Geology Final Exam
Students taking the final exam will be given 4 questions randomly selected from the list of 189 questions
below. Each student will have their own set of 3-questions. There will be no repeat questions. To receive full
credit (45-points), you must answer the question completely using proper geologic vocabulary to illustrate
your answer. Additionally, students will provide at least 2-hand drawn diagrams for 2 of the 3 questions that
enhance the completed question. It is extremely advisable that you learn and fully understand each answer to
each question. Below is an example of a superior answer and poorly written answer to the same question.
Students will be responsible for understanding the meaning of geologic vocabulary terms used throughout the
semester. Students will be asked to define 5 vocabulary words randomly taken from the vocabulary list
below. Final exam questions will be provided prior to each major exam and stored on the instructor’s website
throughout the entire semester.
Sample Question:
Why do most major mountain chains contain metamorphic rocks in their cores?
Superior Answer:
All the mountain chains have formed at convergent plate boundaries that are characterized by increased
pressure (confining and differential stress) and temperatures (geothermal and magmatism). Therefore, it is
not surprising that such areas contain significant amounts of metamorphic rocks.
Poorly written answer:
Mountains are large hills that formed. Metamorphism takes place when rocks change.
Chapter-1 Introduction to Physical Geology
Vocabulary Terms
asthenosphere
catastrophism
core
hypothesis
igneous rock
sedimentary rock
metamorphic rock
mantle
lithosphere
relative dating
absolute dating
uniformitarianism
superposition
plate tectonics
outer core
Final Exam Questions
1. Geology is traditionally divided into two broad areas. Name and describe these two subdivisions.
2. Why was acceptance of the principle of uniformitarianism an important turning point in the history of
geology?
3. How did proponents of the doctrine of catastrophism view the age of the earth?
4. What are the two sources of energy for the Earth System?
5. Identify and draw a diagram illustrating the two layers from the upper portion of the Earth’s interior.
6. Draw a cross-sectional view of the entire Earth and label the layers of the Earth’s interior.
7. Illustrate with a diagram the dominant motion of a transform boundary.
8. What principles were used to develop the geologic time scale? Describe each principle.
9. According to the rock cycle, can any rock be changed into another rock?
10. How does a scientific hypothesis differ from a scientific theory? Give an example of each.
Chapter-2- Plate Tectonics
Vocabulary Terms
Asthenosphere
Continental drift
Oceanic ridge
Plate tectonics
Slab-pull
Volcanic arc system
Divergent plate boundary
Convergent plate boundary
paleomagnetism
rift valley
subduction zone
transform fault boundary
lithosphere
hot spot
Pangaea
seafloor spreading
trench
Final Exam Questions
11. Draw a diagram illustrating the divergent plate boundary. Identify the mid-ocean ridge, rift
zone, oceanic and continental crust, and arrows depicting plate motion. Identify a geographical
location where this type of boundary occurs.
12. Draw a diagram showing the 3-types of convergent boundaries. Identify the subduction zones,
ascending magma, island and or volcanic mountain chain, oceanic and continental crust, and
asthenosphere. Identify a geographical location where this type of boundary occurs.
13. Draw a diagram illustrating the transform fault boundary. Include in your diagram plate motion
arrows, an off-set erosional feature, and continental crust. Identify a geographical location where
this type of boundary occurs.
14. What evidence did Alfred Wegener use to support the continental drift hypothesis?
15. Where is lithosphere being formed? Consumed? Why must the production and destruction of
the lithosphere occur at the same rate?
16. Why is oceanic lithosphere subducted while continental lithosphere is not?
17. What is the primary difference between transform faults and the two other types of plate
boundaries?
18. Specifically, what type of plate boundary is associated with the following: Himalayas, Aleutian
Islands, Red Sea, the Andes, San Andreas Fault, Iceland, and Japan?
19. How do hot spots and the plate tectonics theory account for the fact that the Hawaiian Islands
vary in age?
20. What was the defining evidence that separates the Continental drift theory from the Plate
Tectonic theory, and how this evidence is used to explain that continents are in fact moving?
21. Briefly describe the view held by most geologists regarding the ocean basins and continents prior
to the 1960’s
22. What was the first line of evidence that led early investigators to suspect the continents were once
connected?
