Physical Geology GEOL 115 - Fall 2002
Exam Review
Exam 1 = Wednesday, Oct. 2nd
Format - 50 pts
25 - 30 multiple choice
1 - 3 simple sketches
Topics Covered On Exam
Origins
- Universe, Solar System, & Earth
Earth Structure
& Composition
Continental Drift
Plate Tectonics
Minerals
Rocks & the
Rock Cycle
Igneous Rocks
Sedimentary
Rocks
Metamorphic
Rocks
Review questions
How does the earth’s magnetic field provide evidence for
plate tectonics?
What was Wegener’s evidence for continental drift?
What are the three layers that make up the internal structure of earth, and
what are they composed of?
What is the evidence for the “Big Bang”?
Why is it difficult to apply the scientific method to a historical science
like geology?
What internal feature of earth makes it such a dynamic place……causing
volcanoes, earthquakes, etc.?
What are the mechanisms that drive the movement of the lithospheric
plates.
Why do minerals have specific physical properties?
Where are the two places on earth where magma is likely to form?
What are the two properties exhibited by igneous rocks that indicate clues
about the origins of the rock?
What are the two types of weathering?
What are some of the differences between the texture and composition
of igneous and sedimentary rocks?
Why was continental drift rejected?
Why is the earth layered?
What is a mineral?
What are the two chemical categories of silicate minerals, and why are silicates
the most common minerals?
What are some of the major things that happen in the Bowen’s Reaction
Series as a magma cools down?
Name and describe the processes involved in the formation of a sedimentary
rock.
What are some of the major differences between a clastic and biochemical sedimentary
rock?
What types of information can geologists read from sedimentary rocks?
What are the processes involved in the lithification of sediments to sedimentary
rock?
How are chemical sedimentary rocks different from clastic rocks?
What types of minerals tend to weather the most quickly?
What types of information can geologists read from sedimentary rocks?
What does the texture of an igneous rock indicate about the origins of that
rocks?
What are the four agents of sediment transport? What properties of the sediment
could provide clues about transport?
What is some of the modern evidence for plate tectonics (hint: what types
of maps did you look at for the plate tectonics lab)?
What are the locations on earth where heat from the outer core can melt earth
materials to produce magma?
If continents do not drift how do they move?
What are the mechanisms that cause the plates to move?
How does an igneous rock get a porphyritic texture?
How can mechanical weathering enhance chemical weathering?
What characteristic of the silicate minerals in a gabbro make it so much darker
in color than a granite?
What is the basic structural unit of the silicate minerals called (the one
with 4oxygens and 1 silica), and which has more silica, a framework silicate
mineral or a double chain?
Why do minerals occur as crystals?
What keeps the individual elements together in a chemical compound like a
mineral?
What happens when continental crust plugs up a subduction zone?
Where in the ocean basins would you find the youngest and the oldest ocean
crust?
What are the differences between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere?
Why does the earth have a magnetic field?
What are the 4 parts of the earth system? Do the parts interact, and is the
system open or closed? Explain.
Why did the nebula that became our solar system begin to rotate more rapidly
before becoming a disk?
What are some of the major differences between igneous and metamorphic
rocks?
What are the agents or processes that lead to metamorphism, what does each
one of them do, and how is it possible to get changes in mineral content occurring
while the rock is still solid?
Draw a very simple sketch of the three types of plate boundaries. Label the types and use arrows to indicate direction of plate movement. Also indicate where crust in being created, destroyed, or remains unchanged
check back again as
I will be adding questions until .........Tues. Oct. 1st
e-mail me
leonardk@mnstate.edu if you have any problems
Exam 2= Monday, Nov. 25th
Format - 50 pts
25 - 30 multiple choice
1 - 3 simple sketches
Topics Covered On Exam
The
Hydrologic Cycle
Soils & Mass
Wasting/Mass Movement
Streams
Groundwater
Glaciers &
Glaciation
Volcanoes
Earthquakes
Mountains &
Structures
Review questions
What is the hydrologic cycle and what powers it?
What are the horizons of a typical soil profile, what are characteristics
of each, and what is the primary control on the properties of each horizon?
What is the difference between flow and slide?
What is the slope of a stream called and what does it determine?
Why do streams deposit the material that they are transporting?
What are the major differences between meandering and braided streams?
What is the difference between a 2-, 10-, and 100 year flood?
What properties must sediment or rock have to function as an aquifer?
How do caverns form?
How do glaciers move?
Recessional moraines form as glaciers recede, why does this happen?
What are some of the long-term mechanisms that lead to climate change that
can lead to Ice Ages on earth? What are some of the mechanisms that can lead
to climate change within an Ice Age?
What is the driving force behind a volcanic eruption, and why are some volcanic
eruptions more explosive than others?
Of all the things that occur during a volcanic eruption, what
can be most hazardous to people living 10’s of kilometers from the volcano?
How can volcanoes or volcanic eruptions change climate?
What is the difference between a normal and reverse fault?
What are the differences between P and S waves, and what types of seismic
waves are most destructive?
The amount of damage done during an earthquake is a function of what?
Even though we have no direct physical evidence of earth’s interior
and composition, how do we know so much about it?
How do mountains form, or how is the crust made thicker?
What controls how the earth’s crust responds to stresses and deformation?
What is the difference between brittle and ductile deformation?
What do the areas that are mapped as having high seismic risk in the United
States have in common?
What is the difference between an anticline and a syncline, and what is the
difference between a plunging and non-plunging fold?
What is the major difference between the various types of volcanic
eruptions?
Why is a composite cone more resistant to erosion than a cinder cone?
Which type of volcano is the largest volcanic feature, and which type is potentially
the most destructive?
What causes the sudden release of energy during an earthquake?
What are the two types of seismic waves and which type is most destructive?
How do geologists determine the epicenter of an earthquake?
The amount of damage caused by an earthquake is a function of what?
What is a tsunami?
What is the difference between a normal and reverse dip-slip fault?
Geologically speaking, what is a mountain?
Why is a “seismic gap” an area of higher seismic risk along a
fault?
Why are intensity scales less reliable than magnitude scales for determining
the strength of an earthquake?
What type of fault is associated with tensional forces, and at what type of
plate boundary are they likely to occur?
What are the names and characteristics of the horizons in a soil profile?
What are the types of mass movement and what are the major characteristics
of each?
What are the types of sediment loads that a stream can carry, and how do they
transport each type?
What are the two types of streams and what factor is responsible for their
shape?
What determines how far a stream will downcut in its channel?
What are the requirements for a productive groundwater aquifer, and what are
the mechanisms for groundwater flow?
How does groundwater erode earth materials, and what are the required elements
for groundwater to create landforms?
What are the two major types of glaciers and what are the differences between
the two?
How do glaciers move?
What is glacial ice and what conditions must be met in order for it to accumulate?
Even though the thickest soils occur in the tropics, why are these soils so
infertile?
What are some of the triggers for mass movement along the Red River of the
North, are what are the common methods to remediate this problem?
Why are temperate soils so fertile?
What are the mechanisms and types of stream erosion?
Why does a stream deposit the material that it is transporting?
What are the three major types of depositional environments associated with
streams?
Why are deltas considered as transitional environments?
How does groundwater erode rock to produce landforms, and what are the characteristics
of an area with karst topography?
What characteristics distinguish glacial sediment from sediment transported
and deposited by other surface processes?
What surface process is mostly responsible for the surface features in North
Dakota and Minnesota?
check back again as
I will be adding questions until .........Friday Nov. 22nd
e-mail me
leonardk@mnstate.edu if you have any problems