Question 1

Which of the following meets the definition of a rock?

Accepted Answer

A)  a pile of damp sand still holding the form of a bucket 
B)  a collection of crystals that fit together like puzzle pieces 
C)  cobblestones cemented together to form a walkway 
D)  a layer of mud at the bottom of a dry riverbed 
A)  a pile of damp sand still holding the form of a bucket 
B)  a collection of crystals that fit together like puzzle pieces 
C)  cobblestones cemented together to form a walkway 
D)  a layer of mud at the bottom of a dry riverbed B

Question 2

Which of the following is a reliable characteristic that can be used to classify a rock?

Accepted Answer

A)  mineral stability 
B)  texture 
C)  water content 
D)  degree of weathering 
A)  mineral stability 
B)  texture 
C)  water content 
D)  degree of weathering B

Question 3

Which type of rock can form by precipitation of minerals from a water solution?

Accepted Answer

A)  metamorphic 
B)  glassy 
C)  sedimentary 
D)  igneous 
A)  metamorphic 
B)  glassy 
C)  sedimentary 
D)  igneous C

Question 4

What characteristic of rocks is demonstrated by inequant mineral grains arranged with their long axes pointing in the same direction,as shown in the image below?

Accepted Answer

A)  grain size 
B)  composition 
C)  texture 
D)  layering 
A)  grain size 
B)  composition 
C)  texture 
D)  layering

Question 5

What is cement to a geologist?

Accepted Answer

A)  the material used to make buildings and sidewalks 
B)  a natural form of glass 
C)  a collection of interlocking grains 
D)  the mineral materials that bond grains together 
A)  the material used to make buildings and sidewalks 
B)  a natural form of glass 
C)  a collection of interlocking grains 
D)  the mineral materials that bond grains together

Question 6

What do geologists call the layering seen in this photo of a metamorphic rock?

Accepted Answer

A)  bedding 
B)  foliation 
C)  grain size 
D)  cleavage 
A)  bedding 
B)  foliation 
C)  grain size 
D)  cleavage

Question 7

What is the first step most geologists take in studying a rock?

Accepted Answer

A)  using a mass spectrometer 
B)  examining thin sections under a microscope 
C)  making observations about the rock in an outcrop 
D)  breaking the rock into hand specimens 
A)  using a mass spectrometer 
B)  examining thin sections under a microscope 
C)  making observations about the rock in an outcrop 
D)  breaking the rock into hand specimens

Question 8

What are the three rock groups? Give a brief description of how each is formed.

Accepted Answer

The three rock types are igneous,sedimen

Question 9

What is the difference between a rock that is cemented together and a rock that has a crystalline texture?

Accepted Answer

A)  A rock that is cemented contains rounded grains that are held together by cement,whereas a crystalline rock contains angular grains held together by cement. 
B)  Crystalline rocks contain minerals,while cemented rocks contain rock fragments; both are held together by static forces between grains. 
C)  Minerals are held together as interlocking pieces in a cemented rock,whereas grains are held together by minerals precipitated in pore spaces in a crystalline rock. 
D)  Minerals are held together as interlocking pieces in a crystalline rock,whereas in a cemented rock the grains do not fit together like puzzle pieces and instead are held together by cement. 
A)  A rock that is cemented contains rounded grains that are held together by cement,whereas a crystalline rock contains angular grains held together by cement. 
B)  Crystalline rocks contain minerals,while cemented rocks contain rock fragments; both are held together by static forces between grains. 
C)  Minerals are held together as interlocking pieces in a cemented rock,whereas grains are held together by minerals precipitated in pore spaces in a crystalline rock. 
D)  Minerals are held together as interlocking pieces in a crystalline rock,whereas in a cemented rock the grains do not fit together like puzzle pieces and instead are held together by cement.

Question 10

Which of these describes an outcrop of bedrock?

Accepted Answer

A)  a cut block of rock used to construct a building 
B)  a large boulder embedded in the soil 
C)  rock that is exposed where a road cuts through a mountain 
D)  broken and loose rocks at the base of a cliff 
A)  a cut block of rock used to construct a building 
B)  a large boulder embedded in the soil 
C)  rock that is exposed where a road cuts through a mountain 
D)  broken and loose rocks at the base of a cliff

Question 11

Describe one example of a naturally occurring outcrop and one of a human-made outcrop.

