Sedimentary Rocks

Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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  1. The most abundant detrital sedimentary rocks are:
    1. limestones
    2. mudrocks
    3. sandstones
    4. arkoses
    5. evaporites
  2. Most limestones have a large component of calcite that was originally extracted from seawater by:
    1. inorganic chemical reactions
    2. chemical weathering
    3. organisms
    4. lithification
    5. evaporation
  3. Dolostone is formed by the addition of _____ to limestone:
    1. calcium
    2. iron
    3. carbonate
    4. sodium
    5. magnesium
  4. The process whereby dissolved mineral matter precipitates in the pore spaces of sediment and binds it together is:
    1. compaction
    2. weathering
    3. rounding
    4. cementation
    5. bedding
  5. Sedimentary breccia is a rare rock type because:
    1. gravel is rounded quickly during transport
    2. clay is less abundant than other sedimentary particles
    3. feldspars are chemically unstable
    4. sand deposits are typically well sorted
    5. it forms only by evaporation of water
  6. Which of the following is detrital sediment?
    1. broken sea shells
    2. ripple marks
    3. ions in solution
    4. graded bedding
    5. quartz sand
  7. A clay-sized sedimentary particle measures:
    1. greater than 2 m
    2. less than 1/256 mm
    3. 2-10 cm
    4. 5 mm
    5. 1/4-1/2 mm
  8. If an aggregate of sediment consists of particles that are all about the same size, it is said to be:
    1. well sorted
    2. sandstone
    3. poorly rounded
    4. lithified
    5. completely abraded
  9. The superposition of offshore facies over nearshore facies occurs when sea level rises and the shoreline migrates inland during a marine:
    1. superposition
    2. invasion
    3. regression
    4. transgression
    5. facies
  10. Which of the following can be used to determine paleocurrent direction?
    1. mud cracks
    2. turbidity currents
    3. graded bedding
    4. grain size
    5. cross-bedding
  11. Coal is
    1. a clastic sedimentary rock
    2. an evaporite
    3. always found with limestone
    4. none of the above
  12. Bedding or stratification in a sedimentary rock
    1. is due to directed pressure from earth forces
    2. results from heat
    3. is always exactly horizontal
    4. represents variations which took place during deposition
  13. What holds a sedimentary rock together?
    1. cement
    2. fossils
    3. water in its pore spaces
    4. silt
  14. Clastic means:
    1. formed by the evaporation of water
    2. formed by living organisms
    3. formed from fragments cemented together
    4. formed from the molten state
  15. The clastic sedimentary rocks are classified primarily on the basis of:
    1. color
    2. grain size
    3. composition
    4. hardness
  16. Well-sorted sediments contain:
    1. a limited size range of particles
    2. a wide size range of particles
    3. only pebbles
    4. abundant clay minerals
  17. Deposits of clay become consolidated to form:
    1. limestone
    2. sandstone
    3. shale
    4. evaporite
  18. Sedimentary rocks are usually deposited in horizontal layers.
    1. yes
    2. no
  19. Sedimentary rocks make up _________ of the volume of the earth's crust.
    1. very little
    2. a large part
  20. How breccia differs from conglomerate
    1. the particles are bigger
    2. the particles are quartz
    3. the particles are more rounded
    4. the particles are more angular
  21. The single most characteristic feature of sedimentary rocks is:
    1. widely varying grain sizes
    2. sole marks
    3. the presence of nodules
    4. stratification (bedding)
    5. none of these
  22. The separation of detrital materials according to grain size is called:
    1. sorting
    2. graduating
    3. dessication
    4. collimating
    5. none of these
  23. The rock type that best describes the various types of coal is:
    1. clastic
    2. biochemical
    3. evaporitic
    4. detrital
    5. none of these
  24. You would most likely find the remains of plants in a deposit of:
    1. limestone
    2. sandstone
    3. peat
    4. breccia
    5. none of these
  25. A mature sedimentary rock would exhibit which of these features?
    1. Unstable mineral fragments
    2. Angular mineral fragments
    3. A wide variety of particle sizes
    4. Fragments of olivine and pyroxene
    5. Stable mineral fragments
  26. The least stable material in clastic detritus is:
    1. quartz
    2. feldspar
    3. amphibole
    4. olivine
    5. hornblende
  27. Graded bedding usually signifies:
    1. Fast-moving water that gradually slowed down
    2. Slow-moving water that gradually speeded up
    3. Stagnant water
    4. Deposition on dry land
  28. Cross-bedding is usually related to:
    1. Rapidly changing patterns of erosion and deposition
    2. Gently oscillating waves
    3. Periodic exposure to the air and drying out
    4. Fast-moving water that gradually slowed down
  29. Mud cracks are most likely to form by:
    1. Rapidly changing patterns of erosion and deposition
    2. Gently oscillating waves
    3. Periodic exposure to the air and drying out
    4. Fast-moving water that gradually slowed down
  30. Ripple marks generally are formed by:
    1. Rapidly changing patterns of erosion and deposition
    2. Gently oscillating waves
    3. Periodic exposure to the air and drying out
    4. Fast-moving water that gradually slowed down
  31. In a cliff, you see coal near the base, then sandstone above it, then limestone, then sandstone again, and finally coal near the top. This pattern most likely means:
    1. The sea retreated and then advanced again
    2. The sea advanced and then retreated again
    3. The climate changed from warm to cold and back
    4. Rainfall decreased and then increased again
  32. Which is most likely to represent a deposit formed on dry land?
    1. Black shale
    2. Red sandstone
    3. Mudrocks
    4. Dolomite
  33. Which would be least likely to indicate a desert environment?:
    1. Large cross-beds
    2. Coal
    3. Evaporite
    4. Mud cracks
  34. Which of these environments can produce cross beds?
    1. Sand dunes
    2. River Deltas
    3. Alluvial fans
    4. All the above
  35. Which is most likely to be an evaporite?
    1. Black shale
    2. Rock Salt
    3. Mudrocks
    4. Dolomite

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Created 3 January 1997; Last Update 13 December 2004

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