Chapter 1: An Introduction to Geology

1.	The two broad areas of geology are physical geology and structural geology.     True False
2.	More than 2300 years ago, Aristotle's keen observations and experiments helped the early Greeks correctly explain many things about the natural world.     True False
3.	During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, catastrophists believed that Earth's landscapes had been shaped primarily by great disasters.     True False
4.	Uniformitarianism is a fundamental principle of geology that states that the physical, chemical, and biological laws that govern geological processes remain unchanged through time.     True False
5.	The principle of uniformitarianism indicates that ______.   geologists must wear uniforms tomorrow is the "key" to the past the present is the "key" to the past the past is the "key" to the present
6.	The geologic time scale was developed using principles of relative dating.     True False
7.	The law of superposition and the principle of fossil succession are each used for relative dating.     True False
8.	The theory of plate tectonics provides geologists with a comprehensive model of Earth's internal workings.     True False
9.	The age of Earth is about 6.4 billion years.     True False
10.	All science is based on the assumption that the natural world behaves in a consistent and predictable manner that is comprehensible through careful, systematic study.     True False
11.	The scientific method is the standard used by scientists so that _________.   provided we can ask a question, there is an answer, even if we cannot understand it observations are used to make hypotheses that are required to be “testable” when hypotheses “pass” tests, we should devise additional tests until the hypothesis fails all of these
12.	The geological time scale has been constructed based upon which of the following?   Global correlation of strata. "Superposition" relations. The fossil succession record. All of these.
13.	A scientific hypothesis is a tentative (or untested) explanation.     True False
14.	Scientific theories that explain a large number of interrelated aspects of the natural world are called paradigms.     True False
15.	As the Earth was forming, an early period of chemical segregation established the basic divisions of its interior.     True False
16.	There is a fixed path that scientists always follow that leads unerringly to scientific knowledge.     True False
17.	The Earth and the other planets formed at the same time from an enormous rotating cloud called the solar nebula.     True False
18.	A system is a group of interacting or interdependent parts that form a complex whole.     True False
19.	Earth can be thought of as consisting of four spheres: the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, solid Earth, and biosphere.     True False
20.	Approximately how much of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans?   70% 20% 90% 50% 65%
21.	Humans are not considered parts of the Earth system.     True False
22.	The Earth system is powered by two parts: the Sun, and heat from burning fossil fuels.     True False
23.	The Earth system that involves glaciers, oceans, and rain is the .
24.	The Earth system that involves the surface expression of Earth's dynamic interior is the .
25.	All of the following are fundamental Earth systems except _______.   chemosphere solid Earth atmosphere hydrosphere biosphere
26.	The composition of Earth's core is thought to be an iron-nickel alloy with minor amounts of oxygen, silicon, and sulfur.     True False
27.	Earth's outermost layer, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, is called the lithosphere.     True False
28.	Earth's outer core is liquid, whereas the inner core is solid.     True False
29.	Over 82 percent of Earth's volume is contained in the crust.     True False
30.	As defined by composition, Earth's internal structure consists of the core, mantle, and crust.     True False
31.	Shields (flat expanses composed largely of crystalline rocks), are parts of stable continental interiors.     True False
32.	On average, continental rocks are more dense than the rocks of the oceanic crust.     True False
33.	The boundary between the continents and the deep-ocean basins lies along the continental shelf.     True False
34.	Extremely deep, relatively narrow depressions on the ocean floor are called abyssal plains.     True False
35.	Magma is molten material that forms in Earth's interior where temperatures and pressures are such that rock melts.     True False
36.	Lithification is a term that means "conversion into rock."     True False
37.	The rock cycle illustrates the origin of the three basic rock types and the role of various geologic processes in transforming one rock type into another.     True False
38.	Geology is the science that pursues an understanding of __________.   planet Earth Earth's biosphere Earth's atmosphere the solar system none of the above
39.	The Earth system is powered by energy from two sources: __________ and __________.   the Sun/Earth's interior the Sun/internal combustion friction/wind tidal power/fossil fuels none of the above
40.	Earth's outermost layer, consisting of the crust and uppermost mantle, is a relatively cool, rigid shell called the __________.   core lithosphere asthenosphere mesosphere "D" layer
41.	The __________ form(s) a continuous belt that winds for more than 70,000 kilometers (43,000 miles) around the globe.   oceanic ridge system Himalayas deep-ocean trenches Alps Mississippi River system