Name: ______________
Section: _____________
Bedrock Geology Unit Test
1. What type of rock is composed of plant and animal remains that have been converted into rock?
(3 points)
a) Clastic sedimentary rocks
b) Organic sedimentary rocks
c) Chemical sedimentary rocks
d) Intrusive igneous rocks
2) What does the presence of limestone in the central United States suggest about the past
environment of this region? (3 points)
a) That the region once had an arid climate
b) That the region was once covered by fast-flowing streams
c) That the region was once covered by a shallow sea
d) That the region was once a vast desert
3) What do the big crystals of granite suggest about how the rock formed? (3 points)
a) That it cooled slowly below the ground
b) That it cooled rapidly at the Earth’s surface
c) That it was formed through the deposition of sediment in a high-energy environment, such as a
fast-flowing stream.
d) That it was formed through the deposition of sediment in a low-energy environment, such as a
lagoon.
4) A certain metamorphic rock is formed without melting deep underground. If some of the rock
were to melt, what type of rock would form from the liquid? (3 points)
a) Chemical sedimentary rock
b) Organic sedimentary rock
c) Extrusive igneous rock
d) Intrusive igneous rock
5) What is the tendency for a metamorphic rock to split along parallel lines called? (3 points)
a) Foliation
b) Bedding
c) Parallelism
d) Plate Tectonics
6) If you were to look at a geologic cross section and see a series of parallel, flat-lying layers, what
rock types would you expect are represented? (3 points)
a) Metamorphic rocks
b) Intrusive igneous rocks
c) Sedimentary rocks
7) In your own words, describe how contact metamorphism works? (3 points)
8) What basic geologic principle says that younger sedimentary and volcanic rocks are deposited
on top of older rocks? (3 points)
a) Principle of Lateral Continuity
b) Principle of Original Horizontality
c) Principle of Superposition
d) Principle of Crosscutting Relationships
9) Write an example of relative and absolute dating. These can be from Earth Science or about
something else. (5 points)
10) Shells have been found at the top of Mt. Everest. What does this suggest about how the
topography of that area has changed through time? (5 points)
11) What kind of fault is represented in this diagram (3 points)
a) strike-slip fault
b) normal fault
c) reverse fault
d) San Andreas fault
12) In your own words, describe the difference between an intrusive igneous rock and an extrusive
igneous rock? (3 points)
13) A geologist hands you a volcanic rock that has a fine-grained crystalline structure. What kind of
rock is this? (3 points)
a) Extrusive Igneous
b) Clastic Sedimentary
c) Intrusive Igneous
d) Metamorphic
14) The radiometric dating of an igneous rock provides: (3 points)
a) the relative age of the rock compared to the surrounding rocks
b) the date for when the rock formed
c) the age of the earth
d) the date for when the rock was eroded
Use this diagram to answer questions 15-17
15. Which of the following rock features is probably the oldest? (3 points)
a) Z
b) X (fault)
c) D
d) F
16. Fool's gold is found in Layer C but not in Layers A, B, D, E, or F. Which other layer might
contain fool's gold? (3 points)
a) Layer 1 only
b) Layer 2 only
c) Layer 3 only
d) Both Layers 1 and 2
17. What is correct order of the geologic events in the diagram above? (3 points)
I. The folding of rock in Layers 3, 4, 5, and 6
II. The erosion of Layer 3 (z)
III. The depositing of rock in Layers 3, 4, 5, and 6
a) I, II, then III
b) III, II, then I
c) I, III, then II
d) III, I, then II
18) What is the approximate age of the Earth, as currently accepted by scientists? (3 points)
a) 10,000 years
b) 450 million years
c) 4.65 billion years
d) 120 billion years
19) What is NOT evidence used by scientists to investigate how the Earth has changed over time?
(3 points)
a) rock layers
b) fossils
c) radiometric dating
d) ancient historical records
20) Imagine you are on a journey to the center of the Earth. Which of the following can you expect
as your depth increases? (3 points)
a) pressure will decrease, temperature will decrease
b) pressure will increase, temperature will fluctuate depending on your depth
c) pressure will decrease, temperature will increase
d) pressure will increase, temperature will increase
21) Which process was primarily responsible for forming the hill showed below? (3 points)
a) folding
b) faulting
c) deposition
d) volcanoes
22) Name the 3 types of weathering and an example of each: (6 points)
23) What causes a sedimentary rock to become an igneous rock? (3 points)
a) pressure
b) heat and pressure
c) melting
d) weathering and erosion
24) Which was the most recent geologic event in the diagram below? (3 points)
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
25) What forces will turn igneous rock into sedimentary rock over geologic time? (3 points)
a) heat and pressure
b) weathering, erosion, deposition, compaction, cementation
c) weathering, erosion and melting
d) faulting and folding
26) Which of the following would most likely create a U-shaped valley over geologic time?
(3 points)
a) a glacier
b) waves
c) faulting
d) a fast moving stream
27) The geological processes that shape Earth’s features today: (3 points)
a) are basically the same as they were in the geologic past
b) are much different than thousands of years ago
c) did not operate in the distant pas
d) became important only several hundred years ago
28) Define a renewable resource and provide an example (5 points):
29) Which of the following is an example of physical weathering? (3 points)
a) wind blows sand against a rock
b) water freezes and cracks a rock into many pieces
c) a boulder is carried by a glacier
d) limestone reacts to acid rainwater
30) Fill in the blanks below to complete the rock cycle. (4 points)