chapter 19

Multiple Choice Questions for Interior of the Earth - Chapter 17

Each chapter will include a few questions designed to test your knowledge of material covered in the chapter and in the Internet-based resources. Your answers are not being recorded. Try the following.

  1. What is the approximate distance from the surface to the center of he Earth?

    1,000 miles
    4,000 miles
    10,000 miles
    40,000 miles

  2. When sesimic waves pass across the boundary between two different materials, ___________.

    the waves refract
    the waves reflect
    the waves change in velocity
    all of the above

  3. Which region in the Earth is about 85% iron?

    A
    B
    C
    D

  4. Which region in the Earth molten?

    A
    B
    C
    D

  5. In which region of the Earth is conduction the dominant heat transfer mechanism?

    A
    B
    C
    D

  6. How long does it take a P-wave to travel through the Earth?

    1 minute
    5 minutes
    10 minutes
    20 minutes

  7. Which of the following statements is false?

    the P-wave shadow zone is larger than the S-wave shadow zone.
    Seismic waves follow curved paths through the interior of the Earth
    P waves travel more slowly in the outer core than in the lower mantle
    Liquids do not transmit S waves

  8. The S wave shadow zone is caused by the _________ .

    the crust-mantle boundary
    the outer core
    the lower mantle
    the inner core

  9. The S-wave shadow zone extends from _____ to 180 o angular distance from the earthquake focus on one side and from ______ to 180o on the other.

    45 degrees
    75 degrees
    105 degrees
    145 degrees

  10. The boundary between the mantle and the core lies at a depth of approximately ________ .

    300 kilometers
    1000 kilometres
    3000 kilometers
    5000 kilometers

  11. Continental crust can be up to ______ kilometers thick.

    5
    35
    65
    100

  12. Where do P waves travel the fastest?

    upper mantle
    lower mantle
    outer core
    inner core

  13. Which of the following statements about the Moho is false?

    seismic waves speed up as they pass across the Moho heading downward
    the Moho separates denser rocks below from less dense rocks above
    the Moho separates the crust from the mantle
    the Moho marks the top of a partially molten layer

  14. After melting of a continental ice cap, the surface of the continent will tend to __________ .

    rise
    sink
    sink or rise depending on the thickness of the ice cap
    remain the same - ice does not weigh that much

  15. If the Earth cooled only by conduction, heat from depths greater than ______ kilometers would not yet have reached the surface.

    20
    100
    400
    2000

  16. The mechanical transfer of heat by vibration of atoms and molecules is called __________ .

    radiation
    conduction
    magnetism
    convection

  17. What drives plate tectonics?

    thermal convection
    thermal conduction
    solar energy
    erosion

  18. In a deep mine, temperatures increase at the rate of ________ .

    3 degrees C per kilometer
    30 degrees C per kilometer
    300 degrees C per kilometer
    1 degree C per kilometer

  19. Where is the Earth's magnetic field generated?

    in the crust
    in the mantle
    in the outer core
    in the inner core

  20. At what temperature do materials loose their permanent magnetism?

    100 degrees C
    250 degrees C
    400 degrees C
    550 degrees C

  21. Which of the following statements is true?

    the Earth's magnetic poles are aligned with the Earth's rotation axis
    the Earth's magnetic poles are inclined approximately 11 degrees from the Earth's rotation axis
    the Earth's magnetic poles are inclined approximately 45 degrees from the Earth's rotation axis
    the Earth's magnetic poles are perpendicular to the Earth's rotation axis

  22. The Earth's magnetic field reverses itself roughly every ________ .

    50 years
    5,000 years
    500,000 years
    50 million years

  23. Permanent magnetism acquired by minerals in igneous rocks during crystallization is called __________ magnetization.

    depositional remnant
    paleoremnant magnetism
    silicate
    thermoremanent magnetism

  24. Which of the following rock types would be most likely to record the magnetic field at the time the rock formed?

    an alluvial conglomerate
    a basaltic lava flow
    an evaporite deposit of halite
    a schist

  25. Which one of the following lists most accurately describes oceanic crust?

    basaltic - density of 3.0 g/cm3
    granitic - density of 3.0 g/cm3
    quartz arenites - density of 2.6 g/cm3
    basaltic - density of 2.6 g/cc

