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ESC1000 Summer 2016

Dr. Michele Guannel

Exam 2 Study Guide

The study guide questions are selected from (or modified from) the “checkpoint questions” in

your textbook. Page numbers are included below. The answers to some of these questions are

listed in the back of your textbook. If you would like to check your responses with me, please

email me your work on or before Thursday, July 14.

CHAPTER 6: VOLCANOES AND OTHER MOUNTAINS

Checkpoint 6.1, p. 143

On the diagram below, place the following 4 materials--maple syrup, milk, peanut butter, frozen

yogurt--in the correct position (A, B, C, D) for their relative viscosity.

Checkpoint 6.6, p. 146

Venn Diagram: Magma Composition and Magma Sources

Use the Venn diagram provided to compare and contrast the compositions and sources of the 3

principal types of magma. Write the numbers corresponding to features unique to either group in

the larger areas of each circle; note features that they share in the overlap areas. Identify at least

7 more features.

(See next page)

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1. Low silica content

2. From a mantle source

3. Example: Aleutian Island volcanoes

4. High silica rock

5. Intermediate silica rock

6. Example: Hawaiian Islands

7. High melting temperature

8. Lowest melting temperature

9. Most common at convergent plate boundaries

10. Contains silica

11. Produced by most active volcanoes

12. Formed due to plate tectonic processes

13. Most commonly formed at divergent plate boundaries

14. Produced by decompression melting

15. Magma source rock--mantle

16. Melting occurs due to addition of water

17. Magma source rock--oceanic lithosphere

18. Magma source rock--continental crust

19. Produced by addition of heat

20. Example: Yellowstone

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CHAPTER 7: ROCKS AND MINERALS

Checkpoint 7.2, p. 180

Which of the following mineral formulas represents a silicate?

a. FeS2 b. KAlSi3O8 c. Fe2O3 d. CaSO4 · 2H2O

Checkpoint 7.10, p. 187

Name each of the four igneous rocks pictured below. Describe how each of these rocks formed.

A. B. C. D.

Checkpoint 7.14, p. 195

The picture at the right shows a typical section of clastic

sediments that geologists might study. What observations

about the grain size and arrangement of sediments that

would help interpret their origin?

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Modified from Checkpoint 7.15, p. 198

Venn Diagram: Chemical and Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks

Use the Venn diagram provided here to compare and contrast chemical and biochemical

sedimentary rocks.

A Chalk and coral form from living organisms

B Evaporatives

C Used to interpret geological past

D Form from organisms (biosphere)

E Examples: gypsum; salt

F Form under shallow marine conditions

G Coal forms from dead plants

H Examples of sedimentary rocks

I Form due to changes in physical conditions

J Form by precipitation from a solution (seawater)

Checkpoint 7.21, p. 202

Cooking an egg could be seen as an analog for the formation of

a) igneous rock. b) metamorphic rock. c) sedimentary rock.

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Checkpoint 7.22, p. 202

Rock Cycle Diagram

The following diagram illustrates the rock cycle. Match the lettered responses to the blank ovals

on the diagram. Note: some letters are used more than once. Example: If you believe that

metamorphic rock is converted to magma by cementation and compaction, enter “a” in the top

left oval.

a) Cementation and compaction (lithification)

b) Heat and Pressure

c) Weathering, transportation, deposition

d) Cooling and solidification

e) Melting

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CHAPTER 8: GEOLOGIC TIME

Checkpoint 8.2, p. 216

Examine the following image of rock layers and answer questions about relative time.

1. Which statement is most accurate?

a) D is older than B

b) E is older than A

c) F is older than C

2. An unconformity is most obviously present

a) below the light-colored layer A.

b) in the dark layer below E.

c) between layers represented by D and F.

3. When did the tilting of the layers occur?

a) After A was deposited

b) Between deposition of layers E and A

c) Before B was deposited

d) Between deposition of layers C and E

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Checkpoint 8.9, pp. 224

On Exam 2, you will be asked questions about all or part of this article.

