Question 1

What can you interpret about the relative age of the rocks and features in this photograph?

Accepted Answer

A) The upper sedimentary layer is younger. 
B) The lower gray layers are younger. 
C) The layers are the same age because the boundary is so irregular. 
D) It is not possible to tell the relative ages of the layers. 
A) The upper sedimentary layer is younger. 
B) The lower gray layers are younger. 
C) The layers are the same age because the boundary is so irregular. 
D) It is not possible to tell the relative ages of the layers.

Question 2

Which of the following would be most consistent with an origin of Upheaval Dome by a meteoroid impact?

Accepted Answer

A) a mass of salt should exist beneath the crater 
B) solidified magma might underlie the crater floor 
C) presence of volcanic layers much older than the crater 
D) presence of volcanic fragments scattered around the crater 
E) none of these 
A) a mass of salt should exist beneath the crater 
B) solidified magma might underlie the crater floor 
C) presence of volcanic layers much older than the crater 
D) presence of volcanic fragments scattered around the crater 
E) none of these

Question 3

Which of the following is data rather than an interpretation?

Accepted Answer

A) Recent volcanism at Yellowstone is related to the process that caused the low topography. 
B) There is an area of low topography southwest of Yellowstone National Park. 
C) Volcanism in Yellowstone overlies an area of hotter-than-average mantle. 
D) The low topography southwest of Yellowstone formed when North America moved over a hot spot. 
A) Recent volcanism at Yellowstone is related to the process that caused the low topography. 
B) There is an area of low topography southwest of Yellowstone National Park. 
C) Volcanism in Yellowstone overlies an area of hotter-than-average mantle. 
D) The low topography southwest of Yellowstone formed when North America moved over a hot spot.

Question 4

The phrase trading location for time signifies that:

Accepted Answer

A) It takes more time to observe a landscape than is available. 
B) Expensive homes are built in locations that cost people time. 
C) Different parts of a landscape can be used to infer how the landscape changes over time. 
D) Some rocks are harder than others to erode and so last a longer time. 
A) It takes more time to observe a landscape than is available. 
B) Expensive homes are built in locations that cost people time. 
C) Different parts of a landscape can be used to infer how the landscape changes over time. 
D) Some rocks are harder than others to erode and so last a longer time.

Question 5

What is probably the most important factor in the health of most ecosystems?

Accepted Answer

A) the amount of calcium in the soil 
B) the amount of potassium in the soil 
C) availability of clean water 
D) the length of daylight hours 
E) how often hurricanes strike 
A) the amount of calcium in the soil 
B) the amount of potassium in the soil 
C) availability of clean water 
D) the length of daylight hours 
E) how often hurricanes strike

Question 6

What is the oldest unit or feature in this figure?

Accepted Answer

A) 1 
B) 2 
C) 3 
D) 4 
E) 5 
A) 1 
B) 2 
C) 3 
D) 4 
E) 5

Question 7

Which of the following parts of geologic time is the shortest?

Accepted Answer

A) Precambrian 
B) Paleozoic 
C) Mesozoic 
D) Cenozoic 
A) Precambrian 
B) Paleozoic 
C) Mesozoic 
D) Cenozoic

Question 8

This figure shows the main subdivisions of the geologic timescale.Which of these is the Paleozoic?

Accepted Answer

A) A 
B) B 
C) C 
D) D 
A) A 
B) B 
C) C 
D) D

Question 9

What explanation did the textbook favor for the origin of the crater in Arizona?

Accepted Answer

A) an explosion when rising magma encountered groundwater 
B) warping by a rising mass of salt that was later dissolved away to form the crater 
C) collapse of a large cave that contained large crystals of gypsum 
D) impact by a large meteoroid that hit the surface at a very high speed 
A) an explosion when rising magma encountered groundwater 
B) warping by a rising mass of salt that was later dissolved away to form the crater 
C) collapse of a large cave that contained large crystals of gypsum 
D) impact by a large meteoroid that hit the surface at a very high speed

Question 10

What are some components of the landscape shown in this photograph?

