1. Strain is

A. the force applied to the outer surface of a body.

B. the deformation caused by stress.

C. that deformation which only results in dilation.

D. related only to distortion, or a change in shape.

2. Materials that rupture before any plastic deformation occurs are termed

A. brittle.

B. ductile.

C. soft or weak.

D. elastic.

3. A normal fault is one in which the

A. fault plane is vertical.

B. hanging wall has moved up relative to the footwall.

C. hanging wall has moved down relative to the footwall.

D. movement is along the strike direction.

4. Which of the following is caused by crustal tension?

A. Thrust fault.

B. Reverse fault.

C. Monocline.

D. Anticline.

E. Normal fault.

5. A thrust fault would likely form

A. where continents are pulling apart.

B. where continents are colliding.

C. along a transform fault.

6. The San Andreas fault of southern California is what type of fault?

A. Thrust.

B. Reverse.

C. Normal.

D. Strike slip.

E. Dip-slip.

7. A graben is

A. an erosional remnant of a thrust sheet.

B. a hole eroded through a normal fault.

C. a linear block of the crust has been downdropped along faults.

D. a valley produced along the trace of a strike-slip fault.

8. Death Valley, part of a tectonically active geologic province which includes southern Arizona, is

A. associated with a convergent plate margin.

B. in the Basin and Range.

C. known for its lack of earthquakes.

D. a volcanic arc.

9. Since the Sierra Nevada Mountains are quite a bit higher than the land either west or east of them the

A. crust is probably thicker beneath the Sierra Nevada.

B. crust beneath the Sierra Nevada is probably more dense than that to the east or west.

C. crust beneath the Sierra Nevada must be very thin.

D. Sierra Nevada are probably part of an old spreading center, which is no longer active.

10. An earthquake results when

A. elastic strain builds up beyond the elastic limit.

B. elastic strain is relieved by fault movement.

C. elastic strain is not relieved by fault creep.

D. all of the above.

11. According to the theory of plate tectonics, most earthquakes occur

A. in the middle of plates.

B. at active plate boundaries.

C. only at boundaries where plates move toward each other.

D. only at boundaries where plates slide past each other.

12. The actual point where rocks rupture, resulting in an earthquake is called

A. the epicenter.

B. the focus.

C. static release.

D. the tsunami.

13. The "P" waves, or primary waves, generated by an earthquake

A. are very slow.

B. can travel only through solid material.

C. can travel through solid, liquid, or gas.

D. can travel only in a circle.

14. An earthquake intensity scale measures the

A. damage caused by an earthquake.

B. amount of energy released by the earthquake.

C. energy released only at the epicenter.

D. distance to the focus of the earthquake.

15. The minimum number of seismic stations required to locate an earthquake epicenter is usually

A. one.

B. two.

C. three.

D. between five and twelve, depending on the location of the earthquake.

16. The focus of the deepest earthquakes are about __________ deep.

A. 25 km.

B. 80 km.

C. 300 km.

D. 700 km.

E. 1250 km.

F. 2900 km.

17. Which of the following would probably suffer the least damage in a major earthquake?

A. An all-brick building.

B. A large, flat-topped sprawling structure like a shopping center.

C. A wood frame house.

D. A stone and block house with a tall chimney.

18. The damage to Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake was largely due to

A. the city is on solid bedrock.

B. the city is along the coast where the shaking started.

C. destroyed buildings were all over 40 stories tall.

D. the city is on an ancient lake bed.

19. On the San Andreas fault a major earthquake is most likely to occur

A. along segments undergoing fault creep.

B. along segments where the fault shows left-lateral movement.

C. where ground water is being withdrawn in large volumes.

D. along locked sections which have not experienced movement for several decades.

20. Seismic S-wave velocities are highest in

A. glacial gravels.

B. the lithosphere above the Mohorovicic discontinuity.

C. the lithosphere below the Mohorovicic discontinuity.

D. the asthenosphere.

21. The bending of waves is called

A. refraction.

B. reflection.

C. constriction.

D. contraction.

22. What is the process wherein the removal of mass from the Earth's surface results in crustal uplift?

A. Isostatic rebound.

B. Subduction.

C. Sea floor spreading.

D. Plate tectonics.

E. Continental drift.

23. Deep earthquakes do not occur in the asthenosphere, except in association with descending plates, because

A. movement of the material of the asthenosphere occurs only along subduction zones.

B. the asthenosphere consists of peridotite, or something like it.

C. the asthenosphere is too rigid to rupture.

D. the asthenosphere is weak, and deforms plastically.

24. Evidence that the outer core is in a liquid state is found in the observation that

A. P-waves cannot pass through the core.

B. S-waves cannot pass through the core.

C. P-waves travel more rapidly through the core.

D. S-waves travel more slowly through the core.

25. The most significant changes of composition within the Earth's concentric layers is thought to occur at the

A. crust-mantle boundary.

B. base of the lithosphere.

C. mantle-core boundary.

D. boundary between the inner and outer core.

26. Compared to oceanic crust, continental crust

A. is less dense.

B. is thinner.

C. has a higher velocity for seismic waves.

D. is mostly basalt.

E. contains more dark, mafic minerals.