  26. The Moho separates:

    the outer core from the inner core
    the lithosphere from the asthenosphere
    the asthenosphere from the Mesosphere
    the crust from the mantle

  27. Which one of the following term associations is FALSE?

    asthenosphere --- plastic behavior
    lithosphere --- rigid solid
    outer core --- right solid
    continental crust --- rigid solid

  28. To induce a positive Bouguer anomaly, a rock unit should have the following property:

    transmit only P waves
    be denser than the surrounding materials
    be less dense than the surrounding materials
    be magnetic

  29. The lithosphere includes:

    crust and uppermost, rigid mantle
    outer core and inner core
    asthenosphere and mesosphere
    outer core and lower mantle

  30. A cooling magnetic material _________ its magnetic character at its Curie temperature:

    gains
    looses
    neither of these happens

  31. What region of the Earth takes up the greatest volume?

    the crust
    the outer core
    the inner core
    the mantle

  32. Which of the following terms describes the mechanical behavior of a part of the Earth?

    the continental crust
    the oceanic crust
    the lithosphere
    the mantle

  33. The continental crust consists mainly of _________.

    granitic rocks
    basaltic rocks
    ultramafic rocks
    gabbroic rocks

  34. The oceanic crust consists mainly of _________.

    granitic rocks
    basaltic rocks
    ultramafic rocks
    gabbroic rocks

  35. The mantle consists mainly of _________.

    granitic rocks
    basaltic rocks
    ultramafic rocks
    gabbroic rocks

  36. The boundary between the Earth's crust and mantle was first discovered by __________.

    analyzing seismic waves
    deep continental drilling
    detailed geologic mapping
    paleomagnetic studies

  37. How fast do P-waves travel through granite?

    4 kilometers per second
    6 kilometers per second
    8 kilometers per second
    10 kilometers per second

  38. Which of the following statements is false?

    the crust-mantle boundary is called the Mohorovicic discontinuity
    the oceanic crust consists of basalt and gabbro
    the crust is less dense than the mantle
    P-waves travel faster in the crust than in the mantle

  39. An ophiolite may not include a piece of____________.

    continental crust
    oceanic crust
    upper mantle
    the Moho

  40. Which of the following regions consists primarily of olivine and pyroxene?

    continental crust
    oceanic crust
    upper mantle
    the core

  41. Which of the following statements is false?

    the asthenosphere lies beneath the lithosphere
    the asthenosphere is stronger than the lithosphere
    the asthenosphere rises close to the surface beneath mid-ocean ridges
    the asthenosphere is partially molten

  42. The lithosphere is approximately _________ kilometers thick

    25
    100
    250
    2900

  43. Which of the following statements is true

    the lithosphere contains the crust
    the crust contains the lithosphere
    the lithosphere and crust are different terms for the same part of the Earth
    the lithosphere and crust are totally separate parts of the Earth

  44. The sharp increase in velocity of S-waves at 400 and 670 kilometers depth in the mantle are probably caused by ___________.

    changes to more compact mineral structures
    changes in the composition of the mantle
    changes in the temperature of the mantle
    changes in the pressure of the mantle

  45. What element makes up most of the Earth's core?

    silicon
    oxygen
    iron
    nickle

  46. The boundary between the inner core and the outer core lies at a depth of ______ kilometers

    700
    2900
    5100
    6400

  47. How thick a continental root would be produced by a 3 kilometer thick continental ice sheet?

    about 1 kilometers
    about 2 kilometers
    about 10 kilometers
    about 30 kilometers

  48. Which of the following statements best describes the nature of the core-mantle boundary?

    the core-mantle boundary is smooth
    the core-mantle boundary is rough with a topography of about 5 kilometers
    the core-mantle boundary is rough with a topography of about 100 kilometers
    the core-mantle boundary is rough with a topography of about 400 kilometers

  49. Which of the following statements regarding the inner core is true?

    P waves do not travel through the inner core
    Primary S waves (those generated at the focus of an event) travel through the inner core
    P waves travel through the inner core at a higher velocity than S waves travel through the inner core
    the inner core is thought to be a liquid

Try These Fill Ins

Return to the Physical Geology Home Page