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Final
About this deck
By: Chris Gauntt
Created: 2011-12-06
Size: 250 flashcards
Views: 10
Created: 2011-12-06
Size: 250 flashcards
Views: 10
About StudyBlue
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Things like online flashcards with photos and audio.
Things like personalized quizzes and friendly reminders about when (and what) to study next.
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lower latitudes
Thermoclines in the ocean are best developed at ________.
polar wandering
Which one of the following was not evidence used by early supporters of the continental drift hypothesis?
A) the fetch
B) the wind speed
C) the length of time the wind has blown
The height, length, and period of a wave depend upon __________.
high winds
Closely spaced isobars often indicate ________.
euphotic
The __________ zone is the near-surface zone of the ocean where light is strong enough for photosynthesis
to occur.
A) relatively dry conditions
B) diverging winds
C) clear weather
D) descending air
High air pressure systems are usually associated with __________.
subtropical high
The Sahara and Australian deserts (among others) are associated with the __________.
water vapor and carbon dioxide
The two most important heat-absorbing gases in the lower atmosphere are __________.
rocks become less dense when they melt
Magma tends to rise toward Earth’s surface principally because __________.
a strike-slip fault that forms the boundary between tectonic plates
A transform fault is ________.
mantle
The asthenosphere is actually a part of the ________ of the Earth.
Permian
The ________ period was a time of major extinctions, including 75 percent of amphibian families.
Diatoms
Photosynthetic plankton with silica shells
elevated marine terrace
The presence of which one of the following would indicate that the land had been uplifted or that sea level
had fallen?
convergent boundary on a volcanic arc above a northward-subducting Pacific plate
The Aleutian Islands occur at a ________.
essentially parallel to its stream channel
C) a depositional feature
A natural levee is ________.
slate, phyllite, schist
Which of the following lists the rocks in the order of increasing grain size and increasing grade of
metamorphism?
when the lapse rate is less than the wet adiabatic rate
Absolute stability prevails __________.
young, active stratovolcanoes built on a continental margin above a sinking slab of oceanic lithosphere
Mount St. Helens and the other Cascade volcanoes are ________.
steepest near the head
If you were to examine the profile of a typical river, you would probably find that the gradient is ________.
False
True or False
usually occur along the warm front of a mid-latitude cyclone
stream velocity, channel width, and depth all increase
As stream discharge increases, __________.
Paleozoic
The beginning of the __________ era is marked by the appearance of the first life forms with hard parts.
A) condensation and cloud formation
B) reflection of solar energy
C) optical phenomena such as red sky at sunset
With which of the following are aerosols in the atmosphere associated?
are situated in the interior of a large, Pacific plate above a hot spot deep in the mantle
Which of the following statements best describes the big Hawaiian volcanoes?
Precambrian
The longest interval of Earth history is called the ________.
deflation
Desert pavement is the result of __________.
cooling by expansion of air
The most important process involved in cloud formation is __________.
greater than the dry adiabatic rate
When air is unstable, the environmental lapse rate is ________.
between 2 and 3
The ratio of parent to daughter isotopes in a radioactive decay process is 0.25. How many half-lives have
elapsed since the material was 100% parent atoms?
ultraviolet
O3 filters out most of the __________ radiation in sunlight.
nimbo
This term is used to describe clouds that produce precipitation.
the oldest rocks were exposed at the center
If erosion stripped the top off a dome, one would find __________.
an occluded front forms
When an active cold front overtakes a warm front, __________.
salt flat
Detrital sediments would predominate in all of the following environments except ________.
landward of the continental slope
The continental shelf is located ________.
blue
_________ light is transmitted the farthest distance through water.
evaporation; precipitation
Salinity in the ocean is highest in regions where __________ is high and __________ is low.
the design of structures
The amount of destruction caused by earthquake vibrations is affected by __________.
granite
Select the coarse-grained rock which is composed mainly of quartz and potassium feldspar from the list
below.
Sediments include thick siliceous ooze deposits and sandy turbidite beds.
