Quiz

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Question 1  (1 point)

The dollar cost of floods worldwide is increasing dramatically because:

a.	The number of floods has increased dramatically.
b.	The ocean levels are rising very rapidly.
c.	More people now live on flood plains or other flood-prone land.

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Question 2  (1 point)

The cosmological factor is important in determining age of Earth. It has a value of:

a.	0
b.	1
c.	We don't really know the value.

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Question 3  (1 point)

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Products of early supernovae are part of Earth's composition.

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 4  (1 point)

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On Earth. we use a 'rule of thumb' that says an impact crater is __________________________ times the size of the impacting object.

a.	150-200
b.	15-20
c.	1.5-2

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Question 5  (1 point)

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Using birth and death data from the Christian Bible, Archbishop Ussher determined that Earth was created in the year _______________ BC.

Answer

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Question 6  (1 point)

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Match the scientist his accomplishment.

James Hutton	'Father of Geology'
Baron George Cuvier	Radioactivity Process
Nicholas Steno	Principle of Superposition
Henri Bequerel	Champion of Catastrophism

James Hutton	-->	Choose match 'Father of Geology' Radioactivity Process Principle of Superposition Champion of Catastrophism
Baron George Cuvier	-->	Choose match 'Father of Geology' Radioactivity Process Principle of Superposition Champion of Catastrophism
Nicholas Steno	-->	Choose match 'Father of Geology' Radioactivity Process Principle of Superposition Champion of Catastrophism
Henri Bequerel	-->	Choose match 'Father of Geology' Radioactivity Process Principle of Superposition Champion of Catastrophism

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Question 7  (1 point)

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Long intervals of time separated by ___________ are called eras; there are three eras defined on the Geological Time Scale.

a.	Unconformities
b.	Major mass extinctions
c.	Faults

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Question 8  (1 point)

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Radioactivity is concerned with the decay of ___________ .

a.	a molecule
b.	a isotope
c.	an ion

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Question 9  (1 point)

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Carbon 14 decays over time to:

a.	Carbon 12
b.	it doesn't decay; it's stable.
c.	Nitrogen 14

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Question 1  (1 point)

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One million years ago an asteroid of roughly 1 km diameter impacted at Zhamanshin, Kasaksthan; the impact produced the equivalent of "nuclear winter".

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 2  (1 point)

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Earth should expect one Zhamanshin-size asteroid every:

a.	1000 years
b.	10,000 years
c.	100,000 years
d.	1,000,000 years

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Question 3  (1 point)

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Earth can be impacted by meteoroids originating from the asteroid belt or any of the planets.

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 4  (1 point)

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The scale by which the impact potential of space objects is estimated is called the _______________ Scale.

Answer

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Question 5  (1 point)

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Match the type of meteorite with general abundance of all observed falls.

Aerolites (stones)	more than 90%
Siderolites (stony irons)	1-5%
Siderites (irons)	5-10%

Aerolites (stones)	-->	Choose match more than 90% 1-5% 5-10%
Siderolites (stony irons)	-->	Choose match more than 90% 1-5% 5-10%
Siderites (irons)	-->	Choose match more than 90% 1-5% 5-10%

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Question 6  (1 point)

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Chondrules are:

a.	Tiny crystal +/- glass spherules found only in chrondrite aerolites.
b.	Very primitive matter representing an early sample of material making up the solar nebula.
c.	Probably representative of the melt created as Sun went nulclear in the early days of the solar system.
d.	All of the above.

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Question 7  (1 point)

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The most studied meteor crater in the world (and the youngest in North America) is called:

a.	Meteor Crater
b.	Barringer Crater
c.	Canyon Diablo Crater

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Question 8  (1 point)

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In determining the kinetic energy of a meteoroid, which is the more important factor, mass or velocity?

Answer

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Question 9  (1 point)

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Tektites are:

a.	Another word for 'chondrules'
b.	Quenched glass of surface rocks or soil produced during an impact event.
c.	Small glassy samples send Earth-ward during solar energy bursts.

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Question 1  (1 point)

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The average life span of any species is about____________ (number) million years.

