Test Bank for Exploring Geology 4th Edition by Reynolds Johnson
Chapter 1 – The Nature of Geology
TEST BANK QUESTIONS – This test bank is for
... [Show More] Exploring Geology 4
th
edition. In addition to this Word file, the questions can be accessed
via MH’s Connect system, and MH can provide them for various
classroom-management systems (e.g., Blackboard).
At the end of this document are instructions for copying and pasting these questions to create a
new test, as well as a description the self-numbering character of the questions and answers using
Styles in Microsoft Word. Short descriptors that follow each question are summarized here:
Answer: Correct answer to question.
Section: The number of the relevant two-page spread in Exploring Geology, 4th edition.
Difficulty Level: Cognitive skills required to answer the question, selected from six
categories in a version of Bloom’s Taxonomy. The six categories are Remember,
Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, or Create.
Topic: The chapter or the part of a chapter (e.g., energy resources versus mineral
resources) to which the question applies.
Section 1.0 – Nature of Geology
Answer: b
Section: 1.0
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
Section 1.1 – Where and How We Live
Answer: d
Section: 1.1
Difficulty Level: Apply/Analyze
Topic: Nature of Geology
1. Which of the following was mentioned in the opening two-page spread of Chapter 1?
a) oil beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve
b) the scenery of Glacier National Park
c) earthquakes along the San Andres fault
d) oil beneath the Gulf Coast of the United States
2. Which of the following is probably least at risk for geologic hazards?
a) next to a river in low areas
b) near an active fault
c) on soils that gently expand when wet
d) on gentle slopes away from mountains
e) close to, but upwind of, an active volcano
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Answer: c
Section: 1.1
Difficulty Level: Apply/Analyze
Topic: Nature of Geology
1. Which of the following geologic aspects influence our lives based on the photograph
showing horses and cows on a grassy field?
a) the presence of mountains, which influence the formation of clouds and precipitation
b) the steepness of slopes
c) the availability of water
d) all of these
Answer: d
Section: 1.1
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
Answer: d
Section: 1.1
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
Answer: c
Section: 1.1
3. Which potential geologic hazard is NOT
represented by a feature on this figure?
a) an earthquake
b) a volcano
c) contaminated groundwater
d) a landslide
e) flood-prone areas
4. The distribution of natural resources is influenced by the:
a) type of rocks
b) age of the rocks
c) way in which the rocks formed
d) all of these
5. Which of the following factors was most important in controlling the distribution of
copper mines in the western U.S. versus iron mines in the Great Lakes region?
a) the amount of precipitation (rain and snow)
b) the time of year when precipitation occurs
c) different ages and geologic histories of the rocks
d) the latitude (distance south or north from the equator)
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Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
Section 1.2 – Geology Explains World
2. Geology can help us learn about Earth’s past by studying:
a) why continents and oceans are different
b) why a landscape looks the way it does
c) how life in the past was different than today
d) how global climate has changed since the ice ages
e) all of these
Answer: e
Section: 1.2
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
3. Which of the following is NOT a way geology informs us about Earth’s past?
a) how the first second of the universe differed from a second today
b) why continents and oceans are different
c) why a landscape looks the way it does today
d) how life in the past was different than today
e) how past global climate was different than today
Answer: a
Section: 1.2
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
4. Continents differ in appearance from ocean basins because:
a) each has its own geologic history
b) each contains different fossils
c) each has its own climate
Answer: a
Section: 1.2
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
5. Continental ice sheets were more common 28,000
years ago than they are today because:
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a) the Earth had more water then than now
b) the Earth was cooler then than now
c) the Earth was further away from the Sun then than
now
Answer: b
Section: 1.2
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
Section 1.3 – Inside Earth
6. The main layers of the Earth in correct order, from the surface moving down, are:
a) upper crust, outer core, inner core, mantle
b) outer core, inner core, upper mantle, lower crust
c) crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
d) upper mantle, lower mantle, inner core, crust
Answer: c
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
7. Which of the following Earth layers is the thinnest?
a) oceanic crust
b) upper mantle
c) lower mantle
d) outer core
e) inner core
Answer: a
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
8. Which layer on this figure is the upper mantle?
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a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
