Deck 11: Mass Wasting

Question 1

Mass wasting is most likely to occur in what climate?

A)arid warm regions
B)humid tropical regions
C)arctic regions
D)temperate regions
E)none of these

Answer 1

humid tropical regions

Question 2

Most large mass movements can be prevented given sufficient study and planning.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Creep is the most economically damaging and widespread type of material flow.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Falls, slumps, and slides may turn into flows.

Question 5

"Landslide" is a ____.

A)general term for mass movements of earth materials
B)specific term for a mass movement of a defined type and speed
C)specific term used for mass movements on a volcano
D)specific term for the rapid movement of snow and ice downslope
E)general term describing various types of creep

Question 6

Solifluction is not a serious economic problem because it occurs mainly in unpopulated areas.

Question 7

Mass wasting is most likely to occur on slopes with ____.

A)sandstone
B)limestone
C)clay-rich layers
D)gneiss
E)granite

Question 8

How does water contribute to mass wasting?

A)The addition of water increases the angle of repose.
B)Water adds weight which helps stabilize the slope.
C)Water adds weight and reduces friction.
D)The removal of water will increase cohesiveness.
E)The addition of water increases to the shear strength.

Question 9

Damage to homes by mass wasting ____.

A)strikes wealthy and poor people equally
B)is rare because the potential dangers on different slopes are well studied
C)is more likely to affect poor people because they cannot afford to build on the most stable slopes
D)is most likely to strike urban areas
E)is inevitable because homes cannot be redesigned

Question 10

Creep occurs only on weathered or soil-covered surfaces of moderate slope.

Question 11

Rocks slides are not a danger when the rocks dip in the opposite direction of the slope.

Question 12

Slow mass movement transports a greater volume of material than does rapid mass movement.

Question 13

A slope material's strength and cohesion, the amount of internal friction between grains, and any external support of the slope define that slope's ____.

A)mass wasting
B)angle of repose
C)dynamic equilibrium
D)shear strength
E)cohesive strength

Question 14

Which factor is most likely to increase the risk for mass wasting?

A)cutting down trees
B)a loud noise
C)rocks that dip in a horizontal direction
D)rocks that dip in the opposite direction of the slope
E)an increase of shear strength

Question 15

After gravity, what is the major cause of mass wasting?

A)slope gradient
B)weakening by weathering
C)overloading
D)vegetation loss
E)increased water content

Question 16

Human activity causes most small landslides.

Question 17

Mass wasting occurs when ____

A)shear strength exceeds gravitational force
B)gravitational force exceeds shear strength
C)gravitational force exceeds the angle of repose
D)the slope is in equilibrium
E)topography is undulating

Question 18

The removal of vegetation is a significant cause of slope failure and mass wasting.

Question 19

The angle of repose for dry unconsolidated material is about 45 degrees.

Question 20

Most mass wasting is enhanced or promoted by ____.

A)erosion
B)weathering
C)flash floods
D)wind erosion
E)plate tectonics

Question 21

____ is a slow movement along a curved surface that typically involves poorly consolidated material.

A)Earthflow
B)Mudflow
C)Creep
D)Slump
E)Debris flow

Question 22

In La Conchita, California, landslides have been precipitated by ____.

A)periods of heavy rainfall
B)earthquakes
C)deforestation
D)dam failures
E)fracking

Question 23

Slow mass movements

A)are undetectable
B)do not transport as much material as fast mass movements
C)are characterized by tilted trees and cracked foundations
D)are characterized by talus piles
E)occur only on steep slopes

Question 24

Debris flows are different from mudflows in that they ____.

A)move faster
B)are confined to pre-existing channels
C)contain more water
D)are less damaging
E)are composed of larger particles

Question 25

Permafrost lies beneath ____ percent of the land surface on Earth.

A)0
B)10
C)20
D)40
E)50

Question 26

Most major landslides ____.

A)are caused by earthquakes
B)are caused by volcanic eruptions
C)have natural causes
D)are due to human activity and poor engineering
E)are preventable

Question 27

The effects of mass wasting can be minimized by ____.

