Midterm 3

A  The sediment in humid regions is consistently gravel-sized or larger, which is difficult or impossible for wind to move.

B  Vegetation in humid areas anchors the soil, which inhibits wind erosion.

C  Humid areas experience significantly less wind than dry regions.

D  Humid areas are only underlain by lithified bedrock and never have any loose sediment that wind can transport.

A  Chemical

B  Erosional

C  Dissolution

D  Mechanical

A  Deserts are defined by their sand content.

B  Deserts are always located in hot, humid coastal areas.

C  Deserts are located where there are ascending air masses and low atmospheric pressure.

D  Although rainfalls are infrequent, erosion and deposition related to water are more important than wind in deserts.

A  Variations in the Earth’s orbit around the sun

B  All answer choices

C  Plate tectonics and the movement of continents on the Earth

D  Changes in the atmopsheric carbon dioxide levels

A  since the last glacial maximum

B  30 million years

C  600 million years

D  since the origin of the Earth 4.5 billion years ago

A  Y

B  V

C  U

D  W

A  stagnant

B  advancing

C  retreating

A  both upslope and downslope

B  downslope

C  upslope

D  Ice does not flow in a glacier.

A  Greenland

B  Iceland

C  The Arctic Ocean

D  Canada

A  They can form from frozen seawater

B  Upon melting, they create oceans

C  They contribute to erosion

D  They are required for crystallization of magma to occur

A  At the last glacial maximum, sea level was about 1000 meters (~3000 feet) lower than it is today.

B  At the last glacial maximum, sea level was about 50 meters (~150 feet) lower than it is today.

C  At the last glacial maximum, sea level was about 100 meters (~300 feet) lower than it is today.

D  At the last glacial maximum, sea level was about 25 meters (~75 feet) lower than it is today.

E  At the last glacial maximum, sea level was about 10 meters (~30 feet) lower than it is today.

A  precipitates; acidity

B  dissolves; alkalinity

C  dissolves; acidity

D  precipitates; alkalinity

A  the sun

B  the climate

C  magma and igneous rocks

D  friction

A  be drilled into the unsaturated zone

B  be drilled through an aquitard

C  be drilled into a perched aquifer

D  penetrate well below the regional water table surface

A  Porosity is highly concerned with the connectedness of pore spaces, whereas permeability is not.

B  Porosity is the percentage of the total volume of rock or sediment that consists of pore spaces, whereas permeability is the ability of a rock or sediment to transmit fluid.

C  Permeability is the percentage of the total volume of rock or sediment that consists of pore spaces, whereas porosity is the ability of a rock or sediment to transmit fluid.

D  Permeability is highly concerned with the volume of open space within a rock, whereas porosity is not.

E  Permeability is expressed as a percentage, whereas porosity is not.

A  FALSE

B  TRUE

A  plate tectonics

B  salinity

C  gravity

D  erosion

A  above the zone of soil moisture

B  below the saturated zone

C  above the Earth’s surface

D  below the unsaturated zone

A  does not exist

B  has completely filled the pore spaces

C  evaporates

D  has chemically reacted with the surrounding rock

A  flash; ice-jam

B  flash; regional

C  regional; ice-jam

D  regional; flash

A  sea level

B  lake level

C  a canyon

D  dam level

A  The river speeds up and less sediments deposit from it

B  The river slows down and more sediments deposit from it

C  The river speeds up and more sediments deposit from it

D  The river slows down and less sediments deposit from it

A  Mississippi River

B  Continental Divide

C  Sediment production zone

D  Appalachian Mountains

A  Divide

B  Stream

C  Watershed

D  Tributary

A  97

B  10

C  50

D  1

A  infiltration

B  precipitation

C  evaporation

D  runoff

A  runoff

B  transpiration

C  groundwater

D  clouds and precipitation

A  ice within the permafrost may melt, causing the ground to slide, slump, or subside.

B  it completely melts and undersaturates the soil beneath it.

C  it completely melts and creates a lake where the ice used to be

D  it can crack in several places, creating crevices and collapsing into sinkholes

A  rivers

B  lakes

C  groundwater

D  glaciers

A  permanently frozen ground of tundra and subarctic climates that has remained 0°C for two years or more

B  saturated soil that moves downhill very slowly

C  the layer of soil that thaws to a depth of one meter during summer and refreezes during the winter

D  soil that episodically moves downslope over time from repeated episodes of freezing and thawing

A  mass movement; plate tectonics

B  volcanic activity; mass movement

C  mass movement; erosion

D  plate tectonics; plate tectonics

A  adding water to sediments

B  removal of water from sediments

C  drought

D  planting vegetation

A  densely vegetated land

B  steep slopes

C  old, broad mountain

D  the great plains

A  glaciers

B  plate tectonics

C  gravity

D  water

A  subsidence; uplift

B  subduction; uplift

C  uplift; subsidence

D  uplift; subduction

A  Alpine-type mountains

B  Island arc-type mountains

C  Andean-type mountains

D  Fault-block mountains

A  Mid-Atlantic Ridge

B  Andes

C  Himalayas

D  Appalachians

A  Hot Spot

B  Mid-oceanic ridge

C  Subduction Zone

D  Convergent continental-continental plate bouundary

A  When two plates collide at their continental margins, their deformable seaward rock containing marine organisms crumples up to the top of the resulting mountains.

B  The rocks at the top of these mountains that contain fossils are oceanic terrains, which are blocks of rock that used to be various parts of oceanic crust. Thicker oceanic blocks of rock were tectonically moved toward the oceanic trench, colliding with the crustal rocks because they were too large to subduct.

C  The rocks at the top of these mountains that contain fossils are oceanic terranes, which are blocks of rock that used to be various parts of oceanic crust. Oceanic blocks of rock were tectonically moved toward the oceanic trench, colliding with the crustal rocks because they were too large to subduct due to the fact that they contained fossils.

D  The rocks at the top of these mountains that contain fossils are oceanic terranes, which are blocks of rock that used to be various parts of oceanic crust. Thicker oceanic blocks of rock were tectonically moved toward the oceanic trench, colliding with the crustal rocks because they were too large to subduct.

E  During orogenesis, less dense oceanic crust containing marine fossils crumples up with denser continental crust during convergence. The lower density of the oceanic crust places marine fossils near the tops of the resulting mountains

A  Downwarping of the continent due to crustal subsidence

B  Extension of the continent through rifting

C  Emplacement of batholiths

D  Crumpling of the continent through collision with another continent

A  a batholith

B  a forearc basin

C  a continental volcanic arc

D  a trench

E  an accretionary wedge

A  oceanic plate; sediment

B  oceanic plate; magma

C  continental plate; sediment

D  continental plate; magma

A  convergent boundary and transform boundary

B  convergent boundary

C  divergent boundary and transform boundary

D  divergent boundary

E  transform boundary