Accepted Answer

Outcrops are exposures of bedrock-rock t

Question 12

Which of the following rock types has a texture that is most analogous to the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle?

Accepted Answer

A)  sedimentary 
B)  crystalline 
C)  foliated 
D)  molten 
A)  sedimentary 
B)  crystalline 
C)  foliated 
D)  molten

Question 13

In which of the following settings would you be most likely to find sedimentary rocks forming?

Accepted Answer

A)  deep within a mountain range 
B)  inside a lava flow on Hawaii 
C)  at a mid-ocean ridge 
D)  at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea 
A)  deep within a mountain range 
B)  inside a lava flow on Hawaii 
C)  at a mid-ocean ridge 
D)  at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea

Question 14

What do geologists call the layering seen in this photo of a sedimentary rock?

Accepted Answer

A)  bedding 
B)  foliation 
C)  grain size 
D)  cleavage 
A)  bedding 
B)  foliation 
C)  grain size 
D)  cleavage

Question 15

What makes a material coherent?

Accepted Answer

A)  It must be naturally occurring. 
B)  It must be broken to separate into pieces. 
C)  It is made of only one substance. 
D)  It contains crystals. 
A)  It must be naturally occurring. 
B)  It must be broken to separate into pieces. 
C)  It is made of only one substance. 
D)  It contains crystals.

Question 16

What type of rock would you most expect to find forming in a beach environment?

Accepted Answer

A)  crystalline 
B)  sedimentary 
C)  metamorphic 
D)  igneous 
A)  crystalline 
B)  sedimentary 
C)  metamorphic 
D)  igneous

Question 17

Provide at least two reasons why a piece of concrete is not an example of bedrock.

Accepted Answer

Although concrete is a solid aggregate o

Question 18

What is the definition of rock "texture"?

Accepted Answer

Rock texture refers to the con

Question 19

What type of texture is shown in this photomicrograph?

Accepted Answer

A)  foliation 
B)  crystalline 
C)  sedimentary 
D)  clastic 
A)  foliation 
B)  crystalline 
C)  sedimentary 
D)  clastic

Question 20

The changes that create a metamorphic rock occur in what state?

Accepted Answer

A)  liquid state 
B)  gaseous state 
C)  solid state 
D)  a mixture of solids and liquids 
A)  liquid state 
B)  gaseous state 
C)  solid state 
D)  a mixture of solids and liquids

Exam 20: Introducing Rocks

Which of the following meets the definition of a rock?

Which of the following is a reliable characteristic that can be used to classify a rock?

Which type of rock can form by precipitation of minerals from a water solution?

What characteristic of rocks is demonstrated by inequant mineral grains arranged with their long axes pointing in the same direction,as shown in the image below?

What is cement to a geologist?

What do geologists call the layering seen in this photo of a metamorphic rock?

What is the first step most geologists take in studying a rock?

What are the three rock groups? Give a brief description of how each is formed.

What is the difference between a rock that is cemented together and a rock that has a crystalline texture?

Which of these describes an outcrop of bedrock?

Describe one example of a naturally occurring outcrop and one of a human-made outcrop.

Which of the following rock types has a texture that is most analogous to the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle?

In which of the following settings would you be most likely to find sedimentary rocks forming?

What do geologists call the layering seen in this photo of a sedimentary rock?

What makes a material coherent?

What type of rock would you most expect to find forming in a beach environment?

Provide at least two reasons why a piece of concrete is not an example of bedrock.

What is the definition of rock "texture"?

What type of texture is shown in this photomicrograph?

The changes that create a metamorphic rock occur in what state?

The Earth in Context

The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics

Patterns in Nature: Minerals

Up From the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks

The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions

Pages of the Earths Past: Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism: a Process of Change

A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes

Crags,cracks,and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building

Deep Time: How Old Is Old

A Biography of the Earth

Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources

Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements

Streams and Floods: the Geology of Running Water

Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts

A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater

Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts

Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages

Global Change in the Earth System

A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils

The Rock Cycle

The Earth’s Interior Revisited: Insights from Geophysics

Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution

Ever-Changing Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle

Prelude: And Just What is Geology?

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