GEOL 101/201 Physical Geology First Major Examination 19 October 2017

This is a closed-book, closed-note examination. Keep your eyes on your own paper. There may be
multiple versions of the exam. Please read all instructions and test questions carefully. Place all answers
on the Test Answer Form. No credit will be given for answers on the exam sheet. Write your name,
student number, and section number (either 101-01, or 201-01). On the top right, bubble in your student
number, section is 01, and test code is either 101 or 201. The exam is worth 40 points total.

Part I - True-False (15 points; 1 point each) Answer A for true and B for false on the test sheet.

1) The Earth revolves around the Sun in the same direction that the Sun rotates on its axis. T

2) The Sun is older than the Earth. F

3) The eastern plate boundary of the South American plate is a divergent plate boundary. T

4) Only the Pacific plate consists of both oceanic and continental lithosphere. F

5) The Permian Period is the oldest period of the Paleozoic Era. F

6) Rates of spreading of the East Pacific Rise are faster than those at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. T

7) The lithosphere includes the crust and part of the outer core. F

8) The Mohorovicic Discontinuity marks the crust-mantle boundary. T

9) The Paleozoic Era represents a longer duration of time than the Mesozoic Era. T

10) Apparent polar wander curves indicate that the Earth has had multiple magnetic dipoles at any
one time throughout its history. F

11) Seafloor sediment thickness increases away from the ridge axis and with increasing age of the
oceanic crust. T

12) Most of the oceanic crust is older than the Jurassic. F

13) The outer core is interpreted to be liquid because it does not transmit seismic shear waves. T

14) The continental crust is thinner and less dense than the oceanic crust. F

15) Precision depth recorders are typically towed far behind ships to minimize the magnetic field
interference from the ship itself. F
GEOL 101/201 Major exam #1 - page 2

Part II - Multiple Choice (25 points; 1 point each) Mark the one most appropriate answer on the answer
sheet.

16) In terms of rock strength, the layer of the interior of the Earth that is hot and weak, and therefore
experiences ductile (plastic) deformation, is called the:
A) Asthenosphere
B) Lower mantle
C) Outer crust
D) Mesosphere
E) Lithosphere

17) The temperature at which iron-bearing minerals “lock in” the orientation of an external magnetic
field is known as the:
A) Magnetic Inclination
B) Thermo-magnetic Point
C) Carrier Point
D) Magnetic Declination
E) Curie Point

18) All of the following describe, or are characteristics of, a conservative (transform) plate boundary
except:
A) Shear
B) Offset divergent segments of the mid-ocean ridge system
C) Very deep-focus earthquakes
D) The type of boundary of the San Andreas fault system of California, USA
E) Neither creation nor destruction of oceanic crust

19) The plane defined by the Earth’s revolution around the Sun is called the ________ Plane:
A) Declination
B) Enzymatic
C) Extraplanetary
D) Ecliptic
E) Rotational

20) Place these units in correct order from the center of the Earth to the surface.
A) core > inner mantle > outer mantle > crust
B) outer core > outer mantle > inner core > inner crust
C) core > inner mantle > outer mantle > crust
D) inner core > outer core > mantle > crust
E) inner core > outer core > inner crust > outer crust

21) Segregation by density and resultant planetary internal layering is called:

A) Retracement
B) Differentiation
C) Densitization
D) Distribution
E) Disenfranchisement
GEOL 101/201 Major exam #1 - page 3

22) The “Cretaceous Quiet Period” refers to:

A) A period with very few recorded geomagnetic reversals
B) Abrupt extinction of the dinosaurs
C) A period of very few earthquakes
D) A period of very little volcanism
E) The time period before life evolved on Earth

23) The age of the Earth is accepted to be about:

A) 4600 yr
B) 4.6 billion yr
C) 4.6 million yr
D) 4.6 trillion yr
E) 4.6 gazillion bajillion yr

24) All of the following describe, or are characteristics of, a convergent plate boundary except:
A) Compression
B) Axial valley
C) Deep-focus earthquakes
D) Subduction
E) Plates are moving toward one another

