quiz tellus

Question 2

What type of volcano is Eyjafjallajökull?

Answer 2

Stratovolcano.

Question 3

What are fissure vents?

Answer 3

Elongated cracks or ruptures in the Earth’s surface from which lava erupts, often without a central cone. They typically produce effusive lava flows.

Question 4

What is a shield volcano?

Answer 4

A broad, gently sloping volcano built by the eruption of fluid, basaltic lava flows.

Question 5

What is a scoria cone (cinder cone)?

Answer 5

A steep, conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments (scoria and cinders) that have been ejected from a single vent.

Question 6

What is a stratovolcano?

Answer 6

A conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash.

Question 7

What is the main cause for the different surface textures of Pahoehoe and Aa lavas?

Answer 7

Pahoehoe lava forms when molten lava flows underneath a thin, relatively warm and elastic lava crust, while Aa lava forms underneath a comparatively colder, more brittle crust.

Question 8

What type of mafic lava is typically found in rock collections from volcanic regions?

Answer 8

Basalt.

Question 9

What is the typical eruptive style of mafic lava?

Answer 9

Effusive.

Question 10

Why does felsic magma typically cause very explosive eruptions?

Answer 10

Trapped gases within the viscous magma build up pressure as the magma rises towards the surface.

Question 11

What is tuff?

Answer 11

Consolidated (hardened) pyroclastic material, typically formed from volcanic ash.

Question 12

What is a caldera?

Answer 12

Large depressions (up to 50 km in diameter!) formed when volcanic material collapses into the drained magma chamber below during volcanic eruptions.

Question 13

What are craters?

Answer 13

A craton is an ancient, stable part of a continent’s crust that hasn’t changed much for billions of years.

Question 14

What are lava bombs?

Answer 14

Solidified chunks of hot and soft lava that eject out of the vent during a volcanic eruption and obtain a smooth, streaked surface.

Question 15

What are vesicles?

Answer 15

Holes in the solidified lava that form from gas bubbles that rise faster than the magma moves upward during an eruption.

Question 16

What is ash?

Answer 16

Size fraction < 2 mm in diameter of pyroclastic debris.

Question 17

What is lapilli?

Answer 17

Size fraction 2-64 mm in diameter of pyroclastic debris.

Question 18

What are blocks?

Answer 18

Size fraction > 64 mm in diameter of angular pyroclastic debris.

Question 19

What is an ash plume-ash fall?

Answer 19

A column of volcanic ash, gases, and rock fragments rising into the atmosphere, which then disperses and settles as ash on the surrounding landscape.

Question 20

What is a pyroclastic flow?

Answer 20

A fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic debris (ash, pumice, and rock fragments) that flows down the flanks of a volcano, driven by gravity.

Question 21

What is a lahar?

Answer 21

A destructive mudflow or debris flow composed of pyroclastic material, rock fragments, and water.

Question 22

What is the release of volcanic gases?

Answer 22

The emission of various gases from a volcano, including water vapor (steam), carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and others.

Question 23

What is a lava flow?

Answer 23

A stream of molten rock (lava) that erupts from a volcanic vent and flows across the ground surface.

Question 24

What type of deformation is characterized by rocks bending or folding without fracturing?

Answer 24

Plastic deformation.

Question 25

What type of deformation is characterized by rocks fracturing or breaking?

Answer 25

Brittle deformation.

Question 26

What type of fault describes horizontal movement where the opposite block appears to have moved to your right?

Answer 26

Dextral strike-slip (right-lateral displacement).

Question 27

What type of fault describes horizontal movement where the opposite block appears to have moved to your left?

Answer 27

Sinistral strike-slip (left-lateral displacement).

Question 28

What type of fault is characterized by a combination of both vertical and horizontal motion?

Answer 28

Oblique fault.

Question 29

What is an antiform?

Answer 29

A fold which closes upwards.

Question 30

What is a synform?

Answer 30

A fold which closes downwards.

Question 31

What is an anticline?

Answer 31

A fold with the oldest rocks in its core.

Question 32

What is a syncline?

Answer 32

A fold with the youngest rocks in its core.

Question 33

What is the compass bearing of a fault with a strike/dip of 315/45?

Answer 33

45.

Question 34

What is the primary geological process responsible for bringing deeply-formed rocks to the surface?

Answer 34

Erosion coupled to uplift due to isostasy.

Question 35

What term describes ancient, stable parts of the continental crust?

Answer 35

Craton.

Question 36

What is the typical process of fossilization?

Answer 36

Death - partial decomposition - Burial - Lithification.

Question 37

What factors contribute to the likelihood of a fossil being preserved?

Answer 37

Rapid burial, Hard parts.

Question 38

In which kinds of fossils would DNA be able to be preserved?

Answer 38

Frozen bodies, Amber.

Question 39

What key feature distinguishes bivalves from brachiopods?

Answer 39

Bivalves have a plane of symmetry that lies parallel to the plane of the shell, while Brachiopods have a plane of symmetry that lies perpendicular to the plane of the shell.

Question 40

What is the dominating fossil in sample 14?

Answer 40

Crinoids.

Question 41

What is the typical mode of preservation for specimen 14?

Answer 41

Preservation of hard parts.

Question 42

What process preserves the intricate details of an organism by replacing its original material with minerals?

Answer 42

Permineralization.

Question 43

How does paleontology contribute to our understanding of natural selection?

Answer 43

The fossil record provides information about past ecosystems and about changes in species over time.

Question 44

What part of Hutton's Theory is based on the principle of uniformitarianism?

Answer 44

Geological processes are cyclic.

Question 45

How might Hutton argue against the idea that granite is the oldest rock?

