APSC 151 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 100% CORRECT
Compared to the age of the Universe of about 14 billion years, the currently accepted age of Earth is
about ________ years as determined by using radioactivity for dating rocks and minerals.
A) 4.6 thousand B) 4.6 billion C) 5.4 million
D) 13.7 billion - ANSWER-B - 4.6 billion
The ________ division of the geologic time scale is an era of the Phanerozoic Eon. A) Paleocene B) Paleozoic C) Permian D) Proterozoic - ANSWER-B - Paleozoic
The Earth's core was formed from ________.
A) a massive nickel iron asteroid that was the nucleus upon which Earth condensed
B) high density radioactive carbon
C) the left over nickel and iron that would not fit into the earlier formed crust and mantle
D) molten iron and nickel that separated from silicates and sank due to its higher density - ANSWER-D - molten iron and nickel that separated from silicates and sank due to its higher density
Plates are sliding past one another horizontally along a ________ plate boundary.
A) Transform B) convergent C) divergent D) subduction - ANSWER-A - transform
The true colour of a mineral as seen in its powdered form is called it's ________.
A) Birefringence B) chatoyancy C) iridescence D) streak - ANSWER-D - streak
Pangaea was ________.
A) a large, ocean basin that opened in the Triassic and closed in the Paleocene
B) a large, Precambrian shield area in Africa and South America that broke apart late in the Proterozoic Eon
C) a huge mountain range that formed when Africa pushed northward into Europe in Eocene time
D) a super continent that formed in the late Paleozoic and broke apart in Triassic time - ANSWER-D - a super continent that formed in the late Paleozoic and broke apart in Triassic time
The oceanic crust is made of mafic rock called ________ and is about ________ thick on average
A) basalt, 7 km B) marine sedimentary rocks, 25 km C) basalt, 70 km D) granite, 35-40 km - ANSWER-A - basalt, 7 km
The composition of the upper mantle of Earth is thought to be
A) basalt B) granite C) peridotite D) iron-nickel alloy - ANSWER-C - peridotite
Which one of the following statements is not correct?
A) Metamorphic rocks may melt to magma.
B) Sedimentary rocks may weather to igneous rocks.
C) Magmas crystallize to form igneous rocks.
D) Igneous rocks can undergo metamorphism - ANSWER-B - sedimentary rocks may weather to igneous rocks
________ rocks form by crystallization and consolidation of molten magma
A) Sedimentary B) Indigenous C) Primary D) Igneous - ANSWER-D - igneous ________ rocks always originate at the surface of the Earth. A) Secondary B) Igneous C) Metamorphic D) Sedimentary - ANSWER-D - sedimentary
The top of the asthenosphere is closest to the surface ________.
A) along a mid-ocean ridge
B) along the length of a deep mantle plume
C) along a transform fault
D) along a subduction zone - ANSWER-A - along a mid-ocean ridge
Deep ocean trenches are surficial evidence for ________.
A) rifting beneath a continental plate and the beginning of continental drift
B) sinking of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle at subduction zones
C) rising of hot asthenosphere from deep in the mantle
D) transform faulting between an oceanic plate and a continental plate - ANSWER-B - sinking of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle at subduction zones
Which one of the following minerals has the greatest hardness on the Mohs hardness scale?
A) Feldspar B) calcite C) gypsum D) topaz - ANSWER-D - topaz
Which of the following best defines a mineral and a rock?
A) A rock has an orderly, repetitive, geometric, internal arrangement of minerals; a mineral is a lithified or
consolidated aggregate of rocks.
B) A mineral consists of its constituent atoms arranged in a geometrically repetitive structure; in a rock, the atoms are randomly bonded without any geometric pattern.
C) In a mineral the constituent atoms are bonded in a regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of minerals. D) A rock consists of atoms bonded in a regular, geometrically predictable arrangement;
a mineral is a consolidated
aggregate of different rock particles. - ANSWER-C - in a mineral constituent atoms are bonded in a regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of minerals
When elements or compounds combine in the same proportions but in more than one structural
arrangement, relative to each other, those mineral structures are called ________.
A) Amorphous B) bimorphs C) isotopes D) polymorphs - ANSWER-D - polymorphs
Mafic rocks like basalt and gabbro ________.
A) are major constituents of the continental crust
B) are very low in their iron and magnesium contents
C) form mainly in continental mountain belts
D) make up most of the ocean floor and volcanic island chains - ANSWER-D - make up most ocean floor and volcanic island chains
Name the texture that requires a magnifying glass or microscope to see individual mineral grains
A) Aphanitic B) porphyritic C) phaneritic D) pegmatitic - ANSWER-A - aphanitic
In general, which of the following types of magma will be more likely to erupt explosively?
A) a highly viscous felsic magma
B) a relatively low viscosity mafic magma
C) an intermediate andesitic magma with a low water content
D) a very fluid komatiitic magma - ANSWER-A - a highly viscous felsic magma
Which of the following will react readily with acids such as hydrochloric? A) calcite B) quartz C) diamond D) talc - ANSWER-A - calcite
Compared to the age of the Universe of about 14 billion years, the currently accepted age of Earth is
about ________ years as determined by using radioactivity for dating rocks and minerals.