27. The crust is

A. thinnest on the continents.

B. thinnest under the oceans.

C. about the same thickness in both the continents and oceans.

D. of a completely unknown thickness.

28. The mantle of the Earth is probably composed of

A. silicates rich in iron and magnesium.

B. an iron-nickel alloy.

C. quartz and feldspar.

D. basalt and graphite.

29. On what basis is the Moho recognized and defined?

A. The point at which there is an abrupt decrease in seismic velocities.

B. The point at which there is an abrupt increase in seismic velocities.

C. A boundary through which S-waves do not pass.

D. P-waves impinging on this boundary cause the regeneration of S-waves.

30. The Earth's magnetic field is probably generated in

A. space.

B. the crust.

C. the mantle.

D. the outer core.

31. Where is the North Magnetic Pole?

A. At the North Geographic Pole.

B. In Alaska.

C. Between Greenland and Baffin Island.

D. In Siberia.

E. In Sweden.

32. When the magnetic field of the Earth is reversed the

A. Earth flips over in its orbit.

B. sense of rotation of the Earth is also reversed.

33. What causes the reversals in the main magnetic field?

A. The iron in the Earth's crust changes polarity.

B. The reversals in the Sun's magnetic field.

C. Changes in the gravity of the Earth.

D. Unknown causes.

E. Continental drift.

34. If a wire is passed through a magnetic field,

A. the wire will become magnetized.

B. the magnetic field will be reversed.

C. an electric current can be produced.

D. the wire will be bent so that it is aligned with the magnetic lines of force.

35. The most important process in building the ocean floor is

A. volcanism.

B. precipitation of carbonate rocks.

C. metamorphism.

D. deposition of sediment derived from the land.

36. The bedrock of seamounts is

A. basalt.

B. limestone.

C. granite.

D. ooze.

E. bryolithite.

37. The geological edge of the continents is

A. the shoreline.

B. the continental shelf.

C. the continental slope/rise.

D. on the ocean side of the sea-floor trenches.

38. Wegener was hampered in developing the theory of continental drift because very little was known about

A. chemistry.

B. fossils.

C. gravity.

D. the ocean floors.

39. The data that began to be accumulated in the 1950s and would later serve as the basic support for the theory of plate tectonics came mainly from the fields of

A. geophysics and oceanography.

B. biology and astronomy.

C. space tectonology and geochemistry.

D. geochemistry and classical physics.

40. Magnetic anomalies

A. form at the ridge crest.

B. have a mirror symmetry about the ridge crest.

C. match the pattern of magnetic reversals.

D. all of the preceding.

E. none of the preceding.

41. The significance of the magnetic anomaly patterns discovered in association with the sea floor was that the anomaly patterns

B. allowed for the reconstruction of polar wandering paths.

C. allowed geomagnetists to reconstruct the super continent Pangea.

D. represented absolute proof that the sea floor was spreading apart.

42. The oldest rocks on the sea floor are about

A. 20 million years old.

B. 200 million years old.

C. 600 million years old.

D. 3 billion years old.

E. 4.5 billion years old.

43. Which of the following does not occur along mid-oceanic ridges?

A. Andesitic volcanism.

B. Basaltic volcanism.

C. Shallow-focus earthquakes.

D. High rates of heat flow.

44. Horizontal movements of the Earth's crust on a continental scale occur at rates of

A. 0.01-0.1 cm/year.

B. 0.1-1.0 cm/year.

C. 1.0-10 cm/year.

D. 10-100 cm/year.

45. The North American plate is moving

A. eastward.

B. westward.

C. northward.

D. southward.

46. The mid-oceanic ridge has all the following except

A. a rift valley.

B. shallow-focus earthquakes.

C. deep-focus earthquakes.

D. basalt eruptions.

E. high heat flow.

1. Seismic wave velocity / Temperature of the Earth's interior

2. Anticlinal fold / Thrust fault

3. Elastic behavior of a solid / Earthquakes

4. Normal faults / Tension

5. Rate of application of stress / Brittle vs. plastic deformation

6. Meteorites / Earth's interior

7. Magnetic anomaly pattern on sea floor / Age of sea floor

1. Discuss three lines of evidence, recognized before extensive exploration of the ocean basins after World War II, supporting Alfred Wegener's idea – Continental Drift.

2. Characterize either a divergent or one type of convergent lithospheric plate boundary. For full credit your answer must include the following:

A. Neat, well-labeled illustration of the active boundary.

C. Two lines of evidence supporting this model for a dynamic plate boundary.

3. Rocks behave (deform) in principally three different ways in the Earth's crust.

A. Characterize each type of behavior.

4. The Earth's interior is thought to consist of concentric shells or layers defined by changes in composition, physical state and crystal phase.

5. Discuss four lines of evidence for an iron core within the Earth.

6. Describe the different types of seismic waves. Make sure you include the following information: name, type of motion of particles that occurs when that wave passes, and relative speeds of the wave types. How do seismic waves help us understand the Earth's core?

7. Discuss four factors that may contribute to the intensity of an earthquake. Include a brief explanation of how each factor can increase the potential for destruction during a quake.

8. The epicenter of the earthquake that destroyed much of Mexico City was 350 km west, but cities that were closer, such as Acapulco, suffered only minimal damage, if any at all. Why was the damage at Mexico City so great?