Physical Geology Exam I

Spring session I 2015

Chapter 1
1. Volcanic mudflows kill more people than lava flows
a) True
b) False
2. The many deaths associated with the eruption of Nevado
del Ruiz in Colombia are an example of
a) The relatively large size of the eruption
b) Poor communication between geologists, government
Officials, and the local population
c) The relatively large size of the local population
3. The relatively few deaths associated with the 1991
eruption of Pinatubo in the Philippines is an example of
a) The relatively small size of the eruption
b) The relatively small size of the local population
c) Excellent communication between geologists, government
officials, and the local population
4. The tremendous thermal energy generated inside the
earth through the decay of radioactive elements eventually
finds its way to the surface (conduction and convection).
When released at the earth's surface, this energy is the
driving force behind all the following phenomena except

a) Volcanic eruptions
b) Movements of tectonic plates
c) Earthquakes
d) Movement of water in the hydrologic cycle (rivers,
glaciers, etc.)
5. Divergent plate boundaries typically coincide with broad
submarine ridges and submarine mountain ranges rather
than the flatter abyssal plains and oceanic trenches because
a) Divergent boundaries represent the location of colliding
plates, which buckle and crumple, forming ranges of
mountains
b) Newly formed rock along the divergent boundary is hotter
and less dense than the older and cooler lithosphere which
has moved off the ridge flanks
c) The rising magma from the asthenosphere pushes the
overlying rock upwards like a fountain creating ridges and
mountain ranges
6. If one were to slice into the earth across a divergent plate
boundary one would find
a) Layer after layer of lava flows from the top of the
asthenosphere to near the earth's surface
b) Numerous vertical cracks filled with solidified magma
extending from the top of the asthenosphere to near the
earth's surface
7. A tectonic plate can be composed of either oceanic or
continental lithosphere, but not both
a) True
b) False

8. Transform boundaries occur where

a) Oceanic lithosphere slides laterally past continental
lithosphere
b) Oceanic lithosphere slides laterally past oceanic
lithosphere
c) Continental lithosphere slides laterally past continental
lithosphere
d) Any of these is possible

Chapter 2
1. Which of the following is not a mineral
a) A snow flake
b) A salt crystal found in a salt mine
c) Sugar
d) A grain of quartz in granite
2. A model is the same as a hypothesis
a) True
b) False
3. If one of 8 neutrons is removed from an oxygen atom it
becomes
a) A polymorph of oxygen
b) An ion of oxygen
c) An atom of fluorine
d) An isotope of oxygen
4. Different isotopes of a given element must have different
atomic mass numbers
a) True
b) False

5. If a proton is removed from a helium atom it becomes

a) A helium isotope
b) A helium ion
c) A hydrogen atom
6. Many minerals are held together with both covalent and
ionic bonds such as in the carbonates (minerals with CO3-2 as
part of their structure). Which of the following bonds in the
mineral calcite (CaCO3) is ionic.
a) The bond holding the Ca2+ ion to the CO3-2 ion
b) The bond holding the carbon to the oxygen in the CO3-2 ion
c) The bond holding the oxygen atoms together in the CO3-2
ion
7. Many minerals are held together with both covalent and
ionic bonds such as in the sulfates (minerals with SO4-2 as
part of their structure). Which of the following bonds in the
mineral gypsum CaSO42H2O are mostly covalent?
a) The bonds holding the Ca2+ ion and the SO4-2 ion together
b) The bonds holding together the SO4-2 ion
c) The bonds holding the H2O into the gypsum structure
8. The chemical formula of a particular silicate mineral can
be used to determine which structural group the mineral
belongs to. For example all amphibole minerals all have
Si4O11 or AlSi3O11 as part of the formula. Which of the
following minerals is a pyroxene.
a) CaMgSi2O6 (diopside)
b) Mg2SiO4 (forsterite)
c) NaAlSi3O8 (albite)
d) None of these are pyroxenes
9. Many amphibole minerals and pyroxenes found in igneous

rocks are zoned with magnesium-rich cores and iron-rich

rims. A reasonable hypothesis to explain this is that
a) There is more magnesium that iron in the igneous rock
b) Iron-rich members of a solid solution crystallize at higher
temperatures than magnesium-rich members
c) Magnesium-rich members of a solid solution crystallize at
higher temperatures than iron-rich members
10. Chrysotile is a commonly used variety of asbestos in all
industrial nations except the U.S. because
a) Other country's aren't concerned with the possible long
term health risks associated with the use of chrysotile
b) Other countries have not yet found a cheaper or safer
substitute for chrysotile as the U.S has
c) The general public (hence the political machinery) in this
country are more easily swayed by the press than by
scientific study.
11. Which one of the following minerals is not a sulfide?
a) Chalcopyrite
b) Galena
c) Gypsum
d) Pyrite
e) Sphalerite
12. Which one of the following minerals is a carbonate?
a) Dolomite
b) Gypsum
c) Halite
d) Diamond
13. Which one of the following minerals is not an oxide?
a) Hematite
b) Quartz
c) Magnetite