Which one of the following concerning mid-ocean ridges is false?
average ocean phosphorus concentrations would vary in response to glaciał - interglacial cycles
The element phosphorus has a residence time of approximately 10,000 years in the ocean. With this
residence time it logically might be expected that:
sinking of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle at a subduction zone
Deep ocean trenches are surficial evidence for ________.
methane
Which of the following is a significant greenhouse gas?
They have relatively small amplitudes compared to their very long wavelengths.
Which one of the following best characterizes tsunami generating waves?
Hadley; Ferrel; Polar
The circulation of winds in both hemispheres is arranged in the _______, _______, and _______ cells.
prevailing winds
The energy that drives surface ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream comes from __________.
An angular unconformity
________ is an erosional contact between tilted, older strata below and horizontal, younger strata above.
Coccolithophores
Photosynthetic plankton with calcite shells
Through metamorphic activity
granite can change to gneiss
The atoms have different numbers of neutrons and the same number of protons.
Which of the following is correct for isotopes of the same element?
1000 years old
If the half-life of a material x is 1000 years and you found a specimen with equal amounts of material x and
material z (the daughter product), the specimen would be about __________.
The granite is older if the sandstone contains pebbles of the granite.
Sandstone strata and a mass of granite are observed to be in contact. Which of the following statements is
correct geologically?
both friction and lack of warm, moist air
When a hurricane moves onto land, it rapidly loses its punch, that is, the storm declines in intensity. Which
of the factors listed below contribute to this loss of energy?
false
true or false
laterite soils are very productive agriculturally
meteorites
Evidence that supports the conclusion that Earth’s core has a high iron content comes from __________.
tensional stresses and normal-fault movements
The mountains and valleys of the Basin and Range Province of the western United States formed in response
to ________.
involves a major change in the mineral composition of the weathered material
Which one of the following statements concerning mechanical weathering is not true?
Gneiss
________ is composed of alternating bands of light and dark silicate minerals.
The Southern Oscillation ....
A) effects the strength of the trade winds
B) involves a reversal of the atmospheric pressure regime along the equator
C) is associated with El Nino and La Nina events
Cl-, Na+, SO42-, Mg2+, Ca2+, K+
In order of abundance in weight percent from highest to lowest, the most common ions in seawater are:
on the outside of the bend
At a bend in a river, the main erosion is ________.
mT
This air mass is the source of much of the moisture for precipitation in the central and eastern United States.
0.03%
The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere today is
chemical
Clay minerals formed from gabbro or diorite bedrock illustrate which kind of weathering?
carbon
Which one of the following is NOT one of the eight most common elements in Earth’s crust?
clockwise and toward the center
In the Southern Hemisphere, the winds associated with a low pressure system blow ________.
S waves travel through solids and P waves travel through liquids.
Which one of the following statements is correct?
O2, 90%
What is the most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere and what is its approximate concentration ?
composition of the magma B) temperature of the magma
C) amount of dissolved gas in the magma
Which of the following factors help determine whether a volcanic eruption will be violent or relatively
quiescent?
water vapor
The most abundant gas associated with volcanic activity is __________.
chemosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the ultimate source of reduced carbon, or biomass, at the Earth’s surface. What other
process produces reduced carbon?
aquifers
Permeable rock strata or sediment that transmit groundwater freely are called ________.
a zone where the polar easterlies and the westerlies converge
The subpolar low (polar front) is __________.
normal
When the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall, a __________ fault has occurred.
is caused by the Earth’s rotation
The Coriolis effect __________.
90
The net transport of water in an Ekman spiral in the northern hemisphere is _________degrees to the right of the wind
direction.
water vapor condenses to a liquid
The dew point is the temperature at which __________.
La Nina
intensification of the trade winds
a rift zone that may eventually open into a major ocean if Arabia and Africa continue to separate
The modern-day Red Sea is explained by plate tectonics theory because it is ________.
arrival times of P and S waves
The distance between a seismological recording station and the earthquake source is determined from the
__________.
reverse
In a ________ fault, the hanging wall block moves up with respect to the footwall block.
stratus
The cloud form that is best described as sheets or layers that cover much or all of the sky is called
__________.
silicon, oxygen
All silicate minerals contain which two elements?
