Question 1
Question
Which of the following is not a subcomponent of the Earth system
Answer
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Cryosphere
-
Atmosphere
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Hydrosphere
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Geosphere
-
Biosphere
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Lithosphere
-
Asthenosphere
Question 2
Question
An open system has an exchange of ...
Answer
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Nothing
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Energy
-
Energy and matter
Question 3
Question
Which one of the following is not a characteristic of Systems?
Answer
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Can be found on different scales
-
Have limits
-
Are associated with processes
-
Energy cant be created or destroyed, and transfer is never 100%
Question 4
Question
What term describes 'where similar states of the system can be achieved in different ways'
Answer
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Dynamic equilibrium
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Quasi equilibrium
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Equifinality
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Feedback
-
Relaxation time
-
Threshold
Question 5
Question
What term describes 'where a system is regulated by intensifying (positive) or opposing (negative) the direction of the system'
Answer
-
Dynamic equilibrium
-
Quasi equilibrium
-
Equifinality
-
Feedback
-
Relaxation time
-
Threshold
Question 6
Question
Which of the following is the definition for 'relaxation time'?
Question 7
Question
What minerals are dominant components of most rocks (Felsic- e.g. Quartz, Mafic- iron and magnesium rich- heavier and darker)?
Answer
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Graphine
-
Graphite
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Silicone
-
Silicates
Question 8
Question
Silicate rocks make up what percentage of all rocks world wide?
Question 9
Question
Extrusive igneous rocks cool slowly and form a large crystalline structure
Question 10
Question
Contact metamorphism (as opposed to regional and dynamic metamorphism) occurs in the presence of what?
Question 11
Question
Which rock type is formed by geomorphological processes on the earths surface (including: rivers, coasts, deep seas, lakes, mountain sides and deserts)?
Answer
-
Sedimentary (clastic and chemical)
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Igneous (intrusive and extrusive)
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Metamorphic (contact, regional and dynamic)
Question 12
Question
Is this picture correct?
Question 13
Question
Which of the following is not a method by which we measure geological time?
Question 14
Question
Which of the following is not a principle of relative age dating?
Answer
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Super-positioning
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Horizontality
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Crosscutting
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Inclusion
-
Faunal succession
-
Geological lapping
Question 15
Question
How long ago was the Earth formed?
Answer
-
4.1 Ga
-
4.2 Ga
-
4.3 Ga
-
4.4 Ga
-
4.5 Ga
Question 16
Question
How do we know the internal structure of the Earth (lithosphere, upper and lower mantle, outer and inner core)?
Answer
-
Direct sampling
-
Indirect sampling
-
Seismic methods
-
All of the above
Question 17
Question
Which seismic wave is transverse and travels slower (and also has 103-180 degree shadow when used to identify the layers of the earth because it cannot travel through the solid core)
Question 18
Question
The lithosphere is comprised of the continental/oceanic crust, moho and upper mantle
Question 19
Question
The mantle is comprised of the lithospheric mantle and asthenosphere
Question 20
Question
Travel times from seismic waves help to tell us about the internal structure of the earth (changes in wave velocity reflect the rheology and composition of the crust, mantle and core)
Question 21
Question
The density and flow of material in the mantle and core is uniform
Question 22
Question
What crust is underlain by sharp Moho, comprised of young igneous rocks (max 180 Ma) and is a 5-7km thick layered structure
Answer
-
Oceanic crust
-
Continental crust
Question 23
Question
Side-to-side movements of plates along fault is known as what?
Question 24
Question
The Richter magnitude scale of measuring earthquakes uses seismometers to measure the earthquake and then processes the figure and places it on a logarithmic scale
Question 25
Question
Foreshocks, main shock and aftershocks can all be measured using a seismometer
Question 26
Question
Earthquakes occur at which plate boundaries?
Answer
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Conservative and constructive
-
Conservative and destructive
-
Constructive and destructive
-
Only conservative
-
At all plate boundaries
Question 27
Question
What were the principles of Geosyncline Theory?
Answer
-
Deepening and filling of basins were caused by crustal contraction and the Earth's heat crushed and folded land forming mountain chains
-
Considered all continents drifted away from a single large landmass; ideas largely dismissed by scientific community until late 1950s
Question 28
Question
Which of the following provides evidence for continental drift?