23. Explain why the discovery of the fossil remains of Mesosaurus in both South America and Africa,
but nowhere else, supports the continental drift hypothesis.
24. What two aspects of Wegener’s continental drift hypotheses were objectionable to most Earth
scientists?
25. What major ocean floor feature was discovered by oceanographers following World War II?
26. Compare and contrast the lithosphere and the asthenosphere.
27. List the seven largest lithospheric plates.
28. List the three types of plate boundaries and describe the relative motion at each of them
29. Draw distinct diagrams that represent the divergent, convergent, and transform tectonic
boundaries.
30. What is the average rate of seafloor spreading in modern oceans?
31. Briefly describe the process of continental rifting. Where is it occurring today?
32. Explain why the rate of lithosphere production roughly balances the rate at which it is destroyed?
33. Compare a continental volcanic arc and a volcanic arc island are.
34. Why does oceanic lithosphere subduct while continental lithosphere does not?
35. Differentiate between transform faults and the two other types of plate boundaries.
36. Describe how Fred Vine and D.H. Matthews related the seafloor-spreading hypothesis to magnetic
reversals.
37. Briefly explain the process of convection. Draw a diagram showing convection.
38. Describe slab pull and ridge push. Which of these forces contributes more to plate motion?
39. What role are mantle plumes thought to play in the convective flow of the mantle?
40. Briefly describe the two models proposed for mantle-plate convection. What is lacking in each of
these models?
Chapter-3 Matter and Minerals
Vocabulary Terms
Atom
atomic number
Covalent bond
ionic bond
Mineral physical properties
Isotope
silicate mineral
chemical compound
element
mineral
proton
electron
crystal form
neutron
ore
Final Exam Questions
41. Describe the bonding characteristics of both the covalent and ionic bonds.
42. What is the difference between a mineral and a rock?
43. Although minerals possess an orderly internal arrangement of atoms, most mineral samples do
not exhibit their crystal form. Why?
44. Why are silicates the most important group of minerals?
45. What is the purpose of the valance electron shell?
46. Draw a diagram showing the typical atom model and identify the protons, electrons, and
neutrons.
47. Define an ion and the differences between a cation and anion. Give two examples of cations
and two examples of anions.
48. Draw a diagram of a silicate-tetrahedron. Define at least 3-important characteristics that make
this particular compound important to minerals and rocks.
49. Why is color generally the most unreliable physical property to use when identifying a mineral?
50. Define the differences between the physical properties cleavage and fracture.
51. Describe the bonding characteristics of both the covalent and ionic bonds.
52. What is the difference between a mineral and a rock?
53. Although minerals possess an orderly internal arrangement of atoms, most mineral samples do not
exhibit their crystal form. Why?
54. Why are silicates the most important group of minerals?
55. What is the purpose of the valance electron shell?
56. Draw a diagram showing the typical atom model and identify the protons, electrons, and neutrons.
57. Define an ion and the differences between a cation and anion. Give two examples of cations and
two examples of anions.
58. Draw a diagram of a silicate-tetrahedron. Define at least 3-important characteristics that make this
particular compound important to minerals and rocks.
59. Why is color generally the most unreliable physical property to use when identifying a mineral?
60. Define the differences between the physical properties cleavage and fracture.
61. Choose two minerals that you know and indicate their chemical make-up and their uses.
62. What is the definition of a mineral and list three examples of material that does not qualify as a
mineral?
63. What mineral is the hardest known substance in nature and what properties make this particular
mineral the hardest natural substance known to man?
64. If you found a glassy-appearing mineral while rock and mineral hunting, and had hopes that it was a
diamond, what simple test might help you make a determination? Explain you’re rational.
65. Explain why it might be difficult to identify a mineral by its color.
66. List the three main particles of an atom and explain how they differ from one another.
67. If the number of electrons in a neutrally charged atom is 35 and the atomic mass is 80, calculate
the following:
a. The number of protons
b. The atomic number
c. The number of neutrons
68. What is Mohs scale of hardness? List Mohs the minerals that make up Mohs scale of hardness
form softest to hardest. Identify various “tools” that one can use in the field to measure the hardness
of minerals.
69. Choose 3 mineral physical properties and describe how the method used to determine each
property.
