The most important mechanical weathering process is ________.

frost action

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

protons

All silicate minerals contain which two elements?

silicon, oxygen

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

decreases

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

esker

Which of the following best describes the process of eluviation?

removal of very fine-sized silt and clay particles from the A and E soil horizons

Which of the following best describe the E soil horizon?

leaching zone

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

In a mineral the constituent atoms are bonded in a regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of different mineral grains.

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

0, A, E, B, C, bedrock

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

outwash plain

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

30

The most abundant chemical sedimentary rock is ________.

limestone

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

does not affect metamorphic rocks

Sedimentary rocks ________.

– may contain fossils

– may be economically important

– hold important clues to Earth's history

all of the above

Which one of the following is an igneous rock?

rhyolite

Coal beds originate in ________.

freshwater coastal swamps and bogs

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

silicates

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

marble

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

The atoms have different numbers of neutrons and the same number of protons.

Abrasion and plucking generally involve what part of a glacier?

the bottom or base

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

micas

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

Water expands as it freezes, causing the crack walls to be pushed apart.

The loess deposited in many parts of the Midwest ________.

was once glacial outwash deposits

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

chemical

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

warm temperatures; very moist

Desert pavement is the result of ________.

deflation

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

ground moraine

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

precipitation of iron oxides during the chemical weathering process

The texture of an igneous rock ________.

records the rock's cooling history

Which of the following statements concerning mudflows is NOT true?

Mudflows deposit talus slopes.

The agents of metamorphism are ________.

heat, pressure, and chemical fluids

Which of the following changes may occur during metamorphism?

– The rock becomes more compact.

– Crystals may grow larger.

– Certain minerals may recrystallize.

all of the above

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?

It will decrease as the slope angle is lessened.

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

hardness

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

7

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

slate

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

cleavage

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

an extremely thick soil profile

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

in moist, temperate climates

Which common mineral is composed entirely of silicon and oxygen?

quartz

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

granite

Which mass wasting process has the slowest rate of movement?

creep

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

coarse-grained

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

color

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

– mineral content

– climate

– topography

all of these

Igneous rock is formed ________.

by crystallization of magma

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

shale

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

Gneiss

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

5

Obsidian exhibits a ________ texture.

glassy

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

Mass wasting does not require a transporting medium.

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

luster

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

andesite

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

oxygen

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

Slipping

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

frost wedging

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

Antarctica

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

gold has a higher density and specific gravity than quartz and olivine

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

ore

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

Pleistocene epoch

The term drift ________.

means any sediments of glacial origin

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

bajada

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

granite

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

calcite

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

geologic age of earth materials

Which one of the following is NOT true for minerals?

They can be a liquid, solid, or glass.

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

quartzite

Which mineral has water bound into its structure?

gypsum

Metamorphism may result from ________.

– pressure

– heat

– chemical action

all of these

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

particle size

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

selectron

Which of the following has the highest specific gravity?

gold

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

ions

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

30%

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

protons in the nucleus

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?

accumulation exceeds wastage

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

involves a major change in the mineral composition of the weathered material

Which of the following minerals is a silicate?

feldspar

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

slate, phyllite, schist

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

rock avalanche

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

geologic age

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

porphyritic

Which one of the following statements best describes erosion?

the process by which weathered rock and mineral particles are removed from one area and transported elsewhere

________ are erosional features produced by valley/alpine glaciers.

Cirques

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

The soil expands and contracts, lifting particles and dropping them a slight distance downslope.

Granite and gabbro ________.

have a similar texture

Which statement best describes slumping, a mass wasting process?

a block or blocks of unconsolidated regolith slide downhill along a curved slip surface

Which process occurs where a glacier enters the sea?

calving

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

formation of mountains

Intrusive rocks ________.

none of the above

– are generally fine-grained

– are quite often vesicular

– form at Earth's surface

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

talus slopes

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

kettle

Which one of the following is NOT true of glaciers?

exist only in the Northern Hemisphere

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

four oxygen ions

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

solifluction

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

granite

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

apples; land between the trees is planted in grass and not cultivated

What mineral is the hardest known substance in nature?

diamond

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?

North-facing slopes receive about the same amount of precipitation as south-facing slopes; less moisture evaporates from north-facing slopes.

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

carbon

A natural levee is ________.

both a depositional feature and essentially parallel to its stream channel

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

0.5 m/km

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

stalactite

An artesian well is one in which ________.

water rises above the top of the aquifer without any pumping

As stream discharge increases ________.

only velocity increases

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

on the outside of the bend

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 ________.

distributaries

Caves most commonly form in ________.

limestone

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

wave-cut cliff

Fetch refers to ________.

a large expanse of open water over which the wind blows and generates waves

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

West

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

steepest near the head

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

submergent

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

aquifers

The most common drainage pattern is ________.

dendritic

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

transpiration

The single most important erosional agent is ________.

running water

The suspended load of a stream ________.

usually consists of fine particles

The term karst topography was first used in ________.

the Republic of Slovenia, a province of the former Yugoslavia

The water table is ________.

a boundary between saturated rock below and unsaturated rock above

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

Amazon

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

cone of depression

Which of the following best describes how geysers erupt?

With a slight reduction in pressure, water in a saturated, natural conduit suddenly boils, sending a plume of steam and hot water into the air above the vent.

Which of the following features characterize meandering streams and valleys?

natural levees; broad floodplains

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

– soluble rock

– caverns

– sinkholes

all of these

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

calcium carbonate dissolving in soil water and groundwater

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

discharge

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

Rapids and lots of whitewater

________ describes the total sediment load transported by a stream.

Capacity

________ is an abandoned, cutoff, meander loop.

An oxbow

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

Silt and clay-sized, detrital grains

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

Slightly clayey sand