GEOLOGY 1001
First Exam.
1. Areas close to all three types of plate boundaries are affected by earthquakes.
a. True b. False
2. What type of volcanism occurs at/close to convergent (plate) boundaries?
a. mafic b. intermediate c. felsic d. ultramafic e. a and d.
3. Which of the following types of lava shows the highest viscosity ?
a. basaltic b. andesitic c. rhyolitic d. halitic e. sandstonic
4. The two most abundant elements in the Earth as a whole, are:
a. iron and oxygen b. silicon and oxygen c. oxygen and silicon
d. oxygen and magnesium e. none of the above.
5. The lithosphere is:
a. cold and brittle b. hot and brittle c. about 100 m thick
d. a and c e. b and c.
6. Mid-ocean ridges are associated with what type of plate boundary?
a. divergent b. convergent c. transform fault d. a and b. e. a and c.
7. The process of subduction is associated with what type of plate boundary?
a. divergent b. convergent c. transform fault d. a and b. e. a and c.
8. A plate is typically about ______ thick.
a. 100 m b. 10 km c. 100 cm d. 1000 km e. 100,000 m
9. The age of the Earth is about _____ years old.
a. 4.5 billion b. 3 billion c. 4.5 million d. 4500 million e. a and d.
10. The Principle of Uniformitarianism states that:
a. the future is the key to the past b. the past is the key to the future c. the present is the key to the past
d. the past is the key to the present e. the present is the key to the future
11. The depth from the surface of the Earth to the mantle-outer core boundary is about _____ km.
a. 300 b. 3,000 c. 1,000 d. 100 e. 100,000
12. For the Earth’s crust, the two most abundant elements are, in order:
a. iron and silicon b. silicon and oxygen c. oxygen and iron
d. iron and oxygen e. oxygen and silicon
13. The asthenosphere:
a. is about 10 km thick b. is hot and ductile c. contains the crust and part of the upper mantle d. a and b e. a, b and c.
14. The diameter of the Earth is about ______ km.
a. 3000 b. 6000 c. 8000 d. 13000 e. 25,000
15. Which of the following minerals shows a double chain type of polymerization of SiO 4
tetrahedra? a. olivine b. amphibole c. pyroxene d. feldspar e. diamond.
16. Ionic substitution is possible between which pair of elements?
a. iron and aluminum b. silicon and oxygen c. sodium and potassium d. calcium and magnesium
e. none of the above.
17. The bonds between the sodium and chlorine ‘atoms” in the mineral halite are of the
________ variety.
a. covalent b. ionic c. cationic d. anionic e. van der Waals.
18. Isotopes of carbon all contain the same number of ______.
a. neutrons b. protons c. neutrons and electrons d. neutrons and protons e. none of the above
19. Which of the following lists minerals in correct order from hardest to softest on Mohs Scale?
a. diamond, apatite, corundum b. corundum, quartz, calcite c. topaz, talc, corundum d. topaz, gypsum, quartz e. talc, feldspar, diamond.
20. The basic building block of all silicate minerals is the ______ ion:
a. (SiO 4 ) 4+ b. (SiO 3 ) 4- c. (SiO 5 ) 4- d. (SiO 4 ) 4- e. none of the above
21. Which of the following elements forms an anion?
a. sodium b. silicon c. oxygen d. chlorine e. c and d.
22. The bonds between the silicon and oxygen “atoms” in the tetrahedral structure of silicates are the _____ variety.
a. ionic b. covalent c. tetravalent d. quadrivalent e. none of the above.
23. Diamond and graphite, different form of carbon are said to be:
a. polyandrous b. polygamous c. polyphemus d. polymerized e. polymorphs
24. The carbonate (complex) ion cannot polymerize. a. true b. false.
25. A mineral that shows good platy cleavage resulting from the breakage of van der Waals bonds,
is: a. quartz b. amphibole c. feldspar d. mica e. halite
26. The geological name for the mineral whose chemical composition is sodium chloride is:
a. limestone b. quartz c. sylvite d. halite e. gypsum
27. Which of the following properties of minerals is least suitable as a diagnostic feature?
a. hardness b. color c. density d. cleavage.
28. Minerals are classified based on their cation groups.
a. true b. false
29. An important mineral that is a carbonate is called:
a. quartz b. feldspar c. calcite d. diamond e. olivine
30. Which of the following minerals shows 3-D polymerization of SiO 4 tetrahedra?
a. quartz b. mica c. amphibole d. feldspar e. a and d.
31. Which of the following lists the two most common groups of minerals in (all) rocks?
a. quartz and olivine b. quartz and feldspar c. feldspar and mica d. calcite and halite e. gypsum and quartz.
32. Which of the land masses did not form part of Gondwanaland?
a. India b. Eurasia c. South America d. Africa e. Australia
33. Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of broken mineral/rock grains.
a. true b. false
34. Metamorphic rocks are subdivided into two groups, namely extrusive and intrusive.
a. true b. false
35. Which of the following islands falls on a mid-ocean ridge?
a. Hawaii b. Aruba c. Cuba d. Iceland e. Sri Lanka
36. Biochemical sedimentary rocks commonly contain non-silicate minerals.
a. true b. false
37. As part of the rock cycle, metamorphic rocks cannot be converted to sedimentary rocks.
a. true b. false
38. All three types of plate boundaries are marked by volcanism.
a. True b. False
39. The Earth’s magnetic field results from electric currents flowing in the Earth’s _____.
a. crust b. mantle c. core d. atmosphere e. oceans
40. A fine grained igneous rock contains olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase feldspar. It is called
a(n): a. gabbro b. peridotite c. andesite d. basalt e. none of the above.
41. A fine grained rock containing olivine and pyroxene only, is called:
a. andesite b. gabbro c. peridotite d. granite e. none of the above
42. The sea floor is made up of what type of rocks?
a. ultramafic b. mafic c. intermediate d. felsic e. ultrafelsic
43. Mafic magma is derived by partial melting of _____ rocks in the mantle.
a. felsic b. intermediate c. mafic d. ultramafic
44. Magnetic stripes on the ocean floor result are caused by reversals of the Earth’s magnetic field.
a. True b. False
45. In going from mafic to felsic rocks:
a. the Mg and Fe content increases b. the Mg and Fe content decreases
c. the SiO 2 content increases d. the SiO 2 content decreases
e. b and c.
46. Mafic rocks melt at a lower temperature than felsic rocks.
a. true b. false
47. Wet rocks melt more readily (at a lower temperature) than dry rocks.
a. true b. false
48. Measured from sea level, the elevation of the highest mountain in the world is greater than the
depth to the deepest sections of the oceans.
a. True b. False.
49. The oldest parts of the oceanic crust (today) is about ____ m.y. old.
a. 10 b. 50 c. 200 d. 1000 e. 4500
50. Igneous rocks are almost totally made up of which type of minerals?
a. carbonates b. sulfides c. silicates d. sulfates e. chlorides.
51. The general rate of plate movement is a few _______.
a. km/sec. b. cm/yr c. cm/day d. km/yr e. m/yr
52. Which of the following bond types yields minerals of great(est) hardness?
a. covalent b. ionic c. van der Waals d. submarinic e. hiphopic
53. Granite and basalt are two igneous rocks that differ in:
a. texture b. mineralogy c. a and b.