SAMPLE
QUESTIONS FOR GEOLOGY 103, TEST 2SAMPLE
QUESTIONS FOR GEOLOGY 103, TEST 2
The correct answers are listed at the bottom (no peeking!). These questions are to give you an idea of the type of questions that will be asked. They are not a complete study guide and are not a substitute for studying class outlines, pictures, and the assigned readings.
1. The buried gorge of the Nile River near its mouth, is 5000 feet below sea level. What does this indicate about the geologic history of the area?
A. That there has been extensive and rapid subsidence of the Nile River Valley during the Cenozoic.
B. That Cenozoic glaciers carved this deep valley when sea level was lowered during maximum world-wide glaciation.
C. That the Nile River runs at a higher elevation today because of glacial rebound of the earth's crust since the last ice age.
D. That the Nile River cut this gorge when the water level was lowered by the evaporation of the Mediterranean Sea.
2. Which of the following statements is correct about the San Andreas Fault zone in California?
A. It's a transform or strike-slip fault that connects two widely separated spreading centers.
B. It separates the Basin and Range province of California and Nevada from the volcanic mountains of the California Coast Range.
C. Movement along the San Andreas Fault caused the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980.
D. It's a normal fault that will eventually cause southern California to fall into the ocean.
3. Which mountain range was formed from the closure of the Mesozoic Tethys Seaway?
A. Urals
B. Himalayas
C. Andes
D. Rockies
4. Which of the following minerals are found in thick deposits on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea?
A. Chert and calcite.
B. Lignite and coal.
C. Perthite and olivine.
D. salt and gypsum
5. What was the sequence of tectonic events that formed the various geologic features of western North America?
A. compression, extension, and transform faulting
B. normal faulting, extension, and thrust faulting
C. extension, reverse faulting, and uplift
D. extension, compression, and normal faulting
6. How did the Basin and Range region of western North America form?
A. from vertical uplift along normal faults
B. extension of continental crust as North America overode a spreading center
C. lateral motion along the San Andreas fault
D. thrust faulting
7. How did block mountain (Laramide Orogeny) uplifts such as the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming form?
A. they are giant "splinters" of Precambrian basement rock that have been pushed laterally and upward through younger rocks
B. they are simply vertically displaced blocks of Precambrian rocks
C. they were produced by hot spots in the mantle
D. geologists have no adequate explanation
8. Which one of the following seas is a remnant of the Tethys Sea?
A. Red Sea
B. Coral Sea
C. Sargasso Sea
D. Mediterranean Sea
9. What does the term "Albedo" refer to?
A. the rate of uplift as mountains form
B. the total reflectance of sunlight from the Earth
C. the rate of sea floor spreading
D. the long-term cooling of ocean temperatures during the Cenozoic
10. The formation of extensive glacial ice on Antarctica during the Cenozoic was the direct result of:
A. increased rate of precession of the earth's axis of rotation.
B. a decrease in solar radiation received by the earth as the sun cooled down during the Cenozoic.
C. the separation of South America, Africa, and Australia from Antarctica and the subsequent formation of the circum-Antarctic ocean current.
D. a reverse greenhouse effect as carbon dioxide was increasingly absorbed by the ocean after the Cretaceous Period ended.
11. What is the maximum amount that sea level can fluctuate between times of glacial maxima and times of an ice-free earth?
A. 100 ft
B. 200 ft
C. 400 ft
D. 600 ft
12. The extinction of large Pleistocene mammals such as mammoths, mastodons, and woolly rhinoceroses was most likely the result of:
A. extremely cold temperatures during maximum glaciation
B. heavy predation by saber-tooth cats and dire wolfs
C. hunting by early humans
D. elimination of habitat by farming activities of humans
13. How do paleontologists recognize primitive fossil mammals from fossil reptiles?
A. mammals have only one lower jaw bone, reptiles have 3
B. mammals have fur, whereas reptiles have scales
C. early mammals had simple cone-shaped teeth
D. reptiles have three bones in their inner ear
14. The mammals lay eggs, the mammals carry their young in a pouch, and the mammals give birth to well-developed young.
A. monotremes, placentals, marsupials
B. monotremes, marsupials, placentals
C. marsupials, monotremes, placentals
D. placentals, monotremes, marsupials
15. The chimpanzee is the closest living relative of humans. What is the amount of genetic difference between chimps and humans and when did chimps and humans last share a common ancestor?
