volatile content results in violent eruptions?

A) basaltic magma with little water

B) basaltic magma with a lot of water

C) granitic magma with little water

D) granitic magma with a lot of water.

E) none of the above

Which of the following combinations of magma composition and volatile content results in thin, long lava flows?

A) basaltic magma with little water

B) basaltic magma with a lot of water

C) granitic magma with little water

D) granitic magma with a lot of water

E) none of the above

What is thought to be the cause of the "Year with out a summer" in 1816?

A) the eruption of Tambora in Indonesia

B) the eruption of Yellowstone "super volcano"

C) the eruption of Siberian flood basalts

D) the eruption of Mt. St. Helens

E) a relatively small meteorite impact

Which of the following is thought to have caused the largest extinction on the planet?

A) a large pre-historic eruption of Yellowstone caldera

B) The Deccan flood basalts in India

C) The eruption of Long Valley caldera

D) all of the above

E) none of the above

Based on plate tectonics, which of the following statements is true about California?

A) it will sink into the ocean

B) earthquakes will eventually cause volcanos

C) it is drifting towards the center of the U.S. pushing up mountains in Nevada

D) it's western side will separate and eventually collide with Alaska

E) because it is above a hot spot it will remain in place

The area of the Red Sea is an example of which of the following?

A) divergent

B) convergent

C) transform

D) hot spot

E) collision zone

If an area of a continent contains a lot of limestone, what would you expect the magnetic inclination of those limestones be?

A) nearly horizontal

B) about 30 degrees

C) about 60 degrees

D) nearly vertical

E) there is no expected relationship between abundant limestone and the magnetic inclination

If an area of a continent contains a lot of volcanic rock, what would you expect the magnetic  inclination to be?

A) nearly horizontal

B) about 30 degrees

C) about 60 degrees

D) nearly vertical

E) there is no expected relationship between abundant volcanic rocks and the magnetic inclination

An element is defined by the number of which of the following particles?

A) cation

B) anion

C) proton

D) neutron

E) electron

Which of the following chemical bonds is the strongest (other things being equal)?

A) covalent bonds

B) ionic bonds

C) metallic bonds

D) van der Waals bonds

E) not necessarily any of the above

Which of the following minerals is used directly in the manufacture of glass?

A) gypsum

B) mica

C) feldspar

D) clay

E) diamond

Which of the following minerals is used directly in the manufacture of drywall?

A) gypsum

B) mica

C) feldspar

D) clay

E) diamond

Which of the following is an atom that has lost one of more electrons?

A) cation

B) anion

C) proton

D) electron 

E) neutrons

Which of the following frequencies of electromagnetic radiation has the shortest wavelength?

A) 100 Hz

B) 10 GHz

C) 50 MHz

D)10 Hz

E) 1 GHz

Which of the following has the longest wavelength?

A) visible light

B) x-rays

C) gamma rays

D) ultraviolet rays

E) radio waves

Which of the following describes the relationship between the energy of light and color?

A) a single color can have more than one corresponding energy

B) shorter wavelengths (violet end of spectrum) have lower energies

C) longer wavelengths (red end of spectrum) have higher energies

D) the energy is indepenedent of wavelength

E) none of the above

Which of the following explains why elements like Cr, Fe, V, and Ti, are capable of causing color in minerals?

A) they absorb certain wavelengths of light and emit other wavelengths

B) they have a strong tendency to form metallic bonds

C) they are found in every mineral and therefore are the most widespread cause of color

D) they are small cations that can fit in the crystal structure of most minerals

E) they are neutrally charged and can fit into minerals without requiring bonds

Under similar conditions of pressure and temperature, limestone will behave more <blank> compared to granite.

A) brittle

B) ductile

C) strong

D) elastic

E) A and B

Why do you think earthquakes are rare at depths greater than a few kilometers below Earth's surface?

A) because there is magma everywhere at depth preventing earthquakes

B) because earthquakes can only be generated in the mantle

C) because mountains need to be present for earthquakes to occur

D) because water is required to generate earthquakes

E) because brittle faults tend to be confined to areas of lower confining pressure

All of the following are, or are part of, a fold-and-thrust mountain belt except:

A) Mt. St. Helens

B) Mt. Everest

C) the Alps

D) the Appalachians

E) the mountains in east Turkey

Which of the following is a measure of the amount of damage that occurs at a particular place due to an earthquake?

A) focal power

B) intensity

C) epicentral distance

D) magnitude

E) elasticity

Which of the following is NOT a factor that goes into calculating the moment magnitude of an earthquake?

A) maximum acceleration at the epicenter

B) area of fault that slipped

C) amount of fault displacement

D) rigidity of the rocks at the fault

E) none of the above

Which earthquake is the most expensive (caused the greatest dollar equivalent damage) earthquake in history?

A) 1811 New Madrid earthquake

B) 1556 Shensi, China

C) 1906 San Francisco quake

D) 1995 Kobe, Japan

E) 1960 southern Chile

Which is the largest earthquake ever recorded?

A) 1811 New Madrid earthquake

B) 1556 Shensi, China

C) 1906 San Francisco quake

D) 1995 Kobe, Japan

E) 1960 southern Chile