25) Which of the following drives plate tectonics:

A) Earth’s magnetic field
B) Earth’s internal heat
C) Earth’s orbital variations
D) Earth’s gravitational force
E) A guy in a control room on the other side of the Moon

26) Alfred Wegener used all the following types of data to support continental drift except:
A) Geomagnetic reversals
B) Fit of the continents across the Atlantic
C) Matching geology across the Atlantic
D) Fossil similarities on the continents
E) Paleoclimate information

27) Which of the following can be determined from magnetic declination?

A) Seafloor spreading
B) Plate tectonics
C) Latitude
D) Longitude
E) None of the above
GEOL 101/201 Major exam #1 - page 4

28) Which of the following can be determined from magnetic inclination?

A) Seafloor spreading
B) Plate tectonics
C) Latitude
D) Longitude
E) None of the above

29) Which of the following is not one of Earth’s major tectonic plates?
A) Eurasian
B) North American
C) Indo-Australian
D) Pacific
E) Atlantic

30) The age of the Mesozoic/Cenozoic boundary:

A) 65 Ma
B) 245 Ma
C) 543 Ma
D) 2500 Ma
E) 3960 Ma

31) As one moves farther away from the mid-ocean ridge axis:
A) The age of the seafloor increases
B) The temperature of the crust decreases
C) The density of the crust increases
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

32) As continental glaciers move across rock, they scrape grooves in the rock called:
A) Glaciations
B) Striations
C) Scratch marks
D) Stretch marks
E) Stratifications

33) Oceanic crust:

A) Is more dense than continental crust
B) First formed when the moon separated from the Pacific Ocean
C) Is significantly thicker than continental crust
D) Deforms plastically
E) Is well known because of Precision Depth Recorder soundings
GEOL 101/201 Major exam #1 - page 5

34) Wegener used the distribution of fossils from the southern continents to demonstrate that:
A) The Earth has always been in an Ice Age
B) Swamps that form in tropical rain forests today, were once located at the poles
C) The oceans used to be deserts, because most of the fossils are land mammals
D) The Sun was hotter then, so there were more animals than today
E) The southern land masses were once together such that land animals could migrate across
the continents

35) Even though they have a similar composition, the inner core is solid and the outer core is liquid
because:
A) There’s more nickel than iron in the outer core
B) There’s more iron than nickel in the outer core
C) Pressures are great enough to solidify the inner core despite the higher temperature
D) Temperatures begin to decrease at the core-mantle boundary as one approaches the core
E) Temperatures begin to increase as one moves outward from the core

36) Magnetic anomalies:

A) Are imaginary “stripes” on the seafloor showing normal and reversed magnetization
B) Occur equidistant from the ridge axis
C) Have the same aged seafloor within each anomaly
D) Are strong evidence for seafloor spreading and plate tectonics
E) All of the above

37) All of the following are characteristics of the East African Rift except:
A) Volcanism
B) Elongate lakes in the valley
C) Continental crustal thinning
D) Tensional stresses
E) Creation of new seafloor

38) All of the following are characteristic of the Red Sea except:
A) Young age geologically
B) Magnetic anomalies
C) Deep-focus earthquakes
D) Oceanic gulf stage of formation
E) Creation of new seafloor

39) All of the following describe, or are characteristics of, a divergent plate boundary except:
A) Extension
B) Plates are moving apart
C) Rifting
D) Subduction
E) Volcanism
GEOL 101/201 Major exam #1 - page 6

40) Which of these are considered Jovian planets?

A) Jupiter and Saturn
B) Jupiter and Mars
C) Mars and Neptune
D) Mercury and Venus
E) Uranus and Venus

Please hand in both the exam paper and the test answer form. You do not need to put your name on the
exam paper, but make sure it’s on the test answer form. Make sure your student number, section
number, and test code are bubbled in on the top right side of the answer form. Have a weekend and I’ll
see you on Monday.