Texas A&M University (TAMU) GEOL 104 Physical Geology Exam 1 Practice Exam

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• Which principle states that younger rocks are deposited on top of older rocks if undisturbed?
• Seamounts are small volcanic structures that dot the ocean floor. Which option best describes them?
• When was there renewed interest in Continental Drift?
• The Continental Shelf is best described as which of the following?
• How does the inclusion principle help with relative dating?
• Define felsic and mafic compositions and name typical minerals for each.
• What type of sedimentary rock forms from evaporative precipitation? Provide example.
• Define regional metamorphism and contact metamorphism and give a contrasting example of each.
• Ocean basins are composed of basaltic rocks about how thick?
• Which layer is the rigid outer shell of the Earth that moves tectonic plates?
• Continental margins are adjacent to which geographic feature?
• Which statement about combining measurement methods for plate motion is true?
• Which statement best describes how elements are organized on the periodic table?
• In the Sun & Planets formation sequence, what is the immediate product after dust condenses?
• What process drives plate motion and sea floor spreading?
• Which statement best describes metamorphic rock textures?
• Among mineral classes, which is the most abundant in Earth's crust?
• What is the approximate thickness of the asthenosphere?
• Seafloor spreading occurs at about how many centimeters per year?
• The gently sloping region extending from the shore is known as which feature?
• What is polymerization in the context of mineral chemistry?
• Cratons are defined as what?
• Lower Mantle is described as
• How do porosity and permeability differ, and why are both important for groundwater?
• How is the hardness of a mineral on the Mohs scale determined?
• What is erosion and deposition, and what agents commonly transport sediments?
• Which bonding type best explains the high electrical conductivity of metals?
• The Earth's magnetic field is generated by what process?
• Which sedimentary structure indicates wind-blown deposition, and how is it identified?
• Continued subduction between two continental blocks leads to what geological outcome?
• What does polar wandering describe?
• Which layer of Earth's core is liquid or solid?
• Ocean basins are on average how deep below sea level?
• What happens when two oceanic slabs converge?
• Which property most directly controls how much water a rock can hold in its pore space?
• What do marine organisms secrete to form skeletons?
• In glacial landforms, what is a horn?
• Which mineral classes are typically grouped as rock-forming and share similar properties within the same class?
• Cleavage in minerals refers to breaking along planes that are parallel to which feature?
• Which bond type involves a 'sea' of delocalized electrons?
• The Deep Ocean Trench is best described as which feature?
• What is the approximate thickness and composition of oceanic crust?
• Mineral Strength refers to how easily minerals break or deform under stress. Which option best represents this concept?
• How does the principle of cross-cutting relationships help determine relative age?
• Which evaporite mineral is commonly found in evaporite deposits?
• How can you determine a mineral's cleavage directions from a hand sample?
• The theory of plate tectonics states that Earth's lithosphere is broken into huge plates that move and change in size over time.
• Divergent plate boundaries are associated with...
• What is foliation and what causes it to form?
• Name the three main types of plate boundaries and one typical feature for each.
• What explains the texture difference between intrusive (plutonic) and extrusive (volcanic) igneous rocks?
• Sedimentary rocks are formed by which process?
• A rock with high porosity but low permeability has pore spaces that are ...
• Glass is best described as:
• Which of the following is NOT one of the seven major lithospheric plates?
• Which set of elements is representative of the most common components of rock-forming minerals?
• Which statement characterizes ionic bonding?
• What is the purpose of the Mohs hardness test in mineral identification?
• Which statement describes covalent bonding?
• What does the octet rule describe?
• An early objection to Continental Drift argued that continents could not move due to what?
• Which metamorphic rocks are typical of regional metamorphism?
• Which of the following is a real crystal system?
• Which statement about atoms is correct?
• What is a detrital (clastic) sedimentary rock and name two examples.
• In the expanding universe model, redshift is related to distance in what way?
• What is the asthenosphere and its role in plate tectonics?
• What does the principle of original horizontality state?
• Outer Core is characterized as
• Which term describes a naturally occurring inorganic solid with an orderly crystalline structure and definite chemical composition?
• What is the most prominent feature of continents?
• Which term describes a mineral that transmits no light?
• What information does a geologic map provide that a topographic map does not?
• If volcanoes emerge as islands in an oceanic-oceanic convergence, what is formed?
• The biosphere includes which of the following?
• Which statement best describes silicate minerals with independent tetrahedra?
• Ocean Drilling Evidence shows sediments vary with distance from ridge crest as follows:
• What is the term used for the common crystal shape of a mineral?
