1. Last weekend my family took a boat ride on the St. Croix River. At one point in the tour the tour guide said that one part of the riverbank formed about 1.1 billion years ago. I commented to myself that can be true (and it is), although the age of Earth’s surface is generally no older than what?a. ☐ 250 yearsb. ☐ 250,000 yearsc. ☐ 250 million yearsd. ☐ 2.5 billion years
2. Which of the following layers is closest to the surface of Earth?a. ☐ Outer Coreb. ☐ Asthenosphere c. ☐ Mesosphered. ☐ Lithosphere
3. Which of the following would most likely occur if a large ice sheet, such as on Greenland or Antarctica, would melt?a. ☐ The land would slowly sink over thousands of years due to isostasyb. ☐ The land would slowly rise over thousands of years due to isostasyc. ☐ The land would quickly sink over a few years due to isostasyd. ☐ The land would quickly rise over a few years due to isostasy
4. Your book shows a seismic gap along the San Andreas fault, south of San Francisco. Which of the following is true about this area?a. ☐ The next earthquake in the gap will be very smallb. ☐ The area of the seismic gap is the least likely to have the next major earthquakec. ☐ The next major earthquake will probably occur in this gap, but it might notd. ☐ The next major earthquake will definitely occur in this gap
5. The strongest earthquake recorded in the US occurred in which state?a. ☐ Alaskab. ☐ Californiac. ☐ Missourid. ☐ Oklahoma
6. The most powerful earthquake to date took place in what country?a. ☐ The USb. ☐ Mexicoc. ☐ Indonesiad. ☐ Chile
7. The most devastating earthquakes generally come from what type of interaction?a. ☐ Subductionb. ☐ Transform fault c. ☐ Spreading centerd. ☐ None of the above choices are correct
8. Should a house be built in an earthquake – prone area so its natural period matches the period of possible seismic waves?a. ☐ Yes: this will minimize the sway of the house in an earthquake and keep it intactb. ☐ No: this will have no effect and is likely expensive to doc. ☐ No: this will increase the sway in an earthquake and make the house more likely to collapsed. ☐ Maybe: it might help when combined with other mitigation efforts
9. If you find yourself experiencing an earthquake, what should you do?a. ☐ Run outside if you are inside, drop, cover, and hold onb. ☐ Run inside if you are outside, drop, cover, and hold onc. ☐ Stay where you are, drop, cover, and hold ond. ☐ Wait to see how bad the earthquake is, then decide what to doe. ☐ More than one of the previous choices are correct
10. With their up and down and side to side motions, S waves shake the ground surface and can do severe damage to buildings.a. ☐ True b. ☐ False
11. The S – P timing method is used to locate the epicenter of an earthquake from seismographs. What is the fewest number of stations that can be used to locate the epicenter in this method?a. ☐ 1b. ☐ 2c. ☐ 3d. ☐ 4 or more

 

