Geography exercises

1) Earth science is the study of:

a. Oceanography

b. Astronomy

c. Geology

d. All of the above

2) Which of these is a mineral?

a. Granite

b. Oxygen

c. Quartz

d. Proton

3) Electrons have a charge of what?

a. Negative

b. Positive

c. Neutral

d. Credit

4) A mineral is defined as being which of the following

a. Naturally occurring, crystalline structure, solid

b. Naturally occurring, crystalline structure, small

c. Naturally occurring, inorganic, containing quartz

d. Crystalline structure, definite chemical composition, found on Earth’s surface

5) What can an igneous rock’s texture tell us?

a. What its parent rock was

b. How much weathering it has experienced

c. How quickly it cooled

d. How old it is

6) I have a rock made of sea shells. It is:

a. Sedimentary

b. Igneous

c. Metamorphic

d. Obsidian

7) Slump, Debris flow, and Rockslide are all examples of:

a. Mass wasting

b. Surface mining techniques

c. Parts of a river

d. Types of pollution

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8) Most of Earth’s liquid fresh water is located:

a. In lakes

b. In the ground

c. In human made reservoirs

d. In the atmosphere

9) One way to characterize Metamorphic rocks is by their:

a. Foliation

b. Vesicles

c. Location

d. Size

10) A mineral can be classified as being a Silicate or:

a. Sedimentary

b. Igneous

c. Nonsilicate

d. Metamorphic

11) An atom in a covalent bond will:

a. Share its electrons with another atom or atoms

b. Give away its electrons

c. Take electrons

d. Give away a proton

12) An igneous rock that has a low density is likely:

a. Glassy

b. Vesicular

c. Porphyritic

d. Fine grained

13) Where does Carbonic Acid come from?

a. Water and Carbon Dioxide

b. Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide

c. Pollution

d. Limestone

14) Which of the following is most resistant to chemical weathering and erosion?

a. Feldspar

b. Gypsum

c. Halite

d. Clays

15) A material’s ability to transmit fluid is called:

a. Porosity

b. Permeability

c. Aquifer

d. Reservoir

16) An example of a depositional landform from a river is:

a. Delta c. Sink hole

b. Karst d. Tributary

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Part 2: Short Answer. Most answers should take 5-10 words. Each worth 4 points.

17) Describe two uses of minerals.

18) Describe an environment where a coarse grained SEDIMENTARY rock can form.

19) Describe two forms of MECHANICAL weathering.

20) Describe two ways a stream can move material (e.g. sediment and rocks)

21) Pick one of the following “spheres” and describe what it includes: Geosphere, Biosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere. (Your answer should go something like: “The geosphere consists of..” OR it could go like” “The Biosphere consists of…”

22) Describe two characteristics that can help you tell one mineral from another.

23) Describe the difference between Felsic igneous rocks and Mafic igneous rocks.

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24) Using the following figure, describe which minerals will form first from a cooling magma and which will form last.

25) Describe the process of lithification.

26) Describe the difference between mass wasting and erosion.

27) Label the 3 zones of the river on the following figure:

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Part3: Draw a picture. Each worth 5 points.

28) What would a metamorphic rock with foliations look like?

29) Draw a sketch of an example of an INTRUSIVE igneous rock.

30) Draw a sketch an example of a meandering stream channel and braided stream channel:

Meandering Stream braided stream

Part 4: Rock and Mineral Samples. Circle one. Each worth 2 points.

31) Sample A is an Igneous, Sedimentary, or Metamorphic rock?

32) Sample B is an igneous, Sedimentary, or Metamorphic rock?

33) Is sample C a mineral or just a rock?

34) Sample D likely came from a high or low energy energy environment?

Part 5: True/False. Circle one. 1 point each

35) Artesian water is worth more than spring water because it is healthier. True/False.

Part 1: Multiple Choice. Circle correct answer. Each is worth 2 points.

