General Questions
Directions: Give enough explanation or justification, show all necessary steps.
1. The Earth is sphere (as is the Scotch egg!) with a diameter of about 12,700Kilometres. The deepest
anyone has drilled so far into the earth is around 12 kilometers; and this is only few part of the crust.
Therefore, How do we know what's going on deep underground?
2. Using plate movement as the driving mechanism of the rock cycle, explain how the three rock groups
are related and how each rock group can be converted into a different rock group.
3. What evidence convinced Wegener and others that continents must have moved in the past and at
one time formed a supercontinent?
4. Suppose the movement along the rift valley Fault is 5.5 cm per year averages and it is a dextral strike
slip fault, which separates the eastern and western plateau of Ethiopia, how long will it take before
Mojo town passes Metehara?
5. How does the lithosphere differ from the asthenosphere?
6. If Earth were completely solid and homogeneous throughout, how would P- and S-waves behave as
they travelled through the planet? How do they actually behave?
7. Why do scientists think that the inner core is solid and the outer core is liquid? What is the core
composed of?
8. List the source of heat in the earth crust
Multiple choice Questions
Directions: Each of the questions or statments below is followed by four suggested answers or completions.
Select the one that is best in each case.
1. The geothermal gradient is Earth’s
A. capacity to reflect and refract seismic waves;
B. most destructive aspect of earthquakes;
C. temperature increase with depth;
D. average rate of seismic wave velocity in the mantle;
E. elastic rebound potential
2. The southern part of Pangaea, consisting of South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica, is
called
A. Laurasia;
B. Gondwana;
C. Panthalassa;
D. Laurentia;
E. Pacifica.
3. Which radioactive nuclide would be used to date the age of an Egyptian mummy?
A. Rb-87
B. C-14
C. K-40
D. U-235
4. The radiometric clock for dating rocks is set when:
A. The rock crystallizes and cools down.
B. The geologist sets the clock with a mass spectrometer.
C. The original elements formed by explosive nucleo-synthesis in a supernova.
D. The parent nuclide: daughter nuclide ratio is measured.
5. What and where are the oldest rocks on earth and what is their age?
A. Granites from Australia, 4.5 BY old
B. Zircons from Norway, 4.3 BY old
C. Gneisses from Canada, 4.0 BY old
D. Zircons from Greenland, 3.8 BY old
6. Which radioactive substance would probably be used in dating the recent remains of a plant found in
sedimentary deposits?
A) carbon-14
B) potassium-40
C) rubidium-87
D) uranium-238
7. Why are radioactive materials useful for measuring geologic time?
A. Measurable samples of radioactive materials are easily collected from most rock types.
B. The half-lives of most radioactive materials are less than five minutes.
C. The disintegration of radioactive materials occurs at a predictable rate.
D. The ratio of decay products to undecayed material remains constant in sedimentary rocks.
8. Which evidence does not support the theory that Africa and South America were once part of the
same large continent?
A. correlation of coastlines on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
B. correlation of living animals on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
C. correlation of rocks on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
D. correlation of fossils on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
9. Which is the best evidence that the Earth's crust has been uplifted?
A. shallow-water fossils found at great ocean depths
B. marine fossils found at high elevations above sea level
C. younger fossils above older fossils in layers of rock
D. marine fossils found in horizontal sedimentary layers
Base your answers to the following question on the map below. The map shows the continents of Africa
and South America, the ocean between them, and the ocean ridge and transforms faults. Locations A and
D are on the continents. Locations B and C are on the ocean floor.
10. The hottest crustal temperature measurements would most likely be found at location
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
11. Compared to Earth’s crust, Earth’s core is believed to be
A. less dense, cooler, and composed of more iron
B. less dense, hotter, and composed of less iron
C. more dense, hotter, and composed of more iron
D. more dense, cooler, and composed of less iron
12. Earth’s outer core is best inferred to be
A. liquid, with an average density of approximately 4 g/cm3
B. liquid, with an average density of approximately 11 g/cm3
C. solid, with an average density of approximately 4 g/cm3
D. solid, with an average density of approximately 11 g/cm3
13. Compared to the thickness and density of the continental crust of South America, the oceanic crust
of the Pacific floor is
A. thinner and less dense
B. thicker and less dense
C. thinner and more dense
D. thicker and more dense
14. The concentric layer that makes up most of Earth’s volume is the
A. inner core;
B. outer core;
C. mantle;
D. asthenosphere;
E. crust
15. The premise that present-day processes have operated throughout geologic time is the principle of
A. organic evolution;
B. plate tectonics;
C. uniformitarianism;
D. geologic time;
E. scientific deduction
16. Which evidence does not support the theory that Africa and South America were once part of the
same large continent?
A. correlation of coastlines on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
B. correlation of living animals on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
C. correlation of rocks on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
D. correlation of fossils on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
17. Which statement best supports the theory of continental drift?
A. Areas of shallow-water seas tend to accumulate sediment, which gradually sinks.
B. Basaltic rock is found to be progressively younger at increasing distances from a mid-ocean
ridge.
C. Marine fossils are often found in deep-well drill cores.
D. The present continents appear to fit together as pieces of a larger landmass.
18. The best evidence of crustal movement would be provided by
A. weathered bedrock found at the bottom of a cliff
B. ripple marks found in sandy sediment
C. marine fossils found on a mountaintop
D. dinosaur tracks found in the surface bedrock
19. Which past activity in this region is suggested by the shape of these sedimentary rock layers?
A. crustal movements
B. widespread volcanic activity
C. glacial deposition
D. horizontal sorting
20. Which statement best describes the continental and oceanic crusts?
A. The continental crust is thicker and less dense than the oceanic crust.
B. The continental crust is thinner and denser than the oceanic crust.
C. The continental crust is thinner and less dense than the oceanic crust.
D. The continental crust is thicker and denser than the oceanic crust.
21. Which group are the zones of the Earth's interior correctly arranged in order of increasing average
density?
A. crust, mantle, inner core, outer core
B. crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
C. inner core, outer core, mantle, crust
D. outer core, inner core, mantle, crust
22. To get a sample material from the mantle, drilling will be done through the oceanic crust rather than
through the continental crust because oceanic crust is
A. younger than continental crust
B. more dense than continental crust
C. thinner than continental crust
D. softer than continental crust
23. As the depth within the Earth's interior increases, the
A. density, temperature, and pressure decrease
B. density increases, but temperature and pressure decrease
C. density and temperature increase, but pressure decreases
D. density, temperature, and pressure increase
24. Which evidence best supports the inference that the Earth's outer core possesses liquid
characteristics?
A. The velocities of both primary and shear waves increase through the outer core.
B. Both primary waves and shear waves pass through the outer core.
C. Primary waves pass through the outer core but shear waves do not.
D. The primary wave velocity decreases, while the shear wave velocity increases in the outer
core.
25. In which zone of the Earth's interior is the melting point of the rock inferred to be lower than the
actual temperature of the rock?
A. outer core
B. mantle
C. inner core
D. crust
26. The division of the Earth's interior into crust and mantle, is based primarily on the study of
A. radioactive dating
B. volcanic eruptions
C. gravity measurements
D. seismic waves