BROCK UNIVERSITY

Midterm Test – 27th October 2016

ERSC 1P01 Planet Earth–I

Duration 50 minutes

No aids allowed

Name

Student number

No examination aids are permitted (this regulation does not preclude special arrangements being made for
students with disabilities). Use or possession of unauthorized materials will automatically result in the
award of a zero grade for this examination.

There are fifty-five (55) questions in total. All questions are of equal weight. NO marks are deducted for
incorrect answers. Choose only ONE answer for each question. Mark your answers on the computer sheet
provided. Instructions on the computer sheet must be followed EXACTLY to avoid incorrect scoring.
(You may write notes on this question paper, but it will not be used in the marking process. You MUST
hand in this question sheet along with your completed computer sheet).

1. He showed that planets travel around the Sun not in strictly circular orbits but elliptical ones. He was
a. Copernicus
b. Kepler
c. Newton
d. Galileo
e. Ptolemy

2. Eratosthenes measured the angle of a shadow cast by a tower in Alexandria at a time when a well in
Aswan was fully illuminated by the Sun. This allowed him to determine
a. the Earth’s angle of tilt when spinning
b. the fact that Earth is spinning on its axis
c. the weight (mass) of the Earth
d. the circumference of the Earth
e. that Earth is approximately spherical in shape

3. About three minutes after singularity, helium, lithium, beryllium, and boron began to form through a
process called
a. singular boronation
b. Big Bang nucleosynthesis
c. secular solar synthesis
d. nebulation
e. molecular synthesis

4. Those planets in the solar system that have a core of iron alloy and shell of rock include
a. all the Jovian planets
b. Saturn and Earth
c. Mercury and Uranus
d. Venus and Mars
e. Pluto and Neptune

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5. Formerly a planet and now relegated to the status of a dwarf planet, its orbit around the Sun is markedly
inclined relative to the ecliptic plane. It is
a. Mercury
b. Uranus
c. Mars
d. Neptune
e. Pluto

6. They consist of charged particles and form belts in the Earth’s atmosphere at heights of 3000 and 10,500
km that protect the Earth from lethal radiation. They are
a. Solar wind belts
b. the dipole belts
c. Van Allen belts
d. the aurora borealis belts
e. the aurora australis belts

7. Regarding the Earth’s present atmosphere, oxygen makes up about

a. 2%
b. 21%
c. 56%
d. 82%
e. 95%

8. The upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere, starting at about 12 km and in which no vertical circulation
exists, is known as the
a. stratosphere
b. hydrosphere
c. stagnosphere
d. troposphere
e. altosphere

9. Our knowledge that the Earth’s inner core is solid is based on

a. calculations of the Earth’s density
b. deep drilling into the core
c. the behaviour of surface waves
d. the S-wave shadow
e. the reflection of P-waves

10. The asthenosphere is

a. only the oceanic crust
b. part of the outer core
c. part of the upper mantle
d. the crust and rigid part of the upper mantle
e. both the oceanic and continental crust

11. Our present continents result from the breakup and drifting apart of a past supercontinent called
a. Laurentia
b. Wegeneria
c. Alfredia
d. Eurasia
e. Pangaea

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12. Significant early resistance to accepting continental drift was that
a. there was no known viable mechanism
b. there was no easy way to fit the present continents together
c. fossil evidence did not support it
d. ancient glaciation on different continents did not fit together
e. the idea contradicted the doctrines of the church

13. Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

a. Declination is the angle of dip made by Earth’s magnetic field at the surface
b. Magnetite acquires a preferred magnetic alignment only at and below the Curie Point temperature
c. It is not possible to determine paleomagnetism from sedimentary rocks
d. The apparent polar wander paths for N. America and Europe diverge during the time interval that they
were joined together
e. Magnetic inclination at the magnetic equator is 90°

14. Magnetic anomalies on the sea floor result from sea floor spreading in conjunction with
a. the repeated reversal of Earth’s magnetic polarity
b. the alternation of magnetic and non-magnetic magmas injected into mid-ocean ridges
c. the alternation of magnetic and non-magnetic sediments on the sea floor
d. episodic (stop–start) activity along spreading ridges
e. both b and c

15. The most common elements on Earth include

a. magnesium and potassium
b. silicon and sulfur
c. iron and oxygen
d. hydrogen and helium
e. nickel and silicon

