Ch. 1 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?

 

Ch. 2: 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?

 

 

Ch. 3: 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??

 

 

Ch. 4: 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?

 

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