Earth Science: Earth Science Exam #3 Flashcards

The most important mechanical weathering process is ________.

Which the following denotes the positively charged particles in an atom's nucleus?

All silicate minerals contain which two elements?

As the rate of cooling increases, the size of the crystals that form ________.

A(n) ________ represents a former meltwater channel or tunnel in glacial ice that was filled with sand and gravel.

Which of the following best describes the process of eluviation?

Which of the following best describe the E soil horizon?

Which of the following best defines a mineral and a rock?

From the land surface downward to the unweathered bedrock, which of the following is the correct order of the different soil horizons?

A broad accumulation of stratified drift deposited adjacent to the downstream edge of an end moraine is a(n) ________.

During the most recent ice age, glaciers covered about ________ percent of Earth's land area.

The most abundant chemical sedimentary rock is ________.

Which one of the following is NOT true about mechanical weathering?

Sedimentary rocks ________.

Which one of the following is an igneous rock?

Coal beds originate in ________.

Which group of minerals are the most abundant in the Earth's crust?

The common rock produced by the metamorphism of limestone is ________.

Which of the following is correct for isotopes of the same element?

Abrasion and plucking generally involve what part of a glacier?

Which one of the following mineral groups exhibits a sheet-like silicate structure?

Assume that water filling a crack in a rock undergoes cycles of freezing and melting. Which of the following statement is true?

The loess deposited in many parts of the Midwest ________.

Clay minerals formed from gabbro or diorite bedrock illustrate which kind of weathering?

What two factors speed up rates of chemical reaction and weathering in rocks and soils?

Desert pavement is the result of ________.

A(n) ________ is an irregular, usually thin till layer laid down by a retreating glacier.

The finely divided, red, brown, and yellow soil-coloring minerals originate by what process?

The texture of an igneous rock ________.

Which of the following statements concerning mudflows is NOT true?

The agents of metamorphism are ________.

Which of the following changes may occur during metamorphism?

Consider a weathered rock or soil particle lying on a slope. How will the gravitational force pulling the particle downward along the land surface vary with the inclination of the slope?

The resistance of a mineral to abrasion is known as ________.

An atom's mass number is 13 and its atomic number is 6. How many neutrons are in its nucleus?

What type of metamorphic rock will shale normally become following low-grade metamorphism?

The strong tendency of certain minerals to break along smooth, parallel planes is known as ________.

All of the following are possible indicators that creep is occurring except for ________.

In which area would weathering by frost wedging probably be most effective?

Which common mineral is composed entirely of silicon and oxygen?

Rhyolite is the fine-grained equivalent of this igneous rock.

Which mass wasting process has the slowest rate of movement?

Rocks that contain crystals that are roughly equal in size and can be identified with the unaided eye are said to exhibit a ________ texture.

The most unreliable (variable) diagnostic property of minerals such as quartz is ________.

Which of these factors influence the type and rate of weathering?

Igneous rock is formed ________.

Compaction would probably be most significant as a lithification process for ________.

________ is composed of alternating bands of light and dark silicate minerals.

Sedimentary rocks comprise approximately ____ percent of Earth's outermost 10 miles.

Obsidian exhibits a ________ texture.

As an erosional process, how is mass wasting unique from wind, water, and ice?

Which of the following describes the light reflecting and transmission characteristics of a mineral?

This rock gets its name from a chain of mountains located in South America.

What element is the most abundant in the Earth's crust by weight?

________ is one of the two major flow mechanisms in a glacier.

Which one of the following is an important, mechanical weathering process for enlarging fractures and extending them deeper into large boulders and bedrock?

Where is the world's largest ice sheet located today?

A cubic centimeter of quartz, olivine, and gold weighs 2.5, 3.0, and 19.8 grams respectively. This indicates that ________.

A naturally occurring concentration of one or more metallic minerals that can be extracted economically is a(n) ________.

A name commonly used as a synonym for the most recent Ice Age is ________.

The term drift ________.

What mature, desert landscape feature consists of coalesced alluvial fans?

Select the coarse-grained rock which is composed mainly of quartz and potassium feldspar from the list below.

