Some Sample Questions –canned
from another source…
1) Which technique is most useful in numerical dating of rock
bodies?
A) cross-cutting relations
B) radiometric dating
C) inclusions
D) fossils
E) superposition
2) Unconformities
A) are a measure of absolute
time.
B) form when sediment is
deposited on an eroded folded mountain belt.
C) form when layer upon
layer of sediment accumulate in a shallow sea.
D) form when igneous
intrusions cut into sequences of layered sediments.
E) form where around
irregular zones of contact metamorphism.
3) In which of the following situations would carbon-14 dating
be used?
A) igneous intrusion about
1-2 billion years old
B) basalts less than 1
million years old
C) sedimentary rocks of
Paleozoic age
D) metamorphic rocks less
than 1 thousand years old
E) a log buried in young
glacial sediment a few thousand years old
4) The half-life of a radioactive element is
A) the amount of radioactive
material left after a given period of time.
B) the amount of radioactive
material left after 1 million years.
C) the amount of 14C left
after half of the uranium has decayed.
D) the time required for
half of the nuclei of a radioactive element to decay.
E) the time required for
half of a sample to become radioactive.
5) Which sequence shows the names of eras from oldest to
youngest?
A)
Precambrian-Mesozoic-Cenozoic-Paleozoic
B) Paleozoic-Mesozoic-Precambrian-Cenozoic
C)
Precambrian-Cenozoic-Mesozoic-Paleozoic
D)
Cenozoic-Mesozoic-Paleozoic-Precambrian
E) Precambrian-Paleozoic-Mesozoic-Cenozoic
6) Relative dating is determining the
A) length of time since a
rock formed.
B) time span between
geologic events.
C) approximate age of a
rock.
D) age of a rock in terms of
numbers of years.
E) chronological order of a
sequence of events.
7) The law of superposition does NOT apply when rocks are
A) overturned.
B) slightly tilted.
C) sedimentary.
D) fossiliferous.
E) cut by high-angle normal
faults.
8) The principle which explains that in a sequence of
undeformed sedimentary rock, the oldest bed is on the bottom and each higher
bed is successively younger, is called the principle of
A) crosscutting relations.
B) superposition.
C) relative dating.
D) faunal succession.
E) inclusion.
9) Which of the following principles is NOT used to determine
relative ages of rocks?
A) cross-cutting relations
B) faunal succession
C) superposition
D) original horizontality
E) none of the above
10) Determining the relative age of a rock
body in the field is based largely on
A) fossil identification.
B) carbon-14 (14C).
C) half-life measurements.
D) radioactive dates.
E) superposition.
11) Which of the following sequences of
geologic periods is NOT correct?
A) Precambrian, Paleozoic,
Mesozoic, Cenozoic
B) Jurassic, Cretaceous,
Tertiary, Quaternary
C) Pennsylvanian, Permian,
Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous
D) Cambrian, Ordovician,
Devonian, Silurian, Mississippian
E) Devonian, Carboniferous,
Permian, Triassic, Jurassic
12) The geologic time scale is divided into
four main units called eras. The most recent era is the
A) Precambrian.
B) Mesozoic.
C) Cenozoic.
D) Paleozoic.
E) Quaternary.
13) A sample of basalt contains a
radioactive isotope that has a half-life of 10 million years. Analysis shows
that one quarter of the original parent isotope has NOT decayed. How old is the
rock?
A) 2.5 million years
B) 20 million years
C) 40 million years
D) 5 million years
E) 10 million years
14) The age of Earth, as measured by
radiometric methods, is approximately
A) 4.6 billion years.
B) 80,000 years.
C) 1.8 million years.
D) 500,000 years.
E) 6,000 years.
15) The rate at which a radioactive element
decays is
A) influenced by pressure.
B) influenced by
temperature.
C) influenced the mineral
where decay is taking place.
D) constant with analytical
error.
E) independent of external
conditions.
16) Carbon 14 (14C) has a half life of
5,730 years. Charcoal removed from beneath a lava flow has 1/8 the amount of
14C as a living tree. The lava flow is probably
A) 716 years old.
B) 2,865 years old.
C) 5, 730 years old.
D) 17, 190 years old.
E) 45,840 years old.
17) The structure of these sedimentary
layers suggests
A) that the rocks in the
upper part of the hillside are older than those lower on the hill.
B) deposition of horizontal
sediments continued layer upon layer.
C) that a steep normal fault
separates two sequences of rocks.
D) an unconformity separates
two sequences of rocks.