16. Which one of the following statements is FALSE?

a. Magma at a mid-ocean ridge results from partial melting of asthenosphere
b. Oceanic crust gets younger with increasing distance from a spreading ridge
c. Most large lithospheric plates are made up of both continental and oceanic crust
d. Vine, Matthews & Morley in 1966 pointed out the significance of marine magnetic anomalies
e. J. Tuzo Wilson recognized the importance of fracture zones along a spreading ridge axis

17. The margins of continents that occur within the interior of a lithospheric plate are called
a. passive margins
b. active margins
c. subducting margins
d. internal margins
e. inert margins

18. Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

a. Moving hot spots produce long lines of simultaneously active volcanoes in the Pacific
b. Continental crust is more dense than oceanic crust
c. New crust is forming in deep ocean trenches
d. Hot spots are the only “fixed” reference frame for plate motion
e. Black smokers are volcanic vents on land that emit thick black smoke

19. Most earthquakes at a spreading ridge are directly caused by

a. thermal subsidence
b. transform faults
c. ridge uplift
d. volcanic activity
e. movement within asthenosphere

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20. The principal evidence for an inclination (dip) in the plane of a subducting plate comes from
a. volcanoes
b. fossils
c. paleomagnetism
d. earthquakes
e. geothermal gradients

21. The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a

a. convergent plate boundary
b. transform plate boundary
c. divergent plate boundary
d. triple junction
e. hot spot

22. The partial melting of oceanic plate as it subducts under another oceanic plate results in
a. a volcanic island arc
b. a hot spot
c. an accretionary prism
d. a transform fault
e. a mountain fold belt

23. Which of the following is not a mineral

a. quartz
b. mineral oil
c. diamond
d. graphite
e. mica

24. A crystal growing in a confined space so that its surface is not composed of crystal faces is said to be
a. noncrystalline
b. anhedral
c. conchoidal
d. brilliant cut
e. euhedral

25. Which one of the following statements is FALSE?

a. A geode is a cavity with crystals growing inward
b. The arrangement of atoms in crystals can be determined using x-ray diffraction
c. Crystals of a particular mineral always have the same angles between adjacent faces
d. Diamond (10 on the Mohs scale) is twice as hard as Apatite (5 on this scale)
e. Kyanite and Sillimanite are polymorphs

26. Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

a. Hematite is an example of a sulphide
b. Mica is an example of a framework silicate
c. Olivine is an example of a silicate having single-chain tetrahedra
d. Calcite is an example of a sulphate
e. Malachite can be identified by its green colour

27. The imaginary framework of atoms within a crystal is known as a crystal

a. inclination
b. lattice
c. track
d. trellis
e. stack

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28. Fractional crystallization in a magma causes the remaining magma to become increasingly
a. less viscous
b. rich in mafic (Mg and Fe) minerals
c. rich in silica
d. rich in the mineral olivine
e. both b and d

29. One of the first minerals to crystallize from a melt is

a. quartz
b. olivine
c. muscovite
d. potassium feldspar (K-feldspar)
e. biotite

30. A sheet of intrusive igneous rock of fairly uniform thickness that runs parallel to the bedding of the
country rock is called a
a. dike
b. table
c. pluton
d. lava flow
e. sill

31. The coarse-grained equivalent of rhyolite is a

a. gabbro
b. diorite
c. peridotite
d. granite
e. basalt

32. An example of a coarse-grained ultramafic igneous rock is a(n)

a. granite
b. basalt
c. felsite
d. andesite
e. peridotite

33. Joints are

a. mineral seams running through sedimentary rocks
b. mineral deposits occurring at the junction of two different rock types
c. cracks formed by unloading a rock by removal of overlying layers
d. cracks along which rocks have slid past one another
e. both a and b

34. The chemical weathering of granite results mostly from the

a. hydrolysis of potassium feldspar
b. oxidation of quartz
c. dissolution of biotite mica
d. calcification of quartz
e. dissolution of hornblende

35. Sediments deposited on an eroded rock surface give rise to an irregular plane of contact called a(n)
a. antilayer
b. disjunction
c. unconformity
d. diatreme
e. angularity

