Quiz 7 - Earth Materials

1. The Precambrian Eon encompasses what percentage of the Earth's total history?

(a) 0.04%

(b) 5%

(c) 22.4%

(d) Over 85%

  2. Who first proposed the theory of uniformitarianism?

(a) Plato

(b) James Hutton

(c) Charles Darwin

(d) Albert Wegner

  3. The belief that large disasters (such as the flood described in the Christian Bible) have produced most of the major features of the earth is called:

(a) uniformitarianism

(b) isostacy

(c) metastable thresholds

(d) catastrophism

  4. The layer within the earth that lies directly below the lithosphere, but above the upper mantle, is best described as

(a) a plastic-like layer that flows in response to heat and pressure.

(b) a granitic material that weighs an average of 2.7g per cm3.

(c) the core.

(d) resistant to movement of any type.

  5. Continental crust is basically _______, whereas oceanic crust is basically ________.

(a) thin; thick

(b) basalt; granite

(c) granite; basalt

(d) igneous; metamorphic

  6. The principles of buoyancy and balance, when applied to the Earth's crust, helps us to explain fluctuations in Earth's outer crust, a property known as ______________.

(a) magnetism

(b) Moho effect

(c) isostasy

(d) orogenesis

  7. The Sierra Nevada mountain range in California is an example of

(a) an extrusive igneous formation.

(b) a folded sedimentary belt.

(c) an exposed batholith.

(d) a volcano.

8. Sedimentary rocks are more a product of the _________ system whereas metamorphic and igneous rocks are more a product of the __________ system.

(a) exogenic; endogenic

(b) endogenic; exogenic

(c) tectonic; rock

(d) intrusive; extrusive

  9. Which of the following is not a cementing agent for clastic sedimentary rocks?

(a) calcium carbonate

(b) iron oxides

(c) salt

(d) silica

  10. The occurrence of contact metamorphism would be direct evidence for

(a) cementation of sedimentary rock.

(b) the local intrusion of magma.

(c) regional plate collision.

(d) lithification of clastics.