Question 29
Question
Which of the following evidence for continental drift was not available to Alfred Lothar Wegener when he came up with his theorem that all the continents drifted away from a single large landmass?
Question 30
Question
With regards to the theory that all the continents drifted away from a single land mass; the fact that plant and reptile species are similar in continents that are now separated by oceans suggests that these continents must have at some point been connected to allow for this movement, is classed under which of the following categories?
Question 31
Question
What mechanism did Wegener suggest was responsible for the drifting of continents?
Answer
-
Continents moved through oceanic crust, like an icebreaker
-
Thermal convection currents in the mantle moved the continents
-
Magnetic field of the earth caused the (magnetic) continental crust to move
Question 32
Question
Atoms in minerals and rocks align to the Earth's dipole, only when heat is present. Given this information, which of the following statements is false?
Answer
-
Thermoremnant magnetisation: when the high temperature of the material (magma) allows the atoms to align to the same magnetic direction as the Earth's dipole with ease
-
Detrital remnant magnetisation: when magma cools (igneous rock) its atoms might align to the same direction as the Earth's dipole, at that time because the temperature is suffice to allow for realignment
-
Chemical remnant magnetisation: during a chemical reaction, heat might be given out, and atoms can realign to the Earth's dipole at that time
-
The magnetic dipole of the Earth is fixed throughout time and atomic dipoles are only induced when there is sufficient heat
Question 33
Question
Apparent polar wander paths are useful because...
Answer
-
They provide evidence for continental drift
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Enables rocks in different areas to be correlated with each other
-
Can explain presence of rock types, that were formed in different climates, in the same area
-
All of the above
Question 34
Question
The magnetic pole is fixed. Apparent polar wander paths uses the model of it 'wondering' to enable recordings of changes in declination of the land; thereby, all continents have their own apparent polar wondering path
Question 35
Question
Sea floor spreading is a process thereby new oceanic crust forms at an oceanic ridge due to volcanic activity, and gradually moves away from the ridge. This theory from Harry Hammond Hess can help explain what?
Question 36
Question
Who proposed mantel convection?
Question 37
Question
What is currently believed to be the main driver of plate movement?
Question 38
Question
What did Tuzo-Wilson propose, in 1963, to explain how volcanic activity can occur away from plate boundaries (such as Hawaii)
Question 39
Question
What creates island chains like Hawaii?
Answer
-
Extension that permits rise of partial melt from the asthenosphere
-
Mantle plumes that convectively bring unusually hot mantle from the core-mantle boundary
-
There is a debate over which one is true (perhaps both are factors)
Question 40
Question
The magnetic field vector is parallel to the Earth's surface in equatorial regions and becomes progressively more steeply inclined towards the polar regions; therefore, if rocks preserve the orientation of magnetic field vector at the time of their formation, and can be dated, the latitude at which they formed can be inferred
Question 41
Question
In hot magma, the dipoles change orientation rapidly, so magma can have permanent magnetisation
Question 42
Question
Why do volcanoes erupt?
Answer
-
Due to magma buoyancy: the hot magma is less dense that the crustal rock and therefore is rises to the surface; heat source is from radioactive decay, mantle convection and residual from cooling of the earth
-
Gases (volatiles): come out of solution at shallow depths and decrease the density of magma allowing it to rise faster; bubble formation is called vesiculation. Bubbles can join up and become a stream of gas with blobs of magma in it- called fragmentation.
-
Gases (volatiles) can get trapped in the viscous magma, this speeds up flow towards the surface (increases pressure) and paid expansion at the vent causes an explosive eruption
-
Magma recharge is required to keep feeding a volcanic eruption/magma chamber
-
All of the answers in combination cause volcanoes to erupt
Question 43
Question
Where are volcanoes found?
Question 44
Question
Which of the following definitions id incorrect?