4.5 billion years
What is the age of the Earth accepted by most scientists today?
Days and nights are equal in length everywhere.
Which one of the following statements is true about the equinoxes?
Pangaea
By the close of the Paleozoic, all the continents had fused into the single super continent of ________.
particle size
Detrital sedimentary rocks are classified (named) primarily on the basis of __________.
rain shadow deserts
Deserts such as the Great Basin, Gobi, and Takla Makan are examples of __________.
porphyritic
This igneous texture is characterized by two distinctively different crystal sizes.
10,000 y
If the whole ocean contains 1,000,000 kg of bromine and at steady state 100 kg/yr of bromine is removed
from the ocean, the residence time of bromine in the ocean is:
rising
If “fair” weather is approaching, the pressure tendency would probably be __________.
mountainous topography B) volcanic structures
C) rift zones
Which of the following is associated with ocean ridges?
6.5°C
The normal lapse rate, or average temperature decrease in the troposphere with increasing altitude, is
__________ per kilometer.
mass wasting does not require a transporting medium
As an erosional process, how is mass wasting unique from wind, water, and ice?
Eruptions of big, continental margin, composite cones or stratovolcanoes.
Which kind of eruptive activity is most likely to be highly explosive?
stromatolites
The most common Precambrian fossils are ________, layered mounds of calcium carbonate.
older; younger
An undeformed sedimentary layer is __________ than the layer above and __________ than the layer below.
iron
The Precambrian rock record indicates that much of Earth’s first free oxygen combined with ________
dissolved in water.
A) Zooplankton eat it
B) It decomposes
C) It is buried in sediments
What happens to organic matter when it sinks from the surface ocean?
carbon
Which one of the following is NOT one of the eight most common elements in Earth’s crust?
landward of the continental slope
The continental shelf is located ________.
mantle
The asthenosphere is actually a part of the ________ of the Earth.
particle size
Detrital sedimentary rocks are classified (named) primarily on the basis of __________.
granite can change to gneiss
Through metamorphic activity __________.
silicon, oxygen
All silicate minerals contain which two elements?
The atoms have different numbers of neutrons and the same number of protons.
Which of the following is correct for isotopes of the same element?
false
true or false
laterite soils are very productive agriculturally
granite
Select the coarse-grained rock which is composed mainly of quartz and potassium feldspar from the list
below.
Gneiss
________ is composed of alternating bands of light and dark silicate minerals.
salt flat
Detrital sediments would predominate in all of the following environments except ________.
porphyritic
This igneous texture is characterized by two distinctively different crystal sizes.
slate, phyllite, schist
Which of the following lists the rocks in the order of increasing grain size and increasing grade of
metamorphism?
stream velocity, channel width, and depth all increase
As stream discharge increases, __________.
false
true or false
mechanical weathering involves major changes in the mineral composition
mass wasting does not require a transporting medium
As an erosional process, how is mass wasting unique from wind, water, and ice?
chemical
Clay minerals formed from gabbro or diorite bedrock illustrate which kind of weathering?
deflation
Desert pavement is the result of __________.
on the outside of the bend
At a bend in a river, the main erosion is ________.
steepest near the head
If you were to examine the profile of a typical river, you would probably find that the gradient is ________.
aquifers
Permeable rock strata or sediment that transmit groundwater freely are called ________.
B) essentially parallel to its stream channel
C) a depositional feature
A natural levee is ________.
meteorites
Evidence that supports the conclusion that Earth’s core has a high iron content comes from __________.
the intensity and duration of the vibrations
B) the nature of the surface material
C) the design of structures
The amount of destruction caused by earthquake vibrations is affected by __________.
arrival times of P and S waves
The distance between a seismological recording station and the earthquake source is determined from the
__________.
polar wandering
Which one of the following was not evidence used by early supporters of the continental drift hypothesis?
