Quiz 1 (Chapters 1-8)

1. Which wave of a major tsunami is most likely to be the highest? a) First b) Second c) Third d) None of these

2. Which is a major fault that often shows a progressive migration along its

length with time? a) The Alpine Fault in New Zealand b) The Haicheng Fault in China c) The North Anatolian Fault in Turkey d) The New Madrid Fault in Missouri

3. Which types of earthquake waves do the most damage?

a) Compressional waves b) Shear waves c) Body waves d) Surface waves

4. The Magnetic stripes of the seafloor are considered evidence of seafloor

spreading and ___________. a) Subduction in the rift valleys b) Spreading centers in the trenches c) Changes in the Earth’s axis of rotation d) Periodic reversals in the polarity of Earth’s magnetic field

5. Why does oceanic lithosphere almost always sink beneath the continental

lithosphere at the convergent plate boundaries? a) Oceanic lithosphere moves so slowly that it can only sink b) Oceanic lithosphere is at the bottom of the ocean, so it can’t float high

enough to ride over a continent c) Oceanic lithosphere is almost twice as dense as the underlying mantle d) Oceanic lithosphere is denser than continental lithosphere

6. Tsunamis are most commonly generated by:

a) Volcanoes b) Landslides c) Earthquakes d) Asteroids

7. Rapid (or cataclysmic) disasters include:

a) Droughts and earthquakes b) Only geophysical disasters c) Earthquakes and cyclonic storms

d) Droughts and desertification

8. The costs of catastrophic events continue to increase primarily because ____________. a) More people are moving into more hazardous areas b) Not enough people pay for insurance in hazardous areas to even out the

costs c) Insurance companies are refusing to insure most natural hazard losses d) Natural hazards are becoming more difficult to understand

9. Which of the following is true?

a) Earth’s crust is denser than the mantle b) Earth’s curst is thicker than the mantle c) Earth’s crust is less dense than the mantle d) Earth’s crust is part of the asthenosphere and equivalent to it in

composition

10. Why do ships in the open ocean NOT notice passage of the tsunami wave? a) The wave goes by so fast that it is gone before anyone notices b) The long time between wave crests dictates that the wave flanks have

almost no slope c) Ships are carried on the crest of the wave, so they don’t feel any up or

down motion d) Although the wave crests are several hundred meters high, the time

between them is several hours, so no one notices

11. Iceland is an example of: a) Continental spreading zone b) Oceanic spreading zone c) Transform boundary d) Collision zone

12. Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions are defined as:

a) The hydro-meteorogical disasters b) The geographical disasters c) The geophysical disasters d) The catastrophes

13. Lithosphere is:

a) Inner, hotter, easily deformed part of the Earth b) Upper part of the asthenosphere c) Just the Earth’s crust d) The stiff and rigid outer rind of our plane that includes part of the upper

mantle and crust

14. What is a transform boundary characterized by?

a) The movement of plates away from each other b) The movement of one plate down against another c) The movement of one plate over another d) Lithospheric plates sliding past each other

15. About how high are the largest earthquake-caused tsunami waves in bays?

a) About 3 meters b) About 30 meters c) About 100 meters d) About 300 meters

16. The term “strain” (elastic rebound theory) refers to:

a) To the forces imposed on a rock b) The change in shape of the rock in response to the imposed stress c) The change in energy of the earthquake d) The deformation of the tectonic fault

17. Moment magnitude depends on what main factor(s)?

a) Total offset distance on the fault during the earthquake b) Frequency of movement of the earthquake waves and the total time of

shaking c) Shear strength of the rocks displaced, total surface area of rocks ruptured,

and average slip distance on the fault d) Amplitude of seismograph swing at the first movement of arrival of

shaking

18. The name of a process by which water-saturated sediment temporarily loses strength and acts as a fluid is: a) Saturation b) Liquefaction c) Liquidation d) Subduction

19. The largest tsunami in recent years occurred in:

a) The Pacific ocean b) The Atlantic ocean c) The Arctic ocean d) The Indian ocean

20. Why do they Hawaiian Islands form a chain of volcanoes?

a) The mantle below flows is slowly to the east, creating new volcanoes as it goes

b) The Hawaiian Islands are not part of a chain c) The crack in the lithosphere is progressively splitting eastward and

southward, permitting magma to rise along a line

d) The lithosphere carrying Hawaii slowly moves over a hotspot feeding basalt magma overlying a volcano

