Deck 15: Preliminaries to Erosion: Weathering and Mass Wasting

Question 1

The main downslope movement of subarctic and arctic landscapes is ________.

A) permafrost
B) mass wasting
C) mudslide
D) rock glacier
E) solifluction

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The slowest and least perceptible form of mass wasting is ________.

A) mudflow
B) creep
C) landslide
D) solifluction
E) exfoliation

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Creep associated with animals and resembling a faint network of trails is called ________.

A) a terracette
B) solifluction
C) a seiche
D) hydrolysis
E) oxidation

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The rock debris which accumulates at the base of steep slopes by gravitational action is called ________.

A) exfoliation
B) talus
C) slump
D) creep
E) vesicles

Question 5

Salt wedging seems to be of consequence in ________.

A) regions above the treeline
B) coastlines
C) marshes
D) urban regions
E) volcanic regions

Question 6

In percolating rainwater, dissolved gases and the decay products of local vegetation increase the water's capacity to ________.

A) evaporate
B) condense
C) drive chemical reactions
D) freeze
E) undergo mechanical weathering

Question 7

A joint can be distinguished from a fault in that ________.

A) there is wider separation between two sides
B) joints are a feature of cold climates exclusively
C) there is no difference between joints and faults
D) there is no movement along joints
E) joints are not found in metamorphic rocks

Question 8

The rotting of rock by the various types of chemical weathering takes place best in ________.

A) polar regions
B) upland montane forests
C) arid lands
D) humid regions
E) limestone regions

Question 9

Water penetrating into soil promotes chemical weathering by acting as a weak ________.

A) acid
B) base
C) saline solution
D) neutral agent
E) catalyst

Question 10

A weathering type associated with curved and concentric sets of joints that break away in successive layers is called ________.

A) exfoliation
B) hydrolysis
C) landslide
D) creep
E) solifluction

Question 11

________ are the most common structural features of rocks.

A) Joints
B) Faults
C) Solution cavities
D) Lava vesicles
E) Fractures

Question 12

The major end product of chemical weathering is (are) ________.

A) silts
B) clays
C) sands
D) talus
E) airborne dust

Question 13

A slope collapse with a backward rotation is a ________.

A) talus slope
B) rock slide
C) debris flow
D) rock glacier
E) slump

Question 14

The general term signifying the overall lowering of the rock material on the Earth's crust is ________.

A) denudation
B) mass wasting
C) slumping
D) jointing
E) weathering

Question 15

Water is a major agent of weathering because of its property that, when it freezes, it decreases in density and ________.

A) evaporates
B) turns white
C) expands in volume
D) stays in liquid form below 0° Celsius
E) turns acidic

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a type of opening along which weathering agents attack bedrock?

A) joints
B) faults
C) lava vesicles
D) solution cavities
E) batholiths

Question 17

In mountain areas, when large amounts of rock fragments move downslope of their own weight, they are called ________.

A) slumps
B) rock glaciers
C) veins
D) laccolith
E) dikes

Question 18

Residual rock that has not experienced erosion is termed ________.

A) basalt
B) talus
C) dome
D) block
E) bedrock

Question 19

The chemical union of water with another substance is called ________.

A) talus
B) hydrolysis
C) solifluction
D) oxidation
E) magma

Question 20

The most important type of mechanical weathering process is ________.

A) salt wedging
B) oxidation
C) frost shattering
D) hydrolysis
E) uniformitarianism

Question 21

Which of the following landscapes is most closely associated with jointing?

A) Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
B) the folded Appalachian Mountains
C) the Front Range of the Rockies
D) Chief Mountain in Glacier National Park, Montana
E) Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park

Question 22

Like faults, a ________ is a separation in a rock body.

A) sill
B) dike
C) joint
D) slump
E) graben

Question 23

Gravity is the main force impelling movement in all of the following except ________.

A) creep
B) slide
C) solifluction
D) hydrolysis
E) fall

Question 24

________ might happen directly as the result of the removal of an overlying weight from the landscape.

A) Hydrolysis
B) Mass wasting
C) A slump
D) Exfoliation
E) Soil creep

Question 25

Granular disintegration is most closely associated with ________.

A) hydrolysis
B) biological weathering
C) frost wedging
D) mass wasting
E) landslides

Question 26

The best example of a product of mass wasting is ________.

A) exfoliation domes
B) sandstone monoliths
C) faults
D) scree
E) limestone

Question 27

Landslides are often responsible for the formation of ________.

A) lakes
B) reverse faults
C) hydrolysis
D) jointing
E) basins

Question 28

The process of creep works ________.