Accepted Answer

A) a natural stain on the outside of the rocks 
B) fractures and layers 
C) loose rocks covering a slope-forming unit 
D) rounding of the upper parts of the cliff 
E) all of these 
A) a natural stain on the outside of the rocks 
B) fractures and layers 
C) loose rocks covering a slope-forming unit 
D) rounding of the upper parts of the cliff 
E) all of these

Question 11

Which locations are composed of loose materials (not bedrock)?

Accepted Answer

A) 1 and 2 
B) 2 and 3 
C) 3 and 4 
D) 1 and 3 
E) 2 and 4 
A) 1 and 2 
B) 2 and 3 
C) 3 and 4 
D) 1 and 3 
E) 2 and 4

Question 12

What is the best criterion for the relative ages of the rocks in this photograph?

Accepted Answer

A) The igneous rock is younger because it is on top. 
B) The igneous rock is younger because it has baked the adjacent rock. 
C) The lower rock is younger because it contains pieces of volcanic rock. 
D) The igneous rock is older because it formed at depth. 
A) The igneous rock is younger because it is on top. 
B) The igneous rock is younger because it has baked the adjacent rock. 
C) The lower rock is younger because it contains pieces of volcanic rock. 
D) The igneous rock is older because it formed at depth.

Question 13

This figure shows three blocks in water.Which two materials have the same density?

Accepted Answer

A) blocks 1 and 2 
B) blocks 2 and 3 
C) block 1 and 3 
D) block 2 and the water 4 
E) block 3 and the water 4 
A) blocks 1 and 2 
B) blocks 2 and 3 
C) block 1 and 3 
D) block 2 and the water 4 
E) block 3 and the water 4

Question 14

The sediment in this photograph mostly likely formed in:

Accepted Answer

A) a steep mountain front 
B) a river 
C) a sand dune 
D) deep water conditions on the seafloor 
A) a steep mountain front 
B) a river 
C) a sand dune 
D) deep water conditions on the seafloor

Question 15

Which of the following is data rather than an interpretation?

Accepted Answer

A) Some trees along Yellowstone Lake were flooded when the land north of the lake rose because of magma at depth. 
B) Rising and sinking of the land around Yellowstone is related to underlying magma. 
C) The ages of volcanic centers near Yellowstone indicate that North America is moving southwest over the mantle. 
D) All of these are data rather than interpretations. 
E) All of these are interpretations rather than data. 
A) Some trees along Yellowstone Lake were flooded when the land north of the lake rose because of magma at depth. 
B) Rising and sinking of the land around Yellowstone is related to underlying magma. 
C) The ages of volcanic centers near Yellowstone indicate that North America is moving southwest over the mantle. 
D) All of these are data rather than interpretations. 
E) All of these are interpretations rather than data.

Question 16

Which of the following map or diagram would best show you the shape of the land surface?

Accepted Answer

A) shaded-relief map 
B) satellite image 
C) geologic map 
D) stratigraphic section 
A) shaded-relief map 
B) satellite image 
C) geologic map 
D) stratigraphic section

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a problem addressed by geologists?

Accepted Answer

A) energy and mineral resources 
B) volcanoes and other natural hazards 
C) geometry of rock layers in the subsurface 
D) flow of groundwater 
E) all of these are addressed by geologists 
A) energy and mineral resources 
B) volcanoes and other natural hazards 
C) geometry of rock layers in the subsurface 
D) flow of groundwater 
E) all of these are addressed by geologists

Question 18

Which of the following was NOT a possible explanation for the origin of the crater in Arizona?

Accepted Answer

A) meteoroid impact 
B) volcanic explosion 
C) warping by a rising mass of salt 
D) collapse of large crystal-filled cave 
A) meteoroid impact 
B) volcanic explosion 
C) warping by a rising mass of salt 
D) collapse of large crystal-filled cave

Question 19

If all of geologic time is represented as a single year,and the Jurassic Period is in the middle of the Mesozoic era,what month were dinosaurs most abundant on the planet?