Scientists Find Fossil Below K-T Boundary

The debate whether dinosaurs went extinct due to a large space rock that struck the Earth 65.5

million years ago (MYA) may have been answered with the discovery of a distinctive brow horn

from a Ceratopsian dinosaur just 13 centimeters (5.1 inches) below the K-T boundary — the

distinct layer of geological sediments separating the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods.

Rocks laid down 65.5 MYA show a thin layer abundant in rare elements like Iridium,

spherules and shocked Quartz that could only have come from a meteorite impact. Since no

fossils have ever been found in sediments above the K-T boundary, conventional wisdom has it

that the end of dinosaurs came with an asteroid impact that caused firestorms, acid rain and a

nuclear winter that blotted out the Sun.

But that theory had a hole in it. The fossil record showed an apparent lack of dinosaur

fossils in the last few million years leading up to the impact, suggesting that the “three meter

gap” proves that dinosaurs went extinct long before the catastrophic impact.

Scientists working in the Hell’s Creek formation in the Montana badlands say they have

resolved that dispute.

Writing in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, the paleontologists report on the

new discovery of the closest dinosaur fossil ever found to the K-T boundary.

The ancient remains uncovered in Montana belong to the last known dinosaur to ever

1walk the planet and gives weight to the theory that dinosaurs were in fact wiped out by an

asteroid impact. All other dinosaur fossils found are either much older, or were unearthed after

being washed from their original graves into much younger sediments, long after they died.

The fossil is most likely of an adult triceratops, a dinosaur growing up to 30 feet long and

weighing up to 13 tons. The nearly 18-inch fossilized brow horn was found just 5 inches below

the K-T boundary.

“This is the youngest dinosaur that has been discovered in situ. Others can be found in

younger deposits, but those have been put there by geological processes and are actually much

older,” said Tyler Lyson, a paleontologist at Yale University.

The discovery undermines the theory that gained ground in the 1980s, that dinosaurs died

out due to climate change or rising sea levels long before the planet was struck by a space rock.

The theory carried some weight due to a lack of fossils found within the “three meter gap” of the

K-T boundary.

The finding “demonstrates that dinosaurs did not go extinct prior to the impact and that at

least some dinosaurs were doing very well right up until we had the impact,” Lyson told the

Guardian.

Gaps in the fossil record – which is patchy at best – are nothing new. Another, covering

tens of millions of years, is clearly evident in the Hell’s Creek formations some 60 meters (200

feet) below the K-T boundary.

But because similar dinosaur fossils are found both above and below this gap it is

assumed the absence of fossils has more to do with geological processes, or simply blind

prospecting luck, than any extinction event and subsequent miraculous reintroduction.

The “three meter gap” prior to the K-T boundary is unique because dinosaur fossils never

reappear in the geological record.

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Dr. Paul Barrett of the Natural History Museum said the discovery was strong evidence

that dinosaurs were killed off in North America by a catastrophic event, but the evidence is not

conclusive globally.

“It shows that in this part of the world dinosaurs were still viable and still roaming around

at the time the meteorite hit. But what it doesn’t tell us is what was going on in the rest of the

world, and it could be that in other parts of the world dinosaurs were dying out at different rates

and for different reasons because of other things going on at the time,” he told BBC News.

He argues that just one brow horn discovery doesn’t resolve the dispute over dinosaur

extinction.

Source: Scientists Find Fossil Below K-T Boundary by Lawrence LeBlond. RedOrbit.com, July

13, 2011. Reprinted by permission. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/2078377/scientists_find_fossil_below_kt_boundary/

1. What are the key observations mentioned in this article (select all that apply)?

a) Dinosaurs were wiped out by a meteor impact

b) A dinosaur fossil was found within a few centimeters of the KT boundary

c) No in-situ, non-bird dinosaur fossils are found above the KT boundary

d) Climate change played a major role in the extinction of dinosaurs

2. What hypothesis is best supported from the observations?

a) Dinosaurs across the planet were killed off by a meteor impact.

b) Dinosaurs in North America were killed off by a meteor impact.

c) Dinosaurs across the planet were not killed off by a meteor impact.

d) Dinosaurs in North America were not killed off by a meteor impact.