A) only in the tropics
B) only in the tundra
C) only in the mountains
D) only in deserts
E) universally

Question 29

"The angle of repose" is a term most closely associated with ________.

A) talus
B) chemical weathering
C) exfoliation
D) mudflows
E) mechanical weathering

Question 30

A result of soil creep might be ________.

A) an earthquake along a fault
B) a house engulfed in mud
C) a sinking land surface
D) a landslide
E) a tilted fence post

Question 31

The process of solifluction works ________.

A) universally
B) mainly in the tropical rainforest
C) mainly in the midlatitudes
D) mainly in the tundra
E) underwater

Question 32

A slump is a downslope movement with a ________.

A) backwards rotation
B) lava vesicle
C) sag pond
D) tsunami
E) plateau formation

Question 33

In ________ there is a rough sorting of particles, with larger pieces farther downslope.

A) a mudslide
B) a rockfall
C) soil creep
D) a flow
E) faulting

Question 34

The peeling of thin layers of stone off a large rock is ________.

A) carbonation
B) hydrolysis
C) scree
D) exfoliation
E) explosion

Question 35

In rock, ________ is another term for pressure release.

A) creep
B) slumping
C) unloading
D) rusting
E) oxidation

Question 36

Frost wedging is associated with ________ in coarse-grained rocks.

A) hydrolysis
B) granular disintegration
C) slumping
D) faults
E) solution cavities

Question 37

In frost wedging, the principal force is exerted against the ________ of the confining rock.

A) top
B) outside
C) walls
D) microscopic openings
E) bottom

Question 38

One sub-surface material which intensifies the process of earthquakes and mass movement is ________.

A) calcium carbonate
B) quick clay
C) scree
D) boulders
E) batholiths

Question 39

The single most important mechanism of transport for weathered overburden in the subarctic zones is ________.

A) mass wasting
B) frost wedging
C) oxidation
D) exfoliation
E) none of the above

Question 40

In high altitude climates ________ is a (are) prevalent process(es).

A) landslides
B) hydrolysis
C) salt wedging
D) carbonation
E) frost wedging

Question 41

Which of the following is associated with large landslides?

A) large joints
B) fault zones
C) earthquakes
D) heavy rains
E) all of the above

Question 42

The mass-wasting type characterized by a crescent-shaped scarp face is the ________.

A) debris flow
B) slump
C) solifluction
D) rock glacier
E) none of the above

Question 43

The new substances made through oxidation of existing minerals are ________ than the original minerals.

A) more voluminous
B) softer
C) more easily eroded
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 44

The single most important weathering agent is

A) carbon dioxide.
B) water vapor.
C) liquid water.
D) oxygen.
E) nitrogen.

Question 45

If no water is involved, rocks can mechanically weather if they undergo ________ temperature change cycles.

A) two
B) a dozen
C) hundreds of
D) thousands of
E) millions of

Question 46

Chemical weathering is speeded because mechanical weathering tends to ________.

A) greatly increase the surface area to be weathered
B) stop when chemical weathering starts
C) deliver rocks to where chemical processes are dominant
D) prevent moisture from washing away the chemicals
E) make coarse-grained materials decompose more rapidly than fine-grained materials

Question 47

Large ________ extend for considerable distances and depths through rock. Below the surface, there is minimal separation between the blocks on either side.

A) vesicles
B) master joints
C) solution cavities
D) glory holes
E) faults

Question 48

The location of features such as cliffs and valleys might be strongly influenced by the position of ________.

A) rocks which can be exfoliated
B) systems of microspaces
C) master joints
D) talus slopes
E) scree

Question 49

Which openings in rocks are associated with calcareous rocks?

A) microscopic openings
B) joints
C) faults
D) lava vesicles
E) solution cavities

Question 50

________ move downslope as much as 160 kilometers per hour.

A) Landslides
B) Debris flows
C) Rock glaciers
D) Solifluction lobes
E) All of the above

Question 51

From a chemical standpoint, the three reacting agents of greatest importance to weathering are ________.

A) hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
B) oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide
C) carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water vapor
D) water vapor, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide
E) none of the above

Question 52

Which sort of rocks are most susceptible to hydrolysis?

A) metamorphic
B) unjointed
C) plutonic
D) sedimentary
E) igneous

Question 53

Typically, solifluction lobes move a few ________ per year.

A) centimeters (inches)
B) meters (feet)
C) tens of meters (tens of feet)
D) kilometers (miles)
E) tens of kilometers (tens of miles)

Question 54

The Madison Valley, Wyoming landslide of 1959 was caused by

A) an unsafe dam.
B) an earthquake.
C) campers.
D) a meteorite impact.
E) heavy rain.

