Reference no: EM13962834

Part A: Philosophy and Fundamental Concepts:

What is environmental geology? What are its uses?
Environmental geology is considered a broad applications science, what other areas of study would be included under its umbrella?
What are the 5 concepts that will be covered in this course?
Why is population growth the number one environmental problem in the world?
What is in-put/out-put analysis? What is exponential growth?
What is average residence time? How is it applied?
How can the principle of uniformitarianism be applied to environmental geology?
What is the Gaia hypothesis? Is the Gaia Hypothesis science? How could we test the main parts? Which would be hard to test? Why?
Is sustainability the solution to population growth? How?
What is the precautionary principle and why is it important?

Part B: Internal Structure of Earth and Plate Tectonics

Define the following terms:
asthenosphere
continental drift
convection
convergent boundary
core
crust
divergent boundary
hot spot
isostasy
lithosphere
magnetic reversal
mantle
mid-oceanic ridge
Moho
paleomagnetism
plate tectonics
seafloor spreading
seismology
spreading center
subduction zone
submarine trench
transform boundary
triple junction
Wadati - Benioff zone
Wilson Cycle
What are the major differences between the inner and outer cores of Earth?
How are the major properties of the lithosphere different from those of the asthenosphere?
What are the three major types of plate boundaries?
What are the major processes that are thought to produce Earth's magnetic field?
What are hot spots?

Part C: Minerals and Rocks

Define the following terms:
igneous rock
law of crosscutting relationships
law of original horizontality
law of superpostion
metamorphic rock
mineral
rock
rock cycle
sedimentary rock
weathering

Differentiate between igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Describe the location of these different types of rocks.
What is a mineral? What are some of the uses of raw minerals?
Describe the process of rock cycling.
What is a batholith, and where might you find one?
How would a porphyritic texture be produced?
What is the difference between a detrital and a chemical sedimentary rock?
What are the main rock structures?
How might an angular unconformity be produced? Some of you have seen this type of formation, where??

Part D: Ecology and Geology

Define the following:
biodiversity
ecology
ecosystem
ecological restoration
An ecosystem consists of an ecological community and its non-living environment. Which of the two do you think is more important, why? In other words, do you think the physical environment comes before what lives there, or does what lives there affect the physical environment to a greater extent than the role of geology or are both things equally important?

Part E:

Question 1: Sulfide minerals are potential environmental hazards because
they are rich in calcium, which contributes to water degradation
they are weak minerals
they are important sources of iron
they can combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid

Question 2: The concept of seafloor spreading was supported by magnetic polarity stripes on the ocean floor.
True
False

Question 3: The rocks of the core are more dense than the rocks of the mantle.
True
False

Question 4: What is sustainability?
the ability of a population to sustain its economy
development that ensures that future generations will have equal access to the resources that our planet offers
the ability of a population to sustain its growth
development that can be sustained for at least ten years

Question 5: Transform plate boundaries are marked by
volcanic island arcs
consumption of oceanic crust
creation of oceanic crust
two plates sliding relative to one another

Question 6: The dominant processes in an ecosystem are
life and death
energy flows and chemical cycles
interactions of biota and geologic environment
damage and restoration

Question 7: What driving force of plate movement is likely dominant?
slab pull
valley fall
mountain rise
ridge push

Question 8: S-waves accelerate as they enter the outer core.
True
False

Question 9: Why are ferromagnesian minerals easily weathered?
they are prone to oxidation
they are rich in magnesium
they are prone to dissolution
they are formed during the solidification of magma

Question 10: Intrusive igneous rocks differ from extrusive igneous rocks primarily in their
crystal sizes
degree of heat and pressure involved in magma generation
chemical and mineralogical makeup
plate tectonic setting

Question 11: Rock folds typically form under the influence of compressive stress.
True
False

Question 12: Humans are causing rapid extinction, leading to a reduction in biodiversity
True
False

Question 13: The term "clay" refers to both texture and mineralogy.
True
False

Question 14: Only a few transform boundaries (<10) mark the Earth's tectonic plates.
True
False

Question 15: Unconformities represent
a gap in the geologic record
a period of igneous intrusion
a time when the rock sequence was below sea level
an example of the principle of superposition

Question 16: Why is human population growth often considered the foremost environmental problem?
There is no way to provide food for additional people.
Increasing population strains resources and creates additional wastes.
The Earth will run out of open land space within the next 50 years.
There is insufficient oxygen production on Earth for more than 10 billion people.

