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Earth in Action Final
Final test for Geology 100
78
Geology
Undergraduate 1
05/11/2011

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Term
A brittle substance characteristically has
Definition
a narrow span between the elastic limit and the plastic limit.
Term
The following would hinder the formation of fractures in rocks
Definition
high confining stress or uniform stress
Term
The essential conditions controlling the relative importance of brittle properties versus ductile properties of rocks are
Definition
temperature, type of stress, rate of application of stress, and composition of rocks
Term
Rapid application of stress on rocks over a short period of time would most likely result in which type of behavior
Definition
brittle
Term
Slow application of stress on rocks over a long period of time would most likely result in which type of behavior
Definition
ductile
Term
Many shallow earthquakes with low magnitudes occur at lower crust or near transition between crust and mantle. The properties of rocks at these places are most likely to be
Definition
brittle
Term
The formation of reverse faults is due to
Definition
compressional stresses
Term
Rocks that are ductile tend to be associated with
Definition
folds
Term
The San Andreas fault is an example of
Definition
right-lateral strike slip fault
Term
In an anticline the limbs dip
Definition
away from the axial trace and the oldest rocks are at the center
Term
In a syncline the limbs dip
Definition
toward the axial trace and the youngest rocks are at the center
Term
Rock layers exposed to surface in a zig-zag manner would imply the presence of
Definition
plunging folds
Term
The East African rift and other major rifts are a result of
Definition
an extension of the crust
Term
The topography of the Basin and Range Province that encompasses Nevada and portions of the surrounding states has been generated by a system of north to south trending
Definition
normal faults
Term
The black hills of western South Dakota is a
Definition
domed structure
Term
In rocks, joints with orientations nearly perpendicular to the surface can be produced by
Definition
tensional stresses when rocks in the crust are folded
Term
Loch Ness, the home of a mythical monster, in Scotland is situated on a
Definition
left-lateral strike-slip fault
Term
In an area, the same rocks appearing in the form of parallel ridges would imply
Definition
a series of folds with their axes nearly horizontal
Term
Mass movements occur when
Definition
shearing stress exceeds frictional resistance or shear strength
Term
All else being equal, as slope steepness increases, the shearing stress of a material
Definition
steadily increases
Term
Which one of the following conditions would least likely cause mass movements on a steep slope
Definition
reduction in pore pressure
Term
Of all the different terms that have commonly used for mass wasting processes, which one of the following conveys the least amount of information about the mass wasting process
Definition
landslide
Term
The Vaiont Reservoir disaster was caused by
Definition
a landslide triggered by excessive rainfall creating an imbalance between shear stress and shear strength of a body of materials
Term
Soil creep is often triggered by
Definition
alternate wetting and drying of the materials
Term
The rate of motion of a slide is commonly related to
Definition
the weight of the material
Term
Scarp formation is associated with
Definition
slumps
Term
The risk of a landslide on an unstable, steep slope can be reduced by all of the following except
Definition
by installing numerous holes on the slope material
Term
Signs of creep include all of these except
Definition
accumulation of talus at the base of slope
Term
Signs of creep include all of these except
Definition
accumulation of talus at the base of slope
Term
The possibility of mass wasting should be investigated on a site
Definition
with all of the indications mentioned
Term
The following land feature is produced from flow of water-saturated debris over impermeable later
Definition
solifluction
Term
How does construction destabilize a slope
Definition
adds weight to the top of the slope
Term
Submarine slope failures or landslides on continental slopes and delta fronts could be initiated by any of these except
Definition
low internal water pressure from slow deposition of sediment
Term
The most giant landslides occur in the following region
Definition
the Himalayas
Term
The water table separates
Definition
the zone of aeration from the underlying zone of saturation
Term
Ground water
Definition
in general moves very rapidly through pore spaces of materials in the subsurface
Term
A perched water table
Definition
occurs whenever there is a localized aquiclude within an aquifer
Term
Karst topography is characterized by
Definition
sinkholes
Term
Artesian ground-water systems are characterized by
Definition
rise of water above the level of a confined aquifer if a well is drilled into the aquifer