18) The illustration shows the steps in the
creation of an angular unconformity. The correct order for the drawings is
A) A, C, B, D.
B) B, D, A, C.
C) D, B, A, C.
D) A, D, B, C.
19) In this cross section, which unit is
oldest?
A) The layer of shale
labeled A
B) The erosional
unconformity labeled B
C) The sedimentary unit
labeled C
D) The igneous rock labeled
D
20) In this photo of the Grand Canyon, the
rock layers are the result of
A) repeated deposition of
sedimentary rocks.
B) the intrusion of igneous
rocks.
C) metamorphism in the roots
of a mountain belt.
D) sedimentary deposition,
tilting, erosion, and renewed deposition.
21) Dip and strike measurements are used to
describe the orientation of
A) bedding planes.
B) joints.
C) faults.
D) planar surfaces in
metamorphic rocks.
E) all of the above
22) The plunge of a fold is defined as
A) the compass direction of
a horizontal line drawn on a bedding plane.
B) the maximum inclination
of a bedding plane.
C) the downward inclination
of the fold hinge.
D) the strike and dip of the
hinge plane.
E) the area where the fold
disappears beneath the surface.
23) Folds are commonly associated with
A) strike-slip faults.
B) bedding plane faults.
C) thrust faults.
D) normal faults.
E) complex faults.
24) Lateral offset in drainage lines is
commonly associated with
A) active normal faults.
B) active reverse faults.
C) active thrust faults.
D) active strike-slip
faults.
25) Joints are important because they
A) increase the permeability
of the rock.
B) provide avenues for the
migration of groundwater and petroleum.
C) provide sites for the
emplacement of ores.
D) affect mining and
engineering operations.
E) all of the above
26) Strike is measured
A) perpendicular to a level
surface.
B) as the orientation of a
horizontal line on a bedding plane.
C) parallel with dip.
D) in an east-west
direction.
E) none of the above
27) The outcrop pattern of a series of
eroded plunging folds is a
A) series of symmetrical
bands.
B) series of straight,
parallel bands.
C) zigzag pattern.
D) dendritic pattern.
E) trellis pattern.
28) A fault in which the hanging wall has
moved downward with respect to the footwall is a
A) normal fault.
B) strike-slip fault.
C) bedding plane fault.
D) thrust fault.
E) reverse fault.
29) Normal faults are those in which the
footwall
A) moves in an oblique
direction.
B) moves up relative to the
hanging wall.
C) moves in a horizontal
direction.
D) moves down relative to
the hanging wall.
E) none of the above
30) Displacement along faults
A) occurs only beneath the
surface.
B) occurs in a single event.
C) results from plastic
deformation.
D) occurs only during an
earthquake.
E) results from recurrent
movement over a long period of time.
31) The formation of the Basin and Range
province of the western United States is believed to be the result of
A) horizontal compression
caused by plate collision.
B) tensional forces.
C) lateral motion caused by
plate rotation.
D) cracking of the Earth's
crust caused by tidal forces.
E) fracture system caused by
igneous intrusions at a shallow level.
32) Continental collision is commonly
marked by
A) the formation of large
fold belts.
B) the development of normal
faults.
C) thrust sheets.
D) all of the above
E) only A and C
33) If you encountered much older
metamorphic rocks overlying younger sedimentary rocks, the plane separating
them might be a
A) normal fault.
B) thrust fault.
C) a joint.
D) a normal depositional
surface.
34) Horizontal compression of continental
crust most commonly results in the formation of
A) normal faults.
B) thrust faults and folds.
C) folds and normal faults.
D) strike-slip faults and
normal faults.
35) An unconformity is
A) a sedimentary unit.
B) a period of deposition.
C) a buried erosional
surface.
D) a type of fold.
E) a type of fault.
36) Reverse faults are those in which the
footwall
A) moves down relative to
the hanging wall.
B) moves in a horizontal
direction.
C) moves in an oblique
direction.
D) moves up relative to the
hanging wall.
E) none of the above
37) Horizontal compression is related
to
A) folding and crustal
thickening.
B) normal faulting and
crustal thickening.
C) stretching and crustal
thinning.
D) folding and crustal
thinning.
E) tension and thickening.
38) Displacement along a strike-slip fault
is best described as
A) the hanging wall moves
downward in relation to the footwall.
B) the hanging wall moves
upward in relation to the footwall.
C) horizontal displacement
of rocks on either side of the fault.
D) resulting from extension.
E) all of the above