SEDIMENTS: WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM MUD?
TEACHERS’ VERSION OF PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST
The correct answers to each of the questions are underlined and highlighted.
A. PRE-TEST
1. What are two main groups of sediments?
a. Wet and dry
b. Clastic and carbonate
c. Synthetic and organic
d. Minerals and gems
2. What is the Principle of Superposition?
a. In any undisturbed pile of strata, the youngest will be at the top and the oldest
will be at the bottom.
b. In any undisturbed pile of strata, the oldest will be at the top and the youngest will be
at the bottom.
c. The older the layer of strata, the thicker it will be.
d. The older the layer of strata, the thinner it will be.
2/Sediments: What Can We Learn from Mud? ANSWER KEY
B. POST-TEST
Objectives addressed:
1. Describe different types of sediments and how they are studied.
2. Interpret the geologic history from the deposition pattern of sediment layers.
Numbers in the parenthesis after each question indicate the objective addressed.
1. What type of rock can be made from the binding together and cementing of sediments over
time? (1)
a. igneous rock
b. sedimentary rock
c. lava rock
d. molten rock
2. What are most clastic sediments composed of? (1)
a. fossil matter
b. calcium carbonate
c. fragments of existing rocks
d. minerals precipitated from decaying organisms
3. What are most organic sediments composed of? (1)
a. calcium carbonate
b. fragments of existing rocks
c. leaves and parts of plants
d. sodium nitrate
4. An example of a clastic sediment is: (1)
a. limestone
b. waxstone
c. paxstone
d. sandstone
5. An example of an organic sediment is: (1)
a. flintstone
b. conglomerate
c. boundstone
d. siltstone
3/Sediments: What Can We Learn from Mud? ANSWER KEY
6. What are layers of sediments called? (2)
a. data
b. strata
c. stripes
d. rock
7. Which of these ideas is a part of the fundamental "rule" of stratigraphy? (2)
a. in undisturbed layers of sediments, the youngest will be at the top
b. in undisturbed layers of sediments, the oldest will be at the top.
c. in sedimentary rock, the thickest layer is the oldest.
d. in a sediment, the thinnest layer is the oldest.
8. What can we learn from sedimentary rock? (2)
a. geographic history.
b. geologic history.
c. geneologic history.
d. genetic history.
9. The concept that the oldest layer of a sediment would be at the bottom of a sequence is: (2)
a. the fundamental "rule" of cartography
b. the fundamental "rule" of geography
c. the Principle of Superstition
d. the Principle of Superposition
10. What is used to collect sediment core samples? (1)
a. drills
b. bulldozers
c. shovels
d. nets
11. Which step is a part of preparing a core sample for scientific analysis? (1)
a. Grinding up the whole core for microscopic analysis.
b. Splitting the whole core into smaller sections that are easier to examine.
c. Coating the core with nitric acid.
d. Storing the core in a heated vault.
12. Which country stores sediment core samples described in this unit? (1)
a. Russia
b. France
c. United States
d. China
4/Sediments: What Can We Learn from Mud? ANSWER KEY
Use the following illustration to answer questions 13 and 14:
13. Which layer of this core sample is the oldest? (2)
a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D
14. The darkest layers of this core sample represent glacial periods. The lightest layers reveal
interglacial periods. Which layer is evidence of an extended glacial period? (2)
a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D