Q&A Hero

Q: Explain how the size, shape, and sorting of sediments can provide information about the distance the sediment has traveled from its source.

Q: Explain how the intrusive igneous rock granite can be broken down from a crystalline igneous rock to a sediment and then finally become a sedimentary rock.

Q: Match the environment of deposition with the appropriate category. Answers will be used more than once. A) Marine environment B) Continental environment C) Transitional environment 1. Alluvial fan 2. Deep marine 3. Mudflat 4. Swamp 5. Stream 6. Beach 7. Lakes 8. Reef

Q: Match the textural descriptions with the appropriate sedimentary composition. A) Crystalline appearance. B) Subangular clasts, poor sorting. C) Black, fibrous material. Some layering. 1. Detrital 2. Organic 3. Chemical

Q: Match the various grades of coal in order from lowest grade to highest grade. (Note: First refers to lowest grade and Fourth refers to highest grade.) A) Lignite B) Anthracite coal C) Peat D) Bituminous coal 1. First (lowest grade) 2. Second 3. Third 4. Fourth (highest grade)

Q: Match the sediment size with the appropriate rock. (Answers may be used more than once.) A) Sand B) Gravel C) Clay D) Silt 1. Breccia 2. Arkose 3. Quartz sandstone 4. Siltstone 5. Claystone

Q: Match the rock with the appropriate category of sedimentary rock. (The choices may be used more than once.) A) Organic B) Detrital C) Chemical 1. Sandstone 2. Chert 3. Shale 4. Bituminous coal 5. Rock salt 6. Coquina

Q: Volcanic activity in the early history of the Earth is believed to be responsible for much of the CO2 found in the atmosphere.

Q: Graded bedding will display particles that are fine near the bottom of the layer and get progressively coarser toward the top.

Q: The raw material for coal is dead marine organisms.

Q: Chalk is a soft, porous rock composed of the hard parts of microscopic marine organisms.

Q: Detrital sedimentary rocks are classified according to clast size, whereas chemical sedimentary rocks are classified based on their dominant minerals.

Q: Shales are well cemented because of the high number of pore spaces.

Q: Due to their size, stream gravels need a swift current to be transported, whereas sands need a current with less energy.

Q: Particle shape is the primary basis for distinguishing among various detrital sedimentary rocks.

Q: Approximately 75 percent of the planet's landmasses are covered by sedimentary and sedimentary rocks.

Q: There are no sediments on the deep seafloor.

Q: Name a sedimentary rock that will sequester CO2 in the geosphere. A) Conglomerate B) Shale C) Rock salt D) Limestone

Q: What information can evaporites provide about the past environment of deposition? A) The paleoenvironment was wet and in the process of drying up. B) The paleoenvironment was arid. C) The paleoenvironment was wet. D) The paleoenvironment was dry and becoming wetter.

Q: What are two examples of inorganic limestone? A) Oolitic limestone and coquina B) Chalk and calcite C) Travertine and oolitic limestone D) Chalk and coquina

Q: What is the most common sedimentary rock? A) Sandstone B) Graywacke C) Shale D) Limestone

Q: What sediment particle size(s) make up shale? A) Gravel B) Sand and silt C) Silt D) Silt and clay

Q: Which process will remove CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester it? A) Volcanic activity B) Deposition of carbonate sediments C) Decay of biomass D) Respiration of land organisms

Q: Which of the following parts of the carbon cycles shows the most active movement of carbon between spheres? A) Atmosphere and biosphere B) Cryosphere and biosphere C) Atmosphere and hydrosphere D) Hydrosphere and atmosphere

Q: Which of the following processes will release CO2 into the atmosphere? A) Burning fossil fuels and photosynthesis of vegetation B) Weathering of granite C) Weathering of carbonates D) Photosynthesis of vegetation E) Burning of fossil fuels and weathering of carbonate

Q: Folding and deformation of organic material will produce ________ coal. A) anthracite B) bituminous C) lignite D) peat

Q: Which of these aquatic organisms can form chemical sediments? A) Corals B) Coccolithophores C) Bacteria and corals D) Bivalves, corals, bacteria, and coccolithophores