70. What is your favorite mineral and what physical property tests would describe your mineral.
Chapter-4 – Magma, Igneous Rocks, and Intrusive Activity
Vocabulary Terms
Bowen’s reaction series
andesitic composition
granitic composition
phaneritic texture
pegmatitic texture
batholith
pahoehoe flow
pluton
crystallization
basaltic composition
mafic
porphyritic texture
ultramafic
dike
volatiles
intrusive
extrusive
felsic
groundmass
aphanitic texture
phenocryst
pyroclastic texture
magmatic differentiation
laccolith
aa flow
sill
xenoliths
Final Exam Questions
71. In general, what happens in terms of composition as crystallization proceeds down the
Bowen’s reaction series?
72. What is the role of water and other volatiles that are driven from the descending plate in the
diagram below?
73. What is the difference between magma and lava?
74. What are the two criteria used to classify igneous rocks?
75. What are two conditions or situations that are thought to promote the melting of rocks?
76. What does a porphyritic texture indicate about the cooling history of an igneous rock?
77. Describe the difference between a phaneritic and aphanitic textures and what geological
environment allows theses textures to form.
78. Why are the crystals of pegmatites so large?
79. How are granite and rhyolite different? In what way are they similar?
80.Given the igneous rocks basalt, rhyolite, and andesite, arrange these rocks in order of increasing
silica.
Chapter-5- Volcanoes and Volcanic hazards
Vocabulary Terms
Fissure eruption
Lahar
Scoria
Pillow lava
Pyroclastic material
flood basalt
Nuee ardent
lava tube
pumice
composite cone
hot spot
shield volcano
cinder cone
volcano
intraplate volcanism
stratovolcano
viscosity
volatiles
Final Exam Questions
81. Draw a simple diagram of a volcano and label the flanks, conduit, caldera, and magma chamber
82. Define the three factors that control the viscosity of a magma.
83. Why are magmas with higher viscosity more likely to produce explosive eruptions?
84. Which type of volcano is the largest? Which type is most explosive? Why?
85. What is the Ring of Fire and how is it related to plate tectonics?
86. How does the concentration of SiO2 influence magma viscosity?
87. How does the concentration of volatiles determine an eruptive style for both shield and
composite volcanoes?
88. Why are voluminous pyroclastic flow deposits primarily associated with composite type
volcanoes?
89. Define a lahar and why are lahar’s consider a major volcanic hazards
90. What type of volcano possesses the biggest threat to loss of life and wide damage? Why?
91. List three factors that determine the nature of a volcanic eruption. What role does each play?
92. What is viscosity? How does the chemistry (concentration of SiO2) influence magma’s viscosity?
How does temperature influence magma’s viscosity?
93. Why is a volcano fed by highly viscous magma likely to be greater threat to life and property than a
volcano supplied with very fluid magma?
94. Describe the characteristics of pahoehoe and aa lava flows. What main factor distinguishes the
difference in flow rates between each type of basaltic lava flow?
95. List the main gasses released during a volcanic eruption.
96. How do volcanic bombs differ from blocks of pyroclastic debris?
97. What is scoria? How is scoria different from pumice?
98. Compare a volcanic crater to a caldera.
99. Compare and contrast the three main types of volcanoes (consider size, composition, shape and
eruptive style).
100. Name a prominent volcano for each of the three main types.
101. Sketch a volcano and identify its morphologic parts: crater, volcanic conduit, flanks, magma
chamber, and caldera (assuming the volcano is dormant)
102. Extensive pyroclastic flow deposits are associated with which volcanic structure?
103. How to the eruptions that created the Columbia Plateau differ from eruptions that create large
composite cones?
104. What is Shiprock, New Mexico, and how did it form?
105. Draw a diagram of various intrusive bodies and label the following: dike, sill, batholith, and
laccolith structures
106. What is the largest of all intrusive igneous bodies? Is it tabular or massive? Concordant of
discordant?
107. Define geothermal gradient.
108. Describe the three ways that solid rocks in the upper mantle and crust may melt to become
magma.
109. What is decompression melting and how does it occur. What is partial melting?
110. How is magma generated along convergent plate boundaries?
111. Volcanism at divergent plate boundaries is associated with which rock type?
112. Volcanism at ocean to continent plate boundary is associated with what type of igneous rocks?
113. Describe four natural hazards associated with volcanoes.
114. What are the four changes in a volcanic area that are monitored in order to detect the migration
of magma?
