297. Q U I Z NO. 6

Q U I Z    NO.  6

201. Which one of the following seas has the lowest salinity?

w) Baltic

x) Dead

y) Mediterranean

z) Red

ANSWER: W – BALTIC

202. In an ocean, the upper layer of water with sufficient light penetration to support photosynthesis by aquatic plants i known as the:

w) free zone

x) plant zone

y) photic zone

z) primary zone

ANSWER: Y -- PHOTIC ZONE

203. Caves are frequently associated with a certain kin of topography that includes sinkholes, disappearing streams and many limestone outcrops. With which of the following topographies are such features related?

w) arid topography

x) valley and ridge topography

y) Karst topography

z) none of these

ANSWER: Y -- KARST TOPOGRAPHY

204. Most cave deposits form from which of the followin minerals?

w) hematite

x) calcite

y) quartz

z) none of these

ANSWER: X – CALCITE

205. A pair of rivers that mark the approximate southern limit of the Ice Age glaciers in North America are the Missouri and which of the following?

w) St. Lawrence

x) Ohio

y) Delaware

z) Tennessee

ANSWER: X – OHIO

206. Which of the following number of years best approximates the length of time since the last ice age in the United States?

w) 1,000,000

x) 1,000

y) 11,000

z) 250,000

ANSWER: Y -- 11,000

207. The Hawaiian Islands are what type of volcano?

w) shield

x) composite

y) cinder cone

ANSWER: W – SHIELD

 208. The internal structure of crystals was first studied with which of the following?

w) x-rays

x) isotopes

y) electron microscopes

z) lasers

ANSWER: W -- X-RAYS

209. In geological studies, cemented volcanic ash is called:

w) caldera

x) a-a

y) lava

z) tuff

ANSWER: Z – TUFF

210. All of the following are TRUE of the Paricutin volcano except

w) its slopes are steep

x) it is a lava cone

y) it is located in Mexico

z) it was built over a short period of time

ANSWER: X -- IT IS A LAVA CONE

211. Iceland is least likely to have

w) a fissure eruption

x) a lava plateau

y) an explosive eruption

z) a shield volcano

ANSWER: Y -- AN EXPLOSIVE ERUPTION

212. The principal volcanic gas (in terms of quantity) is:

w) carbon dioxide

x) nitrogen dioxide

y) sulfur dioxide

z) steam (H2O)

ANSWER: Z -- STEAM (H2O)

213. Which of the following elements is found in the earth's crust as both a native element and as a compound?

w) argon

x) copper

y) chlorine

z) silicon

ANSWER: X – COPPER

214. According to the protoplanet hypothesis, the solar system begins as which of the following?

w) a star

x) a vacuum

y) a huge cloud of dust and gas

z) a group of comets.

ANSWER: Y -- A HUGE CLOUD OF DUST AND GAS

215. On which one of the following is the largest known volcanic cone in the solar system located?

w) Earth

x) Io

y) Mars

z) the moon

ANSWER: Y – MARS

216. What type of rocks are formed as a result of volcanic activity?

w) metamorphic

x) sedimentary

y) igneous

z) Hudson

ANSWER: Y – IGNEOUS

217.  In which of the following mountain ranges are volcanic rocks least common?

w) Andes

x) Cascades

y) Himalayas

z) Sierra Nevadas

ANSWER: Y – HIMALAYAS

218. Which of the following mountain ranges were formed as a result of volcanic action?

w) Appalachians

x) Teton Range

y) Front Range

z) Cascade Range

ANSWER: Z -- CASCADE RANGE

219. Which of the following is the most important erosional and

transportation agent?

