Weathering

Multiple Choice Questions for Weathering - Chapter 5

Each chapter will include a few questions designed to test your knowledge of material covered in the chapter and in the Internet-based resources. Your answers are not being recorded. Try the following.

  1. Which is more dense....water or steam?

    water
    steam

  2. Which is more dense....water or ice?

    water
    ice

  3. Which is more dense....ice or vapor?

    vapor
    ice

  4. If the pressure increases, what happens to the melting point of ice?

    increases
    decreases
    stays the same

  5. A Thought Question....When a body of water begins to freeze, the ice "floats" rather than sinks. Imagine for a minute that ice was denser than water. Bodies of water would freeze from the bottom up. What influence on life might this have?

  6. What happens to the boiling point of water as the pressure decreases?

    increases
    decreases
    stays the same

    On top of Mt. Everest the pressure is considerably less than 1 atm. If I could ever get to the top of Mt. Everest, I would be very disappointed in the morning because the temperature of my boiling cup of coffee would be considerably less than 100 degrees C.

  7. At 1 atmosphere total pressure water cannot be heated above 100oC. At that temperature water is converted to steam (vapor). According to the diagram, water can be heated to higher temperatures by:

    increasing the pressure
    decreasing the pressure
    increasing the temperature

    Return to the text

  8. Mechanical weathering produces ___________.

    clay minerals
    quartz
    smaller particles
    calcium carbonate

  9. When liquid water freezes:

    it does not change in volume
    it expands by 5% in volume
    it expands by 9% in volume
    it decreases in volume

  10. What is the term for the general process by which rocks are broken down at the Earth's surface?

    deposition
    erosion
    lithification
    weathering

  11. which of the following affect the rate of weathering?

    the soil type and extent
    the rock type
    the climate
    all of these affect weathering rates

  12. Soil is composed of ____________ .

    organic matter produced by organisms
    fragments of bedrock
    clay minerals formed by the chemical alteration of bedrock
    all of these

  13. In which of he following climates will chemical weathering be most rapid?

    hot and dry
    hot and humid
    cold and dry
    cold and humid

  14. Which of the following statements about weathering is false?

    rocks of different compositions weather at different rates
    heat and heavy rainfall increase the rate of chemical weathering
    the presence of soil slows down the weathering of the underlying bedrock
    the longer a rock is exposed at the surface, the more weathered it becomes

  15. Which of the following minerals has a low solubility and therefore is least susceptible to chemical weathering at the Earth's surface?

    calcite
    plagioclase
    quartz
    olivine

  16. The rate of chemical weathering is increased by acids. The most common natural acid on the Earth's surface is ________ .

    nitric
    hydrochloric
    carbonic
    sulfuric

  17. Carbon dioxide makes up about _______ of the Earth's atmosphere.

    0.l%
    1%
    10%
    25%

  18. Carbonic acid, the primary agent of chemical weathering is produced by ________ .

    carbon dioxide dissolving in rainwater
    plant roots
    bacteria that feed on plant and animal remains
    all of these

  19. Which of these is least likely to form a clay mineral during weathering?

    feldspar
    quartz
    amphibole
    olivine

  20. Caves are most lively to form in which of the following rock types?

    granite
    limestone
    basalt
    sandstone

  21. Which of the processes is not an example of chemical weathering?

    dissolution of calcite
    breakdown of feldspar to form clay
    splitting of a rock along a fracture
    rusting of a nail

  22. As a rock breaks into smaller pieces, the surface area to volume ratio ______ .

    increases
    decreases
    stays the same
    can increase or decrease depending on the size of the pieces

  23. The physical and chemical weathering of a granite will produce ________ .

    ions dissolved in rainwater and soil water
    mineral fragments and granite fragments
    clays and iron oxides
    all of these

  24. The deep red color of solis found in Georgia and other warm, humid regions in caused by ______ .

    reduced iron oxides
    oxidized iron oxides
    quartz
    feldspar

  25. Which of the following factors would increase the rate of weathering?

    increasing rainfall
    increasing temperature
    increasing organic activity
    all of these

  26. The major source of aluminum metal, _______, is a clay-rich ore composed of aluminum hydroxide.

    hematite
    bauxite
    kaolinite
    montmorillonite

  27. Fe3+ refers to ________.

    iron metal
    ferrous iron
    ferric iron
    hematite

  28. Which of the following minerals is most stable at the Earth's surface?

    hematite
    mica
    olivine
    feldspar

  29. A substance that releases hydrogen ions (H+) to a solution is called a(n) ______.

    oxidizer
    reducer
    acid
    pedalfer

  30. What is the term geologists use for the layer of loose, heterogeneous weathered material lying on top of the bedrock?

    humus
    laterite
    regolith
    soil

  31. Which of the following farming practices helps to prevent the erosion of topsoil?

    plowing a field perpendicular to the contour lines
    plowing a field parallel to the contour lines
    plowing a field in the direction that the water drains
    none of these will help prevent soil erosion.

  32. What is the name for soils that are rich in calcium

    laterites
    evaporites
    pedocals
    pedalfers

  33. The physical and chemical weathering of a granite will produce __________.

    ions dissolved in rainwater and soil water
    mineral fragments and granite fragments
    clay minerals and iron oxides
    all of these

  34. In the atmosphere, carbonic acid forms from the reaction of carbon dioxide and ______.

    fossil fuels
    nitrogen
    oxygen
    water

  35. Which of the following minerals found in a granite is not altered by chemical weathering?

    biotite
    feldspar
    magnetite
    quartz

  36. Which of the following minerals would be most likely to form a clay mineral during chemical weathering?

    iron oxide
    mica
    calcite
    quartz

  37. Which of the following factors would increase the chemical weathering rate?

    increasing rainfall
    increasing temperature
    increasing organic activity
    all of these

  38. Which of the following conditions promotes slow chemical weathering?

    cold temperatures
    thick soils
    high rainfall
    fracturing

  39. Which of the following human activities has resulted in increased rates of weathering?

    the release of sulfur and nitrogen oxides that cause acid rain
    the physical disintegration of rocks during construction and mining
    both A and B
    neither A nor B

  40. One expects talus cones to be most abundant in areas:

    where abundant rainfall is available to dissolve limestone
    in tropical areas where thick soil and abundant vegetation occurs
    in high mountains that have many days of sub-freezing temperatures
    none of the above

  41. Exfoliation domes form from:

    frost wedging
    pressure release
    hydrolysis
    root wedging

  42. Laterite solis:

    are red in color
    are formed in tropical climates
    often contain high concentrations of aluminum
    all of the above

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