Question 55

Oxidation of aluminum causes which of the following colors on the surfaces of rocks?

A) light purple
B) grayish-blue
C) lime green
D) black
E) reddish brown

Question 56

A mudflow including numerous larger blocks of material is a(n) ________.

A) earth slide
B) rock glacier
C) earthflow
D) debris flow
E) none of the above

Question 57

Which of the following must take place FIRST during the denudation of a landscape?

A) weathering
B) erosion
C) mass wasting
D) They must occur simultaneously.
E) None of them must occur first.

Question 58

Clays which change to a near-liquid state as a result of sudden disturbance are ________ clays.

A) mudflow
B) scree
C) talus
D) quick
E) none of the above

Question 59

Calcium bicarbonate produced in the chemical weathering process of carbonation is ________.

A) rare
B) very resistant to erosion
C) very soluble
D) difficult to remove from the spot where it was formed
E) not described by any of the above

Question 60

The most common oxidation effect in the lithosphere is ________.

A) rusting
B) exfoliation
C) talus
D) scree
E) hydrolysis

Question 61

Where is the daily temperature change the most significant in rock weathering?

A) mountain summits
B) the Arctic region
C) the humid tropics
D) the subtropical deserts
E) midlatitude valleys

Question 62

Exfoliation is probably the result of unloading and ________.

A) jointing
B) glaciation
C) hydration
D) mechanical weathering
E) salt wedging

Question 63

Soil creep is unimportant in arid regions since lack of water removes the primary ________.

A) lubricant
B) binder
C) catalyst
D) cement
E) none of the above

Question 64

Which of the following is thought to transfer materials WITHOUT the lubricating effect of water?

A) landslides
B) solifluction
C) mudflow
D) debris flows
E) rock glaciers

Question 65

The main chemical weathering processes all take place more or less simultaneously because they all require the presence of ________.

A) water
B) air
C) hydrogen
D) plants
E) salt crystal growth

Question 66

Where the land is flat, ________ exerts a minimal influence on topographic development.

A) water
B) chemical weathering
C) mechanical weathering
D) biological weathering
E) gravity

Question 67

Frost wedging is a significant agent in producing ________.

A) large boulders
B) sand
C) dust
D) mechanical weathering effects
E) all of the above

Question 68

Concerning the La Conchita landslides:

A) The first one has yet to happen.
B) A large earthquake has the motive force.
C) The same land is likely to slide again.
D) The landslides are, fortunately, over.
E) The town will soon be drowned by the ocean.

Question 69

Which of the following mass movements involves the greatest amount of water?

A) slump
B) flow
C) rockfall
D) slide
E) solifluction

Question 70

Weathering is deepest ________.

A) at high latitudes
B) in the humid tropics
C) in the middle latitudes
D) at high altitudes
E) on ocean floors

Question 71

Jointing is most regularly patterned in ________.

A) soil
B) coarse-grained rocks
C) fine-grained rocks
D) exfoliated rocks
E) faulted rocks

Question 72

Weathering and mass wasting can be classified as ________ processes.

A) quick
B) mountain building
C) constructive
D) denudational
E) tectonic

Question 73

Caverns are most closely associated with

A) microscopic open spaces.
B) joints.
C) faults.
D) lava vesicles.
E) solution cavities.

Question 74

No matter where you go, which of the following is almost certainly acting on the landscape around you?

A) landslides
B) solifluction
C) mudflow
D) creep
E) rock glaciers

Question 75

Which of the following is most effective in weathering rock?

A) salt wedging
B) daily heating and cooling
C) fire
D) freeze/thaw cycles
E) plant roots

Question 76

Invariably, hydrolysis makes a mineral ________.

A) more beautiful
B) redder
C) more acidic
D) take up more volume
E) denser

Question 77

In freeze/thaw or wet/dry conditions in soil creep, an individual soil particle tends to ________.

A) slide downhill
B) be lifted vertically
C) slide downhill and then be lifted vertically
D) be lifted vertically and placed at the same spot
E) be lifted vertically from the ground surface and placed slightly downhill

Question 78

Salt wedging is most closely associated with ________.

A) chemical weathering
B) humid climates
C) freeze/thaw cycles
D) capillary action
E) plant roots

Question 79

Which of the following is the slowest of all types of mass movement?

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

Question 80

Which of the following is important in the weathering processes?

A) microscopic open spaces
B) lava vesicles
C) joints
D) faults
E) all of the above