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WorksheetsGeologic
Total questions: 98
Worksheet time: 49mins
The branch of science that studies the structure and history of the Universe is ______.
cosmetology
Scientology
cosmology
universalism
The change in wavelength (and, therefore, frequency) of waves that happens if the source of the waves is moving is explained by the _______.
Big Bang theory
nebular theory
expanding Universe theory
Doppler effect
Strong evidence that the Universe is expanding comes from the fact that the light emitted from nearly all distant galaxies appears to be _______.
red-shifted
blue-shifted
green-shifted
yellow-shifted
Which of the following is true about blue-shifted light that we detect from the cosmos?
it signifies a source that is moving towards us
it is common for galaxies to emit this type of light
the detected light has a longer wavelength than at the source
the detected light has a lower frequency than at the source
According to the Big Bang theory, ______.
Earth is much older than the rest of the Universe
the Universe is much older than Earth
Earth and the Universe formed at about the same time
there is no way of knowing how old the Universe might be
Atoms that are heavier than iron are generally produced by ________.
fission reactions within stars
fusion reactions within stars
explosions of supernovas
explosion of comics
By far the most common elements in the Universe and in our Solar System are_______.
nitrogen and oxygen
iron and manganese
hydrogen and helium
hydrogen and oxygen
Our Sun belongs to a galaxy known as _______.
Andromeda
Cepheus
the Milky Way
the Stratosphere
The current scientific explanation for the origin of planets, moons, asteroids, and the comets is the _________.
expanding Universe theory
nebular theory
Big Bang theory
In the heliocentric model _____.
Earth orbits around the Sun
the Sun orbits around Earth
Earth is a stationary planet
Mercury and Venus orbit around the Sun, but all other planets orbit around Earth
According to the currently accepted scientific model, which of the following is NOT correct about the formation of the Moon?
A large comet collided with the newborn Earth
A large part of the Earth's mantle disintegrated
The Earth developed a ring, like those found around Saturn and Jupiter
The colliding body disintegrated
Differentiation of the core from the mantle early in Earth's history was possible because the planet was ______ at the time.
very cold
very hot
Which of the following bodies is the smallest?
planet
star
protoplanet
planetesimal
Humans first realized that the Earth was spherical ________.
as a result of the voyages of Christopher Columbus
when Magellan's crew was able to sail completely around the world
during the Renaissance
during the time of Aristotle in ancient Greece
The process of differentiation results in all of the following EXCEPT_________.
denser materials becoming concentrated near the cores of planets
rocky materials forming the mantles of planets
planets becoming approximately spherical
planets forming atmospheres
The metal alloy that makes up the core of Earth is _____, as compared to the rocky mantle.
less dense
denser
very similar in chemistry and density
distinct in Chemistry but of very similar density
Terrestrial planets are mainly composed of _____ while Jovian planets are made dominantly of _______.
volatiles; rock and minerals
rock and metals; volatiles
refractory materials; volatiles and metals
volatiles and metals; refractory materials
Scientist believe that the Moon formed due to a large planetesimal colliding with the Earth because it has a composition similar to ________.
other meteors
other comets
Earth's crust
Earth's mantle
The circumference of Earth is most nearly _______.
400 km
4,000 km
40,000 km
4,000,000 km
A great boost in seafloor exploration and a greater understanding of seafloor bathymetry was a result of ________.
scientific advances in the 1950's
scientific advances in the 1920's
military needs in World War I
military needs in World War II
According to the figure below. Earth's magnetic poles move constantly. About how far from the geographic poles do the magnetic poles move?
They move as far south as the equator
They move as far south as the tropics
They remain in the high latitudes
They remain less than a kilometer from the geographic poles
According to the figure below, marine magnetic anomalies lay roughly ________ to mid-ocean ridges.
perpendicular
parallel
adjacent
at an obtuse angle
All basalts younger than 700,000 years old ________.
have normal magnetic polarity
have reverse magnetic polarity
are found on the ocean floor very far from mid-ocean ridges
are found on the continents
As shown below, Wegener proposed continental drift after he observed evidence from fossils, glacial deposits, and the fit of the continents that suggested all of the continents were once ________.
aligned north to south along the prime meridian
aligned east to west along the equator
combined to form a supercontinent he termed Radinia
combined to form a supercontinent he termed Pangaea
Beneath a blanket of sediments, oceanic crust is primarily composed of ________
granite
basalt
limestone
coal
By deep-sea drilling, the Glomar Challenger proved the theory that if the model of seafloor spreading was correct, then seafloor sediment should be ________ and ________ as one moves away from the spreading axis.
thicker; younger
thicker; older
thinner; younger
thinner; older
Consult the figure below. Abundant swamps led to the formation of coal during the Late Paleozoic in which of the following places?