Answer

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Question 2  (1 point)

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At the very least, to be called a 'mass extinction' the following must appy:

a.	the number of species which becomes extinct must exceed 30%.
b.	the event must be world-wide.
c.	the event must occur in many different ecologies.
d.	the event must take place over a very short time.
e.	the event must be the result of either a single cause or a cluster of linked causes.

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Question 3  (1 point)

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Meteoroids with diameters of about 1 mm strike Earth about once every:

a.	30 seconds
b.	30 years
c.	30 million years

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Question 4  (1 point)

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A globally catastrophic impact is defined as one that:

a.	results in the death of 10% of all species.
b.	results in the deaths of more than 25% of the world population.
c.	results in the extinction of 4 times background extinction.

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Question 5  (1 point)

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Free oxygen gradually appeared in the seas of Earth through the process of ___________; this process also gradually reduced Earth's atmospheric content of carbon dioxide.

a.	nucleosynthesis
b.	photosynthesis
c.	anerobic conversion

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Question 6  (1 point)

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From fossil evidence, we know that the first soft-bodied multicelled organisms, called metazoa, developed in Earth's oceans roughly __________(number) million years ago.

Answer

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Question 7  (1 point)

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Match the name of the continental block with description of the mass.

Rodinia	northern block of Pangaea
Laurasia	southern block of Pangaea
Gondwana	pre-Pangaea

Rodinia	-->	Choose match northern block of Pangaea southern block of Pangaea pre-Pangaea
Laurasia	-->	Choose match northern block of Pangaea southern block of Pangaea pre-Pangaea
Gondwana	-->	Choose match northern block of Pangaea southern block of Pangaea pre-Pangaea

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Question 8  (1 point)

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The two greatest mass extinctions appearing in the post-Precambrian fossil records occur at:

a.	Cambrian-Ordovician boundary and Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary.
b.	Carbonaceous-Permian boundary and Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary
c.	Permian-Triassic boundary and Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary
d.	Silurian-Devonian boundary and Cretaceous -Tertiary boundary

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Question 9  (1 point)

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The Chicxulub crater is:

a.	exposed as a deep basin
b.	buried beneath the Caribbean Sea floor.
c.	covered by roughly 1 km thinckness of sediments.
d.	used as a natural petroleum reservoir by Pemex, the Mexican oil company.

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Question 10  (1 point)

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It is estimated that no creature larger than a small dog survived the K-T extinction event.

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 11  (1 point)

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Raup and Sepkoski (1984) claimed that for the past 250 million years extinctions have a periodicity of approximately ____________ (number) million years.

Answer

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Question 1  (1 point)

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The parental theory of plate tectonics is

a.	continental drift theory
b.	expanding Earth theory
c.	continental spreading theory

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Question 2  (1 point)

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In three-dimensional space, magnetite crystals formed today at the latitude of London, Ontario (42 ged. North) will:

a.	have a horizontal attitude
b.	have a vertical attitude
c.	have an inclined tilt up
d.	have an inclined tilt down

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Question 3  (1 point)

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Stress is the deformation resulting from strain.

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 4  (1 point)

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When there is a slow but continuous movement of both sides (relatively) of a fault, the motion is called (one word):

Answer

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Question 5  (1 point)

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The designation marking total destruction on the Modified Mercalli Scale is:

a.	XII
b.	10
c.	100%

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Question 6  (1 point)

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A compression seismic body wave travels at roughly

a.	60 km/s
b.	6 km/s
c.	0.6 km/s

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Question 7  (1 point)

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The largest remaining fragment of the Farallon Plate is called

a.	Riviera Plate
b.	Pacific Plate
c.	Juan de Fuca Plate

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Question 8  (1 point)

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The 'Rocky Mountain Arsenal' earthquakes which lasted from 1962-65 were produced by

a.	nuclear tests
b.	water-lubrictaed joints and faults
c.	gas escaping from underground storage bunkers

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Question 9  (1 point)

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Tsunami travel velocities in open ocean can exceed

a.	100 km/h
b.	700 km/h
c.	900 km/h

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Question 10  (1 point)

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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is located near the city of

a.	Honolulu
b.	New Madrid
c.	Jakarta
d.	San Francisco

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Question 1  (1 point)

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In the case of volcanic activity, the heat of _______________ is overwhelmingly more important than any other source.

a.	accretion heating
b.	radioactivity
c.	dissipation of tidal energy
d.	kinetic energy of impacts from space

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Question 2  (1 point)

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Basic magma is characterized by an enrichment in the elements

a.	iron, magnesium and calcium
b.	potassium, sodium and silicon
c.	nickel, sulfur and copper

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Question 3  (1 point)

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The main dissolved volatile components in magma are

a.	water and sulfur hydroxide
b.	water and cabon
c.	water and carbon dioxide

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Question 4  (1 point)

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Match the volcanic-type classification name with its properties.

