Ch. 1 Philosophy and Fundamental Concepts:
What is environmental geology? What are its uses?
Environmental geology is considered a broad applications science, what other areas of study would be included under its umbrella?
What are the 5 concepts that will be covered in this course?
Why is population growth the number one environmental problem in the world?
What is in-put/out-put analysis? What is exponential growth?
What is average residence time? How is it applied?
How can the principle of uniformitarianism be applied to environmental geology?
What is the Gaia hypothesis? Is the Gaia Hypothesis science? How could we test the main parts? Which would be hard to test? Why?
Is sustainability the solution to population growth? How?
What is the precautionary principle and why is it important?
Ch. 2: Internal Structure of Earth and Plate Tectonics
Define the following terms:
asthenosphere
continental drift
convection
convergent boundary
core
crust
divergent boundary
hot spot
isostasy
lithosphere
magnetic reversal
mantle
mid-oceanic ridge
Moho
paleomagnetism
plate tectonics
seafloor spreading
seismology
spreading center
subduction zone
submarine trench
transform boundary
triple junction
Wadati – Benioff zone
Wilson Cycle
What are the major differences between the inner and outer cores of Earth?
How are the major properties of the lithosphere different from those of the asthenosphere?
What are the three major types of plate boundaries?
What are the major processes that are thought to produce Earth’s magnetic field?
What are hot spots?
Ch. 3: Minerals and Rocks
Define the following terms:
igneous rock
law of crosscutting relationships
law of original horizontality
law of superpostion
metamorphic rock
mineral
rock
rock cycle
sedimentary rock
weathering
Differentiate between igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Describe the location of these different types of rocks.
What is a mineral? What are some of the uses of raw minerals?
Describe the process of rock cycling.
What is a batholith, and where might you find one?
How would a porphyritic texture be produced?
What is the difference between a detrital and a chemical sedimentary rock?
What are the main rock structures?
How might an angular unconformity be produced? Some of you have seen this type of formation, where??
Ch. 4: Ecology and Geology
Define the following:
biodiversity
ecology
ecosystem
ecological restoration
An ecosystem consists of an ecological community and its non-living environment. Which of the two do you think is more important, why? In other words, do you think the physical environment comes before what lives there, or does what lives there affect the physical environment to a greater extent than the role of geology or are both things equally important?
Question 1
Sulfide minerals are potential environmental hazards because
they are rich in calcium, which contributes to water degradation
they are weak minerals
they are important sources of iron
they can combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid
Question 2
The concept of seafloor spreading was supported by magnetic polarity stripes on the ocean floor.
True
False
Question 3
The rocks of the core are more dense than the rocks of the mantle.
True
False
Question 4
What is sustainability?
the ability of a population to sustain its economy
development that ensures that future generations will have equal access to the resources that our planet offers
the ability of a population to sustain its growth
development that can be sustained for at least ten years
Question 5
Transform plate boundaries are marked by
volcanic island arcs
consumption of oceanic crust
creation of oceanic crust
two plates sliding relative to one another
Question 6
The dominant processes in an ecosystem are
life and death
energy flows and chemical cycles
interactions of biota and geologic environment
damage and restoration
Question 7
What driving force of plate movement is likely dominant?
slab pull
valley fall
mountain rise
ridge push
Question 8
S-waves accelerate as they enter the outer core.
True
False
Question 9
Why are ferromagnesian minerals easily weathered?
they are prone to oxidation
they are rich in magnesium
they are prone to dissolution
they are formed during the solidification of magma
Question 10
Intrusive igneous rocks differ from extrusive igneous rocks primarily in their
crystal sizes
degree of heat and pressure involved in magma generation
chemical and mineralogical makeup
plate tectonic setting
Question 11
Rock folds typically form under the influence of compressive stress.
True
False
Question 12
Humans are causing rapid extinction, leading to a reduction in biodiversity
True
False
Question 13
The term “clay” refers to both texture and mineralogy.
True
False
Question 14
Only a few transform boundaries (<10) mark the Earth’s tectonic plates.
True
False
Question 15
Unconformities represent
a gap in the geologic record
a period of igneous intrusion
a time when the rock sequence was below sea level
an example of the principle of superposition
Question 16
Why is human population growth often considered the foremost environmental problem?
There is no way to provide food for additional people.
Increasing population strains resources and creates additional wastes.
The Earth will run out of open land space within the next 50 years.
There is insufficient oxygen production on Earth for more than 10 billion people.
Question 17
What is uniformitarianism?
a concept that states that present processes operated in the past, at similar rates
a uniform method by which science is conducted
a concept stating that environmental conditions in the past were the same as those of today
a method by which the uniformity of population growth is assessed
Question 18
The concept of a land ethic maintains that we are responsible to the entire environment, not just to humans.
True
False
Question 19
The process of isostasy is responsible for
moving plates apart at a divergent margin
creating volcanoes at a hot spot
causing compressive stresses at convergent boundaries
causing rock uplift in mountain ranges in response to erosion
Question 20
The approach of Earth systems science maintains that application of technological systems is the best means to address environmental degradation.
True
False
Question 21
Deep (>200 km) earthquakes can only be found at a convergent boundary.
