Geology 101
Exam #5
Fall 2001

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Most of the ocean floor is the flat lying __________ that is/are 2.5 - 4.5 km below the ocean surface.
a. seamounts
b. abyssal plane
c. interior basin
d. continental shelf
e. mid ocean ridge

2. If compressional forces are applied to a layer of rock, it can produce
a. folds or normal faults
b. folds or reverse faults
c. folds but not faults
d. normal faults but not folds
e. reverse faults but not folds

3. If extensional forces are applied to a layer of rock, it can produce
a. folds or normal faults
b. folds or reverse faults
c. folds but not faults
d. normal faults but not folds
e. reverse faults but not folds

4. The density of the earth was first calculated by
a. Sir Isaac Newton
b. surveyors in India
c. studying satellite orbits
d. seismologists in Europe
e. the ancient Greeks

5. "...the change in the shape and/or volume of a rock unit caused by forces acting on the rock unit."
a. stress
b. strain
c. compression
d. tension
e. fold

6. The difference between elastic deformation and plastic deformation is that
a. elastic deformation is not reversible
b. plastic deformation is not reversible
c. elastic deformation is brittle
d. plastic deformation never occurs
e. elastic deformation never occurs

7. __________ is the compass direction of a line produced by the intersection of an inclined rock layer or fault, with a horizontal plane.
a. plunge
b. dip
c. strike
d. trend
e. anticline

8. The center of the Black Hills has been uplifted, so the rocks sort of form a dome over the top. This sort of structure is a kind of
a. thrust fault
b. reverse fault
c. normal fault
d. anticline
e. syncline

9. Fault block mountains and horst & graben structures are characterized by __________.
a. thrust faults
b. reverse faults
c. normal faults
d. strike-slip faults
e. detachment faults

10. The topography of Nevada is mostly due to
a. thrust faults
b. fault block mountains
c. strike-slip faults
d. slumping
e. folding

11. The San Andreas Fault is a classic example of a ______________.
a. thrust fault
b. reverse fault
c. normal fault
d. strike-slip fault
e. detachment fault

12. When we say an earthquake is "magnitude 7" we are using the
a. bathroom scale
b. Mercalli scale
c. Richter scale
d. Wadati-Benioff scale
e. fish scale

13. Which type of seismic wave moves fastest?
a. P-wave
b. S-wave
c. surface wave
d. ocean wave
e. secondary wave

14. Arguably, the strongest earthquake ever recorded by seismographs was the
a. 1903 San Francisco earthquake
b. 1964 Good Friday Earthquake in Alaska
c. 1989 Loma Preita World Series earthquake
d. 1960 Tiang Shan nuclear blast
e. 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake

15. Who won the football championship last weekend?
a. Vikings
b. Soo
c. Sew
d. Sue
e. Sioux

16. _______ waves are a type of body wave.
a. shear
b. primary
c. P
d. secondary
e. all of the above

17. What is a tsunami?
a. an especially strong earthquake
b. a landslide triggered by an earthquake
c. a tidal wave triggered by an earthquake
d. a strong but unfelt earthquake
e. a not very strong earthquake that is easily felt

18. Around 1960, there was lots of money available so seismologists could set up seismographs. Why?
a. the economy was booming
b. John F. Kennedy was President
c. the National Science Foundation was created
d. Vine and Matthews confirmed seafloor spreading
e. the cold war

19. Many earthquakes take place around the margin of the Pacific Ocean because
a. the rocks are brittle
b. subduction takes place there
c. ocean water is interacting with continents
d. the Pacific Ocean is surrounded by the San Andreas Fault
e. that is the only place where continental plates are diverging rapidly

20. Which part of the Earth contains the most volume?
a. mantle
b. core
c. crust
d. lithosphere
e. biosphere

21. Heat can be transferred in a number of different ways. Which of these processes is a form of convection?
a. solar energy hits earth
b. heat moves from the cold end of a rock to the hot end
c. hot magma moves through the earth
d. uranium emits radiation
e. all of the above

22. The boundary between the crust and the mantle is the
a. P wave shadow zone
b. inner core
c. outer core
d. Benioff zone
e. Moho

23. How thick is the crust of the earth?
a. 0-2 km
b. 2-4 km
c. 0-10 km
d. 2-10 km
e. 0-70 km

24. The asthenosphere is part of the Earth's
a. crust
b. mantle
c. outer core
d. inner core
e. lithosphere

25. The outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and outermost mantle, is called the
a. crust
b. mantle
c. outer core
d. inner core
e. lithosphere

26. To determine the epicenter of an earthquake, seismologists need data from at least _______ seismograph(s).
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5

27. Which type of seismic wave does not travel through liquid?
a. P-wave
b. S-wave
c. surface wave
d. ocean wave
e. primary wave

28. Geologists and physicists believe the core of the Earth is mostly
a. quartz
b. nickel
c. carbon
d. magnesium
e. iron

29. What ocean floor features are associated with the oldest rocks?
a. subduction zones
b. transform faults
c. reverse faults
d. mid-ocean ridges
e. guyots

30. The Moho was discovered by studying
a. gravity
b. heat flow
c. magnetism
d. earthquakes
e. friction

31. Where is new lithosphere being formed?
a. subduction zones
b. transform faults
c. reverse faults
d. mid-ocean ridges
e. guyots

32. The ocean floor contains magnetic stripes caused by ________________.
a. volcanoes
b. earthquakes
c. subduction
d. the coincidence of transform faults and arc volcanism
e. reversal of the Earth's magnetic field

33. Pangaea is
a. a type of fold-belt mountain
b. a type of igneous rock associated with transform faults
c. the name of a supercontinent that once existed
d. the theory that explains why earthquakes and volcanoes occur around the Pacific Ocean
e. all of the above

34. What type of plate boundary is most directly associated with mountain building?
a. transform fault
b. divergent margin
c. convergent margin
d. spreading center
e. basin and range

35. Which of the following is a passive continental margin?
a. the west coast of South America
b. the Aleutian Islands
c. Hawaii
d. the Rocky Mountains
e. the east coast of the United States

36. The Earth's crust is extremely thin or nonexistent
a. in the center of old continents
b. at active continental margins
c. at transform faults
d. at subduction zones
e. at mid ocean ridges

37. ____________ are coral islands, first studied in detail by Charles Darwin in 1831.
a. tsunamis
b. subduction zones
c. atolls
d. Benioff zones
e. guyots

38. The type of stress that normally occurs at converging plate boundaries is:
a. compression
b. tension
c. strain
d. shearing
e. any of the above

39. A normal fault occurs as a result of:
a. tensional stress, and the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall.
b. tensional stress, and the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall.
c. compressional stress, and the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall.
d. compressional stress, and the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall.
e. shear stress, and the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall

40. Earthquakes measuring 5 and 7 on the Richter scale differ in wave amplitude by:
a. 2 times
b. 10 times
c. 100 times
d. 7/5 = 1.4 times
e. 5/7 = 0.7 times

Short Answer - Only answer three out of the following four questions (they continue on back of page). So, leave one blank. (No extra credit if you answer all of them.)

41. How does an active continental margin differ from a passive one. Give an example of each.

42. Describe the lithosphere. In what important way does it differ from the asthenosphere?

43. How are faults, foci and epicenters related?

44. Contrast the movements that occur along normal and reverse faults. What type of stress is indicated by each fault?