Which mineral reacts readily with cool, dilute hydrochloric acid to produce visible bubbles of carbon dioxide gas?

All of the following are factors that affect rates of weathering except for ________.

Which one of the following is NOT true for minerals?

This dense, nonfoliated metamorphic rock is produced most often from sandstone.

Which mineral has water bound into its structure?

Metamorphism may result from ________.

Detrital sedimentary rocks are classified primarily on the basis of ________.

Which of the following is NOT a fundamental particle found in atoms?

Which of the following has the highest specific gravity?

Atoms that have an electrical charge due to a gain or loss of electrons are called ________.

Desert and steppe lands cover about what percentage of Earth's land area?

Atoms of the same element, zinc for example, have the same number of ________.

Which one of the following applies to a valley glacier that lengthens (extends the position of its terminus downslope) over a period of many years?

Which one of the following statements concerning mechanical weathering is NOT true?

Which of the following minerals is a silicate?

Which of the following lists the rocks in the order of increasing grain size and increasing grade of metamorphism?

Of the following, which one would most likely be triggered by an earthquake?

All of the following are factors affecting mass wasting except for ________.

This igneous texture is characterized by two distinctively different crystal sizes.

Which one of the following statements best describes erosion?

________ are erosional features produced by valley/alpine glaciers.

How do freezing, thawing, wetting, and drying contribute to soil creep?

Granite and gabbro ________.

Which statement best describes slumping, a mass wasting process?

Which process occurs where a glacier enters the sea?

Ice Age glaciers had many indirect effects. Which one of the following was NOT such an effect?

Intrusive rocks ________.

Frost wedging is the major weathering process contributing to the formation of which regolith material?

A ________ forms when a block of ice is buried in drift and subsequently melts, creating a pit.

Which one of the following is NOT true of glaciers?

The ion at the center of a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron is surrounded by ________.

Which one of the following operates primarily in areas of permafrost?

Which of the rocks listed below is a popular building stone?

In terrain with steep hill slopes, which crop and cultivation technique will minimize soil erosion?

What mineral is the hardest known substance in nature?

In the Rocky Mountain region of the United States, north-facing slopes (downhill direction is toward the north) are typically more moist and heavily forested than south-facing slopes. Why?

Which of the following is NOT one of the eight most common elements in the Earth's crust?

A natural levee is ________.

A stream begins at an elevation of 200 meters and flows a distance of 400 kilometers to the ocean. What is the average gradient?

A ________ is the icicle-like speleothem that grows down from the roof of a cavern.

An artesian well is one in which ________.

As stream discharge increases ________.

At a bend in a river, the main erosion is ________.

At the head of a delta, the major channel splits into smaller channels that follow different paths to the sea. These smaller channels are known as ________.

Caves most commonly form in ________.

Erosional retreat of a ________ leads to enlargement and extension of a wave-cut platform in the inland direction.

Fetch refers to ________.

Hot springs are most numerous in which region of the United States?

If you were to examine the profile of a typical river, you would probably find that the gradient is ________.

Large estuaries are more common on a(n) ________ coastline.

Permeable rock strata or sediment that transmit groundwater freely are called ________.

The most common drainage pattern is ________.

The release of water vapor to the atmosphere by plants is called ________.

The single most important erosional agent is ________.

The suspended load of a stream ________.

The term karst topography was first used in ________.

The water table is ________.

The world's largest river in terms of discharge is the ________.

When water is pumped from a well, a depression is often produced in the water table. Such a depression is a(n) ________.

Which of the following best describes how geysers erupt?

Which of the following features characterize meandering streams and valleys?

Which of the following is associated with areas of karst topography?

Which of the following is NOT part of the water cycle?

Which one of the following factors does NOT influence stream velocity?

________ are characteristics of downcutting streams and a youthful stage of valley evolution.

________ describes the total sediment load transported by a stream.

________ is an abandoned, cutoff, meander loop.

________ make up the suspended loads of most rivers and streams.

________ would have the largest capacity to naturally remove sewage pollutants.