True
False
Question 22
What is Earth systems science?
the study of the atmosphere
the study of the entire planet as a system of interrelated components
the study of population growth on Earth
the study of physical systems on the Earth’s surface
Question 23
How a species “makes its living” is called its
niche
biota
habitat
ecology
Question 24
The asthenosphere is less dense than the lithosphere.
P-wave
R-wave
S-wave
L-wave
Question 25
What is average residence time?
the average time for a system to run out of energy
the average time required for an open system to convert to a closed system
the average time that a human population can stay in an area before environmental conditions force them to move
the average time required for the total stock of a material to be cycled through a system
Question 26
The Hawaiian Islands are a volcanic arc atop an oceanic subduction zone.
True
False
Question 27
A submarine trench is associated with a convergent boundary.
True
False
Question 28
How do magnetic stripes on the ocean floor serve as evidence for seafloor spreading?
Their symmetry on either side of mid-ocean ridges shows that transform boundaries are sliding boundaries.
Their symmetry on either side of the mid-ocean ridge shows that new crust is created, then split.
Their patterns show that the Earth’s magnetic field reverses every few hundred years, on average.
They show that island arc volcanism creates new oceanic crust at the mid-ocean ridges.
Question 29
The principle of uniformitarianism can be extended to prediction of future natural hazards
True
False
Question 30
What is exponential growth?
growth that occurs at a constant rate
growth that is logarithmic in nature
growth that occurs as a constant percentage of the existing amount
growth that doubles the existing number
Question 31
How does the lithosphere differ from the asthenosphere?
The asthenosphere is less dense than the lithosphere.
The asthenosphere is stronger than the lithosphere.
The lithosphere is stronger than the asthenosphere.
The asthenosphere is part of the core, while the lithosphere is part of the mantle
Question 32
The crystalline structure of minerals is a result of random arrangement of atoms in a crystal lattice.
True
False
Question 33
How are the impacts of natural hazards linked to population growth?
Population growth concentrates people and resources, such that the impacts of an individual natural hazard can be greater.
Population growth changes the rates of geologic processes, in turn changing the frequency of hazardous events.
Population growth weakens societal defenses against natural hazards.
Natural hazards strongly influence population growth.
Question 34
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
a hypothesis that states the Earth is alive
a set of hypotheses that likens the Earth to a superorganism with interrelated, mutually adjusting systems
the concept of environmental unity
the hypothesis lying at the root of uniformitarianism
Question 35
At convergent plate boundaries
the plate of higher density subducts into the mantle
the plate of lower density subducts into the mantle
new oceanic crust is created
magnetic stripes are generated in oceanic rocks
Question 36
Which of the following does not tend to increase biodiversity in an ecosystem?
extreme disturbance
evolution
relatively constant environmental factors
diverse habitats
Question 37
Which of the following is not a mineral?
quartz
volcanic glass
plagioclase feldspar
ice
Question 38
An open system exchanges energy and materials with its surroundings.
True
False
Question 39
Seawalls can decrease biodiversity by narrowing beaches
True
False
Question 40
A volcano that erupts with frequent, moderate eruptions is more likely to increase biodiversity than is a volcano that erupts with major eruptions.
True
False
Question 41
What human activities have impacted the Everglades negatively?
removal of keystone species
removal of sand dune vegetation
commercial fishing
wetlands draining
Question 42
Succession of tree species should be a common process in an avalanche chute.
True
False
Question 43
Sea urchins help preserve kelp in kelp forests.
True
False
Question 44
Mountain ranges may have influenced biodiversity of trees in Europe and North America.
True
False
Question 45
Hot spots are recorded by
a sequence of volcanic centers younging toward the hot spot
extensive earthquake hazards
rock from the outer mantle included in volcanic rocks
mantle rock exposed at the Earth’s surface
Question 46
As an ecosystem evolves following disturbance, it follows the path of
restoration
succession
naturalization
ecology
Question 47
Why are silicate minerals the most common minerals in the crust?
because oxygen and silicon are the most common elements in the crust
because their building block is in the shape of a tetrahedron
because they include elements such as magnesium, sodium, and potassium
because carbonate and oxide minerals are more easily weathered
Question 48
What is the principal difference between the inner core and outer core?
The inner core consists mainly of silicate minerals, while the outer core consists mainly of iron and nickel.
The inner core is liquid while the outer core is solid.
The inner core is solid while the outer core is liquid.
The inner core consists mainly of iron and nickel, while the outer core consists mainly of silicate minerals
Question 49
What does the concept of environmental unity state?
All systems are related to one another.
All people on Earth agree on the nature of and solutions to environmental problems.
All humans live on Gaia, and therefore we are subject to the same environment.
One action leads to subsequent actions in linked systems.
Question 50
Detrital sedimentary rocks differ from chemical sedimentary rocks in that
chemical sedimentary rocks are composed of chemical elements, while detrital rocks are
detrital sedimentary rocks accumulate in depositional basins, while chemical sedimentary rocks do not
detrital sedimentary rocks are composed of visible pieces of preexisting rocks
chemical sedimentary rocks accumulate in the ocean, while detrital rocks do not
