Deck 16: Weathering and Mass Movement

Question 1

Chemical weathering breaks rocks down into smaller pieces without altering the chemical makeup of the rock.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Landslides sometimes settle across rivers, damming them and creating lakes behind the dam debris.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Earthquakes often trigger mass movement events.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

When carbon dioxide dissolves in water it makes a weak carbonic acid.

Question 5

A slope near geologic faults is more likely to fail than one that is far from faults.

Question 6

Mass movement is the movement of rock, soils, snow, or ice downhill by gravity.

Question 7

Small particles settle at a steeper angle of repose than large particles.

Question 8

The angle of repose of soil particles results from the equilibrium between gravity and friction.

Question 9

Physical weathering often increases the rate of chemical weathering.

Question 10

When a stalactite joins to a stalagmite, a limestone column forms.

Question 11

Landslide-prone areas are monitored using GPS and satellites.

Question 12

Speleothems form and grow only in caves that are flooded with water.

Question 13

A lahar is a type of soil creep.

Question 14

Fungi and lichen dissolving rock is an example of biochemical weathering.

Question 15

Sinkhole lakes indicate the level of the water table.

Question 16

The world's largest collapse sinkhole is in Mexico.

Question 17

Scientists use temperature changes to estimate landslide risk for many areas of the world.

Question 18

Roadcuts tend to make the ground more stable and resistant to mass movement.

Question 19

Only snow can make an avalanche.

Question 20

All rocks exposed on the surface experience weathering.

Question 21

When a sinkhole fills with water a collapse sinkhole results.

Question 22

Acidic rainwater dissolving rock is an example of __________.

A)salt wedging
B)hydrolysis
C)carbonation
D)oxidation

Question 23

Physical weathering breaks rocks down into smaller pieces by altering the chemical makeup of the rock.

Question 24

Earthquakes are likely to result in mass movement events.

Question 25

Carbonic acid is an anthropogenic pollutant and does not occur naturally.

Question 26

Exfoliation is a type of pressure-release jointing.

Question 27

In some instances, a landslide event can be predicted.

Question 28

Rust is a result of physical weathering.

Question 29

Which is not a form of denudation?

A)stream erosion
B)new rock cooled from lava
C)root wedging
D)deposition

Question 30

When a collapse sinkhole fills with water, a __________ forms.

A)sinkhole lake
B)cenote
C)tafoni
D)cavern

Question 31

Removal of vegetation increases the resistance force that stabilizes a slope.

Question 32

Mass movements cannot occur without gravity.

Question 33

Physical weathering and chemical weathering are the same.

Question 34

In the figure, box D shows what?

A)failure surface
B)head scarp
C)toe
D)slump material

Question 35

Solifluction occurs only where the ground freezes.

Question 36

Stalactites first form as hollow tubes called soda straws.

Question 37

Carbonic acid dissolves carbonate rocks like limestone.

Question 38

Mount Rushmore must be continually protected from the effects of weathering.

Question 39

Submarine landslides around Hawai'i are more extensive than the land area of the islands.

Question 40

The removal of vegetation nearly always increases the risk of mass movement.

Question 41

Which is not one of the components of a debris avalanche?

A)snow
B)rocks
C)trees
D)soil

Question 42

Which is a form of weathering?

A)jointing
B)rockslide
C)rockfall
D)avalanche

Question 43

Which occurs when the weight of overlying rocks and sediments is removed from deeply buried rocks?

A)biophysical weathering
B)pressure-release jointing
C)chemical weathering
D)frost wedging

Question 44

__________ is a depression in Earth's surface that results from weathering of carbonate rock.

A)Talus
B)Tafoni
C)A hoodoo
D)A sinkhole

Question 45

A(n) __________ occurs when rocks tumble off a vertical or nearly vertical cliff face.

A)avalanche
B)talus
C)rockfall
D)rockfall chute

Question 46

As vegetation grows on a slope, the slope will likely become __________.

A)more stable
B)less stable
C)unchanged
D)steeper

Question 47

Devils Tower in Wyoming is an example of _______.

A)tafoni
B)spheroidal weathering
C)differential weathering
D)frost wedging

Question 48

A __________ is a tall, columnar rock formation produced by differential weathering.

A)natural arch
B)monolith
C)hoodoo
D)exfoliation dome

Question 49

Boulders become rounded through what process?

A)differential weathering
B)erosion
C)sedimentation
D)denudation

Question 50

__________ is a general term for the rapid movement of rock or debris down a steep slope.

A)Soil creep
B)Solifluction
C)A slump
D)A landslide

Question 51

Which is not a factor that weakens a slope?

A)geologic fault
B)jointing
C)foliation planes
D)a cover of vegetation

Question 52

Cave formations that grow from the floor upward are called __________.