India
southern Africa
North America
Antartica
Consult the figure below. Marine magnetic anomaly belts are widest when and where ________
continents are joined to form supercontinents
seafloor spreading rates are relatively rapid
seafloor spreading rates are relatively slow
supercontinents first began to rift apart
Currently, most geologist __________.
continue to reject continental drift
agree that continental drift occurs, but they still do not understand why it occurs
agree that continental drift occurs due to mechanisms at work in the ocean basins and upper mantle
agree that continental drift occurs due to mechanism at work in the lower mantle and outer core
Deep-ocean trenches are found predominantly along the perimeter of the ________
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
Distinctive rock sequences on South America terminate at the Atlantic Ocean but reappear on the continent of
Africa
Europe
North America
Australia
Earth’s magnetic reversals are likely due to ________.
meteorite impacts
lightning strikes
tectonic place shifting
changes in circulation patterns in the inner core
Evidence of paleomagnetism can be found in ________.
basalt that has cooled from lava
any rocks with magnetic minerals present
sedimentary rocks where minerals form from ion-bearing groundwater
All of the above are correct
Evidence that glaciers once covered an area might include ________.
till and striations
backwash and striations
till and grabens
backwash and grabens
Evidence that the South American and African continents were once joined includes evidence from their coastlines such as ________.
shared anthropological evidence
identical mineral properties
symmetrical earthquake patterns
matching fossil distributions
If a geologist discovered coal in a modern-day cold, snowy location, he or she could conclude that ________.
a meteorite must have struck the area
the area was once covered with swamps and/or jungles
the area was once covered with an ocean
this discovery was anomalous
If we mentally align the continents to fit Wegener’s concept of Pangaea, evidence of Late Paleozoic glacial deposits ________.
is more difficult to explain than in the modern continental configuration
is much more readily explained than in the modern continental configuration
makes very little sense in either the Pangaea configuration or the modern configuration
is unchanged from the modern continental configuration
If you were using both a compass and a map marked with latitude and longitude to navigate, you might note the angle difference between your compass and what is marked on the map, called ________.
magnetic inclination
magnetic declination
magnetic dipole
magnetic reversal
In Wegener’s evidence for continental drift, continents were proposed to fit together, such as the east coast of South America with the ________.
west coast of Europe
east coast of Africa
west coast of Greenland
lower west coast of Africa
In the geologic past, the polarity of the Earth’s magnetic field is ________.
unknown, but it is assumed to have been identical to today’s
known to have stayed constant through geologic time, as shown by remnant magnetization of iron-rich minerals in rocks
known to have experienced numerous reversals, as shown by remnant magnetization of iron-rich minerals in rocks
known to have stayed constant through time, based on theoretical calculations
Late Paleozoic glacial deposits are NOT found in which of the following places?
India
southern Africa
North America
South America
Limestone reefs and salt deposits are important rocks in the reconstruction of Earth history because they ________.
can be used to infer the ancient climate of the Earth; they are deposited in environments that are restricted to warm climate
automatically provide age information; all such deposits occurred between 200 and 400 million years ago
are deposited in warm climates today, but there is good reason to think that they were deposited in cold climates millions of years ago
pinpoint the locations of old subduction zones
Marine magnetic anomalies result from seafloor spreading in conjunction with ________
global warming
magnetic storms on the surface of the Sun
magnetic polarity reversals
apparent wander of the magnetic poles
Marine magnetic anomaly belts run parallel to ________.
mid-ocean ridges
fracture zones
continental coastlines
continental shelves
A fracture in the crust, where rocks slide past one another, is termed a ______.
flying layer
fault
friciional discontinuity
fold
A silica-rich igneous rock that has large crystals and makes up much of the continental crust is ________.
gabbro
basalt
peridotite
granite
A mixture of copper and tin would be called a(n) ________.