A. 12%, about 4 million years ago
B. 2.2%, about 15 million years ago
C. 1.2%, about 7 million years ago
D. 1.4%, about 8 million years ago
16. During the Pleistocene, which was most important in controlling the growth and size of continental glaciers?
A. the summer temperature in the northern hemisphere
B. the winter temperature in the northern hemisphere
C. the summer temperature in the southern hemisphere
D. the winter temperature in the southern hemisphere
17. When do the first modern Homo sapiens appear in the fossil record?
A. 10,000 years ago
B. 32,000 years ago
C. 150,000 years ago
D. 800,000 years ago
18. What is the approximate maximum thickness of the continental glaciers on Greenland and Anarctica?
A. about 1000 ft.
B. about 1 mile, or 5000 ft.
C. about 2 miles, or 10,000 ft.
D. about 10 miles, or 50,000 ft.
19. What was the approximate number of glacial episodes during the 2 MY of the Pleistocene?
A. 4
B. 20
C. 50
D. >100
20. Which of the following orbital parameters of the earth's orbit is responsible for the 100,000 year cycle of glaciation?
A. eccentricity
B. tilt of the earth's axis
C. perihelion
21. Which of the following is not a hominid?
A. neandertals
B. chimps
C. robust australopithecines
D. gracile or graceful australopithecines
22. The most important difference between Australopithecus and Homo is:
A. Australopithecus had ape-like teeth
B. Australopithecus had body hair
C. Homo had a much bigger brain
D. only Homo used tools
23. What kind of animals are ungulates?
A. hoofed, grazing mammals
B. primitive carnivorous marsupials
C. cetaceans
D. pinnipeds
24. Mammals are biologically superior to dinosaurs because mammals are very common today, whereas dinosaurs are extinct.
A. True
B. False
25. The most important evolutionary event in the evolution of Homo from more primitive hominids was probably:
A. retention of juvenile characters in adults by neoteny
B. development of a hunter-gatherer society
C. development of teeth for eating meat
D. the loss of body hair
26. Which of the following characteristics are genetically linked to the evolution of large brains in humans?
A. naked skin
B. small facial bones and jaw
C. prolonged juvenile period
D. all of the above
27. Which group is ancestral to most, if not all, placental mammals?
A. lagomorphs
B. insectivores
C. edentates
D. ungulates
28. What was the initial cause of the evolutionary divergence of human ancestors from apes?
A. A reduction in the size and extent of rainforests in Africa associated with a cooler and dryer climate in the late Cenozoic.
B. The invention of tool use in human ancestors led to an increase in brain size which in turn caused our ancestors to evolve away from the apes.
C. The development of hunting behavior in early hominids.
D. The development of a spoken language in our human ancestors.
29. Armadillos and porcupines belong to an unusual group of mammals called edentates. How did these edentates come to live in North America?
A. They crossed a land bridge at the modern day Bering Straits from Asia to North America when sea level was lower during one of the glacial episodes of the Pleistocene.
B. Like both the horse and camel, the edentates evolved in North America.
C. They crossed a land bridge from South America to North America about 3 MY ago.
30. During the Pleistocene there were numerous lakes in the western United States, areas that are deserts today.
A. True
B. False
Answers:
1 D
2 A
3 B
4 D
5 A
6 B
7 A
8 D
9 B
10 C
11 D
12 C
13 A
14 B
15 C
16 A
17 C
18 C
19 B
20 A
21 B
22 C
23 A
24 B
25 A
26 D
27 B
28 A
29 C
30 A