21. Which of the following have NOT been used to suggest that an earthquake

may be coming? a) Micro-earthquakes b) Strange animal behavior c) Changes in groundwater level d) Changes in atmospheric pressure

22. When is a large event such as a major earthquake not a disaster?

a) When it happens in a far away country that we do not care about b) When it happens to less than 10,000 people c) When it happens to less than 1,000 people d) When it happens in an area without any people

23. Although the Atlantic coast of North America experiences few large

earthquakes, what specific other event could generate a large tsunami wave that could cause a catastrophic damage there? a) A giant subduction-zone earthquake near the coast of Africa b) A giant subduction-zone earthquake along the eastern edge of North

America c) A giant transform-fault earthquake on the Atlantic Ocean floor d) Flank collapse of a volcano in the Canary Islands

24. The period of a tsunamis is:

a) The average speed of wave b) The time between waves c) The time between earthquakes d) The average height of wave

25. Intensity is a measure of:

a) How strongly people feel the shaking and the severity of the damage it causes on the Richter scale

b) Energy released during an earthquake as measured on the Mercalli scale c) How strongly people feel the shaking and the severity of the damage it

causes on the Mercalli scale d) Energy released during an earthquake as measured on the Richter scale

26. Why are even good swimmers often killed by tsunamis?

a) They are carried hundreds of kilometers offshore in the receding wave and cant’ swim that far

b) They are held down by the incredible undertow and they drown c) They are impacted by the debris carried in the waves d) They are pushed so deep under the water surface that they get the bends

27. The Himalayas is an example of: a) Spreading zone b) Transform boundary c) Collision zone d) Divergent boundary

28. If the Atlantic Ocean floor is getting wider, why is the Earth not becoming

larger? a) It melts at oceanic transform faults b) It is becoming denser so it takes up more space c) Old ocean floor sinks at subduction zones (trenches) d) The Atlantic Ocean floor is not getting wider

29. Mitigation does not include:

a) Land-use planning b) Public education c) Insurance d) Scientific forecast of a hazardous event

30. Natural disasters generally involve which of the following?

a) Events with a single clear-cut cause b) Events that involve overlapping natural cause c) Events who wholly caused by the activities of man d) Events that are unaffected by the activities of man

31. What is a seismic gap?

a) A part of an active fault b) A part of an active fault with a long time between the earthquakes c) A pronounced crevice along a fault d) A gaping crack created by fault movement

32. The epicenter is:

a) The point in the crust where a seismic rupture beings b) The point on the earth’s surface vertically above the hypocenter c) The point in the crust where an earthquake finishes d) The point under the earth’s surface where an earthquake begins

33. Which type of earthquake waves shake with the largest amplitude (the larges

ground motion)? a) Compressional waves b) Shear waves c) Surface waves d) P-waves

34. The largest historical earthquake by magnitude occurred in:

a) China

b) Italy c) Chile d) Haiti

35. The faults can be classified:

a) According to the way the rocks on one side of the fault move b) According to the age of the rocks c) According to the way the rocks on either side of the fault move in relation

to each other d) According to their size

Answer Key

1. C 2. C 3. D 4. D 5. D 6. C 7. C 8. A 9. C 10. B 11. B 12. C 13. D 14. D 15. B 16. B 17. C 18. B 19. D 20. D 21. D 22. D 23. D 24. B 25. C 26. C 27. C 28. C 29. D 30. B 31. B 32. B 33. C 34. C

35. C Quiz 2 (Chapters 9-12)

1. The most dangerous area during the pyroclastic flow is: a) The top of the mountain b) The air above the mountain c) The bottom of the valley d) The mountain

2. What kind of material is most likely to fall in a rotational slide?

a) Homogeneous, cohesive material b) Rounded sand grains in the slope c) Loose, dry soils d) Elongated boulders with smoothly rounded sides

3. The name of acidic volcanic smog is:

a) Pumice b) Lahar c) Carbon dioxide d) Vog

4. What is daylighted surface or layer?

a) A weak layer, sloping downward toward a road cut or hillside at a somewhat gentler slope than the hillside

b) A part of the bedrock that is exposed at the surface c) A layer that becomes exposed by excavation of a road cut d) None of theses