Hawaiian	highly fluid, very hot and basic in composition
Strombolian	highly explosive, highly viscous
Vesuvian	tendency to form scoria cones; range of composition and fluidity

Hawaiian	-->	Choose match highly fluid, very hot and basic in composition highly explosive, highly viscous tendency to form scoria cones; range of composition and fluidity
Strombolian	-->	Choose match highly fluid, very hot and basic in composition highly explosive, highly viscous tendency to form scoria cones; range of composition and fluidity
Vesuvian	-->	Choose match highly fluid, very hot and basic in composition highly explosive, highly viscous tendency to form scoria cones; range of composition and fluidity

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Question 5  (1 point)

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Magma classified as MORB is most likely found

a.	in Iceland
b.	at Yellowstone
c.	at Mount Etna

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Question 6  (1 point)

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Mount Vesuvius has developed over

a.	a mantle plume
b.	a hot spot
c.	a subduction zone
d.	an island arc

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Question 7  (1 point)

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The most extensive record of recent volcanic activity in the continental USA is __________.

Answer

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Question 8  (1 point)

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Yellowstone National Park is characterized by

a.	a thick series of flood basalts
b.	a resurgent caldera
c.	the largest hot water lake in North America

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Question 9  (1 point)

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Mount Vesuvius is an example of an extinct volcano.

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 10  (1 point)

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Earth tides in the mantle are produced by attraction between Earth, Moon and Sun. These tidal variations affect surface waters as well as some magma eruptions.

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 1  (1 point)

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The Laki eruption dumped out roughly 15 times the volume of the most recent Mount St. Helens eruption.

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 2  (1 point)

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The most recent Yellowstone eruption roughly equalled the erupted volume of the Columbia River Plateau basalts.

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 3  (1 point)

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Rate the following continental flood basalts in order of most voluminous (number 1) to least voluminous (4).

Laki	3
Deccan Traps	4
Columbia River Plateau	1
Siberian Traps	2

Laki	-->	Choose match 3 4 1 2
Deccan Traps	-->	Choose match 3 4 1 2
Columbia River Plateau	-->	Choose match 3 4 1 2
Siberian Traps	-->	Choose match 3 4 1 2

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Question 4  (1 point)

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The eruption time of the Deccan Traps is close to the mass extinction time of ________ (number) million years ago.

Answer

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Question 5  (1 point)

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The end-Cretaceous mass extinction is thought to be due largely to

a.	a huge greenhouse effect caused by carbon dioxide emissions from the Deccan Traps
b.	a huge acid rain effect caused by the sulfur dioxide emissions from the Deccan Traps
c.	the almost endless Plinean-style eruption of the Deccan Traps that produced the equivalent of a 'nuclear winter'
d.	none of the above are correct

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Question 6  (1 point)

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The Ultra-Low Velocity Zone is located

a.	at the crust-uppermantle boundary of Earth
b.	at the upper mantle-lower mantle boundary of Earth
c.	at the lower mantle-outer core boundary of Earth
d.	at the outer core-inner core boundary of Earth

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Question 7  (1 point)

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Stothers and Rampino postulated a periodicity of approximately ___ (number) million of years for plateau basalt eruptions, large impacts, magnetic field reversals, and mass extinctions.

a.	23
b.	33
c.	53
d.	63

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Question 8  (1 point)

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Stothers and Rampino believed there was a correlation between impacts of space objects, magnetic field reversals and generation of mantle plumes. They used three studies to strengthen their argument. Match the authors of the three studies with the subject matter of their work.