a melt
an alloy
a volatile
a metal
An aurora (shown below) is produced when ________
swamp gases rise upward from the arctic tundra
lightning travels from cloud to cloud rather than cloud to ground
radiation in the Van Allen belts can be seen on a clear, cold night
solar wind particles are directed toward the poles and excite atmospheric gases
As compared to the asthenosphere, the lithosphere is __
cooler and more able to flow
hotter and more able to flow
cooler and less able to flow
hotter and less able to flow
As compared to ultramafic rocks, mafic rocks have a ________.
lesser proportion of silca
greater proportion of silica
greater proportion of iron and magnesium atoms
As compared to the rocks that make up the crust, Earth as a whole is ________
considerably more dense
considerably less dense
slightly mess dense
about the same density
Earth's surface is protected from solar wind and cosmic radiation by _______.
a large, metallic shield launched into orbit by NASA in the 1960's
a powerful stream of ions emitted by the Sun
Earth's gravitational field
Earth's magnetic field
Earth’s magnetic field is generated by the ________.
flow of the liquid outer core
magnetic minerals within the crust
convective flow of the mantle
flow of the liquid inner core
During a journey to the center of the Earth, one would experience temperature ________.
and pressure both increasing
and pressure both decreasing
increasing, but pressure staying nearly the same
remaining remarkably constant, but pressure increasing
Hot, liquid rock beneath Earth’s surface is termed ________.
volatiles
lava
brimstone
magma
If you were measuring the elevation of a mountain, you would be measuring variation in ________, whereas if you were doing the same on a mid-ocean ridge, you would be measuring variation in ________.
bathymetry; isostasy
topography; isostasy
topography; bathymetry
bathymetry; topography
From left to right, correctly label each section of this slice of the Earth.
crust, upper mantle, transition zone, lower mantle, liquid outer core, solid inner core
transition zone, crust, liquid outer core, solid inner core, upper mantle, lower mantle
transition zone, crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, liquid outer core, solid inner core
crust, liquid outer core, transition zone, solid inner core, upper mantle, lower mantle
If one were to see a comet passing by Earth, it is likely that this comet originated from ________.
interplanetary space
the asteroid belt
the heliosphere
the Kuiper belt
Presently, Earth's atmosphere is dominated by which two gases?
hydrogen and oxygen
carbon dioxide and methane
nitrogen and oxygen
nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide
Most continental topography lies within a range of altitude between ____________.
3 to 6 km above sea level
sea level and 1 km below sea level
2 to 5 km above sea level
sea level and 1 km above sea level
In the whole Earth, the four most common elements are oxygen, silicon, magnesium, and ____________.
copper
iron
lead
zinc
In general, the mantle is made of the rock ________ and has a(n) ________ composition.
granite; igneous
peridotite; ultramafic
volcanic; igneous
basalt; sedimentary
If one were to ride a hot air balloon up into the atmosphere, one would experience the concentration of gases ________.
becoming less dense
become more dense
Earth's geothermal gradient is the rate of temperature change incurred by ________.
moving towards the solar system
moving towards the sun
traversing through the world
traversing down within Earth's interior
In general, seismic (earthquake-generated) waves travel ________ in the mantle compared to the shallow crust.
faster
slower
Most of the ocean floor is made up of _______
lublinite plains (2 to 8 km above sea levels)
abyssal plains (4 to 5 km below sea level)
Of the three primary compositional layers of the Earth (crust, mantle, core), which is the thickest layer?
crust
mantle
core
Compared to oceanic crust, continental crust is ________.
thicker
thinner
A triple junction, like the one shown below, is a place on Earth’s surface where ________.
three volcanoes form a tight, triangular cluster
glacial ice, continental rocks, and the ocean can be found together
the boundaries of three lithospheric plates meet at a single point
all three of the basic rock types are found in the same location
At a subduction zone, the downgoing (subducting) plate ________.
is always composed of continental lithosphere
is always composed of oceanic lithosphere
may be composed of either oceanic or continental lithosphere
is composed entirely of asthenosphere
At a subduction zone, the overriding plate ________.
is always composed of continental lithosphere
is always composed of oceanic lithosphere
may be composed of either oceanic or continental lithosphere
is composed entirely of asthenosphere
At transform plate boundaries, ________.
earthquakes are common but volcanoes are absent
volcanoes are common but earthquakes do not occur
both earthquakes and volcanoes are common
neither earthquakes nor volcanoes are common
Broad, sediment-covered continental shelves are found along ________.
