Part I: True or False.

Answer True (T) or False (F) in the right column for the statements in the
left column. [20 points]
Statements Answer (T or F)
1: Microthermal climates accommodate the largest percentage of
Earth's population.
F
2: Greenhouse gasses such as CO
2
and CH
4
act to increase
temperatures by absorbing and releasing shortwave energy from
entering Earth's energy system.
F
3: The nucleus of old crystalline rock in each of the principal
continental masses is called a continental shield, or craton.
T
4: The High Plains Aquifer in North America has been pumped
extensively for agricultural use.
T
5: Since the industrialization (about ~1850), the atmospheric CO
2

concentration has increased about 100 ppm (parts per million)
T
6: Oxygen isotope (!
18
O) profiles obtained from marine invertebrate
animal fossils can reveal ancient greenhouse and icehouse events
T
7: The Basin and Range province in western US is produced by
reverse faulting, similar to the mechanism that formed the Himalayas.
F
8: Dinosaurs dominated the Earths biosphere about 600 million years
ago in the Precambrian.
F
9: Continental crust is commonly thick (up to 60 km) and
compositionally granitic, whereas oceanic crust is thin (~5 km) and
compositionally basaltic.
T
10: The lithosphere includes the crust and the uppermost mantle
above a plastic-like aesthenosphere.
T
Part II: Matching Terms. Pick out the term in the left column that best fits the definition/
statement in the middle column. Write the number of the term (aj) in the right column. [10 points]
TERMS Definitions/Statements Answer
a. Weathering
b. Seismograph
c. Normal fault
d. Uniformitarianism
e. Aesthenosphere
f. Ring of fire
g. Isostasy
h. Convergent plate
boundary
i. Transform plate
boundary
j. Regolith
1. An instrument used to record earthquakes. b
2. The collision zone between continental and oceanic
plates or between two continental plates
h
3. Deformation produced by tensional stress acting on rocks that
result in a dropped hanging-wall block relative to the footwall.
c
4. The Earths interior layer that is plastic-like and located in the
upper mantle below the lithosphere
e
5. A phenomenon that mountains uplift due to the loss of weight
through erosion or melting of ice sheets
g
6. Earths surface process that leads to disintegration and
dissolving of surface and subsurface rocks.
a
7. A principle in that the same physical processes we see today
are a key to understand the processes that have been operating
throughout geologic time.
d
8. Widespread volcanoes surrounding the Pacific Ocean (plate)
f
9. At this boundary plates slide laterally past one another at right
angles to a seafloor spreading center
i
10. Partially weathered, broken rocks below the soil, which
are compositionally identical to the underlying parent
bedrock.
j
Part III: Multiple choices. Notice that there will be 2 points for each question. [70 points]
1. Which of the following lists the correct, generalized sequence of climates from the
equator to the poles?
A) Highland ! Microthermal ! Mesothermal ! Desert ! Tropical
B) Highland ! Desert ! Mesothermal ! Microthermal ! Polar
C) Desert ! Tropical ! Microthermal ! Polar ! Mesothermal
D) Polar ! Microthermal ! Mesothermal ! Desert ! Tropical
E) Tropical ! Desert ! Mesothermal ! Microthermal ! Polar
Answer: ________E______________
2. Which of the following gives the correct sequence of layers in the Earth, from the
surface to the center?
A) crust, core, lower mantle, aesthenosphere
B) aesthenosphere, lower mantle, crust, core
C) crust, lower mantle, aesthenosphere, core
D) crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, inner core
Answer: _________D_____________
3. The atmosphere of Venus is composed of 96% of CO
2
(compared to ~380 ppm CO
2
in
the Earths atmosphere). Which of the following is true?
A) Venus surface is much colder than Earth surface
B) Venus surface is much hotter than Earth surface
C) Venus has the same surface temperature as the Earth surface
D) Venus does not have greenhouse effects from atmosphere CO
2
Answer: ________B______________
4. If there is little CO
2
(e.g., 100 ppm) in the Earths atmosphere, which of the following
would happen?