• Which statement correctly pairs a mantle convection model with its description?
• Which structural feature is characteristic of silicate minerals?
• Which seismic wave can travel through liquids?
• Differentiate P-waves and S-waves in seismic data.
• The hydrosphere refers to which of the following?
• Name one major mass extinction boundary and the era boundary it marks.
• Which statement about the texture of basalt and rhyolite is true?
• What pattern is produced when a plate moves over a hotspot?
• Luster is described as metallic or nonmetallic. Which choice best represents this description?
• Which statement best describes mafic igneous rocks?
• What defines an element?
• Earth is mostly made up of which type of solids?
• Which boundary is associated with the longest ridged feature on Earth's surface?
• What principles underlie relative dating?
• What is porphyritic texture and what does it indicate about cooling history?
• How is Earth's geologic time scale organized, and what are eons and eras?
• Which statement correctly differentiates physical and chemical weathering, with example?
• What does lithification entail?
• How does planetary size affect atmosphere thickness according to the notes?
• Which description correctly characterizes solids, liquids, and gases?
• Explain how cooling rate affects igneous rock grain size.
• Which statement describes a well-tested and accepted view that explains observable facts?
• A modest-size star has an approximate life span of about how many years?
• Silicate minerals are characterized by the presence of which structural unit?
• Steno's Law states that the angles between equivalent crystal faces of the same mineral are constant. Which version correctly describes this law?
• In radiometric dating, what is the half-life?
• Magnetic anomalies are caused by what?
• How many crystal systems are used to classify minerals by symmetry?
• The geosphere refers to which part of Earth?
• In paleomagnetism, 'normal' and 'reversed' polarity refer to what?
• Approximately when did Pangaea begin to break apart?
• Mantle Plumes are described as
• Approximately what is the radius of the Earth's Inner Core?
• What are the driving forces for metamorphism?
• What is metamorphism and what textures does it produce?
• Which statement is true about nonsilicate minerals?
• What is the typical specific gravity value for many common minerals?
• What is radiometric dating and what does a half-life represent?
• Which process creates new ocean floor at mid-ocean ridges?
• Historical geology is best described as the study that seeks to understand the origin of the Earth and its development through time.
• Which description best characterizes the asthenosphere?
• Which rock type forms primarily by lithification of sediments?
• Inner Core is described as
• Which property is often unreliable for mineral identification due to impurities?
• What kind of boundary event is commonly used to denote major changes in the geologic time scale?
• Metamorphic Rock is defined as
• What texture is produced by crystallization from magma?
• What happens at a convergent boundary involving oceanic lithosphere and continental lithosphere?
• Which rock type commonly has high porosity but low permeability, making it good for storing water but not transmitting it quickly?
• Blue shift refers to a change in light where the frequency is what and the motion is what?
• The Andes and Cascade Range are examples of what tectonic feature produced by oceanic-continental convergence?
• In glacial landforms, what is a cirque?
• Which minerals are classified as nonsilicates and include carbonates, sulfates, and halides?
• Hubble's observations in the 1920s led to the concept of the expanding universe. In which decade did these observations occur?
• Which statement best describes oceanic crust based on the notes?
• Which theory states the Sun and all planets formed from material in nebulae?
• Which process involves transferring electrons to satisfy the valence shell?
• Catastrophism is historically associated with which figure in the mid-1600s?
• Which elements predominantly make up rock-forming minerals?
• Igneous Rock is defined as
• Which of the following is an example of continental-continental convergence?
• Physical geology is best described as
• The Earth's main magnetic field is described as what?
• Which geographic feature is formed by oceanic-continental convergence, such as the Andes?
• What is a hybrid bond?
• How is plate motion measured?
• If a mineral lacks cleavage and breaks with irregular surfaces, this is called?
• Which statement describes the Layer Cake Model of mantle convection?
• Continental rifting occurs when a divergent boundary occurs within a continent; landmass splits; Example East African Rift.
• What sedimentary structures can reveal past depositional environments?
• What term describes the appearance of a mineral in reflected light?
• List the common sediment sizes from largest to smallest.
• Who proposed the theory of Continental Drift?
• Which boundary type is characterized by plates moving apart?
• The Transition Zone is best described as
• Mineral is defined as:
• What is the Goldilocks Zone?
• The continents are composed of which type of rock, averaging 35 km in thickness?
• Color is often unreliable for identifying minerals because it is highly variable due to impurities. Which property is being described?
• Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding. Which choice correctly names this property?
• What term refers to the common crystal shape of a mineral?
• Mineral structures are typically described as a 3D stack of larger negative ions with smaller positive ions in between. This describes which type of bonding/structure?
