Deck 3: Rocks: Materials of the Solid Earth

Question 1

Intrusive igneous rocks are often coarse- grained because ______.

A) the slow cooling at depth allows large crystals to grow
B) the uplift process that exposes the rock fractures them and makes them rough
C) small holes from escaping gases leave them rough and coarse
D) the pressures at depth cause them to have a rough texture

Answer 1

the slow cooling at depth allows large crystals to grow

Question 2

Why do crystals in a magma stop growing during cooling?

A) They run out of room to expand.
B) The pressure from rocks above becomes too great and the magma stops growing crystals.
C) They run out of heat.
D) They become too dense to grow.

Answer 2

They run out of room to expand.

Question 3

If magma or lava cools quickly, the resulting igneous rock will have_____________ .

A) very large crystals
B) more variations in mineral types
C) more silicate minerals
D) very small crystals

Answer 3

very small crystals

Question 4

Rhyolite is the fine- grained equivalent of which of the following igneous rocks?

A) andesite
B) basalt
C) granite
D) diorite

Question 5

Which igneous texture is characterized by two distinctively different crystal sizes?

A) glassy
B) porphyritic
C) fine- grained
D) coarse- grained

Question 6

What is required for an igneous rock to weather?

A) It must move downslope under the influence of gravity.
B) It must be deposited by water or ice.
C) It must be exposed at the surface of Earth.
D) It must be uplifted from where it was emplaced.

Question 7

A porphyritic texture where large crystals are embedded in a matrix of small crystal may form when_________ .

A) climate change causes crystals to cool at different rates
B) crystals of different compositions grow to different sizes
C) a magma that has partially crystallized slowly moves to a different location where it then cools rapidly
D) crystals of different compositions cool at different rates

Question 8

What is the difference between "magma" and "lava"?

A) Magma is formed deep in Earth and lava forms near the surface of Earth.
B) It is just a name change, and lava is what magma is called if it reaches the surface of Earth.
C) Magma is less dense than lava.
D) Magma makes igneous rocks and lava forms volcanoes.

Question 9

Which one of the following is an igneous rock?

A) shale
B) rhyolite
C) limestone
D) slate

Question 10

Igneous rocks with an andesitic composition _______.

A) are denser than basaltic compositional rocks
B) are found primarily in continental interiors
C) make up most of the sea floor
D) are denser than granitic compositional rocks

Question 11

Obsidian exhibits a________ texture.

A) porphyritic
B) glassy
C) fine- grained
D) coarse- grained

Question 12

Rocks that contain high amounts of silica typically also contain___ .

A) iron, magnesium, and potassium
B) aluminum, sodium, and potassium
C) aluminum, magnesium, and potassium
D) calcium, magnesium, and potassium

Question 13

Which of the following places is well known for its intrusive igneous rocks that were exposed by erosion?

A) Mount St. Helens Volcano
B) Yellowstone National Park
C) Mt. Rushmore
D) Hawaii

Question 14

Which of the following is not true of peridotite?

A) It is the main constituent of Earth's crust.
B) It is denser than basaltic rocks.
C) It is composed almost entirely of olivine and pyroxene.
D) It is rarely found at Earth's surface.

Question 15

Granite and gabbro______ .

A) have a similar mineral composition
B) are not similar in either texture or mineral composition
C) are similar in both texture and mineral composition
D) have a similar texture

Question 16

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

A) basalt
B) diorite
C) andesite
D) granite

Question 17

Why does magma rise toward Earth's surface?

A) because it is a liquid
B) because it is immiscible and cannot combine with the material around it
C) because it is hot
D) because it is less dense than the material around it

Question 18

Which of the following is not a dark silicate mineral?

A) biotite
B) pyroxene
C) amphibole
D) quartz

Question 19

What is the most common place for sediment to be deposited?

A) beaches
B) rivers
C) mountains
D) oceans

Question 20

High heat and high pressure will lead to_________ rocks.

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

Question 21

Which one of the following is not related to chemical weathering?

A) oxidation
B) hydrolysis
C) decomposition
D) frost wedging

Question 22

The texture of an igneous rock_______ .

A) determines the color of the rock
B) is caused by leaching
C) records the rock's cooling history
D) is controlled by the composition of magma

Question 23

The most common sedimentary rock is ________.

A) conglomerate
B) shale
C) sandstone
D) breccia

Question 24

Breccia, a rock with angular particles, is likely to have traveled _______ .

A) in a mountain stream
B) only a short distance
C) in a glacier
D) a long distance

Question 25

Which of the following pairs are likely products of weathering granite?

A) sandstone and calcite
B) clay and quartz
C) feldspar and mica
D) olivine and pyroxene

Question 26

Chemical sedimentary rocks form from materials___ .

A) too fine to see without a microscope
B) that form weak bonds with oxygen
C) carried in solution
D) all of the above

Question 27

Which of the following is not a product of the chemical weathering of potassium feldspar?

