Five-digit ID# ________________ Section # __________
GEOL 101 (Sect. 501-509)
Dr. Grossman Spring, 2002
TEST 1A
INSTRUCTIONS--Print your 5-digit ID#, and SECTION # on this
question sheet. Print LAST NAME and initials in the proper
blanks of the answer sheet. Enter your ID# on the answer sheet
by shading in the correct boxes. Once you are seated, you are
not permitted to leave your seat until you have completed your
exam.
A. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Select the best answer (2 points
each).
1. A scientist develops an explanation for observed data. This
explanation is then subjected to testing to see if it always
holds true. The explanation is called a(n) a) observation, b)
theory, c) hypothesis, d) paradigm, e) none of the above.
2. The oldest terrestrial rocks have an age of about a) 4.5 billion
years, b) 3.8 billion years c) 2.5 billion years, d) 540 million
years, e) 250 million years.
3. The “Father of Modern Geology” is a) James Hutton, b)
Aristotle, c) Dudley Hughes, d) Harry Hess, e) Alfred
Wegener.
4. All of the planets listed are composed of rock EXCEPT a)
Mercury, b) Venus, c) Earth, d) Mars, e) Jupiter.
5. Earth’s mantle is composed of a) liquid Fe, b) solid Fe, c)
granitic rock, d) Fe- and Mg-rich silicate minerals.
6. If you were studying photographs collected from satellites
of other planets such as Mars, what geologic features
would you look for to determine whether the planet has
been tectonically active in the past? a) deep trenches, b)
mountain ranges, c) volcanoes and lava flows, d) rift
valleys, e) all of the above
7. The principle that states that the features of the Earth
formed from a short-lived disastrous event or series of
events no longer taking place today is called a) evolution,
b) catastrophism, c) uniformitarianism, d) temporal
superposition, e) none of the above.
8. The flattest place on the Earth's surface is the a) Texas
High Plains, b) coastal plain, c) continental shelf, d)
abyssal plain, e) continental rise.
9. The lithosphere is a) the rigid outer layer of the Earth
(roughly 75 to 125 km thick), b) the layer of weak, plastic
rock extending from a depth of about 100 km to 660 km
beneath the Earth’s surface, c) completely contained within
the mantle, d) another name for the crust.
10. Shields are a) the nucleus of continents, b) composed of
Precambrian rocks, c) often made of mountain belts that
have been worn flat, d) comprised pieces of ancient
continents, e) all of the above.
11. Ocean crust 5 km from a mid-ocean ridge is 100,000 years
old. What is the half-spreading rate of the ridge? (1 km =
100,000 cm) a) 0.2 cm/year, b) 0.5 cm/year, c) 1 cm/year,
d) 2 cm/year, e) 5 cm/year
Work area:
12. Which of the following geologic observations was (were)
NOT used by Alfred Wegener to support his hypothesis of
continental drift? a) same fossils found in South America
and Africa, b) fit of the continents, c) polar wandering
curves, d) the presence of Appalachian-type mountain belts
on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, e) tropical features like
Paleozoic coral reefs, indicative of warm climates, presently
at high latitudes.
13. There are about ____ MAJOR plates covering Earth? a) 4,
b) 8, c) 20, d) 35.
14. At right is illustrated a mid-
ocean ridge (double lines)
and transform system in
map view. Which segment
of the single line is the
transform fault? a) A; b) B;
c) C; d) A and C; e) A, B, and
C.
15. All of the following are direct evidence for seafloor spreading
EXCEPT a) age of ocean crust increases away from the
mid-ocean ridges, b) pattern of magnetic anomalies in ocean
crust is symmetrical on either side of the mid-ocean ridge, c)
flat-topped seamounts with coral reefs occur at 2000 m
depth, d) the declination of the earth's magnetic field varies
with time.
16. An example of a continent-continental convergent boundary
is a) the Cascade Range, b) the Philippine Islands, c) the
Himalayan Mountains, d) the Hawaiian Islands, e) Iceland.
17. What is the approximate age of the oldest ocean crust
presently in the ocean? a) 100 million years, b) 200 million
years, c) 540 million years, d) 2.5 billion years, e) 3.8 billion
years.
18. The four most common elements in the WHOLE EARTH,
listed from most to least abundant, are a) Fe, O, Si, Mg; b)
Fe, Si, O, Ca; c) Si, O, Mg, Al; d) O, Si, Al, Fe.
19. Below are several structures (black = positive ion, white =
negative ion). Which structure represents a coordination
number of six?
20. Which of the following minerals has ionic bonds? a) quartz,
b) halite, c) graphite, d) diamond, e) none of the above.
21. All of the following are true about crystals EXCEPT: a) size
depends on time allowed for growth; b) atoms, ions, or
molecules are arranged in a repeating pattern; c) will form
smooth crystal faces if not impeded; d) width of crystal
faces constant; e) angles between crystal faces constant.
22. All of the following are common rock-forming minerals
EXCEPT a) pyroxene, b) garnet, c) olivine, d) feldspar, e)
quartz.
23. The most common mineral in the earth's crust is a) mica, b)
quartz, c) feldspar, d) hornblende, e) olivine.
a) b) c) d)
mid-ocean
ridge
ABC