Q: ________ is a variety of sandstone that is associated with submarine landslides called turbidity currents. A) Quartz sandstone B) Graywacke C) Arkose D) Conglomerate

Q: ________ are primary reservoirs of groundwater. A) Igneous rocks B) Sedimentary rocks C) Metamorphic rocks D) Sediments and sedimentary rocks

Q: A ________ marks the end of one episode of sedimentation and the beginning of another. A) cross-bedding B) ripplemark C) bedding plane D) graded bed

Q: Which of the following represents the single most common and characteristic structures in sedimentary rocks? A) Mudcracks B) Crystalline texture C) Cross-bedding D) Strata

Q: A ________ describes the observation of successive changes in a laterally continuous sedimentary layer that are visible and are interpreted as a result of many depositional processes taking place over a large area. A) transitional environment B) facies C) delta D) turbidity current

Q: The primary basis for classifying detrital rocks is ________, whereas the primary basis for classifying chemical rocks is ________. A) particle shape; trace elements B) crystalline structure; Sorting C) particle size; mineral composition D) sorting; density

Q: Which of the following textural terms describes the texture of nonclastic chemical sedimentary rocks? A) Sand-sized B) Crystalline C) Gravel-sized D) Angular

Q: Compaction will be the most significant lithification process for which of the following rocks? A) Conglomerate B) Sandstone C) Arkose D) Shale

Q: Which of the following locations will see the deposition of sylvite and gypsum? A) Shallow marine environments B) Evaporating sea basins C) Groundwater moving through a rock D) Volcanic ash settling out in a lake

Q: Which of the following trace materials produces bright-red colors in some cherts? A) Manganese B) Clay particles C) Iron oxide D) Calcite

Q: Which of the following best describes interbedded gypsum and halite? A) Biochemical sedimentary rocks B) Detrital sedimentary rocks C) Carbonate sedimentary rocks D) Evaporitic sedimentary rocks

Q: ________ is the process where calcium ions in limestone are replaced with magnesium or small amounts of iron. A) Permineralization B) Replacement C) Precipitation D) Dolomitization

Q: ________ are tiny "seed" particles created when small sediments or shell fragments are rolled by waves in water supersaturated with calcium carbonate. A) Bryozoans B) Cave pearls C) Ooids D) Nodules

Q: The famous Permian ________ reefs in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park are a rich source of organic material. A) sandstone B) limestone C) shale D) conglomerate

Q: ________ is a biochemical sedimentary rock that often forms in carbonate reefs. A) Limestone B) Chert C) Rock Salt D) Bituminous Coal

Q: ________ processes, such as evaporation or precipitation, can precipitate chemical sediments. A) Biological B) Detrital C) Inorganic D) Organic

Q: Which is the most abundant chemical sedimentary rock? A) Chert B) Dolomite C) Rock Gypsum D) Limestone

Q: Which of the following best describes the appearance and composition of a conglomerate? A) Angular fragments; well sorted B) Rounded fragments; poorly sorted C) Angular fragments; poorly sorted D) Rounded fragments; well sorted

Q: ________ describes the range in particle sizes in a detrital sedimentary rock. A) Sorting B) Shape C) Cementation D) Size

Q: Which of the following methods of transportation will result in the least sorted deposit? A) Waves on a beach B) Streams C) Rock fall D) Wind

Q: Which of the following methods of transportation will result in the best degree of sorting, with all the particles being roughly the same size? A) Waves on a beach B) Streams C) Glaciers D) Wind

Q: Which environment would be likely to produce a black shale? A) Shallow marine bay B) Swamp C) Forest D) Eolian dunes

Q: Which of the following rocks composed of silt- and clay- sized particles displays fissility? A) Claystone B) Siltstone C) Shale D) Mudstone

Q: Which minerals are the main constituents in most sedimentary rocks? A) Calcite and silica B) Micas and feldspars C) Orthoclase and plagioclase D) Quartz and clay minerals

Q: ________ is the process that converts sediments into a sedimentary rock. A) Diagenesis B) Cementation C) Imbrication D) Lithification

Q: Which of the following makes up the sediment that forms an organic sedimentary rock? A) Gravel and sand B) Plant fibers C) Weathered ions D) Dissolved minerals