A) The global sea level would be higher than today
B) The Earth surface would be colder than today
C) The polar ice sheets would be larger than today
D) Both A and B are correct
E) Both B and C are correct
Answer: ________E______________
5. Since the industrialization (about ~1850), the average global temperature has increased
about________ and the atmospheric CO
2
concentration has increased about
_________.
A) 10C; 1000 ppm
B) 1C; 100 ppm
C) 5C; 500 ppm
D) 20C; 800 ppm
Answer: ________B______________
6. Which of the following is a predicted consequence of the global warming?
A) flooding of low-lying coastal areas
B) spread of tropical diseases to regions now unaffected by them
C) change in species composition of forest ecosystems
D) change in international trade relationships, especially those pertaining to food
E) All of the above.
Answer: __________E____________
7.
Oxygen isotope (!
18
O) values are measured through a mass spectrometer and they can
be used as a paleoclimate proxy. In Earths surcial environments, polar ice sheets have
!
18
O values ______________.
A) higher than those of seawater
B) much lower than those of seawater
C) approximately the same as those of seawater
D) higher than those of the river water
Answer: ________B______________
8.
From the oxygen isotope record of foraminifera
(small animals living in the ocean) shown in the
diagram (see left), event A and B record global
warming and cooling events, respectively. Which
of the following is correct?
A)
A records a global warming event.
B)
A records a global cooling event.
C)
B records a global warming event.
D)
B records a global cooling event.
E)
B and C are correct
F)
A and D are correct
Answer:
________E______________
9. How have we gained the knowledge of Earth's internal structure deep in the core?
A) direct observation of Earth's inner layers
B) analysis of primary (P) and secondary (S) seismic waves passing through Earth's
layers
C) drilling holes penetrating the mantle and outer core
D) analysis of the images obtained from space crafts
Answer: ________B______________
10. Which of the following is true regarding the Moho?.
A) Moho is the discontinuous boundary between the Earths crust and mantle
B) It is smooth, like the surface of a sphere
C) Moho is the boundary between lower and upper mantle
D) It parallels the surface topography, which means that the Moho always lies at the same
depth below the surface
E) The Moho lies at the boundary between the upper mantle and the aesthenosphere
Answer: __________A____________
11. Which of the following is true?
A) The age of the sea floor is the same in most areas of the ocean
B) The age of the sea floor does not follow a discernable pattern
C) The age of the sea floor increases with increasing distance from a midocean ridge
D) The age of the sea floor increases with increasing distance from a trench
E) The oldest sea floor material is several billion years in age
Answer: __________C____________
12. Convergent plate boundaries are characteristic of____________ and one example of a
convergent plate boundary is ____________.
A) sea-floor spreading centers; Middle Ocean Ridge of the Atlantic Ocean
B) collision zones between plates; Himalayan Mountains
C) lateral motions of plates; San Andrea Fault in California
D) Continental rifting center; Eastern African rift
Answer: __________B____________
13. Plate boundaries are associated with____________.
A) Earthquakes
B) Volcanoes
C) Subduction
D) Rifting
E) all of the above
Answer: _________E_____________
14. The relatively young mountains along the western margins of North and South
American plates are referred to as the_____________.
A) Alps Mountain system
B) Eurasian-Himalayan system
C) Appalachian Mountains
D) Cordilleran system
Answer: __________D____________
15. The magma, which fuels and produces the volcanic activity around the Pacific Ring of
Fire, is derived from the________________.
A) magma extruded from rift zones, which are developing along the Pacific Rim
B) rise of material that was melted in subduction zones along the Pacific margins
C) rise of magma from rifted basins such as those in the African rift
D) rise of magma along normal faults
Answer: _________B_____________
16. Folded layers of rock can form a wavelike pattern of troughs and crests. The layers near
the crest form__________.
A) a syncline
B) a tension zone
C) an anticline
D) a thrust fault
Answer: __________C____________
17. Fault types are defined by __________.
A) the relative motion of the hanging wall and footwall
B) the amount of movement along the hanging wall and footwall
C) the amount of energy liberated during movement
D) none of the above
Answer: _________A_____________
18. If the hanging wall of a fault is moving upwards related to the footwall, this fault is
called a __________.
A) a normal fault
B) a reverse fault
C) a strike-slip fault
D) a rift
Answer: _________B_____________
19. Tensional stress along a fault can result in a dropped hanging-wall block relative to the
footwall side, producing a____________.
A) reverse fault
B) thrust fault
C) normal fault
D) strike-slip fault
Answer: ________C______________
20. Orogenesis refers to____________.
A) the beginning of extensive faulting
B) the formation of mountains
C) general thinning of the crust
D) blocking rainfall by high mountains
Answer: ________B______________
21. Which of the following does not lead to the formation of mountains?
A) plate collisions
B) exposure of plutons by erosion of surrounding landscape
C) faulting
D) weathering and erosion
E) volcanic eruption
Answer: ________D______________
22. The Basin and Range province (alternate low valleys and high ridges) in western US was
formed by ______________.