A) sulfur
B) potassium ions
C) silica
D) clay

Question 28

When sand lithifies, the resulting rock is commonly called__________ .

A) sandstone
B) conglomerate
C) shale
D) breccia

Question 29

Silts and clays are commonly deposited in lakes, lagoons, swamps and marine environments because ________ .

A) those settings have highly varied activities and multiple inlets for water
B) those settings are more basic
C) those settings are more acidic
D) those settings have relatively still water

Question 30

Which of the following is an economically important sedimentary rock?

A) coal
B) pumice
C) calcite
D) marble

Question 31

Most sediment is formed by _______ .

A) the downhill movement of material during mass wasting
B) the rapid distribution of material in a mountain stream
C) rocks that erode from the bottoms of glaciers
D) settling out of a fluid

Question 32

Limestone is formed primarily through__________ .

A) chemical interactions between ocean bottom sediments and ions in sea water
B) biochemical sediments secreted by marine organisms
C) direct precipitation from seawater
D) evaporation of calcite rich seawater

Question 33

The mineral olivine is characteristic of a ____ magma.

A) mafic
B) ultramafic
C) intermediate
D) felsic

Question 34

Death Valley is a site where______ sedimentary rocks are common.

A) evaporite
B) clastic
C) detrital
D) biochemical

Question 35

Chemical weathering would be most effective _______.

A) in a cold, dry climate
B) equally in any kind of climate
C) in a warm, humid climate
D) in a warm, dry climate

Question 36

Detrital sedimentary rocks are typically classified on the basis of their_________ .

A) texture
B) provenance
C) composition
D) particle size

Question 37

Felsic rocks melt at a temperature that is_________ .

A) higher than mafic rocks but lower than intermediate rocks
B) lower than both intermediate and mafic rocks
C) lower than mafic rocks but higher than intermediate rocks
D) higher than intermediate rocks but lower than mafic rocks

Question 38

Igneous rock is formed ________ .

A) by crystallization of magma
B) by the weathering of preexisting rocks
C) at great depth within Earth
D) by changes in mineral composition

Question 39

Chalk forms from _________.

A) magnesium rich fluids that chemically alter limestone bearing reefs
B) direct precipitation from seawater
C) evaporation of magnesium rich waters
D) the hard parts of microscopic organisms that accumulate on the sea floor

Question 40

The first step in turning a rock into a sediment is ________.

A) weathering alters the rock
B) rock is broken into small pieces during the transportation phase
C) compaction
D) gravity and erosional agents wind, water, etc.. remove material from the parent rock

Question 41

Coal beds originate in_______ .

A) shallow lakes in a dry, desert region
B) freshwater coastal swamps and bogs
C) channels of fast- moving streams
D) deep, marine basins below wave action

Question 42

Coquina is derived from_______ .

A) sand
B) shell fragments
C) clay
D) mud

Question 43

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

A) shale
B) conglomerate
C) breccia
D) sandstone

Question 44

Detrital sediments would predominate in all of the following environments except___________ .

A) river floodplain
B) delta
C) swamp
D) salt flat

Question 45

Confining pressure is where______ .

A) forces are applied equally in all directions
B) pressure is parallel to the bedding planes
C) forces are applied from the top and the bottom equally
D) pressure is applied in a cubic region

Question 46

The most abundant chemical sedimentary rock is_______ .

A) rock salt
B) chert
C) dolomite
D) limestone

Question 47

Which rock type is associated with a high- energy environment such as a very turbulent stream.?

A) chert
B) shale
C) conglomerate
D) none of these

Question 48

In an area where the temperature increase with depth averages 20°C per kilometer, the temperature at a depth of 5 kilometers would be_______________.

A) 200°C
B) 50°C
C) 20°C
D) 100°C

Question 49

The most important agents. of metamorphism, according to your text, is are_______________ .

A) heat
B) confining pressure
C) chemically active fluids
D) differential stress

Question 50

The low grade metamorphism of shale produces________ .

A) slate
B) schist
C) gneiss
D) marble

Question 51

For a geologist, the most important characteristic of a sedimentary rock is its ________.

A) lithology
B) layering
C) texture
D) composition

Question 52

The major role of thermal energy heat. in metamorphism is________ .

A) driving chemical reactions that lead to recrystallization
B) increasing the processes of dissolution and flow of different minerals
C) reducing the strength of rocks so that stress can be an effective agent of change
D) providing energy for the physical changes that occur during metamorphism

Question 53

The quartz in granite begins to melt at 650°C, so if we find a migmatite where quartz has melted in a granitic rock and we know the temperature in the region increased with depth by about 25°C per kilometer, we could estimate the depth that the rock had been at to be about ________.

A) 23.5 km
B) 12.5 km
C) 18.0 km
D) 26.0 km

Question 54

Precipitation in the case of sedimentary rocks means that a solid rock forms _______.