S waves travel through solids and P waves travel through liquids.
Which one of the following statements is correct?
They have relatively small amplitudes compared to their very long wavelengths.
Which one of the following best characterizes tsunami generating waves?
water vapor
The most abundant gas associated with volcanic activity is __________.
rocks become less dense when they melt
Magma tends to rise toward Earth’s surface principally because __________.
a rift zone that may eventually open into a major ocean if Arabia and Africa continue to separate
The modern-day Red Sea is explained by plate tectonics theory because it is ________.
young, active stratovolcanoes
Mount St. Helens and the other Cascade volcanoes are ________.
convergent boundary on a volcanic arc above a northward-subducting Pacific plate
The Aleutian Islands occur at a ________.
sinking of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle at a subduction zone
Deep ocean trenches are surficial evidence for ________.
normal
When the hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall, a __________ fault has occurred.
the oldest rocks were exposed at the center
If erosion stripped the top off a dome, one would find __________.
are situated in the interior of a large, Pacific plate above a hot spot deep in the mantle
Which of the following statements best describes the big Hawaiian volcanoes?
composition of the magma B) temperature of the magma
C) amount of dissolved gas in the magma
Which of the following factors help determine whether a volcanic eruption will be violent or relatively
quiescent?
Eruptions of big, continental margin, composite cones or stratovolcanoes.
Which kind of eruptive activity is most likely to be highly explosive?
1000 years old
If the half-life of a material x is 1000 years and you found a specimen with equal amounts of material x and
material z (the daughter product), the specimen would be about __________.
older; younger
An undeformed sedimentary layer is __________ than the layer above and __________ than the layer
below.
a strike-slip fault that forms the boundary between tectonic plates
A transform fault is ________.
tensional stresses and normal-fault movements
The mountains and valleys of the Basin and Range Province of the western United States formed in
response to ________.
reverse
In a ________ fault, the hanging wall block moves up with respect to the footwall block.
Paleozoic
The beginning of the __________ era is marked by the appearance of the first life forms with hard parts.
Precambrian
The longest interval of Earth history is called the ________.
4.5 billion years
What is the age of the Earth accepted by most scientists today?
An angular unconformity
________ is an erosional contact between tilted, older strata below and horizontal, younger strata above.
between 2 and 3
The ratio of parent to daughter isotopes in a radioactive decay process is 0.25. How many half-lives have
elapsed since the material was 100% parent atoms?
The granite is older if the sandstone contains pebbles of the granite.
Sandstone strata and a mass of granite are observed to be in contact. Which of the following statements is
correct geologically?
is caused by the Earth’s rotation
The Coriolis effect __________.
iron
The Precambrian rock record indicates that much of Earth’s first free oxygen combined with ________
dissolved in water.
Permian
The ________ period was a time of major extinctions, including 75 percent of amphibian families.
stromatolites
The most common Precambrian fossils are ________, layered mounds of calcium carbonate.
Pangaea
By the close of the Paleozoic, all the continents had fused into the single super continent of ________.
evaporation; precipitation
Salinity in the ocean is highest in regions where __________ is high and __________ is low.
euphotic
The __________ zone is the near-surface zone of the ocean where light is strong enough for photosynthesis
to occur.
Sediments include thick siliceous ooze deposits and sandy turbidite beds.
Which one of the following concerning mid-ocean ridges is false?
A) mountainous topography B) rift zones
C) volcanic structures
Which of the following is associated with ocean ridges?
prevailing winds
The energy that drives surface ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream comes from __________.
A) the wind speed
B) the length of time the wind has blown
C) the fetch
The height, length, and period of a wave depend upon __________.
Coccolithophores
Photosynthetic plankton with calcite shells
average ocean phosphorus concentrations would vary in response to glaciał - interglacial cycles
The element phosphorus has a residence time of approximately 10,000 years in the ocean. With this
residence time it logically might be expected that:
10,000 y
If the whole ocean contains 1,000,000 kg of bromine and at steady state 100 kg/yr of bromine is removed
from the ocean, the residence time of bromine in the ocean is:
chemosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the ultimate source of reduced carbon, or biomass, at the Earth’s surface. What other
process produces reduced carbon?