5. Rhyolite magma typically erupts in what form?

a) Thin, fast-moving lava flows b) Thick, fast-moving lava flows c) Lahars d) Fine ash

6. Which of the following statements about volatiles is true?

a) Magmas that contain little water erupt violently b) Water exposed to high temperatures of magma become a solid c) Water content determines the violence of a volcanic eruption d) All of these are true

7. What is a volcanic surge?

a) An underground magma flow b) A mixture of hot volcanic ash, water and steam that rushes down the

volcano’s slope

c) A high speed, violent ash-rich shock wave d) A tremendous earthquake

8. What is the term describing the process of gases coming out of solution,

when the pressure drops and magma rises? a) Expire b) Express c) Exsolve d) None of these

9. Volcanic mudflows, or lahars are caused when which of the following

combine? a) Lava and rocks b) Ash and lava c) Water and ash d) Lava and water

10. Which of the two main volcanic gases is heavier than air, collects in low areas

and can asphyxiate people or animals if it is in high concentrations? a) Hydrogen b) Water vapor c) Ethane d) Carbon dioxide

11. If you see a large volcano with very gentle slopes, what kind of volcano is it

and what rock is it likely to be made of? a) A stratovolcano made of andesite b) A cinder cone made of basalt c) A shield volcano made of basalt lava flows d) A stratovolcano made of basalt lava flows

12. Where are quick clays most common?

a) Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia b) Central America and Africa c) California d) Colorado and Wyoming

13. What type of volcano consists of layers of lava, fragmental debris and ash?

a) Shield volcano b) Cinder cone c) Stratovolcano d) Continental caldera

14. Old landslides are NOT normally reactivated by _____________.

a) Adding water b) Earthquakes

c) Piling heavy rocks on the lower part of the slope d) Steepening the slope by removing material at the lower part of the slope

15. What causes a big bulge to slowly grow on the flank of an active Mount St.

Helens volcano? a) Thick lava flows pile up around the vent b) A huge gas bubble released from the magma inflates it c) The hot magma melts older ash, causing it to expand d) Rising magmas is pushing it up

16. How does pahoehoe lava differ from aa lava?

a) Pahoehoe is full of gas holes and aa is solid lava b) Pahoehoe is rhyolite and aa is basalt c) Pahoehoe is rope and aa is rubbly d) Pahoehoe is basalt and aa is andesite

17. One way in which water CANNOT be removed from a wet slope that may

slide is to __________. a) Plant trees and shrubs to increase evapotranspiration b) Pump water out from a well c) Insert perforated pipes into the slope to help drain it d) Place a load on the slope to squeeze water out of it

18. For a rockfall or debris avalanche, what two factors lead to a greater distance

of travel of the moving debris? a) Greater size of the falling mass and smaller particles b) Greater eight of the fall of the mass and greater volume of the falling mass c) More water in the mass and release promoted by freezing d) Higher clay content and smaller particles

19. What is “cohesion” as applied to slope failure?

a) The condition of a slope that has not yet begun to slide b) The holding together of otherwise loose grains on a slope, often by a little

moisture c) Loose grains in a slope that are angular rather than rounded so they don’t

slip past one another easily d) None of these

20. What is tuff?

a) Broken and hardened magma b) Lava hardens from ash flow c) Ash after deposition forms a rock d) None of these

Answer Key

1. C

2. A 3. D 4. A 5. D 6. C 7. C 8. C 9. C 10. D 11. C 12. A 13. C 14. C 15. D 16. C 17. D 18. B 19. B 20. C

iClicker Questions

1. Why do most fatalities from natural disasters occur in Asia? a) Because Asia is a continent with a developing economy. b) Because most of the earthquakes and volcanoes occur in Asia. c) Because Asia is the most populated continent d) I don’t know

2. Can a hydro-meteorological disaster cause a geophysical disaster?

a) Yes b) No

3. Which layer does not consist of mantle?

a) Asthenosphere b) Lithosphere c) Crust d) I don’t know

4. Which plate will be more dynamic? (No answer – all can be right)

a) A large plate b) A small plate c) It depends on the location of the plate d) I don’t know

5. Which type of boundary is the best environment for earthquakes?

a) Convergent

b) Divergent c) Transform d) I don’t know

6. Will California eventually fall off the ocean?

a) Yes b) No (a continental plate cannot go under and oceanic plate) c) It depends on… d) I don’t know

