Practice Exam 2

A vibrant illustration of sedimentary and metamorphic rock formations, showcasing different textures and colors, including cross-bedding and foliation patterns, set in a natural landscape.

Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks Quiz

Test your knowledge of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks with this comprehensive quiz. Explore various concepts, from the classification of sedimentary rocks to the processes that lead to metamorphism. Whether you're a student, teacher, or geology enthusiast, this quiz offers a valuable opportunity to enhance your understanding.

Key Features:

27 engaging questions
Covers a range of topics in geology
Immediate feedback on your answers

27 Questions7 MinutesCreated by ExploringEarth101

Clastic (or detrital) sedimentary rocks are classified and named based mainly on their grain size , while chemical sedimentary rocks are classified and named based mainly on their composition .

Grain Size

Composition

Which of the following processes are involved in the lithification of sediment to sedimentary rocks? (Select all that apply)

Hydration

Cementation

Exapansion

Compaction

What is the most likely cause of sediment that is well-sorted?

Lack of water in environment

Stronger bedrock

Shorter time since weathering

Longer distance transported

What is the most likely cause of a sediment with highly angular grains?

Abundance of water in environment

Weaker bedrock

Longer time since weathering

Shorter distance transported

The sedimentary structure of cross-bedding is formed by…

Sand dunes forming in a desert or on a beach

Burrowing of organisms

Deposition in environment with decreasing energy

Migration of ripples across a shoreline

All of these sedimentary structures are formed by fluid systems, such as moving wind and water, except…

Ripples

Dunes

Bioturbation

Plane beds

Which of these sedimentary structures indicate changing water conditions from wet to dry?

Geopetal structures

Ripples

Mudcracks

Raindrop impressions

The results of differential stress or differential pressure on rocks can cause….

Minerals to get smaller and take up less space

Mineral crystals to align parallel to each other

Mineral crystals to dissolve perpendicular to the stress

New minerals to grow randomly in the protolith

Which metamorphic texture describes minerals that are oriented flat and parallel to each other so as to make sheets or planes in the rock?

Stratification

Lineation

Foliation

Lamination

The following metamorphic rocks all form in a sequence from a protolith of shale or mudstone. Put them in order from lowest grade to highest:

How did early geoscientists develop the geologic timescale by placing events in Earth history in sequence by determining if one is older than another without know their specific, numerical ages?

Radiometric dating

Relative dating

Blind dating

Absolute dating

Which kind of unconformity is probably the hardest to recognize among layered rocks because the angle of the rocks above and below the erosional surface is the same?

Paraconformity

Angular unconformity

Nonconformity

Disconformity

Which principle of stratigraphy states that each sedimentary layer must be the younger than the one below?

Original horizontality

Cross-cutting relations

Lateral continuity

Superposition

Which type of unconformity indicates that older sedimentary strata were deformed prior to the erosional event because they are at an angle to the younger strata?

Paraconformity

Nonconformity

Disconformity

Angular unconformity

Isotopes are atoms of a given element with the…

Same number of neutrons in a nucleus, but different numbers of protons

Same number of protons in a nucleus, but different numbers of neutrons

Same number of electrons in a nucleus, but different numbers of neutrons

Same number of protons in a nucleus, but different numbers of electrons

Which of the following are true statements about isotopes?

All isotopes are radioactive

All isotopes have the same half-life

None of the above

All isotopes decay at the same rate

What materials were used to determine the oldest age for the formation of Earth?

Zircons from Australia

Meteorites from the asteroid belt

Rock samples from the outer core

Gneisses from the continental shields

Which best describes the half-life of an isotope?

Half time in the age of Earth

Time it takes for half of a radioactive sample to decay

Half time from the end of a radioactive sample being destroyed

Time it takes for the radioactive sample to split part

All of the following radiometric dating methods can be used to date really old rocks (i.e., millions or billions of years old) except...

Rubidium-87 to strontium-87

Uranium-238 to lead-206

Potassium-40 to argon-40

Carbon-14 to nitrogen-14

If a rock sample contains 12.5% of the parent atom and 87.5% of the daughter atom, how many half-lives has it undergone?

Why are fossils useful for determining the age of a rock unit? (Select all that apply)

The fossils from any point in time are unique.

Fossil assemblages follow each other in time in a predictable succession based on their evolution.

All organisms that have ever lived on Earth are preserved as fossils.

Fossils can be used to match or correlate rocks from different geographic areas.

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Practice Exam 2

Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks Quiz

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