Diatoms
Photosynthetic plankton with silica shells
blue
_________ light is transmitted the farthest distance through water.
Cl-, Na+, SO42-, Mg2+, Ca2+, K+
In order of abundance in weight percent from highest to lowest, the most common ions in seawater are:
lower latitudes
Thermoclines in the ocean are best developed at ________.
A) Zooplankton eat it
B) It decomposes
C) It is buried in sediments
What happens to organic matter when it sinks from the surface ocean?
ultraviolet
O3 filters out most of the __________ radiation in sunlight.
water vapor and carbon dioxide
The two most important heat-absorbing gases in the lower atmosphere are __________.
optical phenomena such as red sky at sunset
B) condensation and cloud formation
C) reflection of solar energy
With which of the following are aerosols in the atmosphere associated?
Days and nights are equal in length everywhere.
Which one of the following statements is true about the equinoxes?
6.5°C
The normal lapse rate, or average temperature decrease in the troposphere with increasing altitude, is
__________ per kilometer.
A) is associated with El Nino and La Nina events
B) involves a reversal of the atmospheric pressure regime along the equator
C) effects the strength of the trade winds
The Southern Oscillation ....
90
The net transport of water in an Ekman spiral in the northern hemisphere is _________degrees to the right of the wind
direction.
elevated marine terrace
The presence of which one of the following would indicate that the land had been uplifted or that sea level
had fallen?
intensification of the trade winds
La Nina is caused by
water vapor condenses to a liquid
The dew point is the temperature at which __________.
stratus
The cloud form that is best described as sheets or layers that cover much or all of the sky is called
__________.
rain shadow deserts
Deserts such as the Great Basin, Gobi, and Takla Makan are examples of __________.
when the lapse rate is less than the wet adiabatic rate
Absolute stability prevails __________.
nimbo
This term is used to describe clouds that produce precipitation.
cooling by expansion of air
The most important process involved in cloud formation is __________.
N2, 79%
What is the most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere and what is its approximate concentration ?
0.03%
The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere today is
rising
If “fair” weather is approaching, the pressure tendency would probably be __________.
a zone where the polar easterlies and the westerlies converge
The subpolar low (polar front) is __________.
A) descending air
B) diverging winds
C) clear weather
D) relatively dry conditions
High air pressure systems are usually associated with __________.
subtropical high
The Sahara and Australian deserts (among others) are associated with the __________.
greater than the dry adiabatic rate
When air is unstable, the environmental lapse rate is ________.
both friction and lack of warm, moist air
When a hurricane moves onto land, it rapidly loses its punch, that is, the storm declines in intensity. Which
of the factors listed below contribute to this loss of energy?
an occluded front forms
When an active cold front overtakes a warm front, __________.
mT
This air mass is the source of much of the moisture for precipitation in the central and eastern United
States.
usually occur along the warm front of a mid-latitude cyclone
Which of the following statements is NOT true of tornadoes?
high winds
Closely spaced isobars often indicate ________.
B) Hadley; Ferrel; Polar
The circulation of winds in both hemispheres is arranged in the _______, _______, and _______ cells.
clockwise and toward the center
In the Southern Hemisphere, the winds associated with a low pressure system blow ________.
methane
Which of the following is a significant greenhouse gas?
False
Brachiopods are common insect fossils found in Paleozoic rocks.
False
The lithosphere, asthenosphere, and mesosphere are all layers of Earth defined by their composition.
True
Most minerals have a higher specific gravity than water.
True
Chemical weathering is ineffective in polar regions.
True
Quartz is quite resistant to weathering and is an important component of sands in riverbeds and on
beaches.
False
Alluvial fans form when the gradient of a stream is abruptly increased.
False
Ferromagnesian minerals (like olivine and pyroxene) that crystallize at high temperatures in Bowen’s
reaction series are generally much less susceptible to chemical weathering than quartz.
