90 Questions
Which agent of erosion is the most active in deserts, open fields, and beaches?
Wind
What is the process by which sediments settle out of the transporting medium called?
Deposition
Which environment refers to the area where glaciers and ice sheets are found?
Glacial environment
Which environment is characterized by streams carrying sediments depositing coarse sediments on the lake margin?
Lake (lacustrine) environment
Which environment is characterized by tidal currents transporting sands along the coastline?
Beach environment
Which process occurs when water reacts with minerals and breaks them down?
Hydration
Which agent of erosion can carry a large amount of sand, rock particles, and shells?
Waves
What is the term for the process by which soil and weathered rocks are transported from one place to another?
Erosion
Which environment is characterized by streams carrying sediments depositing coarse sediments on the lake margin?
Lake (lacustrine) environment
What is the term for the process in which sediments settle out of the transporting medium?
Deposition
Which agent of erosion is responsible for carrying a large amount of sand, rock particles, and shells?
Waves
What is the term for the process of rocks and soil being pulled down a slope by gravity?
Mass wasting
Which environment is characterized by streams carrying sediments depositing coarse sediments on the lake margin?
Lake (lacustrine) environment
What is the term for the process of water reacting with minerals and breaking them down?
Hydrolysis
Which environment is characterized by tidal currents transporting sands along the coastline?
Beach environment
Which type of volcano is characterized by a very broad dome with a gentle slope and is mostly made of alternating layers of basaltic lava and cinder accumulation?
Shield volcano
What type of volcano is composed of lava and pyroclastic materials, and is made up of felsic rocks?
Composite volcano
Which type of volcano is consisting of a small cone formed by spattering lava?
Cinder cone volcano
Which volcano in Hawaii is an example of a shield volcano?
Volcanoes in Hawaii
Which volcano is an example of a stratovolcano or composite volcano?
Mayon Volcano
Which type of volcano is characterized by a very broad dome with a gentle slope and is mostly made of alternating layers of basaltic lava and cinder accumulation?
Shield volcanoes
What type of volcano is composed of felsic rocks and is composed of lava and pyroclastic materials?
Stratovolcanoes
Which volcano in Babuyan Island is an example of a cinder cone volcano?
Binitiang Malaki
Which volcano in the Philippines is an example of a stratovolcano or composite volcano?
Mayon Volcano
Which volcanic feature is formed by lava fountains and consists of granular material?
Shield volcanoes
Which type of volcano is characterized by a small cone formed by spattering lava?
Cinder cone volcano
Which type of volcano is composed of alternating layers of basaltic lava and cinder accumulation?
Shield volcano
Which type of volcano is composed of felsic rocks?
Stratovolcano
What is the term for the granular material formed by lava fountains?
Cinder
Which volcano in Hawaii is an example of a shield volcano?
None of the above
Which type of fault is characterized by the hanging wall dropping down relative to the footwall?
Normal fault
What type of fault is common in areas of compression, such as regions where one tectonic plate is being subducted under another?
Thrust fault
Which type of fault is characterized by vertical fractures where the blocks have mostly moved horizontally?
Strike-slip fault
What is the process called when a rock changes its form into a new one without undergoing melting or disintegration?
Recrystallization
Which type of metamorphism affects rocks over an extensive area as a result of the large-scale action of heat and pressure?
Regional metamorphism
Which type of fault is characterized by one side of the fault moving up and over the other side?
Reverse fault
Which type of metamorphism occurs when rocks behave like plastic and are sheared during faulting?
Dynamic or cataclastic metamorphism
Which type of metamorphism occurs when intruding magma causes the surrounding rocks to heat up?
Contact metamorphism
Which type of metamorphism occurs when sediments pile up and become thicker, increasing pressure and temperature?
Burial metamorphism
Which type of metamorphism occurs when rocks are heated by raising magma, turning it into hydrothermal fluids?
Hydrothermal metamorphism
Which type of fault is characterized by one side of the fault moving up and over the other side?
Reverse fault
Which type of metamorphism occurs when rocks behave like plastic and are sheared during faulting?
Dynamic or cataclastic metamorphism
Which type of metamorphism affects rocks over an extensive area as a result of the large-scale action of heat and pressure?
Regional metamorphism
Which type of metamorphism occurs when sediments pile up and become thicker, increasing pressure and temperature?
Burial metamorphism
Which type of volcano is characterized by a very broad dome with a gentle slope and is mostly made of alternating layers of basaltic lava and cinder accumulation?
