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1 | |
What is the relationship between rocks and minerals? |
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2 | |
What mineral is most abundant in the earth's crust? Does it make up less than a quarter, between a quarter and a half, between half and three-quarters, or more than three-quarters of the mass of the crust? |
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3 | |
Both cleavage and crystal form are characteristic mineral properties. What is the difference between the two? |
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4 | |
How could you distinguish calcite crystals from quartz crystals? |
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5 | |
What kinds of rocks consist of random arrangements of irregular mineral grains that have grown together? |
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6 | |
What kinds of rocks are most abundant in the earth's crust? On the earth's surface? |
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7 | |
Obsidian is a rock that resembles glass, in particular by sharing the property that its structure is closer to that of a liquid than to that of a crystalline solid. What does this observation suggest about the manner in which obsidian is formed? |
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8 | |
Granite and rhyolite have similar compositions, but granite is coarse-grained whereas rhyolite is fine-grained. What does the difference in grain size indicate about the environments in which each rock formed? |
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9 | |
Diorite is an igneous rock that has hardened slowly underground, and andesite, whose composition is similar, is an igneous rock that has hardened on the earth's surface. How can they be distinguished from one another? |
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10 | |
Shale is a sedimentary rock that consolidated from mud deposits. What are the various metamorphic rocks that shale can become under progressively increasing temperature and pressure? |
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11 | |
What happens to the density of a rock that undergoes metamorphism? |
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12 | |
Of what rock do coral reefs consist? |
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13 | |
The mineral grains of many metamorphic rocks are flat or elongated and occur in parallel layers. (a) What is this property called? (b) How does it originate? |
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14 | |
In what way does calcite differ from almost all other minerals? What rocks are largely calcite? |
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15 | |
What is the nature of chert and why is it so resistant to chemical and mechanical attack? |
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16 | |
(a) What is the origin of limestone? (b) What rock is formed by the metamorphism of limestone? (c) What is the difference in structure that the metamorphism produces? |
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17 | |
How could you distinguish (a) granite from gabbro? (b) basalt from limestone? (c) schist from diorite? |
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18 | |
How could you distinguish (a) chert from obsidian? (b) conglomerate from gneiss? (c) quartz from calcite? |
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19 | |
Name the following rocks: (a) a fine-grained, unfoliated rock with intergrowing crystals of quartz, feldspar, and black mica; (b) a finely foliated rock with microscopic crystals of quartz and white mica; (c) a fine-grained rock consisting principally of kaolin. |
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20 | |
Name the following rocks: (a) a rock consisting of intergrown crystals of quartz; (b) the rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone; (c) an intrusive igneous rock with the same composition as andesite. |
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21 | |
What are the similarities and differences between seismic P and S waves? |
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22 | |
What can be said about an earthquake whose magnitude is 0 on the Richter scale? Whose magnitude is 8 or more? |
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23 | |
Why is the mantle thought to be solid? |
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24 | |
Give two reasons why it is believed that the earth's core is liquid. What is believed to be the nature of the core material? Why? |
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25 | |
How does the radius of the earth's core compare with the total radius of the earth? |
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26 | |
Where is the earth's crust thinnest? Where is it thickest? |
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27 | |
What evidence is there in favor of the idea that the earth's interior is very hot? |
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28 | |
What is the source of the energy that powers most geological processes? |
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29 | |
Why is it unlikely that the earth's magnetic field originates in a huge bar magnet located in its interior? |
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30 | |
Why does a compass needle in most places not point due north? |
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31 | |
In what way is the weathering of rock important to life on earth? |
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32 | |
What is the most important mechanism of mechanical weathering? |
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33 | |
Both marble and slate are metamorphic rocks. Would you expect a marble tombstone or a slate one to be more resistant to weathering? |
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34 | |
Granite consists of feldspars, quartz, and ferromagnesian minerals. (a) What becomes of these minerals when granite undergoes weathering? (b) What kinds of sedimentary rocks can the weathering products form? |
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35 | |
What is the source of energy that makes possible the erosion of landscapes? |
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36 | |
Why are streams and rivers the principal agents of erosion on the earth's surface? |
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37 | |
Is there a limit to the depth to which streams can erode a particular landscape? Is there a limit in the case of glaciers? |
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38 | |
What agent of erosion produces valleys with a V-shaped cross section? A U-shaped cross section? |
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39 | |
Under what circumstances does a glacier form? |
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40 | |
Which is the more important agent of erosion, running water or glaciers? Why? |
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41 | |
How is it possible for glaciers to wear down rocks that are harder than glacial ice? |
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42 | |
What is the immediate destination of most of the water that falls as rain on land? |
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43 | |
What is the eventual site of deposition of most sediments? |
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44 | |
What kind of material is found in an alluvial fan? In a moraine? |
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45 | |
Why are clay minerals and quartz particles abundant in sediments that have not been chemically deposited? |
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46 | |
In sand derived from the attack of waves on granite, what mineral would you expect to be most abundant? |
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47 | |
What is the probable origin of the following sedimentary rocks?
a. A thick limestone
b. A conglomerate with well-rounded boulders and numerous thin beds of sandy and clayey material
c. A sandstone consisting of well-sorted, well-rounded grains of quartz |
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48 | |
Why are hot-spring deposits thicker than the deposits found around ordinary springs? |
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49 | |
What kinds of rocks are likely to be found in lava flows? What is the most common volcanic rock? |
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50 | |
What factors determine the viscosity of magma? What kinds of landscapes are produced by volcanoes whose lavas have relatively high and relatively low viscosities? |
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51 | |
What is the cause of the holes found in many volcanic rocks? |
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52 | |
What is the main constituent of volcanic gases? |
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53 | |
What characteristic landscape features do active volcanoes produce? From what features could you conclude that volcanoes were once active in a region where eruptions have long since ceased? |
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54 | |
Distinguish between a dike and a vein. |
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55 | |
(a) Why are metamorphic rocks often found near plutons? (b) Where would you expect to find the wider zone of thermal metamorphism, near a dike or near a batholith? |
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56 | |
Suppose you find a nearly vertical contact between granite and sedimentary rocks, the sedimentary beds ending abruptly against the granite. How could you tell whether the granite had intruded into the sedimentary rocks or after solidifying had moved against the sedimentary rocks by tectonic movement along a fault? |
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57 | |
Distinguish between the foliation of a metamorphic rock and the stratification of a sedimentary rock. |
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58 | |
An experiment is performed to determine the lowest temperature at which a certain magma can exist within the earth by melting a sample of rock that has hardened from this magma in a furnace. How meaningful are the results of this experiment? |
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