A) continent-continent collision
B) strike-slip faulting
C) normal faulting and crustal extension
D) subsurface magma intrusion
Answer: _______C_______________
23. Earthquake is initiated in a subsurface area along the fault plane called the __________.
A) epicenter
B) fault area
C) Richter zone
D) focus, or hypocenter
Answer: ________D______________
24. Which of the following areas would be least likely to have earthquakes?
A) Close to a convergent plate boundary (such as southeast Asia)
B) Close to a divergent plate boundary such as the Africa rift
C) Close to an island arc along a subduction zone in western Pacific
D) Continental shield or craton in the center of the continents such as central Canada
Answer: _________D_____________
25. All processes that cause reduction and rearrangement of landforms are included in the
term named as ____________.
A) mass movement
B) erosion
C) weathering
D) denudation
Answer: __________D___________
26. For a rock or sliding block to move downslope, it must overcome the force
of_________.
A) friction
B) the cohesion of particles to each other
C) inertial resistance of the material
D) all of the above
Answer: _________D____________
27. Chemical weathering is greatest under conditions of____________.
A) higher mean annual rainfall and temperatures
B) lower mean annual rainfall and temperatures
C) temperatures below freezing
D) rainfall of less than 25 cm (10 in.) per year
Answer: __________A____________
28. The rate at which rocks weather depends upon___________.
A) the climate of an area
B) the type of rock
C) the amount of vegetation in an area
D) all of the above
E) A and B only
Answer: ___________D___________
29. Which of the following is (are) a type (types) of physical weathering process?
A) pressure-release jointing
B) salt crystal growth
C) frost wedging
D) hydrolysis
E) A, B, and C
F) None of the above
Answer: ________E______________
30. Karst and cave systems commonly occur in _____________.
A) large granite bodies
B) sandstones
C) limestones
D) fine-grained sandstone and shale
Answer: __________ C____________
31. With significant amount of time, granites and basalts can be decomposed by surface
water that contains carbonic acid and other cations and ions and form clay minerals,
which are the major composition of soils. The process that disintegrates granites and
basalts to form clay minerals refers to ________.
A) physical weathering
B) chemical weathering
C) karstification
D) silicification
Answer: ________B______________
32. Which of the following are the principal active agents involved in chemical weathering?
A) oxygen, silicon, aluminum
B) magnesium, water, limestone
C) water, oxygen, carbon dioxide
D) nitrogen, oxygen, argon
Answer: _________C_____________
33. Which of the following is not necessary for forming a well-developed karst?
A) high proportion of calcium carbonate in the rock
B) joints in rock of low permeability
C) vegetation
D) arid conditions
Answer: _________D_____________
34. In most areas, the upper surface of bedrock is partially weathered to broken-up rock
called___________. This is also the C horizon in soil profiles.
A) parent rock
B) bedrock
C) alluviation layer
D) regolith
Answer: ________D______________
35. Stalactites, stalagmite, and other cave precipitates are formed by ______________.
A) halite precipitation from dripping water
B) phosphate precipitation from dripping water
C) calcite precipitation from dripping water
D) sulfate precipitation from pond water in caves
Answer: _________C_____________
Part IV: Bonus Questions (4 points, 2 points each)
1. We know that our present continents such as Africa and South America display a striking
geographic fit indicating that they were once together in a supercontinent Pangaea. Do you
know approximately how many years ago Pangaea started to breakup?
A). 1.8 million years ago
B). 65 million years ago
C). 200 million years ago
D). 2.5 million years ago.
Answer: __________C___________
2. Oxygen isotopes (!
18
O) have been used as a paleoclimate proxy to document the ancient
warming and cooling events. Scientists measure the !
18
O values of foraminifera, which are
small organisms lived in the surface ocean and recorded the !
18
O of ancient seawater.
From the drilled cores, scientists found that, about 100 million years ago (when dinosaurs
dominated most of the continents), !
18
O values of seawater are -4 (more negative
compared with the modern seawater !
18
O value of ~0). It can be inferred that ~100
million years ago the Earths surficial environments were ________than today.
A). cooler
B). warmer
C). drier
D). Cannot determine.
Answer: ________B______________