Chapter-6 Weathering
Vocabulary Terms
Chemical weathering
External processes
Internal processes
Parent material
Soil profile
erosion
frost wedging
mass wasting
regolith
soil taxonomy
exfoliation dome
horizon
mechanical weathering
soil
weathering
115. Describe the role external processes in the rock cycle.
116. If two identical rocks were weathered, one mechanically and the other chemically, how would the
products of weathering for the two rocks differ?
117. Describe the formation of an exfoliation dome. Give an example of such a feature.
118. How does mechanical weathering add to the effectiveness of chemical weathering?
119. Heat speeds up a chemical reaction. Why than does chemical weathering proceed slowly in a hot desert?
120. How is carbonic acid formed in nature? What results when this acid reacts with potassium feldspar?
121. List some possible environmental effects of acid precipitation.
122. What is the difference between soil and regolith?
123. What factors might cause different sills to develop from the same parent material?
124. Which of the controls of soil formation is most important?
Chapter-7 Sedimentary Rocks
Vocabulary Terms
Bedding plane
Cementation
Compaction
Lithification
beds
chemical rock
crystalline texture
sedimentary environment
biochemical
clastic texture
evaporate deposit
125. How does the volume of sedimentary rocks in Earth’s crust compare with the volume of igneous rocks in
the crust?
126. List and briefly distinguish among the three basic sedimentary rock categories.
127. What minerals are most common in detrital sedimentary rocks? Why are these minerals so abundant?
128. What is the primary basis for distinguishing among various detrital sedimentary rocks?
129. Distinguish between conglomerate and breccias
130. What are evaporate deposits? Name a rock that is an evaporate.
131. When a body of seawater evaporates, minerals precipitate in a certain order. What determines this
order?
132. What is the primary basis for distinguishing among different chemical sedimentary rocks?
133. What is diagenesis? Give one example.
134. List the three common cements for sedimentary rocks and explain how these cements lithify various
types of sediments.
135. Distinguish between clastic and non-clastic textures.
Chapter-8 Metamorphic Rocks
Vocabulary Terms
Confining pressure
Gneissic texture
Metasomatism
Parent rock
Schistosity
differential stress
metamorphic facie
migmatite
protolith
texture
foliation
metamorphism
non-foliated texture
regional metamorphism
Review the following questions on page 252
Questions 1,3,4,6,7,9,10,11,12,14,16,17,18,19
Chapter-9 Geologic Time
Vocabulary Terms
Angular unconformity
Cross-cutting relations
Epoch
Geologic time scale
Nonconformity
Paleozoic era
Precambrian
Superposition
Archean eon
disconformity
fossil
half-life
original horizontality
period
radiometric dating
unconformity
Cenozoic era
eon
fossil succession
Mesozoic era
paleontology
Phanerozoic eon
relative dating
Review the following questions on page 276
Questions 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,10,11,12
Chapter-11 Earthquakes
Vocabulary Terms
Aftershock
Elastic rebound
Hypocenter
Moment magnitude
Secondary waves
Seismogram
body wave
epicenter
magnitude
primary wave
seismic gaps
seismograph
earthquake
focus
Mercalli Intensity Scale
Richter Scale
seismic waves
surface wave
Review the following questions on page 331
1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 21, 25
Chapter-10 Crustal deformation
Vocabulary Terms
Anticline
Differential stress
Fold
Hanging wall block
Reverse fault
Strike
Tensional stress
compressional stress
dip
footwall block
joint
strain
strike-slip fault
thrust fault
deformation
fault
fault scarp
normal fault
stress
syncline
transform fault
Review the following questions on page 300
3, 4, 8, 11, 12, 14, 17,18
Chapter-19- Deserts
Vocabulary Terms
Abrasion
Alluvial fan
Bajada
Transverse dune
Dune slip face
deflation
desert
desert pavement
barchan dune
loess
longitudinal dune
parabolic dune
playa
rain shadow desert
Review the following questions on page 538
Questions 1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 12, 15-18
Chapter-19- Mass Wasting
Vocabulary Terms
Angle of repose
Creep
Debris flow
Slide
Debris slide
debris slide
mass wasting
fall
permafrost
lahar
earthflow
rockslide
mudflow
slump
rock avalanche
Review the following questions on page 426
Questions 1-6, 8-16