w) wind

x) water

y) glaciers

z) none of the above

ANSWER: X – WATER

220. Winds are classed as agents of erosion rather than of weathering because:

w) they have nothing to do with the weather

x) they carry rock particles away

y) they work only part of the time

z) they build up rather than wear down the rock

ANSWER: X -- THEY CARRY ROCK PARTICLES AWAY

221. Carbonic acid is extremely active in the chemical weathering of:

w) feldspar

x) quartz

y) carbon

z) quartzite

ANSWER: W – FELDSPAR

222. Of the following minerals, the one most resistant to both chemical and mechanical weathering is:

w) calcite

x) muscovite

y) hornblende

z) quartz

ANSWER: Z – QUARTZ

223. When shale weathers, it forms mostly:

w) clay

x) quartz

y) soluble carbonates

z) slate

ANSWER: W – CLAY

224. Waste gases from industrial plants form acids that hasten chemical weathering. Most of the gases are compounds of:

w) argon

x) hydrogen

y) iron

z) sulfur

ANSWER: Z – SULFUR

225. Which one of the following is an example of chemical weathering?

w) the splitting of a boulder

x) the grinding of pebbles into sand

y) the cleavage of a feldspar crystal

z) the rusting of hornblende

ANSWER: Z -- THE RUSTING OF HORNBLENDE

226. The oxygen in the earth's atmosphere was probably produced by which of the following?

w) volcanos

x) photosynthetic organisms

y) radioactive minerals

z) meteors

ANSWER: X -- PHOTOSYNTHETIC ORGANISMS

227. How much of the sun's total radiation actually reaches the earth? Is it one part in

w) 2,000

x) 200,000

y) 2 million

z) 2 billion

ANSWER: Z -- ONE PART IN 2 BILLION

228. To what does the atmosphere's "greenhouse effect" refer to?

w) the fact that ozone reflects ultraviolet radiation

x) the fact that air prevents heat from leaving the earth

y) the fact that clouds prevent sunlight from reaching the earth

z) the fact that green plants use sunlight to produce food

ANSWER: X -- THE FACT THAT AIR PREVENTS HEAT FROM LEAVING THE

EARTH

229.  What name is given to the science which studies the atmosphere?

w) oceanography

x) atmospherology

y) meteorology

z) weatherology

ANSWER: Y – METEOROLOGY

230. The available incoming solar radiation is known as:

w) reflection

x) insolation

y) reradiation

z) absorption

ANSWER: X – INSOLATION

231. You are flying between Chicago and San Francisco on a commercial jet. The pilot comes on the public address system and announces that the plane's cruising altitude is 40,000 feet. At this altitude are you in the:

w) troposphere

x) stratosphere

y) ozonosphere

z) chemosphere

ANSWER: X – STRATOSPHERE

232. Which region of the electro-magnetic spectrum will cause sunburns?

w) ultraviolet

x) infrared

y) visible

ANSWER: W – ULTRAVIOLET

233. Which of the following processes doesn't account for an increase in atmospheric CO₂ (carbon dioxide) levels?

w) deforestation

x) photosynthetic processes

y) plant respiration

z) fossil fuel combustion

ANSWER: X -- PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROCESSES

234. Global climate change is being attributed to the atmospheric increase in what two gases produced by human activities?

w) ozone and methane

x) nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide

y) methane and carbon dioxide

z) ozone and carbon monoxide

ANSWER: Y -- METHANE AND CARBON DIOXIDE

235. Multiple Choice: According to the French scientist Buffon, the solar system formed when our sun

w) was first formed

x) collided with a comet

y) began to cool down

z) began to expand.

ANSWER: X -- COLLIDED WITH A COMET

236. Multiple Choice: Which element in chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) is responsible for destroying the Earth's ozone layer?

w) oxygen

x) fluorine

y) chlorine

z) bromine

ANSWER: Y – CHLORINE

237.  Multiple Choice: The Coriolis effect is responsible for which atmospheric

phenomenon?

w) trade winds

x) the jet stream

y) monsoons

z) hurricanes

ANSWER: Z – HURRICANES

238.  Multiple Choice:Which of the following reasons explains why quartz cannot be

identified by its color alone?

w) Its color is too faint.

x) It has no color.

y) It exists in a variety of colors.

z) Its color fades.

ANSWER: Y -- IT EXISTS IN A VARIETY OF COLORS

239.  Multiple Choice: Which of the following causes the oblate spheroid shape of the earth?

w) the earth's magnetism

x) the earth's gravity

y) the earth's rotation

z) the moon's tidal pull

ANSWER: Y -- THE EARTH'S ROTATION

240.  Multiple Choice: Which of these events gives us evidence that the earth is spherical?

w) a volcanic eruption

x) an earthquake

y) an eclipse of the moon

z) the earth's rotation

ANSWER: Y -- AN ECLIPSE OF THE MOON

241.  Multiple Choice: Which one of these is NOT true?

w) All planets revolve in the same direction.

x) All planets rotate in the same direction.

y) The orbits of the planets are all ellipses.

z) The orbits of the planets are nearly in the same plane.

ANSWER: X -- ALL PLANETS ROTATE IN THE SAME DIRECTION.

242.  Multiple Choice: An area that is not in a major earthquake belt is the region of the

w) Andes mountains

x) Coast Ranges of Central America

y) Appalachian Mountains

z) the islands of Japan

ANSWER: Y -- APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

243.  Multiple Choice: A city that suffered a major earthquake, but is not on a plate

boundary, is

w) Los Angeles, California

x) San Francisco, California

y) Tokyo, Japan

z) Charleston, South Carolina

ANSWER: Z -- CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

244.  Multiple Choice: Which of the following is TRUE of an earthquake's epicenter and focus?

w) they are the same

x) the focus is above the epicenter

y) the epicenter is at the earth's surface

z) the focus is at the earth's inner core

ANSWER: Y -- THE EPICENTER IS AT THE EARTH'S SURFACE

245.  Multiple Choice: Most earthquakes originate at depths of between

w) the surface and 100 kilometers

x) 100 kilometers and 500 kilometers

y) 500 kilometers and 700 kilometers

z) 700 kilometers and the outer core

ANSWER: W -- THE SURFACE AND 100 KILOMETERS

246.  Multiple Choice: The most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America had a Richter scale magnitude closest to

w) 6.5

x) 7.5

y) 8.5

z) 9.5

ANSWER: Y -- 8.5

247.  Multiple Choice: Waves generated by underwater earthquakes are called:

w) tsunamis (pronounced su-nam-ees)

x) a bore

y) a tidal wave

z) neap tidal wave

ANSWER: W – TSUNAMIS

248.  Multiple Choice: What is the chemical formula for quartz?

w) CaCO-3

x) SiO-2

y) Fe-2O-3

z) none of these

ANSWER: X -- SiO-2

249.  Multiple Choice: Rocks formed in layers are said to be:

w) crystalline

x) stratified

y) chemical

z) metamorphosed

ANSWER: X – STRATIFIED

250.  Multiple Choice: Coal is believed to have been principally formed in which of the following types of environment?

w) river beds

x) swamps

y) volcanic regions

z) deserts

ANSWER: X – SWAMPS