1) A glacial moraine is:

a. A slow precipitation event

b. A glacial deposit

c. A glacially carved valley

d. Made mostly of volcanic rock

2) An unconformity is:

a. A break in the rock record

b. A rock with large crystals

c. A rock with small crystals

d. An unusual crystal in a rock

3) On which major tectonic plate does Mt. Sac sit?

a. North American

b. Californian

c. Pacific

d. Paper

4) On which plate boundary type are continental plates destroyed?

a. Divergent

b. Transform

c. Convergent

d. Megatron

5) An instrument that measures earthquakes is called a

a. Seismometer

b. Thermometer

c. Richktermeter

d. Shakemeter

6) What is lava?

a. Liquid rock on the surface

b. Liquid rock under ground

c. Molten rock under ground

d. Material found in lamps from the 1960s

7) A volcano with a very slope to its flanks is likely a:

a. Stratovolcano

b. Composite volcano

c. Cinder cone

d. Shield volcano

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8) A trace fossil is:

a. A fossil that is difficult to see

b. A fossil found in amber

c. When a bone’s calcium has been replaced by another mineral.

d. Indirect evidence for life

9) During radioactive decay, a nucleus may:

a. Release an alpha particle

b. Release an electron

c. Gain an electron

d. All of the above

10) Most earthquakes occur:

a. At night

b. Along plate boundaries

c. During a full moon

d. In sedimentary rocks

11) Something with a low viscosity will:

a. Flow easily

b. Flow slowly

c. Be very light

d. Be very dense

12) Aretes, Horns, and Cirques are all:

a. Types of lava

b. Found in deserts

c. Glacial land forms

d. Minerals

13) Absolute age of a rock is:

a. How old the rock is in years

b. How old the rock is relative to the layers above and below

c. Never able to be found

d. Able to be determined in any type of rock

14) Divergent ridges are where:

a. Crust is destroyed

b. Crust slides past other crust

c. Tris Prio lives

d. New crust is formed

15) The fastest seismic waves are:

a. P-waves

b. S-waves

c. Surface waves

d. Ocean waves

16) The dominant erosive force in deserts is:

a. Water c. Biologically enabled

b. Wind d. Human enabled Go on to next page

Part 2: Short Answer/Calculate. Most answers should take 5-10 words. Each worth 4 points.

17) Describe a geological setting that helps to create deserts. (Hint, think about where deserts are located.)

18) Describe ONE of the following principles of relative dating: superposition, original horizontality, lateral continuity, cross-cutting relationships, inclusion.

19) Describe ONE piece of evidence for plate tectonics.

20) Describe ONE reason why volcanism at a hot spot will likely be less explosive than a volcano at a convergent boundary.

21) Describe ONE reason why the ridge at a divergent margin will be elevated.

22) Describe ONE of the driving mechanisms of plate tectonics.

23) Describe why a glacier may retreat. (Hint, think about the glacier budget.)

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24) Describe TWO conditions that will increase an organism’s chances of become a fossil:

25) Describe why earthquakes are sudden events. In other words, why does the Earth not more more like a fluid? (Hint, think about the in class exercise)

26) I have a rock that contains a radioactive element with a half-life of 2 million years. I measure the parent isotope to be 25% of the material, and the daughter isotope to be 75%. How many half-lives have past and how old is the rock? Show your work.

27) Label the following on the diagram below: Oceanic crust, Continental crust,

Asthenosphere, Trough. Also label as a convergent, divergent, or transform plate

boundary

.

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Part 3: True/False. Circle one. 2 point each

28) The greatest volume of magma erupts along the sea floor. True/False.

29) A magma rich in gas and silica is likely to result in an explosive eruption. True/False

30) Absolute age determination works best for sedimentary rocks. True/False

31) Wind can erode nearly anywhere in a desert. True/False

Part 4: Draw a picture. Each worth 5 points.

32) Draw a picture of a glacier field. Label the following: Lateral moraine, medial moraine, zone of accumulation, and zone of wastage.

33) Draw a picture of divergent boundary. Label the crust, asthenosphere, ridge, and direction of plate motions.