Term
The water table near a large pumping well
Definition
assumes a cone of depression
Term
One of the following is always a poor aquifer
Definition
granite
Term
The rate of flow of much of shallow ground water is generally on the order of
Definition
centimeters or may be one or two meters per day
Term
Hard water contains relatively large amounts of
Definition
calcium and magnesium ions
Term
Darcy's law basically states that
Definition
the volume of ground water flowing in a specified amount of time is proportional to the vertical drop in the height of the water table between two points divided by the horizontal distance between the two points
Term
Caves form in a terrain or region where the rocks are essentially
Definition
limestone
Term
Stalactites and stalagmites form as drops of water from the ceiling of a cave
Definition
lose dissolved carbon dioxide by entering into the cave with the atmospheric air
Term
Stalagmites and stalactites are made up of
Definition
calcite
Term
If an excessive pumping of ground water in a coastal area lowers the water table at a locality by 0.5 meters the contact between the fresh ground water and the salty ground water in the locality will
Definition
rise by 20 meters
Term
The leaning of the Pisa tower in Italy was caused by
Definition
consolidation of the ground material by rapid ground water depletion
Term
Which rock type among the following would make the best aquifer
Definition
well sorted sandstone
Term
The permeability of a rock system depends on several things except
Definition
thickness of the rock system
Term
Development of geysers requires that
Definition
the ground water partly be heated at a temperature above boiling and partly with a cap of a layer of cold water within a reservoir that offers limited convective mixing of the water
Term
The steepest portion of a stream's longitudinal profile is located
Definition
near the headwaters
Term
Stream competence is measured by
Definition
the largest particle size that the stream can transport in its bed load
Term
The discharge of a stream increases as
Definition
velocity, width, and depth increases
Term
Active erosion in a meander takes place
Definition
along the outer bank of a bend
Term
Flow around a meander results in erosion on one ban, but deposition on the other bank marked by the formation of a
Definition
point bar
Term
After a tributary has joined a major stream, the unified stream immediately below the confluence must have
Definition
higher velocity than the major stream
Term
The ratio of dissolved chemical load to sediment load in a stream may increase by
Definition
an increase in vegetation in the drainage basin
Term
Which one of the following is the most abundant chemical group in major rivers of the world
Definition
calcium and bicarbonate
Term
The two most abundant dissolved chemical components of river waters come essentially from dissolution of
Definition
limestone
Term
Natural levees form by
Definition
deposition of coarse sediment as velocity decreases abruptly for water that spills over the banks
Term
An incised meander is an indication of
Definition
a lowering of the base level of erosion
Term
Which of the following is an example of local or regional base level of erosion
Definition
a lake
Term
The construction of a dam across a river would cause
Definition
the river to produce more bank erosions downstream from the dam
Term
River terraces can be the result of
Definition
periodic drops in the base level of erosion
Term
A "misfit" river could be an indication that
Definition
the river has been a victim of stream piracy, and a climatic shift to a relatively drier condition has occurred in the region
Term
A braided channel develops due to
Definition
a decrease in discharge
Term
The floodplain development for urban growth leads to
Definition
frequent flooding from a decrease in the lag time between rainfall and cresting of the river
Term
A dendritic drainage pattern implies that
Definition
the area is underlain by undeformed rocks that have nearly uniform resistance to erosion
Term
A trellis drainage pattern implies that
Definition
the area is underlain by a sequence of hard and soft rocks that are highly folded
Term
Distributaries are located in which part of a stream system
Definition
delta
Term
An extensive delta growth is influenced by
Definition
considerable uplifting of and heavy rainfall in the drainage basin
Term
Waters in most rivers in the world are fresh waters with total dissolved solid contents of
Definition
250 ppm
Term
Total dissolved solids of global average river is
Definition
250 ppm
Term
Which one of the following is not a major dissolved chemical component of average river water
Definition
aluminum
Term
Which one of the following is the second most abundant dissolved chemical component of average river water
Definition
silica
Term
Which one of the following is the least abundant chemical component of global river water
Definition
nitrate
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