12. Which of the following will happen to western California in the far future?a. ☐ It will split off from the rest of the US and become an islandb. ☐ It will split off from the rest of the US and sink into the Pacificc. ☐ It will subduct under eastern Californiad. ☐ It will slide northward towards Alaskae. ☐ None of the other choices are correct
13. Minnesota contains which of the following?a. ☐ An active spreading centerb. ☐ A rift zonec. ☐ A hot spotd. ☐ A triple junctione. ☐ None of the other choices are correct
14. Which of the following is an example of a hot spot?a. ☐ Yellowstoneb. ☐ Vesuviusc. ☐ Mount St. Helensd. ☐ Mount Raniere. ☐ More than one of the above choices are correct
15. By what process (or processes) do rocks melt?a. ☐ Raising the temperatureb. ☐ Increasing the water contentc. ☐ Lowering the pressured. ☐ All of the above choices are correct
16. Which of the following is the deadliest volcanic process?a. ☐ Floodb. ☐ Laharc. ☐ Tsunamid. ☐ Pyroclastic flow
17. All known volcanic eruptions have been vertical eruptions.a. ☐ True b. ☐ False
18. What type of magma is the most common on / near Earth’s surface?a. ☐ Andesiteb. ☐ Rhyolitec. ☐ Basaltd. ☐ All of the three choices occur in roughly equal amounts
19. In which of the following places would you generally experience the mildest volcanic eruptions?a. ☐ Indonesiab. ☐ Icelandc. ☐ Northwestern USd. ☐ Italye. ☐ Not all of these places have volcanoes, so this question cannot be answered.
20. What are the three ‘Vs’ of volcanology?a. ☐ Volatiles, volume, and variabilityb. ☐ Viscosity, volatiles, and velocityc. ☐ Viscosity, velocity, and volumed. ☐ Viscosity, volatiles, and volume
21. Besides water, what chemical is the most important in evaluating the severity of a volcanic eruption?a. ☐ SiO4b. ☐ Al2O3c. ☐ SiO2d. ☐ Fe2O3
22. Of the following, which eruption released the largest amount of magma?a. ☐ Tambora (1815)b. ☐ Toba (74,000 years ago)c. ☐ Krakatau (1883)d. ☐ Pinatubo (1991)
23. Which of the following is an example of a caldera?a. ☐ Santorini, Greeceb. ☐ Crater Lake, Oregonc. ☐ Yellowstone Parkd. ☐ All of the above are correct
24. If you are at an ocean beach while on vacation and see the water recede, what should you do?a. ☐ Wait for help where you areb. ☐ Get to high ground and stay therec. ☐ Get your valuables, then get to high groundd. ☐ Go immediately to a hotel, hospital, or police station and wait for instructions
25. A storm surge (like in a hurricane) is the same thing as a tsunami.a. ☐ True b. ☐ False
26. The first wave of a tsunami does not have to be the strongest.a. ☐ True b. ☐ False
27. Which place is safer in a tsunami?a. ☐ An ocean – front hotelb. ☐ In a small boat in the open oceanc. ☐ Both of the first two choices are equally dangerous
28. Even a tsunami that flows up to your knees can be incredibly dangerous.a. ☐ Trueb. ☐ False
29. How does a tsunami compare to a typical wind-blown wave?a. ☐ Tsunami have longer periods and no measureable wavelengths b. ☐ Tsunami have shorter periods and longer wavelengthsc. ☐ Tsunami have shorter periods and shorter wavelengthsd. ☐ Tsunami have longer periods and shorter wavelengthse. ☐ Tsunami have longer periods and longer wavelengths
30. What is the term for an oscillating wave that causes enclosed bodies of water to slosh back and forth (such as lakes and swimming pools)?a. ☐ Swell b. ☐ Tsunami c. ☐ Rogue waved. ☐ Seiche
31. Which of the following is the most common type of mass movement?a. ☐ Creep b. ☐ Laharc. ☐ Avalanche d. ☐ Subsidence
32. The area around Houston and Galveston, Texas, recently heavily damaged by flooding, has been sinking. What is causing it to sink?a. ☐ The emptying of a magma chamberb. ☐ The dissolution of a salt layerc. ☐ The loss of groundwater by pumpingd. ☐ The dissolution of limestones
33. Despite what cartoons and old movies show, quicksand does not suck people or other objects down.a. ☐ True b. ☐ False 34. Which location is the most likely to have a mass movement due to quick clays?a. ☐ Minnesotab. ☐ Arizonac. ☐ Ontario, Canadad. ☐ Florida
35. What is the leading cause of deaths in an avalanche?a. ☐ Suffocationb. ☐ Hypothermiac. ☐ Blunt traumad. ☐ Starvation / dehydration
Part 2: Short Answer (10 points each)Write a short paragraph to one page for each question. If you take material from the book or from websites, make sure to state that. Otherwise, you will lose points and could be penalized as stated in the syllabus.36. Compare a flood basalt eruption (such as Siberia) with a stratovolcanic eruption (such as Vesuvius). Based on what you learned in this class, which do you feel is more devastating? You will be graded on your reasoning, not on your choice.Click here to enter text.
37. Give one area in the United States that has the potential to experience earthquakes, but is not on the edge of a tectonic plate. How can earthquakes occur in this area, and do you feel the danger is high enough to increase mitigation efforts (such as changing building codes)? You will be graded on your reasoning.Click here to enter text.
38. Give one region of the world (city, state, general area) that suffers from subsidence. What is causing this subsidence, and what mitigation efforts (if any) are in place? Would you choose to live there, and why? You will be graded on your reasoning.Click here to enter text.
39. The Pacific Northwest (near Seattle, Washington) is a beautiful area, but we’ve mentioned it a lot in this class as a region prone to many natural disasters. Name and briefly describe at least one plausible scenario of a natural disaster (of a type covered in this class) that could hit the Pacific Northwest. Do you feel this area is prepared for this possible disaster? Would you choose to live there, and why? You will be graded on your reasoning.Click here to enter text.
40. Name and briefly describe one of the disasters / plausible scenarios discussed in any of the videos. Where did this disaster occur / where would this disaster occur? Why did this disaster / scenario interest you? What did you learn about this disaster / scenario? You will be graded on your discussion and reasoning.Click here to enter text.

Extra Credit (up to 6 points): 1. There have been a number of natural disasters that occurred during this class. Name up to three disasters that occurred during this class (8/21 – 9/15, 2017), what type they were, and where they occurred in the US / world. (Up to 1 point each)Click here to enter text.
2. Minnesota is not affected to a large degree by the disasters covered in this class. However, we are not totally immune. Name up to three possible natural disasters covered in this class that could have a direct impact (not only economically) on Minnesota. How would these disasters affect this state? (1 point possible per cause and explanation, must be relevant to this class [no tornados, etc])

 

 

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