34) Draw one model for the creation of desert pavement (Hint, there are two that we discussed in class)

Part 4: Block diagram. 10 points. Label the layers, intrusions, and erosion surfaces. Then determine the sequence of events. Include any depositional events, erosion events, intrusion events, and deformation events. (Hint, this is similar to what we did for an in class exercise. You may not need all the lines provided)

Oldest: 1_______________________ 2_______________________

3_______________________ 4_______________________

5_______________________ 6_______________________

7_______________________ 8_______________________

9_______________________ 10______________________

11______________________ Youngest 12_____________________

I accept 1 free point on the exam. Yes/No

STOP

1) Which ocean is closest to Mt. Sac?

a. Pacific

b. Atlantic

c. Artic

d. Indian

2) The deepest parts of the ocean are found at:

a. Subduction zones

b. Convergent margins

c. Strike slip faults

d. Mid ocean ridges

3) The west coast is considered a:

a. Passive Margin

b. Active Margin

c. Dormant Margin

d. Extinct Margin

4) Why is it important to understand how the atmosphere is heated?

a. Weather forecasts

b. Health

c. Climate change

d. All of the above

5) Example(s) of aerosols include:

a. Dust

b. Salt

c. Smoke

d. All of the above

6) What is an airmass?

a. A large plane

b. An immense body of air

c. A low pressure system

d. A high pressure system

7) What is a front, in terms of weather and climate?

a. A place for gangsters from the 1930s

b. A subduction zone

c. Boundary separating air masses

d. The edge of a hurricane

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8) The abyssal plains are:

a. The flat lands of the central United States

b. The flat bottoms of the sea floor

c. A blanket of snow

d. Not economically useful

9) Guyotes are::

a. Eroded sea mounts

b. A coyote like ocean animal

c. Blankets of sediment

d. Colder than the surrounding ocean water

10) The smallest ocean is the:

a. Pacific

b. Atlantic

c. Artic

d. Indian

11) The average salinity of the world’s oceans is:

a. 1.5 %

b. 2.0 %

c. 3.5 %

d. 5.0 %

12) Bathymetry is:

a. A place for fancy whales to get clean

b. The topography of the ocean floor

c. The pressure of the ocean with depth

d. A tool that measures the salinity of the ocean

13) Terrigenous sediment come from:

a. Rivers and streams

b. Shells and skeletons of marine life

c. Crystallization of ocean water

d. Torn up pieces of ocean debris

14) “Midlatitude” for the United States?

a. Is Between North Dakota and Michigan

b. Changes throughout the seasons

c. Is only a small portion of the country

d. Between Florida and Alaska

15) A midlatitude cyclone is:

a. A large, low pressure system

b. Always a Tornado

c. Always a hurricane

d. Impossible to forecast

16) Thunderstorms need what to form?

a. Cyclones c. Horizontal movement of air

b. Hurricanes d. Vertical movement of air.

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Part 2: Short Answer/Calculate. Most answers should take 5-10 words. Each worth 4 points.

17) Describe how weather and climate are different

18) What are the major components of Earth’s atmosphere?

19) Describe ONE example of an air mass, be sure to include its relative temperature and relative water content.

20) Describe why sea floor sediments are important.

21) Describe one of the drivers of vertical ocean water movement.

22) Why are coastal upwellings important?

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23) Describe how sand movement in the swash zone differs from the sand that is moved by longshore transport.

24) Describe how emergent coasts differ from submergent coasts.

25) Describe one way to provide hard stabilization of the shore.

26)

Label the Pacific, Atlanti

c, Artic, and Indian oceans on the figure below.

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27) Label the following on the diagram to the right: Thermosphere, Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere.

28)

On the figure below, label one of the major gyres and use arrows to show the direction of water movement

29) What do pycnocline and thermocline refer to?

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Part 3: True/False. Circle one. 2 point each

30) The oceans are saltier today than they were 100,000 years ago. True/False.

31) A polar continental air mass will likely be cold and dry. True/False

32) Freshwater is denser than salt water. True/False

33) Waves efficiently move water from one place to another. True/False

34) Ozone absorbs gamma radiation. True/False

Part 4: Draw a picture. Each worth 5 points.

35) Draw a picture of a continental margin. Include the following: Shelf, Slope, Rise.

36) Draw a picture of a beach with groins. Be sure to show where sand will collect and show the direction of water movement.

37) Draw a picture of 2-4 waves. Label the following: Crest, trough, wavelength, and wave height.

