FINAL EXAM – EARTH SCIENCE

I. Multiple choice. Choose the letter that corresponds to the correct answer.
1. Which of the following statements is true about slope aspect and steepness? (a)
I. Plants grow more abundantly on the moister southern slopes and more rapid weathering forms
thicker soil
II. In the semiarid regions, thick forests cover the cool, shady hot slopes of hills
III. Hillsides have thin soils and valleys are covered by thicker soil
IV. In the northern hemisphere less water evaporates from the hot, sunny, southern slopes
a. I,II,III b. I,II c. II,IV d. I,II,III,IV
2. What is referred to as a salt-encrusted soil in arid and semiarid climates characterized by an
accumulation of calcium carbonate? (c)
a. caliche b. laterite c. pedocal d. pedalfer
3. Which of the following does not affect the formation of soil? (d)
a. parent rock b. soil transport c. time d. temperature
4. Which of the following mechanical weathering processes in which water freezes in a crack in rock, and
then expansion wedges the rock apart? (c)
a. abrasion b. pressure-release fracturing c. frost wedging d. organic activity
5. Which of the following is not true? (b)
a. the angle of repose is the maximum slope or steepness at which loose material remains stable
b. if the slopes becomes steeper than the angle of repose, the material will not slide.
c. the angle of repose varies for different types of materials
d. talus has a higher angle of repose and rounded sand grains has lower angle of repose
6. Which of the following are the agents of erosion? (c)
I. temperature II. wind III. glaciers IV. water
a. I,II,III b. I,II,III,IV c. II,III,IV d. II,IV
7. Which of the following does not belong to the group? (b)
a. oxidation b. exfoliation c. dissolution d. hydrolysis
8. Which of the following components of soil is composed of dark, organic component consisting litter that
has decomposed enough so that the original component cannot be determined? (c)
a. loam b. litter c. humus d. regolith
9. What is referred to as the process by which water is pulled upward through the soil due to the natural
attraction of water molecules to soil particles? (c)
a. leaching b. salt cracking c. capillary action d. exfoliation
10. Which of the following does not belong to the group? (d)
a. flow b. slide c. fall d. slump
11. What is referred to as a subcategory of mass wasting that involves the downslope movement usually on
unvegetated land? (b)
a. creep b. mudflow c. slump d. rockslide
12. Which of the following agents of metamorphism occurs primarily as a consequence of increase in
temperature when differential stress is minor? (c)
a. contact b. dynamic c. regional d. convection
13. Which of the following term is described as the mineralogical and structural adjustments of solid rocks
to physical and chemical conditions differing from those under which the rocks originally formed?
a. plutonism b. magmatism c. volcanism d. metamorphism
14. Which of the following type of soil is rich in oxides of iron and aluminium and usually develops in warm,
moist, tropical regions?
 a. caliche b. pedalfer c. laterite d. pedocal
15. Which of the following chemical weathering processes in which a mineral reacts with water to form a
new mineral that has water as part of its crystal structure?
a. dissolution b. hydrolysis c. oxidation d. carbonation
16. What do we call the portion of the upper mantle extending from a depth of about 100 km to 350 km
below the surface of the earth and consisting of weak, plastic rock where magma may form?
a. lithosphere b. asthenosphere c. moho d. outer core
17. What theory which states that “earth’s continents were once joined together and later split”?
a. sea floor spreading b. continental drift c. plate tectonics d. continental rifting
18. What do we call to a long narrow region at a convergent boundary where a lithospheric plate is sinking
into the mantle?
a. convection zone b. subduction c. subduction zone d. plate boundary
19. What do we call to the pieces of the earth’s crust which floats on the soft, semi-rigid asthenosphere?
a. continental crust b. oceanic crust c. plates d. asthenosphere
20. What are the metals present in the outer core?
a. iron and silver b. nickel and aluminium c. nickel and iron d. iron and gold
21. What is the largest layer of the earth?
a. outer core b. inner core c. mantle d. crust
22. What do we call to the small reptile that lived 270 million years ago that lived in a shallow, fresh water,
and inland seas?
a. pangea b. laurasia c. Eurasia d. panthalassa
23. Which of the following evidences supported the continental drift theory?
I. similarity of the coastlines
II. fossil records are similar on separate landmasses
III. climatic change in similarities
IV. the age and types of rocks are similar in coastal regions
a. I,II,III b. I,II,IV c. II,III,IV d. I,II,III,IV
24. Which of the following occurs when blocks of material slide downhill over a gently curved fracture in
rock or regolith?
a. rockslide b. creep c. slump d. fall
25. Which layer of the soil is composed of mixture of humus, sand, silt and clay?
a. O horizon b. B horizon c. C horizon d. topsoil
26. Which of the following does not belong to the group?
a. weathering b. erosion c. sedimentation d. metamorphism
27. What do we call to the mechanical weathering process in which a crack in a rock is expanded by tree or
plant roots growing there?
a. abrasion b. frost wedging c. organic activity d. thermal expansion and contraction
28. What do we call to the accumulation of loose, angular rocks at the base of a cliff, created when rocks
broke off as a result of frost wedging?
a. abrasion b. talus c. dissolution d. exfoliation
29. Which of the following processes are caused by mechanical weathering and chemical weathering?
I. exfoliation II. salt cracking c. exfoliation d. dissolution
a. I,II b. I,II,III c. II,III d. III,IV
30. Which of the following does not belong to the group?
a. magmatism b. plutonism c. metamorphism d. plutons