Answer
-
Magmatic - related to magma or magmatic gases; classification dependent on explosivity and column height or type-behaviour
-
Hydrovolcanic - eruptions generated by heating of water external to magma
-
Phreatic - dry-land steam blast eruptions, no magma erupted
-
Phreatomagmatic - partially hydrovolcanic and partially phreatic
Question 45
Question
The collapse of a lava dome (which is formed by viscous magma erupted effusively) can cause extremely dangerous pyroclastic flow
Question 46
Question
Which of the following is not the particle name and size for materials present in pyroclastic flow?
Answer
-
Blocks/bombs| over 64mm
-
Lapilli | under 64 mm
-
Volcanic ash | under 2 mm
-
Volcanic dust | under 0.063 mm
-
Volcanic micro-cloud | under 0.000064 mm
Question 47
Question
Which of the following is the definition of pyroclastic surge (and not pyroclastic flow)?
Answer
-
A more energetic and dilute mixture of searing gas and rock fragments. Move easily up and over ridges; flows ten to follow valleys
-
High-speed avalanches of hot ash, rock fragments, and gas move down the sides of volcano during explosive eruptions or when the steep edge of a dome breaks apart and collapses. Can reach over 800 degrees and move at 100-150 mph
Question 48
Question
Fill in the blank: Higher silicone dioxide content (thus viscosity and ability to trap gas) and contact with water '...' explosivity
Answer
-
Increase
-
Decrease
-
Do not effect
Question 49
Question
Traditional names from classic eruptions are used to describe other eruptions and volcano forms. The problem with this is...?
Question 50
Question
Postglacial volcanism in Iceland is dominated by which type of rock (lava)
Answer
-
Silicic
-
Intermediate
-
Basaltic
Question 51
Question
Prediction of future volcanic activity is simple and unchallenging
Question 52
Question
The Tibetan Plateau is an umbrella term for mountain chains including: Karakoram Mountains, Hindu Kush and Tien Shan | generally 4,000-5,000m
Question 53
Question
How was the Tibetan Plateau formed?
Answer
-
By continental collision (destructive plate boundary) when the Indian plate moved northwards into the Eurasian plate
-
By continental collision (on a transition plate boundary) when the Indian plate formed a dip fault with the Eurasian plate
Question 54
Question
The Tibetan Plateau is 5% of the Earth's land area but produces what percentage of total river sediment load?
Question 55
Question
Which of the following are features of the Tibetan Plateau's geomorphology?
Answer
-
Land uplift and creation of relief- encouraged high chemical/physical weathering and river downcutting
-
Sediment fills of more than 3km thick gravels deposited in fault-controlled sedimentary basins
-
Drainage pattern of the Brahmaputra river - drainage was diverted by rising mountains
-
All of these
Question 56
Question
The Tibetan Plateau casts a rain shadow on central Asia, as it's uplift acts as a topographic barrier preventing monsoons from reaching central Asia
Question 57
Question
Winter monsoon winds blowing NW to SE transport fine sediment to central china (because summers are dry due to uplift of Tibetan Plateau) - resulting in depositions of 'loess'
Question 58
Answer
-
Wind blown silt deposits, yellow to grey in colour, grains are angular, sediment comprises of: quartz, feldspar, mica and clay minerals bound together with a calcareous cement
-
Region immediately south east of the Tibetan Plateau
Question 59
Question
How are silt-sized particles produced (in Loess)?
Question 60
Question
Loess covers what percentage of the Earth's land surface (mainly in periglacial areas, continental interiors, associated with major rivers and mountain ranges)?
Question 61
Question
Which one of the following is correct with regards to Loess records?
Answer
-
Strong winter monsoon = coarser sediments, higher sedimentation rates
-
Strong winter monsoon = finer sediments, lower sedimentation rates
-
Loess sequences contain buried soils (palaeosols), these sequences can't be dated and are, therefore, not used in geomagnetic polarity
Question 62
Question
What term is used to illustrate the significance of the Tibetan Plateau- because it is the source of 10 major river systems that provide irrigation, power and drinking water for over 1.3 billion people in Asia?
Answer
-
The third pole
-
The major source
-
Asia's north pole
-
Danny Driver
Question 63
Question
The Tibetan Plateau has shown now effects of climate change
Question 64
Question
Which of the following is the definition of weathering (the other is the definition of erosion)?
Question 65
Question
Which of the following are internal forces acting on a rock?