7. If you find a well-exposed fault that moved before seismographs were

available, you can infer the approximate magnitude of earthquake by measuring the ___________. a) Largest size tree snapped off by the shaking b) Average size of the largest rocks moved in the earthquake c) Strength of the rocks that the earthquake managed to break d) Total length of fault break during the event

8. What does the Richter Magnitude Scale depend on?

a) The maximum amplitude of earthquake waves on a seismograph b) The frequency of P waves recorded on a seismograph c) The intensity of shaking during the earthquake d) The amount of destruction by the earthquake

9. For very long fault such as those in westernmost North America, what

historic information can be used to infer where the next large earthquake may be? a) The part of the fault with the mot frequent earthquakes b) The part of the fault that creeps slowly and may be building to a sudden

break c) The part of the fault where there is a seismic gap d) The part of the fault with the largest earthquake in the past

10. Which of the following submarine faults cannot cause tsunami waves?

a) Strike-slip faults b) Normal faults c) Thrust faults d) I don’t know

11. Which is the most dangerous location for a tsunami hazard?

a) A straight stretch of coast directly exposed to the open sea b) A rocky point protruding into the ocean in deep water c) A bay with a nice sandy beach at its end d) A boat in the deep ocean

12. What are two main causes of tsunamis

a) a) Volcano flank collapse and sudden degassing of the mantle from a id-oceanic ridge

b) Asteroid impact into the ocean and collapse of a mid-oceanic ridge c) Subduction-zone earthquakes and transform-fault earthquakes d) Subduction-zone earthquakes and landslides into the ocean

13. If you are at the beach and feel a large earthquake, what should you do?

a) Wait until the commotion dies down, and turn on the TV to find out where it happened

b) Carefully scan the horizon to see if a tsunami wave is formed, if you see one, run inland

c) Immediately run up slope as far as possible d) Immediately get into the nearest house for protection

14. The best tectonic environment for a violent volcano is:

a) Divergent boundary b) Convergent boundary c) Transform boundary d) Hotspot

15. What two main factors result in more violent eruptions?

a) More water and higher viscosity of the magma b) Higher viscosity and narrow enough vent c) Strong rocks around the vent and more water d) A large enough volcano with low-viscosity magma

16. Which of the following is NOT true?

a) Subduction zones and areas where ocean floor descends into the mantle b) Subduction zone activity includes very large earthquakes c) Subduction zone activity leads to active volcanoes d) Subduction zones are areas where ocean floor rocks are formed

17. Why do shield volcanoes have very gently sloping sides?

a) Their andesite composition produces huge ash flows that spread over large area

b) Their andesite and rhyolite have low viscosity because of their water content and spread over a low slope

c) Their basalt flows have low viscosity so the lava solidifies as gentle slopes d) Their basalt ash spreads out widely in the strong winds over the open

ocean

18. If an ash flow approaches you from across a kilometer wide lake, are you likely to be safe or not? a) Safe. Hot ash flows would chill and stop as soon as they hit cold water. b) Safe. Ash flows move along the ground; they would continue harmlessly

underwater.

c) Not safe. A fast-moving ash flow would cause a deadly tsunami wave. d) Not safe. Ash flows can cross much wider bodies of water.

19. The main factors that affect the chance that a slope will fail in a landslide do

NOT include _________. a) Slope angle or steepness b) Strength of the slope material c) Amount of water d) Age of the slope

20. Why do highway departments sometimes pile huge boulders near the base of

a sloping road cut? a) To prevent gullying of the sloping road cut b) To keep vegetation from growing on the sloping road cut c) To prevent water from getting into the slope d) To prevent slumping of the road cut by loading the toe of the potential

stump

21. Where in North America are sinkholes most prevalent and why? a) In Michigan, because outcrops of limestone are widespread and it is

surrounded by the Great Lakes b) In Washington state, because of all the rain west of the cascades c) In metamorphic rocks of the Canadian shield, because of all the lakes d) In Florida, because it is almost all limestone and has abundant

groundwater Answer Key

1. C 2. (Didn’t record) 3. C 4. All can be right 5. C 6. B 7. D 8. A 9. C 10. A 11. (Didn’t record) 12. D 13. C 14. B 15. A 16. D 17. C 18. (Didn’t record) 19. D

20. D 21. (Didn’t record)