Name: _________________________
AP Environmental Science
Geology and Nonrenewable Mineral Resources
25 February 2013
Chapter 15 – pp. 335-354
1. On the diagram of the Earth below, label the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust using the lines
provided. Label where the asthenosphere would be found.
2. Summarize the theory of plate tectonics. Use the terms lithosphere, asthenosphere, and convection in your
answer.
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3. Match the geological feature of the Earth in Column A with the type of plate boundary that it signifies in
Column B.
Column A
Column B
_____ volcanic island arc
_____ trench/ subduction zone
_____ rift valley
_____ mid-ocean ridge
_____ mountain ranges (usually containing
volcanoes)
A. Convergent plate boundary
B. Divergent plate boundary
C. Transform plate boundary
4. Natural hazards like volcanoes and earthquakes are usually seen as destructive on human time scales, but on
geological times scales they can be very important to the planet. Review the second column on page 339
and list three benefits that these natural hazards provide.
I. _________________________________________________________________________________
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II. __________________________________________________________________________________
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III. _________________________________________________________________________________
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5. Use the table below to compare the different types of external processes that cause geological changes.
External
Process
Biological
Weathering
Chemical
Physical
Erosion
Mass
Wasting
Description/
Definition
Example(s)
6. A ______________________ is an element or inorganic compound that occurs naturally and is solid with a
regular internal crystalline structure. __________________________ are concentrations of naturally
occurring materials in or on the earth’s crust that can be extracted and processed into useful materials at an
affordable cost.
7. List four types of mineral resources.
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8. Mark each statement as either TRUE or FALSE.
_____ a. Identified resources are deposits of nonrenewable mineral resources with a known location,
quantity and quality.
_____ b. Most estimates of a supply of a given nonrenewable mineral resource only refer to reserves.
_____ c. Reserves of nonrenewable minerals can only be depleted; they can never increase.
_____ d. In order for a mineral resource to be in reserve, it must be able to be extracted profitably.
_____ e. Mineral resources classified as other will never be useful to humans.
9. Match the term in Column A with its definition in Column B.
Column A
Column B
_____ rock
A. Ore that contains a fairly large amount of the desired
mineral.
B. Rock that forms from sediment produced when existing
rocks are weathered and eroded into small pieces,
transported by wind or water, and deposited downhill,
downstream, or downwind.
C. Forms when pre-existing rock is subjected to high
temperature, high pressure, and/or chemically active
fluids resulting in reshaping of the rock’s internal
crystalline structure.
D. Interactions of physical or chemical process that changes
rocks from one type to another.
E. Ore that contains a small amount of a desired mineral.
F. Solid combination of one or more minerals that is part of
the earth’s crust
G. Forms below or on the earth’s surface when molten rock
wells up from the earth’s upper mantle or deep crust,
cools, and hardens
H. Rock that contains a large enough concentration of a
particular mineral – often a metal – that the rock can be
mined and processed to extract the desired mineral.
_____ ore
_____ high-grade ore
_____ low-grade ore
_____ igneous rock
_____ sedimentary rock
_____ rock cycle
_____ metamorphic rock
10. Review and label the steps of the life cycle of a metal resource below each picture.
____________ ___________ ____________ ____________ ___________ ____________ ____________
11. What is the difference between surface mining and subsurface mining? Which is more destructive to the
land? Safer? Less expensive?
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12. Use the following chart to compare different types of surface mining.
Surface Mining Method
Description
Specific Environmental Impacts
Open-pit mining
Area strip mining
Contour strip mining
Mountaintop removal
13. Read about the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 on page 346. What does it
stipulate? Why is the act only partially successful?
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14. Review the following impacts of mining. Describe each impact on the lines provided.
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scarring and disruption of the land surface - ______________________________________________
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subsidence - _______________________________________________________________________
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toxin-laced mining wastes (i.e. acid mine drainage) - _______________________________________
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smelting - _________________________________________________________________________
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cyanide heap extraction - _____________________________________________________________
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15. Mark each statement as either TRUE or FALSE.
_____ a. Depletion time is how long it takes to use up a certain proportion –usually 80% - of the reserves
of a mineral resource at a given rate of use.
_____ b. People generally will not stop depleting a mineral resources until it is entirely gone.
_____ c. Mining operations on public lands must pay a premium for the rights to extract these minerals.
_____ d. Truly competitive free markets for mineral resources have been created by governments to ensure
that minerals located in a few countries but needed by industries in many countries can be traded
fairly and equitably.
_____ e. As minerals become depleted, new methods of mineral extraction like bio-mining and seawater
extraction that were once economically unfeasible will become more popular
_____ f. Reducing the use of mineral resources and recycling the metals currently in use are two effective
strategies for forestalling the depletion time of certain mineral resources.
_____ g. The depletion of metals and their concurrent rising costs to extract have had little effect on the
materials and new technologies that companies use.