Pal and Creer	enormous earthquake shock waves produced by huge impacts altered the density of mantle phases, thus disturbing liquid core convection patterms
Muller and Morris	core turbulence resulting from large impacts of asteroids/comets
Burek and Wanke	huge glaciers, generated after catastrophic impacts, produced a slight 'wobble' of Earth and disturbed the liquid core circulation patterns

Pal and Creer	-->	Choose match enormous earthquake shock waves produced by huge impacts altered the density of mantle phases, thus disturbing liquid core convection patterms core turbulence resulting from large impacts of asteroids/comets huge glaciers, generated after catastrophic impacts, produced a slight 'wobble' of Earth and disturbed the liquid core circulation patterns
Muller and Morris	-->	Choose match enormous earthquake shock waves produced by huge impacts altered the density of mantle phases, thus disturbing liquid core convection patterms core turbulence resulting from large impacts of asteroids/comets huge glaciers, generated after catastrophic impacts, produced a slight 'wobble' of Earth and disturbed the liquid core circulation patterns
Burek and Wanke	-->	Choose match enormous earthquake shock waves produced by huge impacts altered the density of mantle phases, thus disturbing liquid core convection patterms core turbulence resulting from large impacts of asteroids/comets huge glaciers, generated after catastrophic impacts, produced a slight 'wobble' of Earth and disturbed the liquid core circulation patterns

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Question 1  (1 point)

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All landslides and subsidence are ultimately controlled by:

a.	the force of friction
b.	the force of gravity
c.	poor construction methods

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Question 2  (1 point)

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The force of cohesion and friction is always:

a.	perpendicular to the surface the object rests on
b.	parallel to the surface the object rests on.

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Question 3  (1 point)

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The presence of ______________ (one word) significantly affects the cohesion and friction among sand grains - as any kid at the beach would know!

Answer

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Question 4  (1 point)

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The worst disaster in the history of hydro dam construction too place at the site called:

a.	Aswan High Dam
b.	the Baldwin Hills Dam
c.	The Vaiont Dam

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Question 5  (1 point)

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The Leaning Tower of Piza has been reopened to the public after many years of reconstruction at its base. At least part of the 'lean' was due to removal of _____________ (one word) for human use.

Answer

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Question 6  (1 point)

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The action of water, together with ___________ from the atmosphere is largely responsible for production of caves in limestone.

a.	Nitrogen
b.	Chlorine
c.	Carbon dioxide

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Question 7  (1 point)

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Underground caves, stranded in the zone of aeration above a dropping water table, may lead to large circular depressions called ____________.

Answer

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Question 1  (1 point)

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About 80% of the mass of the atmosphere occurs in which zone?

a.	stratosphere
b.	thermosphere
c.	troposphere
d.	mesosphere

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Question 2  (1 point)

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Any body moving freely, with respect to the rotating Earth, in the Northern Hemisphere is deflected to the ____________ (direction right or left) by a phenomonon known as the ______________ effect.

Answer

1.

2.

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Question 3  (1 point)

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Air density is lowest on a ___________ day.

a.	hot
b.	cold

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Question 4  (1 point)

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Parallel lines of thunderstorms arranged along a front and all moving in the same direction may be called:

a.	supercells
b.	derechoes

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Question 5  (1 point)

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The smallest, most violent disturbance that occurs on Earth is called a:

Answer

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Question 6  (1 point)

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The Fujita Scale is used to classify what category of violent storm?

a.	hurricanes
b.	tropical storms
c.	tornadoes
d.	typhoones

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Question 7  (1 point)

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Climatologists use the word ___________ when they refer to factors that cause climate changes.

Answer

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Question 8  (1 point)

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The Milankovitch factors refer to:

a.	various climate system feedbacks that mute the effects of the greenhouse warming
b.	variations in Earth's orbit around our Sun
c.	the physical and chemical factors by which climate models are constructed.

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Question 9  (1 point)

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The mass numbers of the two stable isotopes of oxygen used to great advantage in climate proxy studies are ___________ and ____________ (numerical answers only).

Answer

1.

2.

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Question 10  (1 point)

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For at least the past 10 million years, Earth has existed in a climatological Icehouse.

a.	True
b.	False

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Question 11  (1 point)

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The Younger Dryas Event produced profound cooling due to:

a.	the millennial oscillations
b.	atmospheric dust accumulated during the volcanic eruption of Tamboro
c.	a flood of cold, freshwater from North America over the North Atlantic
d.	the Little Ice Age, during which the River Thames in England froze repeatedly.

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