A) 4.6 thousand B) 4.6 billion C) 5.4 million
D) 13.7 billion - ANSWER-B - 4.6 billion
The ________ division of the geologic time scale is an era of the Phanerozoic Eon. A) Paleocene B) Paleozoic C) Permian D) Proterozoic - ANSWER-B - Paleozoic
The Earth's core was formed from ________.
A) a massive nickel iron asteroid that was the nucleus upon which Earth condensed
B) high density radioactive carbon
C) the left over nickel and iron that would not fit into the earlier formed crust and mantle
D) molten iron and nickel that separated from silicates and sank due to its higher density - ANSWER-D - molten iron and nickel that separated from silicates and sank due to its higher density
Plates are sliding past one another horizontally along a ________ plate boundary.
A) Transform B) convergent C) divergent D) subduction - ANSWER-A - transform
The true colour of a mineral as seen in its powdered form is called it's ________.
A) Birefringence B) chatoyancy C) iridescence D) streak - ANSWER-D - streak
Pangaea was ________.
A) a large, ocean basin that opened in the Triassic and closed in the Paleocene
B) a large, Precambrian shield area in Africa and South America that broke apart late in the Proterozoic Eon
C) a huge mountain range that formed when Africa pushed northward into Europe in Eocene time
D) a super continent that formed in the late Paleozoic and broke apart in Triassic time - ANSWER-D - a super continent that formed in the late Paleozoic and broke apart in Triassic time
The oceanic crust is made of mafic rock called ________ and is about ________ thick on average
A) basalt, 7 km B) marine sedimentary rocks, 25 km C) basalt, 70 km D) granite, 35-40 km - ANSWER-A - basalt, 7 km
The composition of the upper mantle of Earth is thought to be
A) basalt B) granite C) peridotite D) iron-nickel alloy - ANSWER-C - peridotite
Which one of the following statements is not correct?
A) Metamorphic rocks may melt to magma.
B) Sedimentary rocks may weather to igneous rocks.
C) Magmas crystallize to form igneous rocks.
D) Igneous rocks can undergo metamorphism - ANSWER-B - sedimentary rocks may weather to igneous rocks
________ rocks form by crystallization and consolidation of molten magma
A) Sedimentary B) Indigenous C) Primary D) Igneous - ANSWER-D - igneous ________ rocks always originate at the surface of the Earth. A) Secondary B) Igneous C) Metamorphic D) Sedimentary - ANSWER-D - sedimentary
The top of the asthenosphere is closest to the surface ________.
A) along a mid-ocean ridge
B) along the length of a deep mantle plume
C) along a transform fault
D) along a subduction zone - ANSWER-A - along a mid-ocean ridge
Deep ocean trenches are surficial evidence for ________.
A) rifting beneath a continental plate and the beginning of continental drift
B) sinking of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle at subduction zones
C) rising of hot asthenosphere from deep in the mantle
D) transform faulting between an oceanic plate and a continental plate - ANSWER-B - sinking of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle at subduction zones
Which one of the following minerals has the greatest hardness on the Mohs hardness scale?
A) Feldspar B) calcite C) gypsum D) topaz - ANSWER-D - topaz
Which of the following best defines a mineral and a rock?
A) A rock has an orderly, repetitive, geometric, internal arrangement of minerals; a mineral is a lithified or
consolidated aggregate of rocks.
B) A mineral consists of its constituent atoms arranged in a geometrically repetitive structure; in a rock, the atoms are randomly bonded without any geometric pattern.
C) In a mineral the constituent atoms are bonded in a regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of minerals. D) A rock consists of atoms bonded in a regular, geometrically predictable arrangement;
a mineral is a consolidated
aggregate of different rock particles. - ANSWER-C - in a mineral constituent atoms are bonded in a regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of minerals
When elements or compounds combine in the same proportions but in more than one structural
arrangement, relative to each other, those mineral structures are called ________.
A) Amorphous B) bimorphs C) isotopes D) polymorphs - ANSWER-D - polymorphs
Mafic rocks like basalt and gabbro ________.
A) are major constituents of the continental crust
B) are very low in their iron and magnesium contents
C) form mainly in continental mountain belts
D) make up most of the ocean floor and volcanic island chains - ANSWER-D - make up most ocean floor and volcanic island chains
Name the texture that requires a magnifying glass or microscope to see individual mineral grains
A) Aphanitic B) porphyritic C) phaneritic D) pegmatitic - ANSWER-A - aphanitic
In general, which of the following types of magma will be more likely to erupt explosively?
A) a highly viscous felsic magma
B) a relatively low viscosity mafic magma
C) an intermediate andesitic magma with a low water content
D) a very fluid komatiitic magma - ANSWER-A - a highly viscous felsic magma
Which of the following will react readily with acids such as hydrochloric? A) calcite B) quartz C) diamond D) talc - ANSWER-A - calcite