Answer: c
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
9. Which layer on this figure is the continental crust?
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
Answer: a
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
10. Which layer on this figure is the oceanic crust?
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
Answer: b
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Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
11. Which layer in the earth is similar to the composition of granite?
a) continental crust
b) oceanic crust
c) upper mantle
d) lower mantle
e) core
Answer: a
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
12. Which layer in the earth is similar in composition to basalt, a dark lava rock?
a) continental crust
b) oceanic crust
c) upper mantle
d) lower mantle
e) core
Answer: b
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
13. Which layer in the earth is similar to the green mineral olivine?
a) continental crust
b) oceanic crust
c) mantle
d) core
Answer: c
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
14. Which layer in the earth is similar in composition to an iron-nickel meteorite?
a) continental crust
b) oceanic crust
c) upper mantle
d) lower mantle
e) core
Answer: e
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
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15. Which of the following is NOT a possible reason for why a region is higher in
elevation than adjacent regions?
a) the lithosphere is hotter
b) it has continental crust, but adjacent regions have oceanic crust
c) the crust is thicker
d) the crust is more dense
Answer: d
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
16. What is the most likely reason why a region is higher than adjacent regions?
a) there is a hot spot beneath it
b) the crust is thicker
c) it is underlain by oceanic crust
d) the asthenosphere is hotter
e) the crust is hotter
Answer: b
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
17. Which of the following is the best description of what the lithosphere contains?
a) continental and oceanic crust
b) both types of crust and the uppermost mantle
c) weak part of the upper mantle
d) upper and lower mantle
e) lower mantle and outer core
Answer: b
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
18. Which of the following Earth layers is the thickest?
a) continental crust
b) oceanic crust
c) mantle
d) outer core
Answer: c
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
19. The principle of isostasy refers to:
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a) the difference in the strength of the mantle versus the crust
b) the relationship between regional elevations and thickness of crust
c) how the outer core differs from the inner core
d) how the upper mantle differs from the lower mantle
Answer: b
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
20. Which of the following is NOT an important difference between continents and
oceans?
a) thickness of the crust
b) composition of the crust
c) density of the crust
d) whether it is part of the lithosphere
e) elevation
Answer: d
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
21. Which of the following combinations would result in the highest regional elevations?
a) thin, dense crust
b) thick, dense crust
c) thin, less dense crust
d) thick, less dense crust
Answer: d
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Apply/Analyze
Topic: Nature of Geology
22. Which layer on this figure is the outer core?
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
e) E
Answer: e
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
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Topic: Nature of Geology
23. Compared to oceanic crust, continental crust is:
a) thinner
b) more dense
c) lighter in color
d) all of these
Answer: c
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
24. The main difference between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere is the:
a) asthenosphere is less rigid
b) asthenosphere flows less easily
c) asthenosphere is cooler
d) asthenosphere has more oceanic crust
e) asthenosphere has more continental crust
Answer: a
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
25. Based on this topographic profile across the central United States, which region
probably has the thickest crust?
a) Colorado Rockies
b) Great Plains
c) Mississippi River
d) Appalachian Mountains
e) East Coast
Answer: a
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Apply/Analyze
Topic: Nature of Geology
26. Based on this topographic profile across the central United States, which region
probably has neither the thinnest nor thickest crust?
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a) Colorado Rockies
b) Mississippi River
c) East Coast
Answer: b
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Apply/Analyze
Topic: Nature of Geology
27. Based on this topographic profile across the central United States, which region
probably has the thinnest crust?
a) Colorado Rockies
b) Great Plains
c) Mississippi River
d) Appalachian Mountains
e) East Coast
Answer: e
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Apply/Analyze
Topic: Nature of Geology
28. Which of these best describes the location of the core within the Earth?
a) The core is located in the central zone of the Earth, beneath the mantle.
b) The core is located between the thin surface crust and the thick mantle.
c) The core is located at the surface of the Earth, forming a thin skin.
Answer: a
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
29. What is the largest of Earth's concentric zones by volume?
a) the crust
b) the mantle
c) the core
Answer: b
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
30. The asthenosphere is part of the:
a) mantle
b) lithosphere
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Answer: a
Section: 1.3
Difficulty Level: Remember/Understand
Topic: Nature of Geology
31. The asthenosphere is beneath the:
a) lithosphere
b) mantle
c) outer core [Show Less]