Question 17: What is uniformitarianism?
a concept that states that present processes operated in the past, at similar rates
a uniform method by which science is conducted
a concept stating that environmental conditions in the past were the same as those of today
a method by which the uniformity of population growth is assessed

Question 18: The concept of a land ethic maintains that we are responsible to the entire environment, not just to humans.
True
False

Question 19: The process of isostasy is responsible for
moving plates apart at a divergent margin
creating volcanoes at a hot spot
causing compressive stresses at convergent boundaries
causing rock uplift in mountain ranges in response to erosion

Question 20: The approach of Earth systems science maintains that application of technological systems is the best means to address environmental degradation.
True
False

Question 21: Deep (>200 km) earthquakes can only be found at a convergent boundary.
True
False

Question 22: What is Earth systems science?
the study of the atmosphere
the study of the entire planet as a system of interrelated components
the study of population growth on Earth
the study of physical systems on the Earth's surface

Question 23: How a species "makes its living" is called its
niche
biota
habitat
ecology

Question 24: The asthenosphere is less dense than the lithosphere.
P-wave
R-wave
S-wave
L-wave

Question 25: What is average residence time?
the average time for a system to run out of energy
the average time required for an open system to convert to a closed system
the average time that a human population can stay in an area before environmental conditions force them to move
the average time required for the total stock of a material to be cycled through a system

Question 26: The Hawaiian Islands are a volcanic arc atop an oceanic subduction zone.
True
False

Question 27: A submarine trench is associated with a convergent boundary.
True
False

Question 28: How do magnetic stripes on the ocean floor serve as evidence for seafloor spreading?
Their symmetry on either side of mid-ocean ridges shows that transform boundaries are sliding boundaries.
Their symmetry on either side of the mid-ocean ridge shows that new crust is created, then split.
Their patterns show that the Earth's magnetic field reverses every few hundred years, on average.
They show that island arc volcanism creates new oceanic crust at the mid-ocean ridges.

Question 29: The principle of uniformitarianism can be extended to prediction of future natural hazards
True
False

Question 30: What is exponential growth?
growth that occurs at a constant rate
growth that is logarithmic in nature
growth that occurs as a constant percentage of the existing amount
growth that doubles the existing number

Question 31: How does the lithosphere differ from the asthenosphere?
The asthenosphere is less dense than the lithosphere.
The asthenosphere is stronger than the lithosphere.
The lithosphere is stronger than the asthenosphere.
The asthenosphere is part of the core, while the lithosphere is part of the mantle

Question 32: The crystalline structure of minerals is a result of random arrangement of atoms in a crystal lattice.
True
False

Question 33: How are the impacts of natural hazards linked to population growth?
Population growth concentrates people and resources, such that the impacts of an individual natural hazard can be greater.
Population growth changes the rates of geologic processes, in turn changing the frequency of hazardous events.
Population growth weakens societal defenses against natural hazards.
Natural hazards strongly influence population growth.

Question 34: What is the Gaia hypothesis?
a hypothesis that states the Earth is alive
a set of hypotheses that likens the Earth to a superorganism with interrelated, mutually adjusting systems
the concept of environmental unity
the hypothesis lying at the root of uniformitarianism

Question 35: At convergent plate boundaries
the plate of higher density subducts into the mantle
the plate of lower density subducts into the mantle
new oceanic crust is created
magnetic stripes are generated in oceanic rocks

Question 36: Which of the following does not tend to increase biodiversity in an ecosystem?
extreme disturbance
evolution
relatively constant environmental factors
diverse habitats

Question 37: Which of the following is not a mineral?
quartz
volcanic glass
plagioclase feldspar
ice

Question 38: An open system exchanges energy and materials with its surroundings.
True
False

Question 39: Seawalls can decrease biodiversity by narrowing beaches
True
False

Question 40: A volcano that erupts with frequent, moderate eruptions is more likely to increase biodiversity than is a volcano that erupts with major eruptions.
True
False

Question 41: What human activities have impacted the Everglades negatively?
removal of keystone species
removal of sand dune vegetation
commercial fishing
wetlands draining

Question 42: Succession of tree species should be a common process in an avalanche chute.
True
False

Question 43: Sea urchins help preserve kelp in kelp forests.
True
False

Question 44: Mountain ranges may have influenced biodiversity of trees in Europe and North America.
True
False

Question 45: Hot spots are recorded by
a sequence of volcanic centers younging toward the hot spot
extensive earthquake hazards
rock from the outer mantle included in volcanic rocks
mantle rock exposed at the Earth's surface

Question 46: As an ecosystem evolves following disturbance, it follows the path of
restoration
succession
naturalization
ecology

Question 47: Why are silicate minerals the most common minerals in the crust?
because oxygen and silicon are the most common elements in the crust
because their building block is in the shape of a tetrahedron
because they include elements such as magnesium, sodium, and potassium
because carbonate and oxide minerals are more easily weathered

Question 48: What is the principal difference between the inner core and outer core?
The inner core consists mainly of silicate minerals, while the outer core consists mainly of iron and nickel.
The inner core is liquid while the outer core is solid.
The inner core is solid while the outer core is liquid.
The inner core consists mainly of iron and nickel, while the outer core consists mainly of silicate minerals

Question 49: What does the concept of environmental unity state?
All systems are related to one another.
All people on Earth agree on the nature of and solutions to environmental problems.
All humans live on Gaia, and therefore we are subject to the same environment.
One action leads to subsequent actions in linked systems.

Question 50: Detrital sedimentary rocks differ from chemical sedimentary rocks in that
chemical sedimentary rocks are composed of chemical elements, while detrital rocks are
detrital sedimentary rocks accumulate in depositional basins, while chemical sedimentary rocks do not
detrital sedimentary rocks are composed of visible pieces of preexisting rocks
chemical sedimentary rocks accumulate in the ocean, while detrital rocks do not