False
Glaciers cannot erode below sea level.
True
When the front of a glacier is retreating, the ice within the glacier is advancing.
True
Alluvium refers to stream deposits, mainly sand and gravel.
True
A V-shaped valley and no floodplain indicate a youthful, downcutting stream.
True
Fiords are glacier-cut valleys that flooded as sea level rose in post-glacial times.
True
Periodically, Earth’s magnetic field reverses; that is, the north and south magnetic poles switch polarity.
False
The oldest rocks in the ocean are near the mid-ocean ridges.
True
The epicenter of an earthquake is on the surface of the Earth directly above the focus.
True
Partial melting produces a magma having a higher silica content than the parent rock.
False
Normal faults indicate that compressional forces are at work, while reverse faults result from tensional
forces.
False
According to the plate tectonics theory, the world’s largest mountain systems (e.g. the Appalachians) were
produced along divergent plate boundaries.
True
Magma generation at depth almost always involves partial melting, not complete melting of the source
rock.
False
Most samples of sedimentary rock can be accurately dated using radiometric techniques.
True
The decay of radioactive atoms, coupled with heat released by colliding particles, produced at least some
melting of Earth’s early interior.
True
Rapid burial and possession of hard parts favor the preservation of plant or animal remains as fossils.
False
We are now living in the Mesozoic era.
False
The major source of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere is from the decay of plants.
False
Turbidites and siliceous oozes are both biogenous sediments.
True
Although the Sun influences the tides, its effect is considerably less than the effect of the Moon.
True
Living organisms make polyphosphate.
False
The open ocean, regardless of depth, where animals swim or float freely is called the abyssal zone.
True
Feeding stages in the food chain are known as trophic levels.
True
Apatite formation removes nutrient phosphorus from the ocean
True
Algae take up inorganic nutrients from the environment and convert them in organic forms that other
organisms can use.
False
The higher the temperature of a radiating body, the longer the wavelengths of maximum radiation.
True
The atmosphere is heated by radiation emitted by Earth.
True
If it were not for the inclination of Earth’s axis, there would be no well-defined seasons.
True
Neap tides occur about the time of the first quarter and third quarter phases of the Moon.
False
The Coriolis effect causes ocean currents in the Southern Hemisphere to be deflected to the right of their
path of motion.
False
If the temperature rises and the amount of moisture in the air remains unchanged, the relative humidity
will increase.
True
When air is cooled to its dew point, the relative humidity is 100%.
False
The highest relative humidity on a particular day usually occurs in the mid-afternoon.
True
Fairbanks, Alaska, has more hours of daylight in June than Miami, Florida.
True
Cyclones are characterized by converging winds and rising air.
True
The capacity of air to “hold” water vapor is temperature dependent.
True
When air sinks, it compresses and warms.
False
Tornadoes are cyclonic, while hurricanes are anticyclonic.
False
Warm fronts generally have steeper slopes than cold fronts.
True
Tornadoes are most often generated along the cold front of a middle-latitude cyclone.
False
Cold fronts usually move more slowly than warm fronts.
True
Hurricanes form between the latitudes of 5 degrees and 20 degrees.
True
In some parts of the world hurricanes are called typhoons or cyclones.
True
The summer months (June through August in the Northern Hemisphere) is the period of greatest tornado
frequency.
About this deck
By: Chris Gauntt
Created: 2011-12-06
Size: 250 flashcards
Views: 10
Created: 2011-12-06
Size: 250 flashcards
Views: 10
About StudyBlue
STUDYBLUE makes things that make you better at school.
Things like online flashcards with photos and audio.
Things like personalized quizzes and friendly reminders about when (and what) to study next.
Think of it as a digital backpack™: access to all of your study materials online and on your phone.
STUDYBLUE exists to make studying efficient and effective for every student, for free. Join us.
“Simply amazing. The flash cards are smooth, there are many different types of studying tools, and there is a great search engine. I praise you on the awesomeness.”
Dennis
Dennis