Soils, Weathering and Ground Water

1. How can rain forests be so lush if the soil is so poor?
   1. They get nutrients from rain water
   2. The organisms have evolved to do without soil nutrients
   3. Human slash-and-burn agriculture returns nutrients to the soil
   4. The ecosystem is very effective at recycling nutrients
2. Which factors enter into soil classification?
   1. age of the soil
   2. parent material
   3. structure of the soil
   4. climate and drainage
   5. all the above
3. Why small particles weather faster than large ones:
   1. They have more surface area for chemical reactions
   2. They can be more easily eaten by soil organisms
   3. They are easier to break mechanically
   4. They are made of more soluble minerals
4. Which breaks rocks down by prying the grains apart?
   1. freeze-thaw cycles
   2. growth of plant roots
   3. salt crystal growth along shorelines
   4. hydration of minerals
   5. all the preceding
5. Which of the minerals in Bowen's reaction series is most stable chemically?
   1. calcium plagioclase
   2. biotite
   3. quartz
   4. olivine
   5. pyroxene
6. The layers or horizons in a soil profile result mostly from
   1. successive deposition of layers
   2. pressure of the overlying soil
   3. decreasing sunlight with depth
   4. differences in leaching and deposition with depth
7. The most intense chemical weathering would be expected where?
   1. the Amazon Basin
   2. the Mojave Desert
   3. Northern Alaska
   4. Minnesota
   5. Manhattan
8. We would expect little chemical weathering, but intense frost action here
   1. the Amazon Basin
   2. the Mojave Desert
   3. Northern Alaska
   4. Minnesota
   5. Manhattan
9. Little chemical weathering, but episodic and violent rainfall with rapid erosion would be most likely here:
   1. the Amazon Basin
   2. the Mojave Desert
   3. Northern Alaska
   4. Minnesota
   5. Manhattan
10. Rapid chemical weathering because of acid rain would probably happen where?
    1. the Amazon Basin
    2. the Mojave Desert
    3. Northern Alaska
    4. Minnesota
    5. Manhattan
11. This area would be characterized by moderate chemical weathering, and frequent but moderate rainfall and erosion.
    1. the Amazon Basin
    2. the Mojave Desert
    3. Northern Alaska
    4. Minnesota
    5. Manhattan
12. Most likely to weather rapidly
    1. granite
    2. gneiss
    3. quartzite
    4. basalt
13. Least likely to weather rapidly
    1. granite
    2. gneiss
    3. quartzite
    4. basalt
14. Why clay doesn't weather
    1. the grains are too large
    2. it's already chemically stable at the surface
    3. it doesn't occur in areas prone to weathering
    4. it has too many ions
15. Mechanical weathering is most likely to occur here:
    1. a steep, young mountain range
    2. a gentle, old mountain range
    3. a delta
    4. a coastal plain
16. Rocks often shatter when they freeze because
    1. ice crystals are sharp
    2. ice expands when it freezes
    3. water becomes more corrosive when it's frozen
    4. rocks contract when they get cold
17. Mechanical weathering is most likely to be dominant in an area with:
    1. heat and high humidity
    2. a great deal of vegetation
    3. much available water
    4. extensive frost wedging
18. Mass wasting refers to material moved primarily by:
    1. wind
    2. running water
    3. ice
    4. gravity
19. Which is not a sign of soil creep?
    1. trees bent near the base
    2. tilted posts and poles
    3. water seeping from the ground
    4. deformed rock layers near the surface
20. The source of the energy that propels a landslide
    1. steep slopes
    2. strain in the rock
    3. water lubricating the slide
    4. gravity
21. To prevent long-term pollution of ground water, it is most important to protect:
    1. The recharge zone
    2. The area around the well
    3. Streams and lakes
    4. Springs and seeps
22. Most of the earth's water is:
    1. Lakes and rivers
    2. ground water
    3. Ocean water
    4. Glacial ice
23. Geysers can be destroyed by:
    1. Minerals plugging the conduit of the geyser
    2. Unusually violent eruptions
    3. Both a and b.
    4. Neither a nor b
24. Artesian wells:
    1. Are always pure
    2. Cannot be polluted because they are sealed
    3. Always flow to the surface
    4. None of the above
25. Center-pivot irrigation:
    1. Has made it possible to farm soils that cannot be conventionally irrigate
    2. Is causing the depletion of many aquifers
    3. Is very distinctive seen from the air
    4. All the above
26. What percentage of the water used in the United States is provided by groundwater?
    1. 50
    2. 40
    3. 30
    4. 20
    5. 10
27. Rapid withdrawal of groundwater can result in:
    1. a cone of depression
    2. loss of hydrostatic pressure
    3. ground subsidence
    4. saltwater incursion
    5. all of these
28. What makes rainwater able to dissolve carbonate rocks?
    1. carbon dioxide in solution makes the water slightly acid
    2. Pollutants in the rainwater makes it alkalin
    3. It becomes alkaline in percolating through the soil.
    4. Dissolved nitrogen forms diluted nitric acid
29. Most of the liquid fresh water on Earth is in
    1. ground water
    2. streams
    3. rivers
30. On a geological time scale, lakes are
    1. very long-lasting
    2. short-lived
31. The water table in a swamp
    1. is far below the surface
    2. is just at the surface
    3. is well above the surface
    4. has nothing to do with the swamp
32. A well which flows naturally because the water is under pressure:
    1. aquifer
    2. artesian
    3. alkaline
    4. mineralized
33. Excessive pumping of well water can:
    1. suck salt water into coastal wells
    2. cause subsidence
    3. lower the water table
    4. all the above
34. A landscape which forms as a result of solution of limestone by ground water:
    1. karst landscape
    2. basin-and-range topography
    3. stoss-lee topography
35. Most likely to produce the deepest lake
    1. forming a cutoff meander
    2. flooding a graben
    3. a delta blocking a bay
    4. a ice block melting to form a kettle pond
36. A few lakes have bottoms which are below sea level. Which kind of lake is least likely to be in that category?
    1. an oxbow or cutoff meander
    2. a glacially-scoured lake
    3. a graben lake
    4. a caldera or crater lake
37. Which kind of lake is likely to last longest?
    1. a kettle lake
    2. a sinkhole lake
    3. a cutoff meander or oxbow lake
    4. a graben lake
38. An aquifer is:
    1. a permeable layer that transmits water
    2. a man-made conduit through which water is carried to places of habitation.
    3. the place where water tables intersect the earth's surface
    4. the zone of the water table which transmits aerated water
    5. none of these
39. The primary force which is responsible for the downward migration of groundwater is:
    1. surface tension
    2. air pressure
    3. gravity
    4. precipitation
    5. none of these
40. Porosity may be defined as:
    1. the rate of forward flow of groundwater
    2. the amount of space in a body of rock or soil which is filled by mineral grains
    3. the volume of interconnecting open areas in a rock body
41. This technique has recently made it possible to irrigate and farm land that formerly could not be irrigated:
    1. no-till agriculture
    2. aerial spraying
    3. gravity-feed dispersal
    4. center-pivot-irrigation
    5. none of these

 

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