Chapter 3
1. If you found a sedimentary rock xenolith in an intrusive
rock the most reasonable hypothesis for its emplacement is
a) Sedimentary country rock fragments were broken loose
and entrained into the magma during intrusion
b) The magma from which the intrusive rock formed probably
was in contact with sedimentary country rocks during
emplacement
c) The intrusive rock formed by the almost complete melting
and solidification of the sedimentary rock
d) Eroded sediments filled in cracks and fissures in the
intrusive rock which later lithified to form sedimentary
xenoliths
e) Scenario not possible. Sedimentary rocks have too low of
a melting point and would completely dissolve in the magma
2. If you found a fine-grained igneous rock, it is least likely to
have formed in which of the following environments?
a) Inside the upper part of an intrusion
b) On the margin on an intrusion
c) Inside an extrusive lava flow
3. The large crystals found in porphyritic rocks are called
Phenocrysts. In porphyritic basalt which one of the following
minerals is least likely to comprise the phenocrysts?
a) Plagioclase
b) Olivine
c) Orthoclase
d) Augite (a pyroxene)
4. If you found a course-grained igneous rock composed of

only orthoclase and muscovite it would be

a) Rhyolite
b) Diorite
c) Granite
d) None of these
e) Can't determine with only the two minerals
5. If you found a porphyritic igneous rock and identified the
phenocrysts (the larger crystals) as amphibole, the rock
would be
a) Rhyolite porphyry
b) Andesite porphyry
c) Basalt porphyry
d) Can't determine the rock type with only this mineral
6. Gabbro can be distinguished from diorite by
a) Diorite has less than 50% fyrro-magnesian minerals
b) Diorite has feldspar and gabbro doesn't
c) Diorite always has more quartz than gabbro
d) These rocks can only be distinguished through chemical
analysis

Chapter 4
1. Volcanic rock fragments are called
a) Pyroclasts
b) Xenoliths
c) Porphyroblasts
d) Phenocrysts
2. The most abundant gas released during volcanic
eruptions is
a) Water vapor
b) Oxygen

c) Nitrogen
d) Carbon dioxide
3. What is the greatest volcanic hazard facing people living
on a flood plain near a silicic volcano (15km)?
a) Pyroclastic flows
b) Ashfall and building collapse
c) Lava flows
d) Poisonous gas
e) Earthquakes and tsunami
f) Volcanic mudflows (lahars)
4. What is the greatest volcanic hazard facing people living
on high ground (a ridge or plateau) near a silicic volcano
(15km)?
a) Pyroclastic flows and volcanic mudflows (lahars)
b) Ashfall and building collapse
c) Lava flows
d) Poisonous gas
e) Earthquakes and tsunami
5. Which of the following magmas has the greatest viscosity
a) Magma erupting to form a rhyolitic dome
b) Magma erupting to form a shield volcano
c) Magma erupting to form a spatter cone
d) Magma erupting to form a cinder cone
6. In a porphyritic andesite, one would expect to find that the
minerals in the groundmass
a) Are absent as phenocrysts
b) Are higher on Bowen's reaction series than the
phenocrysts
c) Also exist as phenocrysts
d) Were derived from fractional crystallization of the magma
7. Which of the following rocks should be the most

vesicular?
a) A rock from near the center of a lava flow
b) A rock from near the top of a sill
c) A rock from near the center of a dike
d) A rock from near the top of a lava flow
8. Pumice and obsidian are both glass
a) True
b) False
9. A basaltic tuff and rhyolitic tuff are both
a) Always formed in or on the flanks of a volcano
b) Composed of consolidated dust and ash
c) Formed in a pyroclastic flow
10. The largest volcano in the solar system is Olympus
Mons, a Martian shield volcano. Why does Mars have such
giant shield volcanoes compared to those on Earth?
a) Mars is far older than Earth so the volcanoes have had a
chance to grow much larger
b) Mars has far more tectonic activity than Earth so the
volcanoes grow much larger and faster
c) Mars has no tectonic activity so hot spot volcanoes remain
over the hot spot for hundreds of millions of years