Answer
-
Heating, cooling, chemical reactions, circulation of air/water (weathering)
-
Loading and interaction with the outside environment (erosion)
Question 66
Question
Which one of the following the definition of 'stress' with regards to weathering (the other is strength)
Answer
-
Forces that act to pull a rock apart- tensile (cracking), compressive (squashing), shear (sliding) plus gravity
-
Forces that act to keep a rock together- atomic, chemical, cohesion and friction
Question 67
Question
What is physical weathering?
Answer
-
Where rocks break down into smaller compenents by mechanical processes (e.g. pressure, temperature, ice salt crystal growth; frost shattering, granular disintegration, exfoliation)
-
Break down of chemical bonds holding rocks together, or a process that causes changes in the composition of minerals within rocks (solution, hydrolysis, oxidation and reduction, carbonation plus biological processes- enhance chemical weathering by production of organic acids
Question 68
Question
Physical weathering is more likely to occur at lower temperatures and lower precipitation rates
Question 69
Question
Limestone is chemically weathered via carbonation and this dissolution can create distinctive karstic topographies and river drainage patterns
Question 70
Question
Mechanics of airflow are similar to water-flow, but different fluid densities (viscosity)
Question 71
Question
Which of the following is true for the comparison between air and water?
Answer
-
For a given sediment grain size, air needs to be travelling more quickly than water in order to facilitate transport
-
Air is more efficient at sediment sorting than water
-
Airflow is affected by air temperature (cold air is able to carry sediment more easily than warm air because it is more dense)
-
All of the above
Question 72
Question
Which of the following is true for a high pressure system in deserts?
Answer
-
Descending air, low precipitation, low vegetation and high chemical/mechanical weathering
-
Ascending air, low precipitation, low vegetation and low chemical/mechanical weathering
Question 73
Question
Loess deposits in... (i.e. not dust transport)
Question 74
Question
What is deflation (the other is threshold velocity)?
Question 75
Question
Which of the following is impact threshold (the other is fluid threshold)?
Question 76
Question
Which of the following does not influence sediment transport in air?
Question 77
Question
What is an erosional landform (examples include: lag gravels, ventifacts, yardangs, deflation hollows)?
Question 78
Question
Wind erosion causes an accumulation of large pebbles in deposit site, creating a desert pavement
Question 79
Question
Which of the following statements is not true?
Answer
-
Sand dune size increases in this order: ripples, dunes, mega-dunes, sand seas)
-
Dunes may be superimposed on one another
-
Dunes are always fixed (stable) and never free (unstable)
-
Dunes can be active at the present time or relict (inactive)
-
Presence or size of dunes can indicate climate changes
Question 80
Question
What type of sand dune is this and under what conditions does it form?
Answer
-
Barchan dune (flat landscape, one direction wind, little or no vegetation, limited sand supply
-
Longitudinal dune (when barchan dunes join together and form ridges perpendicular to the wind direction; sand supply is abundant)
-
Star dunes (controls include wind strength, vegetation cover and sediment supply- this controls all dunes)
-
Parabolic dune (strong winds erode section of vegetated sand a.k.a. blowout- vegetation hold the 'arms' of the dunes in place as the leeward 'nose' of the dune migrates forward)
Question 81
Question
Desert varnish is dark coating on rocks found in arid regions, dominantly composed of fine-grained clay minerals)
Question 82
Question
What evidence is there that wind activity occurs/occurred on Mars?
Question 83
Question
Sand dunes have been found on Titan (Saturn 's moon), this provides evidence for what?
Question 84
Question
What is the difference between desertification and drought/aridification?
Answer
-
Desertification is a long-term process, whereas drought/aridification is short term
-
Desertification is directly related to human activity (e.g. overgrazing, over-cultivation, deforestation, salinisation)
-
Desertification does no affect semiarid areas, whereas drought/aridification are important processes that affect semi-arid areas
Question 85
Question
Soil is a mixture of weathered mineral grains and organic matter
Question 86
Question
What are colloids (ref. soil)?
Answer
-
Aggregates of fine particles
-
Small weathered rock fragments
-
Organic matter in soil
-
Soil water which helps translocation of chemical constituents and fine particles through the soil
Question 87
Question
What soil percentage composition is correct?