Answer 45

The granite vein cross-cuts the metamorphic rock and must therefore be younger.

Question 46

What can be concluded about the absolute age of the TIB?

Answer 46

The TIB is older than 542 Ma but younger than 1.9 Ga.

Question 47

What can be concluded about the relative timing of Caledonian orogenesis in relation to the TIB?

Answer 47

The Caledonian orogen is younger than the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt (TIB).

Question 48

What types of contact can exist between Phanerozoic sediments and Proterozoic basement rocks?

Answer 48

Unconformity, Tectonic contact.

Question 49

What type of contact represents a significant time hiatus and is classified as an unconformity?

Answer 49

A contact between a Cambrian sandstone and underlying basement rock, representing a large time gap.

Question 50

How much of the original quantity of 14C will remain after 17,190 years?

Answer 50

12.5.

Question 51

What age is given by the basal GSSP at the base of the Cenozoic Era?

Answer 51

66.

Question 52

If 4.54 billion years of Earth history were represented by one calendar year, how much time would one day represent?

Answer 52

12.4.

Question 53

Why are so few rocks preserved from the Hadean Eon?

Answer 53

The Earth's surface was destroyed by a meteorite bombardment towards the end of the Hadean Eon.

Question 54

In which eon did life first appear on Earth?

Answer 54

Archean.

Question 55

During which eon was most of the continental land formed?

Answer 55

Archean.

Question 56

Which of the following is not considered a supercontinent?

Answer 56

Gondwana.

Question 57

What geological observations are consistent with increased atmospheric oxygen concentrations between 2.4 and 2.2 Ga?

Answer 57

Pyrite can only be found as clasts in sedimentary rocks which are older than ca. 2.2 Ga and Banded iron formations (BIF) are only found in marine successions which are older than 1.88 Ga.

Question 58

During which geological periods were global sea levels consistently more than 150 meters higher than today?

Answer 58

Ordovician, Silurian, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene.

Question 59

During which Era did 'Snowball Earth' occur?

Answer 59

Neo-proterozoic.

Question 60

Closure of which ancient ocean formed the Caledonides mountain range?

Answer 60

Iapetus Ocean.

Question 61

In an Archean craton, which rock type commonly represents relicts of oceanic crust?

Answer 61

Greenstone.

Question 62

What are considered primary sources of energy on Earth?

Answer 62

Radioactivity, The Sun, Gravity.

Question 63

Match each chemical formula with the corresponding substance: C, CH4, C6H12O6, C8H18.

Answer 63

C: Carbon, CH4: Methane, C6H12O6: Sugar, C8H18: Octane.

Question 64

What common type of liquid hydrocarbon is represented by the chemical formula C8H18?

Answer 64

Gasoline.

Question 65

What general locations are most likely to facilitate the collection and trapping of oil?

Answer 65

Locations where porous reservoir rocks are capped by impermeable seal rocks within structural traps like anticlines.

Question 66

What can be concluded about the permeabilities of Sandstone A and Sandstone B?

Answer 66

Sandstone A has higher permeability than Sandstone B.

Question 67

How large a part of an oil reserve can be easily extracted using conventional methods?

Answer 67

1/3 of the oil reserve.

Question 68

What does peat transform into at temperatures below 100°C during the coalification process?

Answer 68

Lignite.

Question 69

What does peat transform into at temperatures between 100 - 200°C during the coalification process?

Answer 69

Bituminous coal.

Question 70

What does peat transform into at temperatures between 200 - 300°C during the coalification process?

Answer 70

Anthracite.

Question 71

What does peat transform into at temperatures exceeding 300°C during the coalification process?

Answer 71

Graphite.

Question 72

Which metals commonly occur in elemental form in nature?

Answer 72

Gold, Silver, Copper.

Question 73

When was steel first widely used or commercially produced on a large scale?

Answer 73

1855.

Question 74

What are ore minerals?

Answer 74

Minerals which contain a metal.

Question 75

Which metals commonly occur in elemental (native) form in nature?

Answer 75

Gold, Silver, Copper.

Question 76

What are ore minerals?

Answer 76

Minerals which contain a metal in high concentrations and in a form that can be easily extracted.

Question 77

What chemical reaction describes the extraction of iron from hematite ore using carbon monoxide?

Answer 77

Fe2O3 + 3CO = 2Fe + 3CO2.

Question 78

What is a residual mineral deposit?

Answer 78

Forms from the weathering and leaching of soluble components from a rock, leaving behind concentrations of insoluble ore minerals (e.g., bauxite).

Question 79

What is a magmatic deposit?

Answer 79

Forms through crystallization processes within cooling magma bodies, leading to concentrations of specific minerals (e.g., chromite, platinum group elements).

Question 80

What is a hydrothermal deposit?

Answer 80

Forms from hot, mineral-rich fluids circulating through fractures and pores in rocks, depositing minerals as they cool or react with the host rock (e.g., veins of gold, silver, copper).

Question 81

What is a secondary-enrichment deposit?

Answer 81

Forms when primary ore deposits are weathered, and soluble metals are transported downwards and redeposited in a concentrated layer, often near the water table.

Question 82

Which metal(s) is/are commonly found in ore deposits forming on the seafloor today?

Answer 82

Mn (Manganese).

Question 83

Which types of rocks are typically mixed and processed to make natural cement?

Answer 83

Limestone, Mudstone, Sandstone.

Question 84

What metal is extracted from a hematite?

Answer 84

Fe (Iron).

Question 85

What metal is extracted from galena?

Answer 85

Lead (Pb).

Question 86

Approximately how much metal does an average US citizen consume over a lifetime?

Answer 86

40000 - 50000 kg.