active margins
deep-sea trenches
passive margins
mid-ocean ridges
Consult the figure below. Hawaii is an example of ________.
hot-spot volcanism
mid-ocean-ridge volcanism
volcanic island arc formed by subduction
transform margin
Deep-oceanic trenches are features of ________ plate boundaries.
divergent
convergent
transvergent
transform
Deformed (bent, stretched, or cracked) lithosphere occurs ________.
randomly over the surface of Earth
primarily within the interiors of tectonic plates
primarily on the margins of tectonic plates
primarily at hot spots
Earthquakes occur most frequently near ________ margins.
seismic
aseismic
active
passive
Hot-spot tracks result from moving ________.
mantle plumes
plates
hot spots
asthenosphere
Iceland is one of the few places in the world that is both above sea level and situated atop a ________ plate boundary.
divergent
convergent
transform
Iceland is not located at a plate boundary
In a hot-spot volcanic island chain, such as the Hawaiian Islands, which of the following is NOT true?
All volcanoes in the chain can be simultaneously active.
The ages and distance between volcanoes can be used to calculate plate velocities
The presence of volcanism is not related to a plate boundary.
The magma source stays approximately fixed, but motion of the overriding plate forms a hot-spot track.
Large, thick-crusted, nonvolcanic mountain belts, like the Himalayas, are associated with ________.
mid-ocean ridges
hot spots
subduction zones
continent-continent collisions
Mid-ocean ridges are segmented and contain which two basic types of plate boundaries linked together?
divergent and convergent
convergent and transform
divergent and transform
conformal and transvergent
Segments of mid-ocean ridge systems are offset. Between the offset segments we observe ________.
a second series of ridges, perpendicular to the main set
deep-ocean trenches
transform faults
hot spots
Subduction zones are found at which basic plate boundary type?
divergent
convergent
transvergent
transform
Summed over the entire surface of Earth, the rate of spreading at divergent boundaries is ________ lithospheric consumption at subduction zones.
faster than
slower than
equal to
This cannot yet be measured by geologists
Tectonic plates move at rates that are approximately ________.
1 to 5 cm every 1,000 years
1 to 15 cm/year
1 to 15 m/year
10 to 100 m/year
The San Andreas Fault zone in California is an example of a ________ plate boundary.
divergent
convergent
transvergent
transform
The image below shows a cross-sectional view of a typical subduction zone, with earthquake locations shown with small dots. The band of earthquakes that follows the shape of the downgoing plate is termed the ________.
transform fault zone
collisional zone
Wegener zone
Wadati-Benioff zone Q
The image below shows a view of a typical segmented mid-ocean ridge. Which letter below marks the location of the active transform fault?
A
B
C
D
The primary difference between lithospheric and asthenospheric mantle that gives rise to numerous different patterns of physical behavior is ________.
physical state: the lithosphere is solid; the asthenosphere is liquid
chemical composition: the lithosphere is mafic; the asthenosphere is felsic
temperature: the lithosphere is cooler than the asthenosphere
chemical composition: the lithosphere is felsic; the asthenosphere is mafic
The theory of plate tectonics ________.
incorporates continental drift but not seafloor spreading
incorporates seafloor spreading but not continental drift
incorporates and explains both seafloor spreading and continental drift
does not incorporate seafloor spreading or continental drift
The youngest sea floor is typically found ________.
along passive margins
along active margins
along mid-ocean ridges
randomly within abyssal plains
Under the theory of plate tectonics, the plates themselves are ________
discrete pieces of lithosphere at the surface of the solid Earth that move with respect to one another
discrete layers of lithosphere that are vertically stacked one atop the other
composed only of continental rocks that plow through the weaker oceanic rocks
very thick (approximately one-quarter of Earth’s radius)
Unlike the lithosphere, the asthenosphere ________.
is able to flow over long periods of time
has a density similar to the core
varies in thickness from place to place
is relatively cool
When two plates composed of continental lithosphere are pulled together at a convergent boundary, the result is ________.
subduction
transform faulting
collision and mountain formation
a hot spot is formed
Which basic type of plate boundary is shown in the image below? (<- ->)
Divergent
Convergent
Transform
Transvergent
Which basic type of plate boundary is shown in the image below? (-> <-)
Divergent
Convergent
Transvergent
Transform
Which basic type of plate boundary is shown in the image below? (^v)
Divergent
Convergent
Transvergent
Transform
