Weathering and Erosion
By which processes are rocks broken up and moved to different locations?
A)evaporation and condensation
B)weathering and erosion
C)burial and cementation
D)compaction and transportation
B)weathering and erosion
Compared to the weight of a person at the North Pole, the weight of the same person at the Equator would be
A. slightly less, because the person is farther from the center of the Earth
B. slightly less, because the person is closer to the center of the Earth
C. slightly more, because the person is farther from the center of the Earth
D. slightly more, because the person is closer to the center of the Earth
A. slightly less, because the person is farther from the center of the Earth
The formation of soil is primarily the result of
A. stream erosion and mass movement
B. stream deposition and runoff
C. precipitation and wind erosion
D. weathering and biological activity
D. weathering and biological activity
Two streams, A and B, carry the same volume of water, but stream A has a greater velocity. The most likely cause of this greater velocity would be that stream A
A. has more tributaries
B. has a wider streambed
C. flows down a steeper slope
D. travels over less resistant bedrock
C. flows down a steeper slope
Which mineral property is illustrated by the peeling of muscovite mica into thin, at sheets?
A. luster
B. streak
C. hardness
D. cleavage
D. cleavage
Landscapes will undergo the most chemical weathering if the climate is
A)cool and dry
B)cool and wet
C)warm and dry
D)warm and wet
D)warm and wet
Compared to the circumference of the Earth measured at the Equator, the circumference of Earth measured through the poles is
A. slightly smaller
B. slightly larger
C. exactly the same
A. slightly smaller
Which agent of erosion is most likely responsible for the deposition of sandbars along ocean shorelines?
A. glaciers
B. mass movement
C. wave action
D. wind action
C. wave action
The greater the time that stream sediment is transported, the greater the probability that the sediment will become more
A. angular and smaller
B. angular and larger
C. rounded and smaller
D. rounded and larger
C. rounded and smaller
Which property of a mineral most directly results from the internal arrangements of its atoms?
A. volume
B. color
C. crystal shape
D. streak
C. crystal shape
Which agent of erosion is most likely responsible for the deposition of sandbars along ocean shorelines?
A)glaciers
B)mass movement
C)wave action
D)wind action
Wave action
An object's weight at sea level at 90 degrees ?North latitude is slightly more than the weight of the same object at sea level at 0 degrees ?latitude. Which statement about Earth can best be inferred from this evidence?
A. Earth's orbit is slightly elliptical.
B. Earth's axis is tilted 2312?to the plane of its orbit.
C. Earth's shape is slightly bulged at the Equator.
D. Earth rotates counterclockwise as viewed from above the Equator.
C. Earth's shape is slightly bulged at the Equator.
Soil horizons develop as a result of
A. evaporation and transpiration
B. compacting and cementing
C. weathering and biological activity
D. faulting and folding
C. weathering and biological activity
Which size particle will remain suspended longest as a river enters the ocean?
A. pebble
B. sand
C. silt
D. clay
D. clay
A human fingernail has a hardness of approximately 2.5. Which two minerals are softer than a human fingernail?
A. calcite and halite
B. sulfur and fluorite
C. graphite and talc
D. pyrite and magnetite
C. graphite and talc
Which factor has the greatest influence on the weathering rate of Earth’s surface bedrock?
A)local air pressure
B)angle of insolation
C)age of the bedrock
D)regional climate
D)regional climate
Measurements of gravity are greater at the poles than at the Equator. This evidence best supports the inference that Earth has a ______ shape
oblate
Which natural agent of erosion is mainly responsible for the formation of the barrier islands along the southern coast of Long Island, New York?
A. mass movement
B. running water
C. prevailing winds
D. ocean waves
D. ocean waves
Which evidence best indicates that a landscape has been eroded primarily by streams?
A. parallel sets of U-shaped valleys
B. sand dunes
C. thick residual soil
D. sorted layers of cobbles and sand
D. sorted layers of cobbles and sand
Which rocks usually have the mineral quartz as part of their composition?
A. conglomerate, gabbro, rock salt, and schist
B. breccia, fossil limestone, bituminous coal, and siltstone
C. shale, scoria, gneiss, and marble
D. granite, rhyolite, sandstone, and hornfels
D. granite, rhyolite, sandstone, and hornfels
Chemical weathering will occur most rapidly when rocks are exposed to the
A)hydrosphere and lithosphere
B)mesosphere and thermosphere
C)hydrosphere and atmosphere
D)lithosphere and atmosphere
C)hydrosphere and atmosphere
Base your answer(s) to the following question(s)on the Earth Science Reference Tables and onyour knowledge of Earth science. Point A and point B are locations 0.24 mile apart on a ski slope in northern New York. Point A has an elevation of 1560 feet and point B has an elevation of 1800 feet. What is the gradient between these two points?
A. 60 ft/mi
B. 240 ft/mi
C. 500 ft/mi
D. 1,000 ft/mi
D. 1,000 ft/mi
The long, sandy islands along the south shore of Long Island are composed mostly of sand and rounded pebbles arranged in sorted layers. The agent of erosion that most likely shaped and sorted the sand and pebbles while transporting them to their island location was
A. glaciers
B. landslides
C. wind
D. ocean waves
D. ocean waves
Which statement best describes the conditions existing at a stream location where the erosional-depositional system is in dynamic equilibrium?
A. More erosion than deposition takes place
B. More deposition than erosion takes place
C. Equal amounts of erosion and deposition take place
D. No erosion or deposition takes place
C. Equal amounts of erosion and deposition take place
Base your answer(s) to the following question(s)on the Properties of Common Minerals chart in the Earth Science Reference Tables. Which mineral leaves a green-black powder when rubbed against an unglazed porcelain plate?
A. galena
B. graphite
C. hematite
D. pyrite
D. pyrite