1. The San Andreas fault in California is an example of a
1. normal fault
2. reverse fault
3. thrust fault
4. inactive fault
5. transform fault
2. The sliding of the sea floor beneath a continent or island arc
is called
1. rotation
2. tension
3. subduction
4. polar wandering
5. submission
3. A moderate earthquake would do more damage in New York City than
in Los Angeles primarily because:
1. New York is built on bedrock
2. New York has more faults beneath it
3. New York is closer to the water
4. New York buildings are not built to withstand earthquakes
5. Los Angeles has no tall buildings
4. Piles of rocky debris deposited at the margins of glaciers are called...
1. arretes
2. cirques
3. drumlins
4. moraines
5. kettles
5. These earthquake waves travel the fastest:
1. P waves
2. S waves
3. surface waves
4. Love waves
5. Rayleigh waves
6. Prior to the 1950's the ocean floor was thought to be ______,
but after the 1950's it was discovered to be _______.
1. very ancient / relatively young
2. flat and featureless / complex and rugged
3. relatively young / very ancient
4. complex and rugged / flat and featureless
5. both 1 and 2
7. These undersea mountain ranges are found in the middle of ocean
basins:
1. guyotes
2. mid-ocean ridges
3. trenches
4. island arcs
5. atolls
8. P waves are
1. compressional
2. tensional
3. transverse
4. vertical
5. horizontal
9. The point in the Earth where seismic waves originate is called
the
1. focus
2. epicenter
3. fault scarp
4. fold
5. plunge
10. If more snow falls on a glacier than can melt in the summer, what will
the glacier do?
1. It will advance.
2. It will retreat.
3. It will remain stable.
11. To visit a region of the Earth currently lying above a hot spot in the
mantle, you would go to:
1. New Jersey
2. Kansas
3. Hawaii
4. Seattle
5. the Caribbean
12. Plates are able to move because they 'float' on this partially
molten, elastic layer of the Earth:
1. crust
2. asthenosphere
3. outer core
4. lithosphere
5. isosphere
13. Which is (are) characteristic of mid-ocean ridges?
1. shallow-focus earthquakes
2. high heat flow
3. basalt eruptions
4. all of the above
5. none of the above
14. The southern supercontinent is called
1. Gondwanaland
2. Pangaea
3. Laurasia
4. Glossopteris
5. Mesogaea
15. Seismologists determine the distance from the epicenter to the
recording station that detected an earthquake using this information:
1. the amplitude of the P waves
2. the arrival time of the S waves
3. the time lag between the arrival of the P waves and the arrival
of the S waves
4. the travel time of the P waves
5. the depth of the earthquake
16. Boulders of bedrock stranded by melting glaciers are called:
1. eccentrics
2. erratics
3. stranded boulders
4. foundlings
5. frinkazoids
17. What is the minimum number of seismic stations needed to find
the location of an epicenter?
1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5
18. Hot spots that form under continents can begin to stretch and
pull apart the continental crust. This can be seen currently happening
in:
1. New Jersey
2. southern California
3. Washington State
4. northeast Africa
5. southern Europe
19. The Richter Scale measures earthquake
1. intensity
2. magnitude
3. building damage
4. loss of life
5. cost
20. The location within the Earth where movement occurs to cause
an earthquake is called the:
1. focus
2. epicenter
3. ground zero
4. nucleus
5. nexus
21. The elastic rebound theory
1. explains the behavior of seismic waves
2. explains the folding of rocks
3. explains why rock moves suddenly along a fault
4. explains why objects bounce
5. none of the above
22. Harry Hess' theory of 'sea floor spreading' proposed that new
ocean crust was being continually erupted :
1. along deep ocean trenches
2. along mid-ocean ridges
3. along island arcs
4. all of the above
5. none of the above
23. Which of the following was proposed as evidence that continents
had moved through Earth history?
1. Jigsaw puzzle fit of continental coastlines
2. Similar rock formations on widely separated continents
3. Same fossil species of land animals and plants on distant continents
4. Same kind of earthworm only found on widely separated continents
5. all of the above
24. What is the minimum number of seismic stations needed to calculate
the distance to an epicenter?