I accept 1 free point on the exam. Yes/No

STOP

1) On Earth, water can be in which of the following states?

a. Liquid

b. Solid

c. Gas

d. All of the above

2) Condensation means:

a. Vapor turning to a liquid

b. Liquid turning to a vapor

c. Liquid turning to a solid

d. Solid turning to a vapor 3) Heliocentric means:

a. Earth centered universe

b. Sun centered universe

c. Moon centered universe

d. Master Chief centered universe

4) Which planet experiences phases like the moon as viewed from Earth?

a. Pluto

b. Uranus

c. Venus

d. Mars

5) Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are all called the:

a. Inner planets

b. Rocky planets

c. Terrestrial planets

d. All of the above

6) The Milky way is what type of galaxy?

a. Irregular

b. Spiral

c. Elliptical

d. All of the above

7) Our sun will probably turn into which of the following?

a. A white dwarf

b. A neutron star

c. A black hole

d. A racoon

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8) Which of the following is the hottest planet?

a. Venus

b. Mars

c. Saturn

d. Neptune

9) The dominate features on the surface of most objects in space are:

a. Buildings

b. Volcanoes

c. Craters

d. Liquid water

10) Ptolemy’s model was incorrect because it:

a. Assumed all objects orbited in perfect circles

b. Assumed all objects orbited the Earth

c. Could not easily account for Mars’s retrograde motion

d. All of the above

11) An example of a condensation nuclei is

a. An electron

b. A proton

c. Dust

d. Sunlight

12) Sublimation means:

a. Vapor turning to a liquid

b. Liquid turning to a vapor

c. Liquid turning to a solid

d. Solid turning to a vapor

13) Relative humidity is:

a. The humidity at your cousin’s house

b. Ratio of the air’s water-vapor content to the amount needed for saturation

c. Always the same

d. Ratio of water-vapor content to the amount of oxygen

14) May gray and June gloom is usually

a. Radiation fog

b. Advection fog

c. Upslope fog

d. Dog fog

15) Our solar system started:

a. As a rotating cloud of dust and hydrogen

b. As a static cloud of helium

c. About 100 million years after the big bang

d. With the formation of the moon

16) Most stars in the universe are?

a. Red giants c. Main sequence

b. Black holes d. Found outside of galaxies.

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Part 2: Short Answer/Calculate. Most answers should take 5-10 words. Each worth 4 points.

17) Describe two things that can affect the amount of moisture in the air.

19) Describe one process that can cause air to rise.

20) Describe two things that control the movement of wind.

21) Describe what adiabatic temperature change is.

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22) Describe what is happening to the saturation mixing ratio in the sealed jar below. In other words, what is the relative humidity in each? Choose from high, medium, or low for each. Which, if any, is fully saturated? Note, each of the figures is the same jar, just

Being cooled over time.

23) Name the 8 planets in order from the Sun.

24) Describe one thing that ancient civilizations used astronomy for.

25) Pick one of the following people and describe something they contributed to modern astronomy: Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Newton.

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26) Describe one reason why the Earth’s moon is unique in the solar system.

27) Pick one of the inner planets (not Earth) and give two reasons why it is different from other planets in our solar system.

28) Pick one of the outer planets and give two reasons why it is different from other planets in our solar solar system.

29) From the figure below, where are the main sequence stars, giant stars, and white dwarfs? Just write things like “upper left corner” for each. It will difficult to write on the

figure

figure.

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Part 3: True/False. Circle one. 2 point each

30) Warm air can hold more water than cold air. True/False.

31) A giant star will burn longer than a smaller star. True/False

32) Europa is a moon of Mercury. True/False

33) Planets orbit in ellipses. True/False

34) Equatorial low pressure system will bring moist air to about 30 degrees north latitude.

True/False

Part 4: Draw a picture. Each worth 5 points.

35) Draw and label pictures of a hurricane in the northern hemisphere and another one in the southern hemisphere. Draw arrows on both to show the direction of motion.

36) Draw cross-sections of a typical terrestrial planet and another of a typical Jovian planet. Include the core, and if applicable: rocky mantle, gasses. Be sure to draw the layers to rough scale. Note, the terrestrial and Jovian sketches do not need to be at the same scale to each other.

37) Draw a rough sketch of the scale of the planets from the Sun to Neptune. Label each one. Note, I’m not looking for exact measurements! Just relative distances.

I accept 1 free point on the exam. Yes/No

STOP