Sedimentary Rocks

Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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The most abundant detrital sedimentary rocks are:
1. limestones
2. mudrocks
3. sandstones
4. arkoses
5. evaporites
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
Dolostone is formed by the addition of _____ to limestone:
1. calcium
2. iron
3. carbonate
4. sodium
5. magnesium
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
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
Which of the following is detrital sediment?
1. broken sea shells
2. ripple marks
3. ions in solution
4. graded bedding
5. quartz sand
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
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
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
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
Coal is
1. a clastic sedimentary rock
2. an evaporite
3. always found with limestone
4. none of the above
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
What hold a sedimentary rock together?
1. cement
2. fossils
3. water in its pore spaces
4. silt
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
The clastic sedimentary rocks are classified primarily on the basis of:
1. color
2. grain size
3. composition
4. hardness
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
Deposits of clay become consolidated to form:
1. limestone
2. sandstone
3. shale
4. evaporite
Sedimentary rocks are usually deposited in horizontal layers.
1. yes
2. no
Sedimentary rocks make up _________ of the volume of the earth's crust.
1. very little
2. a large part
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
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
The separation of detrital materials according to grain size is called:
1. sorting
2. graduating
3. dessication
4. collimating
5. none of these
The rock type that best describes the various types of coal is:
1. clastic
2. biochemical
3. evaporitic
4. detrital
5. none of these
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
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
The least stable material in clastic detritus is:
1. quartz
2. feldspar
3. amphibole
4. olivine
5. hornblende
Graded bedding usually signifies:

Cross-bedding is usually related to:

Mud cracks are most likely to form by:

Ripple marks generally are formed by:

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:

Which is most likely to represent a deposit formed on dry land?

Which would be least likely to indicate a desert environment?:
1. Large cross-beds
2. Coal
3. Evaporite
4. Mud cracks

Which of these environments can produce cross beds?
1. Sand dunes
2. River Deltas
3. Alluvial fans
4. All the above
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 24 February 2011

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