Accepted Answer

A) January 
B) April 
C) June 
D) July 
E) December 
A) January 
B) April 
C) June 
D) July 
E) December

Question 20

The sediment in this photograph most likely formed in:

Accepted Answer

A) a steep mountain front 
B) a river 
C) a sand dune 
D) deep water conditions on the seafloor 
A) a steep mountain front 
B) a river 
C) a sand dune 
D) deep water conditions on the seafloor

What can you interpret about the relative age of the rocks and features in this photograph?

Which of the following would be most consistent with an origin of Upheaval Dome by a meteoroid impact?

Which of the following is data rather than an interpretation?

The phrase trading location for time signifies that:

What is probably the most important factor in the health of most ecosystems?

What is the oldest unit or feature in this figure?

Which of the following parts of geologic time is the shortest?

This figure shows the main subdivisions of the geologic timescale.Which of these is the Paleozoic?

What explanation did the textbook favor for the origin of the crater in Arizona?

What are some components of the landscape shown in this photograph?

Which locations are composed of loose materials (not bedrock)?

What is the best criterion for the relative ages of the rocks in this photograph?

This figure shows three blocks in water.Which two materials have the same density?

The sediment in this photograph mostly likely formed in:

Which of the following is data rather than an interpretation?

Which of the following map or diagram would best show you the shape of the land surface?

Which of the following is NOT a problem addressed by geologists?

Which of the following was NOT a possible explanation for the origin of the crater in Arizona?

If all of geologic time is represented as a single year,and the Jurassic Period is in the middle of the Mesozoic era,what month were dinosaurs most abundant on the planet?

The sediment in this photograph most likely formed in:

The Nature of Geology

Plate Tectonics

Earth Materials

Igneous Environments

Volcanoes and Volcanic Hazards

Sedimentary Environments and Rocks

Deformation and Metamorphism

Geologic Time

The Seafloor and Continental Margins

Mountains, basins, and Continents

Earthquakes and Earths Interior

Climate, weather, and Their Influences on Geology

Glaciers, shorelines, and Changing Sea Levels

Weathering, soil, and Unstable Slopes

Streams and Flooding

Water Resources

Energy and Mineral Resources

Geology of the Solar System

Filters

Exam 2: Investigating Geologic Questions

What can you interpret about the relative age of the rocks and features in this photograph?

Which of the following would be most consistent with an origin of Upheaval Dome by a meteoroid impact?

Which of the following is data rather than an interpretation?

The phrase trading location for time signifies that:

What is probably the most important factor in the health of most ecosystems?

What is the oldest unit or feature in this figure?

Which of the following parts of geologic time is the shortest?

This figure shows the main subdivisions of the geologic timescale.Which of these is the Paleozoic?

What explanation did the textbook favor for the origin of the crater in Arizona?

What are some components of the landscape shown in this photograph?

Which locations are composed of loose materials (not bedrock)?

What is the best criterion for the relative ages of the rocks in this photograph?

This figure shows three blocks in water.Which two materials have the same density?

The sediment in this photograph mostly likely formed in:

Which of the following is data rather than an interpretation?

Which of the following map or diagram would best show you the shape of the land surface?

Which of the following is NOT a problem addressed by geologists?

Which of the following was NOT a possible explanation for the origin of the crater in Arizona?

If all of geologic time is represented as a single year,and the Jurassic Period is in the middle of the Mesozoic era,what month were dinosaurs most abundant on the planet?

The sediment in this photograph most likely formed in:

The Nature of Geology

Plate Tectonics

Earth Materials

Igneous Environments

Volcanoes and Volcanic Hazards

Sedimentary Environments and Rocks

Deformation and Metamorphism

Geologic Time

The Seafloor and Continental Margins

Mountains, basins, and Continents

Earthquakes and Earths Interior

Climate, weather, and Their Influences on Geology

Glaciers, shorelines, and Changing Sea Levels

Weathering, soil, and Unstable Slopes

Streams and Flooding

Water Resources

Energy and Mineral Resources

Geology of the Solar System

Filters