A)stalactites
B)stalagmites
C)limestone columns
D)soda straws

Question 53

In the figure, box A shows what?

A)failure surface
B)head scarp
C)toe
D)slump material

Question 54

Tafoni results from what type of physical weathering?

A)root wedging
B)salt wedging
C)frost wedging
D)biophysical weathering

Question 55

__________ is the imperceptible downslope movement of soil and regolith as they change volume in seasonal expansion and contraction cycles.

A)Soil creep
B)Solifluction
C)A slump
D)A landslide

Question 56

__________ may form where weak vertical joints focus the dissolution of karst weathering along vertical planes.

A)Limestone pavement
B)Tower karst
C)Cockpit karst
D)Karst

Question 57

__________ occurs when water reacts with and combines with minerals in rocks to form new minerals.

A)Carbonation
B)Hydrolysis
C)Hydration
D)Oxidation

Question 58

Which is not an agent of erosion?

A)flowing glaciers
B)streams
C)growing plant roots
D)wind

Question 59

The processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition of rock material are called __________.

A)weathering
B)erosion
C)sedimentation
D)denudation

Question 60

After a disturbance event, such as a fire, a slope will likely become __________.

A)unchanged
B)more stable
C)less stable
D)steeper

Question 61

__________ is a depression that forms as the ceiling of a cavern caves in.

A)A sinkhole
B)Cockpit karst
C)Tower karst
D)A collapse sinkhole

Question 62

Where it is cold, what is the most important type of physical weathering?

A)root wedging
B)salt wedging
C)frost wedging
D)biophysical weathering

Question 63

Scientists can assess the landslide risk using remote sensing.Which factor is not used to determine the global landslide risk?

A)slope steepness
B)population size
C)land use types
D)soil types

Question 64

__________ is the process of dissolving and breaking solid rock into smaller fragments.

A)Weathering
B)Erosion
C)Sedimentation
D)Denudation

Question 65

A burrowing gopher breaking rocks into smaller fragments is an example of __________.

A)biophysical weathering
B)frost wedging
C)root wedging
D)salt wedging

Question 66

Roots growing in and cracking a rock is an example of __________.

A)biophysical weathering
B)frost wedging
C)root wedging
D)salt wedging

Question 67

An increase in soil friction, electrical charges in soil, and plant roots can all do what to the stability of a slope?

A)increase it
B)decrease it
C)have no effect on it
D)Each of these affects slope stability unpredictably.

Question 68

A stalactite is an example of what?

A)a speleothem
B)limestone pavement
C)tower karst
D)cockpit karst

Question 69

Why do high-latitude regions not experience karst weathering as quickly as warmer regions?

A)because water is often frozen and unavailable for chemical reactions at high latitudes
B)because there are few carbonate rocks at high latitudes
C)because there is little liquid rainfall at high latitudes
D)because there is little available carbon to make carbonic acid at high latitudes

Question 70

Cattle terraces, shown in the photo, are most similar to what type of natural mass movement?

A)a landslide
B)a slump
C)a debris flow
D)soil creep

Question 71

In the photo, box A points to what?

A)a bedding plane
B)an exfoliation dome
C)a joint
D)a landslide

Question 72

Which is not used by scientists to monitor and predict the stability of a single specific slope?

A)GPS sensors
B)laser measurements of slope movement
C)boreholes with electronic sensors
D)air temperature recordings

Question 73

Referring to Figure 16.30B, most of the recent major deadly landslides were triggered by what?

A)heavy rains and earthquakes
B)human activity
C)volcanic eruptions and tsunamis
D)hurricanes and mid-latitude cyclones

Question 74

A slope is said to be __________ when it has failed or is seen as likely to fail.

A)stable
B)unstable
C)saturated
D)vegetated

Question 75

Repeated rockfall events in the same location can carve notches into the bedrock called __________.

A)talus cones
B)talus
C)rockfall
D)a rockfall chute

Question 76

A slope is said to be __________ when it is unlikely to fail.

A)stable
B)unstable
C)saturated
D)vegetated

Question 77

A fast-flowing slurry of mud mixed with large objects, such as rocks and vegetation, is called a __________.

A)debris flow
B)slump
C)rock slide
D)debris slide

Question 78

About __________ deaths are caused by mass movements each year in the United States.

A)50
B)60
C)70
D)80

Question 79

A surface composed of deeply weathered bare limestone is called __________.

A)limestone pavement
B)tower karst
C)cockpit karst
D)karst

Question 80

Broken angular piles of rock that settle at the angle of repose are called ___________.

A)a talus cone
B)an avalanche
C)a rockfall chute
D)a debris flow