Lava dome volcano
Which scientist proposed the continental drift theory in his book, The Origin of Continents and Ocean?
Alfred Wegener
What is the term for the geologic process that takes place at convergent boundaries of tectonic plates where one plate moves under another and is forced to sink into the mantle?
Subduction
What is the term for the geologic process in which tectonic plates split apart from each other at divergent plate boundaries?
Seafloor spreading
What is the term for the fractures where two plates slide past each other, resembling a strike-slip fault?
Transform plate boundary
Which type of plate boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other?
Divergent boundary
Which scientist proposed the continental drift theory?
Alfred Wegener
What is the term for the process in which tectonic plates split apart from each other?
Seafloor spreading
What is the term for the process in which one tectonic plate moves under another and is forced to sink into the mantle?
Subduction
What is the term for an underwater mountain range formed by plate tectonics?
Mid oceanic ridges
What is the term for a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock that makes up the Earth's lithosphere?
Tectonic plates
Which type of plate boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move towards each other?
Convergent boundary
What is the term for the process in which tectonic plates split apart from each other?
Seafloor spreading
Which type of volcano is characterized by a small cone formed by spattering lava?
Composite volcano
Which type of metamorphism occurs when rocks behave like plastic and are sheared during faulting?
Dynamic metamorphism
Which agent of erosion is responsible for carrying a large amount of sand, rock particles, and shells?
Wind
Which type of unconformity occurs when the beds beneath an erosional surface are tilted and eroded?
Angular unconformity
Which type of unconformity occurs when layered sediments overlie an exposed and eroded crystalline basement?
Nonconformity
Which type of unconformity is a type of unconformity in which strata are parallel; no apparent erosion occurs and the surface of the unconformity resembles a simple bedding plane?
Paraconfirmity
Which type of unconformity are usually erosional contacts that are parallel to the bedding planes of the upper and lower rock units?
Disconformity
What is the term for the time required for a quantity to reduce to half of its initial value?
Half-life
Which type of unconformity occurs when layered sediments overlie an exposed and eroded crystalline basement?
Nonconformity
What is the half-life of potassium-40, which is used in potassium-argon dating to date rocks older than 100,000 years?
1.3 billion years
What is the half-life of uranium-238, which is used in uranium-lead dating?
4.5 billion years
What is the half-life of rubidium-87, which is used in rubidium-strontium dating?
49 billion years
What is the half-life of carbon-14, which is used in carbon-14 dating to measure within the last 50,000 years?
5730 years
Which type of unconformity occurs when layered sediments overlie an exposed and eroded crystalline basement?
Nonconformity
What is the term for the time required for a quantity to reduce to half of its initial value?
Half-life
Which radioactive isotope has a half-life of 4.5 billion years and is used in uranium-lead dating?
Uranium-238
Which radioactive isotope has a half-life of 5730 years and is used in carbon-14 dating to measure within the last 50,000 years?
Carbon-14
Which radioactive isotope has a half-life of 49 billion years and is used in rubidium-strontium dating?
Rubidium-87
During which period did the first jawed fishes and arthropods appear?
Silurian period
Which era is known as the era of dinosaurs?
Mesozoic era
Which epoch is known as the ice age?
Pleistocene epoch
Which period is most notable for the evolution of mammals?
Paleogene period
Which epoch is characterized by the presence of the Australopithecus?
Pliocene epoch
During which period did the first chordates, hard-bodied brachiopods, and arthropods evolve?
Cambrian period
Which era is known as the 'Age of Fishes'?
Paleozoic Era
Which period is characterized by the appearance of the first reptiles, ferns, mayflies, and cockroaches?
Pennsylvanian period
Which epoch is known for the appearance of the first bird, Archaeopteryx?
Jurassic period
Which epoch is characterized by a cooler and more arid climate and the presence of Australopithecus?
Pliocene epoch
During which period did the first chordates, hard-bodied brachiopods, and arthropods evolve?
Cambrian period
Which era is known as the 'Age of Reptiles'?
Mesozoic Era
Which period is characterized by the appearance of the first mammals and crocodyliforms?
Triassic period
Which epoch is known for the presence of the kelps forest and grasslands, and the presence of 95 percent of modern seed plants?
Miocene epoch
Which epoch is characterized by the presence of the Australopithecus?