Q: What is diagenesis? A) The change from a sedimentary rock to a metamorphic rock B) The weathering of carbonate rock due to dissolution C) The textural, compositional, and other changes that occur to sediments after deposition D) The two-stage cooling process that creates porphyritic rocks

Q: ________ are fragments of preexisting materials that have been broken down through the processes of weathering. A) Sediments B) Crystals C) Fibers D) Sedimentary rocks

Q: Which rock type, or combination of rock types, makes up the majority of Earth's outermost solid surface? A) Igneous rocks B) Sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks C) Sedimentary rocks D) Igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks

Q: Which rock type can contain fossils? A) Igneous rocks B) Sedimentary rocks C) Metamorphic rocks D) Minerals

Q: Assume the image above is in southern Arizona and rather than seeing patches of snow, you are seeing a desert. Which weathering process would you then assume is responsible for material A? A) Salt crystal growth B) Hydrolysis C) Frost wedging D) Exfoliation

Q: Study this image and think about what the climate is like in this region. Which weathering process would you assume is responsible for material A? A) Dissolution B) Hydrolysis C) Frost wedging D) Exfoliation

Q: What is the name of the material that has accumulated at the base of the cliff (marked A) in the above image?

Q: Look at the soil orders that dominate Alaska. How would you describe the climatic conditions present in that part of the state?

Q: Which what are the three dominant soil orders of Northern Africa?

Q: Using the image above, label the five soil horizons from the surface downward. A) E Horizon B) C Horizon C) O Horizon D) B Horizon E) A Horizon 1. A 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. E

Q: Which weathering process is illustrated in the photo above? A) Dissolution B) Spheroidal weathering C) Frost wedging D) Biological activity

Q: Which weathering process is illustrated in this image? A) Exfoliation B) Root wedging C) Hydrolysis D) Frost wedging

Q: How does slope orientation affect soil development? (Hint: Which slopes receive the most sunlight?)

Q: Which soil formation characteristic will most strongly influence a soil when it is young? When it is old?

Q: What are the five controls of soil formation?

Q: A cemetery in New England contains headstones from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. Headstones from the seventeenth century are made of slate. Headstones from the mid-nineteenth century are made of marble. The information on the seventeenth-century headstone is clear and easy to read, whereas the nineteenth-century headstone is now illegible. Why? What weathering has occurred?

Q: In the process of hydration, the entire water molecule is added to the mineral structure, stretching the crystal lattice. Which type of weathering would this process describe: physical or chemical? Why?

Q: How will joints in rock aid chemical weathering?

Q: Thermal expansion and thermal contraction are two processes where the presence of heat will weather a rock, breaking it into smaller pieces. In which category of weathering would you expect to find thermal expansion and contraction? Why?

Q: A stonemason has shaped a block of marble into a perfect cube with dimensions of 2 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. An order has arrived that the original cube must be broken down into eight cubic pieces of marble, all of the same dimension of 6 square feet per cube. What is the total surface area of the marble now?

Q: A stonemason has shaped a block of marble into a perfect cube with dimensions of 2 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. What is the surface area of the cube? (Hint: What is the formula for the area of a square? How many sides does a cube have?)

Q: Why would a pile of gravel weather faster than a single solid boulder?

Q: Mount Rushmore National Memorial was created at the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s by the use of explosives and jackhammers to sculpt granitic igneous rock. Which category of weathering (mechanical or chemical) best describes how the rock was broken down? Explain why you believe this is so.

Q: The Dust Bowl disaster of the 1930s was one of the greatest ecological and agricultural disasters in American history, resulting in thousands of deaths and a historic mass migration. The causes of the Dust Bowl, however, were both natural and man-made. Discuss the causes of the Dust Bowl and rate their severity. In your opinion, which do you think were the most powerful and did the most damage to the soil?

Q: Why are tropical rainforest soils poor for farming?

Q: What erosion control practices would be best suited for a landscape with steep slopes? With gentle, rolling hills?

Q: Compare and contrast the state of soil development at the following three locations: mountaintops, foothills, bottomlands.