A)building retaining walls
B)installing seismometers to detect earthquakes
C)building only on slopes where rocks dip in the direction of the slope
D)adding mass to stabilize a slope
E)eliminating building restrictions

Question 28

Permafrost is primarily found ____.

A)at high latitudes
B)below deep-sea sediments
C)in earthquake prone areas
D)in South America and Africa
E)at the base of slopes

Question 29

Mudflows are most likely to occur in

A)humid areas
B)semiarid areas
C)coastal plains
D)floodplains
E)jungles

Question 30

Which type of mass movement is most common, moves the most material, and causes the most damage?

A)creep
B)slump
C)mudflow
D)rock slide
E)avalanche

Question 31

____ maps help planners and developers make decisions about where to site roads, utility lines, and buildings to avoid potential damage from mass movement.

A)Instability
B)Relative slope
C)Slope-stability
D)Topographic
E)Building code

Question 32

When clays liquefy and flow like water, what type of mass movement is caused?

A)mudflow
B)earth flow
C)solifluction
D)clay flow
E)quick clays

Question 33

____ is an example of a slide that occurs along a planar surface.

A)Rock slide
B)Slump
C)Creep
D)Solifluction
E)Quick clays

Question 34

Scarps are ____.

A)crescent shaped areas where material has pulled away from Earth
B)slow movements of material along a curved surface
C)result only from slow mass movements
D)result only from rapid mass movements
E)piles of rocks and debris at the base of a slope

Question 35

In the cut-and-fill method, ____.

A)benches are cut into a hillside
B)material is removed from the up a slope and placed at the base
C)retaining walls are constructed and anchored into bedrock
D)rock bolts are fastened to stable bedrock
E)material is removed from the base of a slope

Question 36

Why does benching reduce the risk of mass movements?

A)It increases the amount of vegetation on a slope.
B)It prevents rainwater from seeping into the hill.
C)It lowers the average slope of a hill.
D)It fastens unstable rock to the underlying stable bedrock.
E)Benching does not reduce the risk of mass movements.

Question 37

Which of the following is a rapid mass movement?

A)rockfall
B)earthflow
C)solifluction
D)creep
E)slump

Question 38

What type of mass wasting is responsible for the greatest amount of property damage?

A)creep
B)slumps
C)rock fall
D)slides
E)avalanches

Question 39

What term describes multiple types of mass movement that occur simultaneously?

A)combination movement
B)complex movement
C)conjoined movement
D)coherent movement
E)coincidental movement

Question 40

The primary cause of slumps is ____.

A)overburdening
B)removal of vegetation
C)steep slope angles
D)earthquakes
E)erosion at the base of a slope

Question 41

Suppose you are surveying hillside property on which you plan to build a home. What types of evidence would indicate former mass wasting?

Question 42

The material accumulated at the base of cliffs where rocks fall is known as ____________________.

Question 43

Mass movement in which material move as a viscous fluid or plastically is termed _______.

Question 44

Ground that remains permanently frozen is called ____________________.

Question 45

When very fine glacial sediments are suddenly shocked or shaken, the resulting mass movement will likely be a(n)_______.

Question 46

Periodic freezing and thawing of the upper ground surface when the weather is cold can lead to _______.

Question 47

Mass wasting occurs when the ____________________ of a slope is exceeded by the force of gravity.

Question 48

The steepest angle a slope can maintain without collapsing is known as the slope's ______________.

Question 49

Briefly explain why a region that is tectonically active may be particularly vulnerable to mass wasting.

Question 50

Differentiate among falls, slides, and flows.

Question 51

Why is the International Building Code important for reducing mass wasting losses?

Question 52

A rapid down slope mass movement of snow and ice is called a(n)____________________.

Question 53

What human activities contribute to or cause mass wasting?

Question 54

What three criteria are used to classify mass movements?

Question 55

Discuss the differences between rapid and slow mass movements.

Question 56

What role does climate and weathering have in mass wasting?

Question 57

In the ____________________ method of protecting slopes, material is removed from the top of the slope and used as fill at the base.

Question 58

____________________ are sometimes used to fasten unstable bedrock to stable strata.