Pliocene epoch
Study Notes
Agents of Erosion
- Wind is the most active agent of erosion in deserts, open fields, and beaches.
- Water is an agent of erosion that can carry a large amount of sand, rock particles, and shells.
Environments
- Glacial environments are characterized by areas where glaciers and ice sheets are found.
- Lacustrine environments are characterized by streams carrying sediments and depositing coarse sediments on the lake margin.
- Coastal environments are characterized by tidal currents transporting sands along the coastline.
Geological Processes
- Weathering is the process of water reacting with minerals and breaking them down.
- Deposition is the process of sediments settling out of the transporting medium.
- Transportation is the process of soil and weathered rocks being transported from one place to another.
- Gravity is the process of rocks and soil being pulled down a slope by gravity.
Volcanoes
- Shield volcanoes are characterized by a very broad dome with a gentle slope and are mostly made of alternating layers of basaltic lava and cinder accumulation.
- Stratovolcanoes are composed of lava and pyroclastic materials and are made up of felsic rocks.
- Cinder cone volcanoes are small cones formed by spattering lava.
- Mauna Loa in Hawaii is an example of a shield volcano.
- Mayon Volcano in the Philippines is an example of a stratovolcano.
- Lava fountains form scoria, which is a granular material.
Faults
- Normal faults are characterized by the hanging wall dropping down relative to the footwall.
- Reverse faults are common in areas of compression, such as regions where one tectonic plate is being subducted under another.
- Strike-slip faults are characterized by vertical fractures where the blocks have mostly moved horizontally.
- Thrust faults are characterized by one side of the fault moving up and over the other side.
Metamorphism
- Metamorphism is the process of a rock changing its form into a new one without undergoing melting or disintegration.
- Regional metamorphism affects rocks over an extensive area as a result of the large-scale action of heat and pressure.
- Dynamic metamorphism occurs when rocks behave like plastic and are sheared during faulting.
- Contact metamorphism occurs when intruding magma causes the surrounding rocks to heat up.
- Burial metamorphism occurs when sediments pile up and become thicker, increasing pressure and temperature.
- Hydrothermal metamorphism occurs when rocks are heated by rising magma, turning it into hydrothermal fluids.
Geologic Processes
- Alfred Wegener proposed the continental drift theory.
- Subduction is the process of one tectonic plate moving under another and being forced to sink into the mantle.
- Divergence is the process of tectonic plates splitting apart from each other at divergent plate boundaries.
- Transform faults are fractures where two plates slide past each other, resembling a strike-slip fault.
- Divergent plate boundaries occur when two tectonic plates move away from each other.
Plate Tectonics
- Mid-ocean ridges are underwater mountain ranges formed by plate tectonics.
- Lithosphere is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock that makes up the Earth's lithosphere.
- Convergent plate boundaries occur when two tectonic plates move towards each other.
Unconformities
- Disconformity is a type of unconformity that occurs when the beds beneath an erosional surface are tilted and eroded.
- Nonconformity is a type of unconformity that occurs when layered sediments overlie an exposed and eroded crystalline basement.
- Angular unconformity is a type of unconformity where the beds above and below the unconformity are not parallel.
- Paraconformity is a type of unconformity where the beds above and below the unconformity are parallel.
Radioactive Dating
- Half-life is the time required for a quantity to reduce to half of its initial value.
- Potassium-argon dating has a half-life of 1.25 billion years and is used to date rocks older than 100,000 years.
- Uranium-lead dating has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.
- Rubidium-strontium dating has a half-life of 49 billion years.
- Carbon-14 dating has a half-life of 5730 years and is used to measure within the last 50,000 years.
Geologic Time Scale
- The Cambrian period is characterized by the evolution of the first chordates, hard-bodied brachiopods, and arthropods.
- The Paleozoic era is known as the 'Age of Fishes'.
- The Mesozoic era is known as the 'Age of Reptiles'.
- The Cenozoic era is characterized by the evolution of mammals.
- The Pleistocene epoch is known as the ice age.
- The Pliocene epoch is characterized by the presence of the Australopithecus.
- The Jurassic period is characterized by the presence of the first bird, Archaeopteryx.
- The Cretaceous period is characterized by the presence of the kelps forest and grasslands, and the presence of 95 percent of modern seed plants.
Test your knowledge on mass wasting, glaciers, exogenic processes, weathering, erosion, and deposition with this quiz. Learn key concepts and definitions related to these topics.
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