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CHAPTER 9: WEATHERING AND SOILS

Figure 9.1. World Heritage sites.

Modified from Checkpoint 9.4, p. 242; Checkpoint 9.8, p. 249; Checkpoint 9.12, p. 251

Imagine that you were appointed to a team of researchers to determine which of the five World

Heritage sites in Figure 9.1 was at greatest risk from different types of weathering. For each type

of weathering in the table below, list at least three general questions that you would ask, as you

began to gather data for your study.

Physical Chemical Biological

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Checkpoint 9.10, p. 250

Identify analogies that correspond to weathering processes.

Characteristic

Physical

Weathering

Chemical

Weathering

Biological

Weathering

U W D H O Ma Mi

Paint on house gradually disappears

Spilled drink stains carpet

Groundhog digs a hole under your garage

Sugar disappears in hot coffee

Fungus forms on a fallen tree in the woods

Tree root pushes up paving slab

Rust forms on an old car

Bleach changes color on clothes

Potholes form on road in winter

Nail polish remover removes nail polish

Compost rots in your garbage can

Paperweight holds down stack of bills

U = unloading; W = expansion wedging;

D = dissolution; H = hydrolysis; O = oxidation;

Ma = macro level; Mi = micro level

CHAPTER 10: LANDSLIDES AND SLOPE FAILURE

Checkpoint 10.2, p. 273

List as many factors as you can that contributed to the debris flows in Venezuela in December

1999.

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Modified from Checkpoint 10.5, p. 280

The mixture of materials pictured to the right is most

likely to have been deposited by which mass wasting

process? Why do you draw this conclusion?

a) Rockfall

b) Rockslide

c) Slump

d) Debris flow

Modified from Checkpoint 10.6, p. 282

Examine the following diagram and answer the questions that follow. Assume that this diagram

is constructed for an area in a Midwestern state such as Indiana or Illinois.

The road cut in the diagram is likely to experience mass wasting by which process?

a) Rockfall b) Rockslide c) Slump d) Debris flow

If the swimming pool on the right side of the diagram leaks, the underlying dirt fill is likely to

experience mass wasting by which process?

a) Rockfall b) Rockslide c) Slump d) Debris flow

What is one other observation that you make about this diagram?

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CHAPTER 11: STREAMS AND FLOODS

Self-Reflection Survey: Section 11.1, p. 287

Which river is nearest to where you live?

Where does the river begin and where does it end?

Checkpoint 11.5, p. 290

Why is the volume of water in the Mississippi River about 10 times greater than the volume of

water in the Nile River?

a) The Mississippi River drainage basin is ten times bigger than the Nile basin.

b) The Mississippi River drainage basin receives more rain.

c) The Mississippi River is a longer stream.

d) There is less vegetation to absorb rainfall in the Mississippi River drainage basin.

Checkpoint 11.6, p. 291

Rivers in Iowa flow to either the Mississippi River, which makes up the eastern state border, or

the Missouri River on the western state border. Draw the drainage divide for the Missouri and

Mississippi basins in Iowa on the map provided here.

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Checkpoint 11.11, p. 295

Some scientists predict that global warming will result in a corresponding increase in

evaporation. How would this impact the discharge of the Amazon River? Why?

a) Discharge would increase

b) Discharge would decrease

c) Discharge will stay the same

Checkpoint 11.13, p. 298

What statement is most likely true about a pebble found in a stream?

a) It formed from erosion of sedimentary rock in the adjacent streambed or bank.

b) It formed when sand and clay clumped together in the stream.

c) It is younger in age than the stream channel.

d) It may be composed of any type of rock.

Checkpoint 11.17, p. 305

List five factors that influence flooding. For each factor, write one sentence to briefly describe

the role of this factor in flooding.

Checkpoint 11.20, p. 308 An analysis of flood data in metropolitan areas over the last century suggests that floods caused

by similar volumes of precipitation are actually larger and more devastating today than in the

past, despite advances in flood monitoring. Provide some potential explanations for this apparent

paradox.