Exam 3 is on Wednesday, December 14 during our regular class time.

Practice questions:

1. A large land mass presently covered by an ice sheet is:
 

A. Canada
B. Greenland
C. Iceland
D. Alaska
E. Asia

   
2. The movement of the ice in a valley (mountain, alpine) glacier is:
  A. Always down hill
B. Down hill, except during retreat when it flows up hill
C. Greater at the sides of the valley
D. Unaffected by climatic changes
E. The same every year
   
3. The age of the Earth, as indicated by radiometric dating of meteorite, lunar, and terrestrial rocks, is generally believed to be approximately:
  A. 10 billion years.
B. 4.5 billion years.
C. 250 Million Years.
D. 10,000 years.
E. 6,000 years.
   
4. The most abundant element in the Earth's crust is:
 

A. Iron.
B. Silicon.
C. Calcium.
D. Oxygen.
E. Aluminum.

   
5. Types of stresses that are found in the Earth's crust include all of the following EXCEPT:
  A. Anticline.
B. Shear.
C. Tensional.
D. Compressional.
   
6. Strain, as reflected in rocks:
  A.  Can be brittle.
B.  Can be ductile.
C.  Can result in a change in volume.
D.  Is a response to stress.
E.  All of the above.
   
7. Ductile or plastic deformation without breakage (faulting) is most likely to occur under which of the following circumstances?
  A. Rapid deformation near the earth's surface.
B. Rapid deformation at some depth (2-15 km) in the crust.
C. Slow deformation near the earth's surface.
D. Slow deformation at some depth (2-15 km) in the crust.
E. Rapid, then slow, then rapid deformation at great depth (>30 km).
   
8. As you move from the outside inward to the center axis of a syncline, the layers exposed at the Earth's surface become:
  A. Younger.
B. Older.
C. No change.
D. Become more calcium-rich.
E. Can't tell.
   
9. A _________ is a fracture in bedrock along which movement has taken place.
 

A. joint
B. fault
C. plane
D. strike
E. strain

   
10. Normal, reverse and thrust faults are all examples of:
 

A. dip-slip faults.
B. strike-slip faults.
C. tensional faults.
D. compressional faults.
E. grabens.
   
11. In a normal fault, the hanging-wall block moves ______ relative to the footwall block.
 

A. up.
B. down.
C. side to side.
D. up at a low angle.
E. it stays stationary.
   
12. The San Andreas Fault is an example of:
  A. A normal dip-slip fault.
B. A strike-slip fault.
C. A reverse dip-slip fault.
D. A thrust fault.
E. None of the above
   
13. The modified Mercalli scale is:
  A.  A quantitative scale of earthquake magnitude.
B.  A qualitative scale of earthquake intensity.
C.  An expression of the motion on a standard seismogram.
D.  Modified to the point of absurdity.
E.  Both (A) and (B) above.
   
14. The point within the earth where seismic waves first originate is the _________.
 

A. scarp.
B. epicenter
C. focus
D. trace
E. origin
   
15. The last episode of glaciation was at its peak _____ years ago.
 

A. 8 thousand
B. 18 thousand
C. 50 thousand
D. 125 thousand
E. 1 million

   
16. A(n) ___ is a streamlined hill of till that has been remolded beneath a glacier.
 

A. roche moutonnée
B. moraine
C. drumlin
D. esker
E. kame

   
17. The upper part of a glacier, the part with perennial snow and ice, is called the ___________.
 

A. zone of accumulation
B. zone of wastage
C. zone of ablation
D. recharge zone
E. discharge zone

   
18. Under the influence of gravity mountain glaciers move downward into the ______.
 

A. zone of accumulation
B. zone of replenishment
C. zone of wasting
D. recharge zone
E. discharge zone
   
19. A bowl-shaped depression where valley (alpine) glaciers originate and that is formed by headward erosion is called:
  A. Horn.
B. Cirque.
C. Proglacial Lake.
D. Paternoster Lake.
E. Arête.
   
20. Geologic structures are important in oil and gas exploration because:
 

A. structures are caused by oil and gas generation.
B. structures can trap oil and gas.
C. structures only form where there is oil and gas.
D. all structures contain oil and gas deposits.
E. structures are easy to see from the land surface.

   
21. To form a petroleum deposit (oil reservoir) the following are needed:
 

A. 1) Source rocks, 2) porous and permeable rock layers, and 3) a trap/seal ("aquitard").
B. 1) Source rocks, 2) porous and permeable layers that extend to the surface, 3) a place to drill a well.
C. 1) Source rocks, 2) a seal ("aquitard"), and 3) water-rich sediments.
D. 1) Source rocks, 2) folded porous and permeable layers, 3) faults that cut the layers.

   
22. The problems with using coal as an energy resource include:
  A.  Burning coal produces large amounts of greenhouse gases.
B.  Burning coal produces acid rain.
C.  Burning coal produces mercury pollution.
D.  Mining coal produces acid mine drainage.
E.  All of the above.
   
23. The number two exporter (country) of oil (petroleum) globally is:
  A. Saudi Arabia
B. Kuwait.
C. Iraq.
D. U.S.A.
E. Russia.
   
24. Why does most of the world's petroleum (oil, gasoline) occur in the Middle East region?
 

A.  There are many folds and faults in the region that can trap the oil.
B.  It is a very dry climate.
C.  There was once an ocean that extended across the region and large amounts of organic matter from marine plankton accumulated on the seafloor there.
D.  Only (A) and (C) above.
E.  (A), (B) and (C) are all equally important.

   
ANSWERS:          
  1 = B 2 = A 3 = B 4 = D 5 = A
  6 = E 7 = D 8 = A 9 = B 10 = A
  11 = B 12 = B 13 = B 14 = C 15 = B
  16 = C 17 = A 18 = C 19 = B 20 = B
  21 = A 22 = E 23 = E 24 = D  

 

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