• The Doppler effect in astronomy describes the change in light due to what?
• What causes mineral precipitation from solution?
• Which statement correctly distinguishes regional and contact metamorphism?
• Hot Spot is defined as
• Sedimentary Rock is defined as
• Which term describes a mineral that transmits light and forms an image through the sample?
• Mohs Scale of Hardness is used to measure what property?
• How do glaciers sculpt landscapes, and what are U-shaped valleys, cirques, and horns?
• What qualifies a fossil and how do sedimentary rocks preserve fossils?
• Which concept describes the substitution of ions of similar size in a mineral's structure without disrupting the framework?
• How many main rock types are there?
• At a convergent plate boundary, what major geologic features form?
• Cleavage in minerals and how it differs from fracture?
• Transform Plate Boundaries involve plates doing what?
• What drives plate motion?
• Which rock is commonly associated with regional metamorphism?
• Which sentence best describes a crystalline solid?
• Which evidence supported Continental Drift?
• Approximately how thick is the Earth's Outer Core?
• What term describes the ratio of a mineral's mass to its volume, used as a relative measure by mineralogists?
• Atomic Number indicates:
• Compare erosion by running water and wind in terms of transport and sediment features?
• Which field of science pursues an understanding of planet Earth?
• Which clastic rock is correctly matched with its grain size?
• The average elevation of continents above sea level is about what?
• Which of the following is NOT one of the seven major lithospheric plates?
• How does plate tectonics explain the global distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes?
• The lithosphere is the rigid outer layer that consists of which parts?
• Ridge-Push Force is described as:
• Which statement correctly describes how minerals combine in rocks?
• What is magnetic reversal?
• Rock is best described as:
• Earth's age is approximately how many years?
• What is the approximate thickness of the Earth's mantle?
• Whole Mantle Convection (plume model) is described as:
• What causes magnetized minerals in rocks to align?
• Which crust is thicker?
• Which mineral group is commonly found in mafic rocks?
• What term describes minerals with identical chemical composition but different crystalline structures (for example, diamond and graphite)?
• The Abyssal Plain is a flat feature of the deep ocean basin. Which choice best defines it?
• Define streak and explain how it is tested.
• What sedimentary structure is commonly used to infer deposition energy changes?
• The Rock Cycle is best described as
• The Continental Rise is known for being which of the following?
• Ripple marks form in what environment?
• Name the three main eras under the Phanerozoic eon.
• Uniformitarianism is associated with which figure and year?
• The ocean basins are composed of which rock type, about 7 km thick?
• Which statement correctly pairs rock type with its typical formation process?
• Which statement describes metallic bonding?
• What is the difference between porosity and permeability with definitions and examples?
• Which explanation accounts for a long chain of volcanoes such as the Hawaii-Emperor track?
• What generates Earth's magnetic field?
• Slab-Pull Force is best described as:
• The Deep Ocean Basins are the portions of the seafloor between the continental margins and the oceanic ridges. Which option best describes this region?
• Which statement distinguishes basalt from rhyolite in terms of composition and texture?
• Which view posits that Earth's landscape has been shaped primarily by catastrophes in the past?
• Which boundary involves plates grinding past each other without creating or destroying lithosphere?
• Which is an example of a transform boundary?
• Red shift refers to a change in light where the frequency is what and the motion is what?
• What causes mineral precipitation in groundwater?
• How does crystallization of molten rock occur?
• Cross-bedding in sandstone indicates what environment?
• Streak is defined as the color of a mineral in powdered form, obtained by rubbing on a porcelain streak plate. Which option matches this definition?
• The Continental Slope is characterized by what feature?
• Silicate minerals are the most abundant in Earth's crust, accounting for more than what percent?
• Continental Margins are located adjacent to major landmasses. Which option states this correctly?
• Which mineral group accounts for the vast majority of Earth's crust?
• Define aquifer and aquitard and their roles in groundwater systems.
• What observational evidence supports the idea of an expanding universe?
• What are the basic building blocks of silicate minerals in terms of elements?
• Which statement describes a hypothesis?
• Provide an example of a foliated metamorphic rock and a non-foliated metamorphic rock.
• Which type of convergent boundary involves two oceanic plates?
• What is the difference between clastic and non-clastic sedimentary rocks?
• What is the most prominent feature on the ocean floor?
• What does the principle of cross-cutting relations state?
• How does fossil succession enable correlation of rock layers?
• How are igneous rocks categorized by silica content, and what are examples?
• Changing Plate Boundaries refers to boundaries that do what?