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36. The process of chemical and physical change in deposited sediment during its conversion to rock when
occurring below around 300°C is called
a. diagenesis
b. metamorphosis
c. sedigenesis
d. paramorphosis
e. sedigenesis

37. An unsorted and unstratified deposit called “till” is associated with

a. wind deposition
b. river deposition
c. turbidity currents
d. lake deposition
e. glacial deposition

38. A succession of marine shale, beach sandstone, coal, and redbeds, in that order of deposition,
indicates
a. a relative sea-level rise
b. a marine transgression
c. a marine regression
d. no change in relative sea level
e. both a and b

39. A biochemical sedimentary rock formed from siliceous ooze that results from the accumulation of
siliceous sponges and siliceous microplankton on the sea floor is known as
a. chalk
b. sandstone
c. travertine
d. micrite
e. chert

40. Which one of the following is NOT a foliated metamorphic rock

a. slate
b. phyllite
c. schist
d. hornfels
e. gneiss

41. The growth of garnet crystals in a metamorphosed shale is an example of

a. neocrystallization
b. pressure solution
c. phase change
d. recrystallization
e. plastic deformation

42. Which ONE of the following statements about metamorphism is TRUE?

a. A migmatite is a kind of slate
b. Cleavage in slate does not necessarily run parallel to the bedding planes
c. When limestone is metamorphosed, the resulting rock is quartzite
d. Shocked quartz is typical of contact metamorphism
e. Quartz is an index mineral for intermediate-grade metamorphism

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43. The metamorphic mineral glaucophane is formed under the high pressures and relatively low
temperatures of an accretionary prism. It is characteristic of the
a. blueschist facies
b. greenschist facies
c. eclogite facies
d. granulite facies
e. None of the above

44. The distinct belt of metamorphic rock that forms around an igneous intrusion is called a metamorphic
a. shadow
b. blanket
c. aureole
d. sphere
e. convergence

45. Which one of the following is an index mineral representing the highest grade of metamorphism?
a. quartz
b. biotite
c. chlorite
d. white mica
e. sillimanite

46. Ancient metamorphic rocks form a large area of Canada known as the
a. Greenland–Baltic belt
b. North American belt
c. Canadian shield
d. Canadian belt
e. metamorphic table

47. For a high-grade metamorphic rock to convert to a low-grade metamorphic rock during exhumation
(retrograde metamorphism), there must be
a. further heating to near-melting conditions
b. abundant quartz in the original metamorphic rock
c. the addition of H2O
d. the addition of CO2
e. the removal of H2O and CO2

48. Lava erupted underwater in multiple globular masses up to about 1 m across is known as
a. blocky lava
b. ropy lava
c. pillow lava
d. spherical lava
e. bulbous lava

49. A large volcano of low-angle slope whose structure comprises a series of basaltic flows is called a
a. stratovolcano
b. cinder cone
c. dome volcano
d. pyrovolcano
e. shield volcano

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50. If a volcano in the final stages of activity collapses in upon itself to form a depression, this feature is
called a
a. cauldron
b. bowl
c. crater
d. caldera
e. superbowl

51. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of basaltic lava?

a. Its eruption is usually non-explosive
b. It erupts at relatively low temperatures
c. Its silica content is relatively high
d. It flows at low speeds and over short distances
e. Its viscosity is relatively high

52. Which ONE of the following statements is TRUE?

a. Volcanism is presently known only on planet Earth
b. Gases are rarely associated with volcanic eruptions
c. A nuée ardente is a rapidly-flowing river of lava
d. Tephra is a general term for unconsolidated debris erupted from volcanoes
e. Vesuvius is the largest volcanic eruption ever documented on Earth

53. A mudflow of pyroclastic debris mixed with water is known as a

a. volcaniflow
b. pyroflow
c. nuée ardente
d. lapillus
e. lahar

54. Flood basalts of the Snake River plain (Idaho) and Columbia River basalt (Oregon) were caused by
a. spreading ridge volcanism
b. plate subduction
c. hot spot volcanism
d. continental rifting
e. explosive volcanism

55. In 79 AD, Mt Vesuvius erupted causing the Roman town of Pompeii to be buried by
a. landslide of large blocks of rock
b. a mudslide
c. a lava flow
d. a pyroclastic flow of ash and hot gases
e. None of the above

END

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