Answer
-
Air 45%, water 25%, mineral particles 25%, organic matter 5%
-
Organic matter 45%, water 25%, mineral particles 25%, air 5%
-
Mineral particles 45%, water 25%, air 25%, organic matter 5%
Question 88
Question
Which form of soil water is available to plants?
Answer
-
Hydroscopic water (held atomically to mineral grains)
-
Capillary water (free water that can move in any direction)
-
Gravitational water (moves only downwards under gravity)
-
All of the above
Question 89
Question
Which of the following is how we categorise soils?
Answer
-
Texture, structure, chemistry and colour
-
Texture, smell, grain size and colour
-
Absorption ability, atomic structure, chemical composition, colour
Question 90
Question
Which one of the following is incorrect in terms of the chemical process that occurs at each level of soil?
Answer
-
Horizon- zone of plant/organic life
-
Organic horizon- zone of decomposition of non-organic matter
-
Topsoil- zone of leaching/eluviation
-
Subsoil- zone of accumulation illuviation
-
Regolith- zone of parent material
Question 91
Question
What chemical process occurs in topsoil?
Answer
-
Leaching: where anions, formed from the breakdown of humans, attach to clay particles, and are then replaced by H+ ions; which are washed through soil and redeposited in the subsoil
-
Eluviation: translocation of fine particles downwards in the soil profile in regolith zone
-
The rate of H+ translocation down soil is a measure of the organic matter, and therefore potential fertility, there is in the soil (cation exchange capacity)
Question 92
Question
What quantifying measuring system is used to determine soil colour?
Answer
-
Mundane dips
-
Mushy chips
-
Munsell dips
-
Munsell chips
Question 93
Question
Which of the following is not a control on soil formation?
Question 94
Question
Choose the soil type that not correct and has a bogus definition
Answer
-
Podzols (acidic, strongly leached, low in nutrients= boreal- white/grey horizon)
-
Laterites (humid sub/tropics, high chemical weathering and leaching, low organic matter, high eluviation, deep soil, deep red in colour)
-
Gleys (waterlogged soils, high clay content, blue/grey in colour)
-
Calcified (arid areas, gentle leaching and eluviation, light soil colour)
-
Salinised (salt accumulation, upwards translocation)
-
Conservation (shallow/contour ploughing, high vegetation cover, mulching, fallowing, intercropping)
Question 95
Question
Which of the following are erosivity factors and not erodibility factors
Answer
-
Rainfall and run-off factors
-
Soil properties, vegetation type, topography and land-use practices
Question 96
Question
Soil erosion processes and conservation methods should minimise [blank_start]translocation[blank_end] and maintain a [blank_start]surface vegetation cover[blank_end]
Answer
-
translocation
-
eluviation
-
leaching
-
surface vegetation cover
-
parent material
-
contour ploughing
Question 97
Question
Mass movement is related to slope stability. Stability is determined by the interplay between material strength on a given slope, and gravity. What else determines slope stability?
Answer
-
Slope angle
-
Weathering and climate
-
Water content
-
Vegetation cover
-
Overloading
-
All of the above
Question 98
Question
Fill in the blank: Shear strength of a slope is determined by '...' this gives the angle of repose (of loose debris)
Answer
-
The material strength and cohesion of the sediment on the slope
-
The internal friction of the slope
-
Both of the above could be used
Question 99
Question
Mass movement takes place when gravity is weaker than resistance of the slope to failure
Question 100
Question
Which of the following id the definition of mass movement via flows?
Answer
-
Mixtures of particles of different sizes, plus water/ice that cohesively move down a slope; rate determined by viscosity e.g. sandrun
-
Movement of intact blocks along planes of weakness e.g. avalanche slide
-
Individual detached blocks e.g. rubble fall
-
Generally viscous material moving down slope in a creep process e.g. frost heave - periglacial
Question 101
Question
Human activity can increase frequency of mass movement (e.g. building on steep slopes, changes in land use, land drainage, mine spoil heaps)
Question 102
Question
Prevention of mass movements include drainage, cut and fill hill slopes ,rock bolts