1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5
25. The Vine-Matthews hypothesis explains the origin of
1. polar wandering
2. sea floor magnetic stripes (anomalies)
3. oceanic trenches
4. mid-ocean ridges
5. guyotes
26. The machine that detects ground motion during an earthquake is
called a(n):
1. seismorecorder
2. seismometer
3. barometer
4. hygrometer
5. vibrometer
27. This method of remote sensing uses shock waves generated by explosions
and is able to image the layers of sediment beneath the sea floor:
1. Seismic
2. Sonar
3. Radar
4. Laser
5. Magnetic Resonance
28. These flat topped volcanoes are found deep in ocean basins:
1. guyotes
2. mid-ocean ridges
3. trenches
4. island arcs
5. atolls
29. These earthquake waves travel second fastest:
1. P waves
2. S waves
3. surface waves
4. Love waves
5. Rayleigh waves
30. When two masses of continental crust collide this occurs:
1. large mountain ranges form
2. the crust is thickened
3. large volumes of rock are metamorphosed
4. subduction stops
5. all of the above
31. Earthquakes that occur offshore are dangerous because they cause:
1. tsunami
2. subsidence of the shoreline
3. amplified shaking
4. landslides along the continental shelf
5. whirlpools
32. The location on the surface of the Earth closest to an earthquake
is called the:
1. focus
2. epicenter
3. ground zero
4. nucleus
5. nexus
33. This Austrian meteorologist wrote a book in 1912 defending the
idea of 'Continental Drift':
1. Albert Einstein
2. Walter Gropius
3. Werner Heisenberg
4. Alfred Wegener
5. Richard Wagner
34. Earthquake damage intensity is measured against this scale:
1. Richter scale
2. Wegner scale
3. Reid scale
4. Mercalli scale
5. Intensity scale
35. Most earthquakes at converging plate boundaries are
1. shallow focus
2. intermediate focus
3. deep focus
4. all of the above
36. The 'supercontinent' that once existed as a cluster of all of
the modern continents is called:
1. Pangea
2. Holthea
3. Univeralis
4. Parma
5. Atlantis
37. The oldest ocean floor crust found anywhere in the world is this
age:
1. Holocene (9,000 years old)
2. Jurassic (150 million years old)
3. Ordovician (500 million years old)
4. Precambrian (1 billion years old)
5. Archeon (4 billion years old)
38. Earthquake 'body waves' include:
1. p waves
2. s waves
3. Love waves
4. Rayleigh waves
5. both 1 and 2
39. These earthquake waves travel the slowest:
1. P waves
2. S waves
3. surface waves
4. compressional waves
5. sine waves
40. Post WWII exploration of the ocean floor was primarily stimulated
by:
1. Submarine warfare
2. Interest in mineral deposits
3. International cooperation
4. Increased availability of research money
5. Reruns of 'Flipper' and 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'
41. An acceptable mechanism for explaining how continents can move
had to wait for:
1. better, more persuasive scientists to argue for it
2. detailed knowlege of the ocean floor
3. satellite technology
4. computer technology
5. manned landings on the moon
42. Harry Hess' theory of 'sea floor spreading' predicted that the
ocean floor would be :
1. youngest at the mid-ocean ridges
2. youngest at the trenches
3. oldest at the mid-ocean ridges
4. oldest at the trenches
5. both 1 and 4
43. Harry Hess' theory of 'sea floor spreading' proposed that old
ocean crust was continually sinking back into the mantle :
1. at deep ocean trenches
2. along mid-ocean ridges
3. in the center of the ocean basins
4. beneath the centers of the continents
5. none of the above
44. Tectonic plates are part of the rigid, outer shell of the Earth
called the
1. mantle
2. crust
3. lithosphere
4. asthenosphere
5. core
45. Earthquake 'surface waves' include:
1. p waves
2. s waves
3. Love waves
4. Rayleigh waves
5. both 3 and 4
46. Most earthquakes at diverging plate boundaries are
1. shallow focus
2. intermediate focus
3. deep focus
4. all of the above
47. When oceanic crust collides with continental crust, which will
be subducted?
1. the continental crust
2. the oceanic crust
3. whichever crust is older
4. neither will subduct
5. both will subduct
48. To visit an island arc produced by the partial melting of sinking
oceanic crust you would go to:
1. Japan
2. the Aleutian Islands
3. Indonesia
4. any of the above
5. none of the above
49. Seismologists determine the Richter Magnitude of an earthquake
using this information:
1. the time lag between arrival of the P and arrival of the S waves
2. the amplitude of the earthquake waves
3. the distance to the epicenter
4. the amplitude of the waves adjusted for the distance to the epicenter
5. none of the above
50. Continental drift was originally rejected by the scientific community
because:
1. there was no evidence for it
2. it was not proposed by respected scientists
3. it was not proposed by Americans
4. it was proposed by Americans
5. there was no physical mechanism that could explain it
51. Aquifers that are closed at the top by a confining
layer and contain water under pressure are called...
1. unconfined
2. closed
3. sealed
4. confined
5. both 1 and 4
52. The best aquifers have a combination of...
1. low porosity and low permeability
2. low porosity and high permeability
3. high porosity and high permeability
4. high porosity and low permeability
5. all of the above
53. Groundwater is no longer pumped for use in Brooklyn
and Queens because:
1. pumping is too expensive in these areas
2. the aquifers beneath these areas are contaminated by waste and saltwater
3. it is cheaper to buy water from upstate New York
4. the aquifers are too thin in these areas
5. the water table is too low in these areas
54. If recharge is less than discharge, what happens
to storage in the aquifer?
1. it increases
2. it decreases
3. it does not change
55. The top of the zone of saturation, where all pores
spaces are filled with water beneath the surface, is called:
1. the water boundary
2. the upper limit
3. the saturation line
4. the water table
5. the water line
56. Overpumping of aquifers near the coastline can cause
this to happen:
1. saltwater infiltrates landward into the aquifer
2. local sea level is lowered
3. subsidence of the land
4. excessive elevation of the water table
5. expansion of the saturated zone
57. Which of Long Island's aquifers is an unconfined
aquifer directly beneath the surface?
1. Raritan
2. Jameco
3. Lloyd
4. Magothy
5. Upper Glacial
58. This material has the highest permeability:
1. clay
2. sand
3. gravel
4. unfractured solid rock
59. Caves are usually found in regions underlain by this
kind of bedrock...
1. granite
2. limestone
3. basalt
4. sandstone
5. shale
60. Municipal wells and private septic systems are characteristic
of which stage of groundwater use?
1. Rural
2. Suburban
3. Urban
Answer Key
1. 5
2. 3
3. 4
4. 4
5. 1
6. 5
7. 2
8. 1
9. 1
10. 1
11. 3
12. 2
13. 4
14. 1
15. 3
16. 2
17. 3
18. 4
19. 2
20. 1
21. 3
22. 2
23. 5
24. 1
25. 2
26. 2
27. 1
28. 1
29. 2
30. 5
31. 1
32. 2
33. 4
34. 4
35. 4
36. 1
37. 2
38. 5
39. 3
40. 1
41. 2
42. 5
43. 1
44. 3
45. 5
46. 1
47. 2
48. 5
49. 4
50. 5
51. 4
52. 3
53. 2
54. 2
55. 4
56. 1
57. 5
58. 1
59. 2
60. 2