A) from fossils that are broken down
B) as crystals in a liquid
C) from rainfall
D) from a gas

Question 55

An important condition for the formation of coal is _______.

A) acid rich waters that reduce the organic matter to pure carbon
B) incomplete decomposition of organic matter due to a lack of oxygen
C) abundant plant and animal life in a region
D) decomposition of organic matter with abundant oxygen

Question 56

Which of the following best describes bedded gypsum and rock salt?

A) varieties of dolostone
B) varieties of coal and peat
C) evaporates; chemical, sedimentary rocks
D) detrital sedimentary rocks

Question 57

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

A) 15
B) 30
C) 5
D) 50

Question 58

The common source of pressure during compaction of sediments is______ .

A) the weight of the compacting sediments causing internal pressure
B) the weight of water above the sediments after they are deposited
C) the weight of the sediments deposited above the compacting sediments
D) the pressure of the sediments pushing the compacting sediments out of the way during deposition

Question 59

Metamorphism occurs when a rock______ .

A) experiences conditions that include high pressures
B) experiences conditions that are significantly different from those that formed the rock
C) experiences conditions that include high temperatures
D) experiences conditions that are similar to those that formed the rock

Question 60

Mountain building causes metamorphism because __________.

A) mountains form by the gradual buildup of material that comes from other areas and this can produce an uneven pressure on rocks
B) mountains are heavy and they push shallow, cool rocks to depths where they get heated
C) mountains are heavy and they compress the rocks under them
D) all of the above

Question 61

_____is composed of alternating bands of light and dark silicate minerals.

A) Gneiss
B) Mica schist
C) Phyllite
D) Marble

Question 62

The primary agent of contact metamorphism is__________ .

A) folding
B) heat
C) strain
D) stress

Question 63

Which of the following minerals is particularly prominent in schist?

A) pyroxene
B) quartz
C) calcium carbonate
D) mica

Question 64

Slate is ____________ than shale.

A) denser
B) darker
C) more planar
D) lighter

Question 65

A major difference between coal and oil/gas is_________ .

A) coal forms on land from dinosaurs and oil/gas form from ancient fish
B) coal forms in swamps and oil/gas form in marine environments
C) coal forms in deep marine environments and oil/gas form in shallow marine environments
D) coal forms in shallow marine environments and oil/gas form in swamps

Question 66

When rocks experience high temperatures and differential stresses deep in Earth, their grains tend to_____ .

A) form new minerals
B) flatten and elongate
C) fracture along planes of weakness
D) break in small fragments like a piece of fine crystal

Question 67

Metamorphosed sandstone is known as ________.

A) marble
B) granite
C) quartzite
D) phyllite

Question 68

Which of the following is not an example of a foliation in a metamorphic rock?

A) parallel alignment of platy or flat minerals
B) parallel alignment of flattened pebbles
C) compositional banding
D) bedding planes and strata

Question 69

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

A) phyllite, slate, schist
B) slate, phyllite, schist
C) slate, schist, phyllite
D) schist, slate, phyllite

Question 70

The minerals gold, silver and mercury are often found in_____ .

A) the lower parts of an intrusion
B) alteration of limestone
C) disseminated deposits
D) hydrothermal veins

Question 71

The common rock produced by the metamorphism of limestone is__________ .

A) gneiss
B) phyllite
C) marble
D) mica schist

Question 72

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern.

A) plagioclase
B) pyroxene
C) olivine
D) quartz

Question 73

Chemically active fluids are___________ .

A) more acidic than regular fluids
B) fluids that contain large quantities of oxygen
C) more basic than regular fluids
D) fluids that readily change to gases at the surface

Question 74

Which of the following changes may occur during metamorphism?

A) Crystals may grow larger.
B) The rock becomes more compact.
C) Certain minerals may recrystallize.
D) all of the above

Question 75

The very large crystals of quartz, feldspar, and muscovite found in pegmatites form from______ .

A) the final crystallizing parts of a magma
B) the middle crystallizing parts of a magma
C) the early crystallizing parts of a magma
D) all of the above

Question 76

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern.

A) granite
B) diorite
C) gabbro
D) basalt

Question 77

In order to get oil and gas in sufficient quantities to make a profit, an oil trap must exist with_______ .

A) shale with little or no sulfur
B) no fractures or structure
C) lateral continuity that allows fluids to migrate
D) sufficiently high permeability and porosity

Question 78

Recrystallization during metamorphism causes grains to grow longer in the________ .

A) direction perpendicular to the compressional stress
B) direction of maximum differential stress
C) direction parallel to the compressional stress
D) horizontal direction

Question 79

Magma differentiation tends to produce deposits of_______ near the base of intrusions.

A) chromite
B) copper
C) silver
D) gold

Question 80

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern.

A) lava
B) ash
C) pahoehoe
D) magma