Minerals…this stuff’s not so hard
112. Minerals that contain silicon and oxygen are called:
a. sulfides
b. ores
c. sulfates
d. silicates
113. The appearance of the light reflected from the surface of a mineral is called:
a. luster
b. streak
c. hardness
d. fluorescence
114. The words waxy, splintery, and dull refer to a minerals:
a. cleavage
b. luster
c. fracture
d. hardness
115. 96% of the earth’s crust is made of:
a. sulfates
b. feldspars
c. halides
d. sulfur and lead
116. The ratio of a mass of a mineral to its volume is the mineral’s:
a. atomic weight
b. density
c. mass
d. weight
117. A mineral that is radioactive probably contains the element:
a. uranium
b. silicon
c. fluorine
d. calcium
118. A geologist uses all of the following properties of a mineral to identify it except:
a. crystal shape
b. weight
c. cleavage
d. streak
119. Minerals are:
a. man-made
c. pure compounds
b. mixtures of rocks
d. squishy
120. Which of the following is NOT a mineral:
a. feldspar
b. gold
c. diamond
d. shale
121. A given piece of fool’s gold (pyrite) has a mass of 100 grams and a volume of 10
ml. What is its density?
a. 10 g/ml
b. 90 g/ml
c. 100 g/ml
d. 50 g/ml
Rock and Roll !!
122.The basic rock from which all others are derived is:
a. igneous
b. sedimentary
c. metamorphic
d. bituminous
123.Rocks that are changes by heat and pressure are:
a. igneous
b. sedimentary
c. metamorphic
d. bituminous
124.Rocks that are fine-grained with no visible crystals:
a. cooled slowly
b. cooled while gas escaped
c. cooled fast
d. cooled at different rates
125.Igneous rocks that form from lava on the surface of the earth are called:
a. intrusive
b. extrusive
c. plutonic
d. external
126.Voids or openings in rocks that are left by gas pockets are called:
a. scoria
b. pumice
c. vesicles
d. obsidian
127.An example of a coarse grained igneous rock is:
a. obsidian
b. feldspar
c. pumice
d. granite
128.Igneous rocks containing iron and magnesium are named:
a. mafic
b. felsic
c. basaltic
d. granitic
129.Igneous rocks made of feldspar and silicon are named:
a. mafic
b. felsic
c. basaltic
d. granitic
130.Igneous rocks that are dark in color are:
a. basic
b. granitic
c. acidic
d. felsic
131.Igneous rocks that are large grained and are then erupted from volcanoes so that they
contain both large and small crystals are called:
a. obsidian
b. porphyry
c. pumice
d. tephra
132.Igneous rocks that cool deep inside the earth are called:
a. intrusive
b. invasive
c. extrusive
d. volcanic
133. Where do sediments ultimately end up?
a. river beds
b. ocean floor
c. plains
d. mountain tops
134. Sedimentary rocks are important because:
a. they form fossil fuels
c. they can be used to date the earth
b. they contain fossils
d. all of the above
135.Sedimentary rocks formed from the sediments of mechanical weathering are called:
a. detrital
b. chemical
c. precipitates
d. travertine
136.All of the following are chemical sedimentary rocks EXCEPT:
a. travertine
b. evaporates
c. precipitates
d. conglomerate
137.Precipitates form when:
a. minerals settle out of solution
b. water evaporates leaving minerals behind
c. acid dissolves minerals
d. calcium forms stalactites in caverns
138.Gravel sized particles form sedimentary rocks called:
a. sandstone
b. shale
c. conglomerate
d. coquina
139.Silt and clay sized particles will eventually form the sedimentary rock __________ .
a. conglomerate
b. sandstone
c. shale
d. siltstone
140.The sedimentary rock ________ is formed from crushed pieces of clam and oyster
shells.
a. chalk
b. limestone
c. travertine
d. coquina
141.The sedimentary rock ________ is found in caverns.
a. chalk
b. limestone
c. travertine
d. coquina
142.Rocks such as sandstone, which allow water to pass through them easily are:
a. permeable
b. impermeable
c. cap rocks
d. metamorphic
143.Siltstone is most likely to form:
a. On the bottom of a still lagoon
b. Near the end of a Raging river
c. Close to the edges of a babbling brook
d. At South County Sand and Gravel Bank
144.Which of the following correctly shows the formation of coal?
a. peat moss – ferns – bituminous – anthracite – lignite
b. ferns – peat moss – bituminous – lignite – anthracite
c. ferns – peat moss – lignite – anthracite – bituminous
d. ferns – peat moss – lignite – bituminous – anthracite
145.This type of metamorphism occurs during mountain building:
a. regional
b. contact
c. low-grade
d. high-grade
146.In this type of metamorphism you often can’t tell what the parent rock was:
a. regional
b. contact
c. low-grade
d. high-grade
147.This type of metamorphic rock has a layered or banded appearance:
a. foliated
b. marble
c. quartzite
d. non-foliated
148.Metamorphic rock whose parent was slate:
a. marble
b. granite
c. schist
d. quartzite
149.The foliated metamorphic rock gneiss comes from the parent material ___________:
a. granite
b. slate
c. limestone
d. sandstone
150.The parent material for marble is:
a. limestone
b. granite
c. mica
d. sandstone
151.The sedimentary rock sandstone is converted into this metamorphic rock:
a. granite
b. limestone
c. mica
d. quartzite
Geologic Time and the History of the Earth
152. Trilobites appear as fossils globally over a certain, and short, period of time. They can be
used to date rock layers. They are considered
a. coprolites.
b. molds.
c. gastroliths.
d. index fossils.
153. A sedimentary rock layer is older than the layers above it and younger than the layers
below it, according to the
a. type of unconformity.
b. law of superposition.
c. law of crosscutting relationships.
d. principle of uniformitarianism.
154. Deposition of sediment occurs:
a. differently depending on size of sediment
b. in horizontal layers
c. in wavy lines
d. in zig-zag patterns
155. The half-life of U-238 is 2 billion years. How many years would it take 8 grams of
U-238 to decay into 1 grams of U-238 and 7 grams of daughter products?
a. 1 billion years
b. 2 billion years
c. 6 billion years
d. 16 billion years
156. Our current era is the:
a. Cenozoic
b. Jurassic
c. Hadean
157. What is the age of the universe?
a. 500,000 years old
c. 16 billion years old
d. Precambrian
b. 150 million years old
d. 2500 years old
158. A gap in the sequence of rocks is called a(n):
a. bedding plane
b. varve
c. unconformity
d. uniformity
159.The continental plates on earth are moving due to the theory called:
a. the Coriolis effect
b. plate tectonics
c. glaciation
d. Relativity
160.Scientists can determine ABSOLUTE age of rocks by:
a. carbon dating
b. its color
c. law of superposition
d. using a really big ruler
161. During the Paleozoic Era, the continents were joined together in a huge landmass
called:
a. Panthalassa
b. Laurasia
c. Pangaea
d. Australia
162. The layers of limestone and shale in the Grand Canyon indicate that the area was
once covered by a:
a. shallow sea
b. desert
c. glacier
d. forest
163. The force behind plate tectonics is:
a. burning fossil fuels
c. pull of the moon
b. the earth being lopsided
d. convection currents in the mantle
164. The moon formed from:
a. a small planet colliding with Earth and breaking off pieces
b. volcanic ash going up into space and coalescing
c. a piece of debris was shot out of the sun
d. fossils of space aliens that clumped over time