Question 1

What protects cratons and keeps them from being subducted?

Accepted Answer

A) They are made of continental crust. 
B) They are of unusually light continental crust. 
C) The mantle part of the lithosphere is unusually thin. 
D) They have a stronger and cooler mantle below their crust. 
A) They are made of continental crust. 
B) They are of unusually light continental crust. 
C) The mantle part of the lithosphere is unusually thin. 
D) They have a stronger and cooler mantle below their crust.

Question 2

The Cordillera of western North America formed as a result of

Accepted Answer

A) the collision of a large continental landmass with western North America. 
B) the extension of the western North American continental crust. 
C) the collision of numerous exotic terrains with western North America. 
D) motion along the San Andreas Fault. 
A) the collision of a large continental landmass with western North America. 
B) the extension of the western North American continental crust. 
C) the collision of numerous exotic terrains with western North America. 
D) motion along the San Andreas Fault.

Question 3

Which of the following regions has the thickest lithosphere?

Accepted Answer

A) Archean cratons 
B) oceans 
C) Cenozoic orogenic belts 
D) Paleozoic orogenic belts 
A) Archean cratons 
B) oceans 
C) Cenozoic orogenic belts 
D) Paleozoic orogenic belts

Question 4

A tectonic province consisting of exposed Precambrian crystalline basement rocks that have remained undeformed for the last 542 million years is called a

Accepted Answer

A) shield. 
B) platform. 
C) continental basin. 
D) phanerozoic orogeny. 
A) shield. 
B) platform. 
C) continental basin. 
D) phanerozoic orogeny.

Question 5

When did the three main orogenies that formed the Appalachian Mountains occur?

Accepted Answer

A) during the Cenozoic era 
B) during the Paleozoic era 
C) during the Mesozoic era 
D) during Precambrian time 
A) during the Cenozoic era 
B) during the Paleozoic era 
C) during the Mesozoic era 
D) during Precambrian time

Question 6

Glacial rebound and a superplume are both a form of

Accepted Answer

A) volcanism. 
B) orgogeny. 
C) epeirogeny. 
D) accretion. 
A) volcanism. 
B) orgogeny. 
C) epeirogeny. 
D) accretion.

Question 7

What kind of tectonic province consists of a region of Precambrian basement rocks that have a thin cover of sediments?

Accepted Answer

A) shield 
B) platform 
C) continental basin 
D) phanerozoic orogeny 
A) shield 
B) platform 
C) continental basin 
D) phanerozoic orogeny

Question 8

Most of the rocks of the interior platform of North America were deposited in a(n)

Accepted Answer

A) continental rift. 
B) extensive shallow sea. 
C) deep-ocean basin. 
D) volcanic island arc. 
A) continental rift. 
B) extensive shallow sea. 
C) deep-ocean basin. 
D) volcanic island arc.

Question 9

Which of the following terms refers to the gradual vertical movements of the crust without significant deformation?

Accepted Answer

A) accretion 
B) epeirogeny 
C) orogeny 
D) rejuvenation 
A) accretion 
B) epeirogeny 
C) orogeny 
D) rejuvenation

Question 10

What is the likely age of diamonds brought up in xenoliths of cratonic keels?

Accepted Answer

A) several million years 
B) 50 million years 
C) 100 million years 
D) billions of years 
A) several million years 
B) 50 million years 
C) 100 million years 
D) billions of years

Question 11

When large areas of continental crust are tectonically stable they

Accepted Answer

A) experience intense rifting. 
B) develop mountain ranges. 
C) are eroded flat. 
D) tend to be young geologically. 
A) experience intense rifting. 
B) develop mountain ranges. 
C) are eroded flat. 
D) tend to be young geologically.

Question 12

How might plate tectonic processes have been different in the Archean?

Accepted Answer

A) The plates moved more rapidly. 
B) The plates were much larger. 
C) The plates moved more slowly. 
D) There was no subduction. 
A) The plates moved more rapidly. 
B) The plates were much larger. 
C) The plates moved more slowly. 
D) There was no subduction.

Question 13

Evidence of a hotter mantle in the Archean comes from _________ volcanic rock,which is found only in Archean crust.

Accepted Answer

A) peridotite 
B) ultramaficite 
C) komatiite 
D) rhyolite 
A) peridotite 
B) ultramaficite 
C) komatiite 
D) rhyolite

Question 14

The North American Cordillera formed over a period of

Accepted Answer

A) 2 million years. 
B) 10 million years. 
C) 50 million years. 
D) 200 million years. 
A) 2 million years. 
B) 10 million years. 
C) 50 million years. 
D) 200 million years.

Question 15

What is an orogeny?

Accepted Answer

A) a broad exposure of deformed metamorphic and igneous rocks 
B) a general term for mountain-building processes 
C) a special type of reverse fault 
D) a theory that explains the uplift of continents after large ice sheets melt 
A) a broad exposure of deformed metamorphic and igneous rocks 
B) a general term for mountain-building processes 
C) a special type of reverse fault 
D) a theory that explains the uplift of continents after large ice sheets melt

Question 16

During the so-called Wilson cycle,which of the following is least affected?

Accepted Answer

A) ocean basins 
B) accreted terrains 
C) continental margins 
D) cratons 
A) ocean basins 
B) accreted terrains 
C) continental margins 
D) cratons

Question 17

Which of the following sequences describes the Wilson cycle?
 I.continent-continent collision
II.continental rifting
III.sea-floor spreading
IV.subduction

Accepted Answer

A) I,IV,II,III 
B) III,I,IV,II 
C) II,III,IV,I 
D) IV,II,III,IV 
A) I,IV,II,III 
B) III,I,IV,II 
C) II,III,IV,I 
D) IV,II,III,IV

Question 18

Where are the oldest rocks in North America located?

Accepted Answer

A) in the Appalachian Mountains 
B) in the Canadian Shield 
C) in the Basin and Range province 
D) in the Rocky Mountains 
A) in the Appalachian Mountains 
B) in the Canadian Shield 
C) in the Basin and Range province 
D) in the Rocky Mountains

Question 19

The Blue Ridge province of the Appalachian fold belt was thrust as sheets over the top of which geologic province?

Accepted Answer

A) the Appalachian Plateau province 
B) the Piedmont province 
C) the Coastal Plain province 
D) the Valley and Ridge province 
A) the Appalachian Plateau province 
B) the Piedmont province 
C) the Coastal Plain province 
D) the Valley and Ridge province

Question 20

When did the Basin and Range province begin to form?

Accepted Answer

A) 150 million years ago 
B) 5 million years ago 
C) 100 million years ago 
D) 15 million years ago 
A) 150 million years ago 
B) 5 million years ago 
C) 100 million years ago 
D) 15 million years ago

Exam 10: History of the Continents

What protects cratons and keeps them from being subducted?

The Cordillera of western North America formed as a result of

Which of the following regions has the thickest lithosphere?

A tectonic province consisting of exposed Precambrian crystalline basement rocks that have remained undeformed for the last 542 million years is called a

When did the three main orogenies that formed the Appalachian Mountains occur?

Glacial rebound and a superplume are both a form of

What kind of tectonic province consists of a region of Precambrian basement rocks that have a thin cover of sediments?

Most of the rocks of the interior platform of North America were deposited in a(n)

Which of the following terms refers to the gradual vertical movements of the crust without significant deformation?

What is the likely age of diamonds brought up in xenoliths of cratonic keels?

When large areas of continental crust are tectonically stable they

How might plate tectonic processes have been different in the Archean?

Evidence of a hotter mantle in the Archean comes from _________ volcanic rock,which is found only in Archean crust.

The North American Cordillera formed over a period of

What is an orogeny?

During the so-called Wilson cycle,which of the following is least affected?

Which of the following sequences describes the Wilson cycle? I.continent-continent collision II.continental rifting III.sea-floor spreading IV.subduction

Where are the oldest rocks in North America located?

The Blue Ridge province of the Appalachian fold belt was thrust as sheets over the top of which geologic province?

When did the Basin and Range province begin to form?

The Earth System

Plate Tectonics: The Unifying Theory

Earth Materials: Minerals and Rocks

Igneous Rocks: Solids From Melts

Sedimentation: Rocks Formed by Surface Processes

Metamorphism: Alteration of Rocks by Temperature and Pressure

Deformation: Modification of Rocks by Folding and Fracturing

Clocks in Rocks: Timing the Geologic Period

Early History of the Terrestrial Planets

Geobiology: Life Interacts With Earth

Volcanoes

Earthquakes

Exploring Earths Interior

The Climate System

Weathering,erosion,and Mass Wasting: Interactions Between the Climate and Plate Tectonic Systems

The Hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater

Stream Transport: From Mountains to Oceans

Winds and Deserts

Coastlines and Ocean Basins

Glaciers: the Work of Ice

Landscapes: Tectonic and Climate Interaction

The Human Impact of Earths Environment

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