Environmental Geology An Earth Systems Approach 2nd Edition by Merritts - Test Bank

• Which major Earth system is comprised of weathered rock and soil?
• Biosphere
• Pedosphere
• Geosphere
• Hydrosphere

Answer: b

Section 1: Earth System Science

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Knowledge

Format: Multiple Choice

• Which action exemplifies the concept of sustainability?
• Pumping water from the Ogallala aquifer in the Great Plains states to grow wheat, even though it likely to be depleted within a 100 years
• Mining coal from a deposit in Wyoming that should last another 200 years
• Clear-cutting a forest that will be replanted and harvested again in 50 years
• Creating an automobile-based society that relies on an abundant and inexpensive fuel source

Answer: c

Section 1: Earth System Science

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Application

Format: Multiple Choice

• An active copper mine in Arizona can be treated as a system.  Which statement about this system is correct with regard to the reservoir of copper?
• The flow rate in exceeds the flow rate out.
• Flux in equals flux out.
• The flux out exceeds the flux in.
• There is no flow in or out.

Answer: c

Section 2: The Concept of Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Knowledge

Format: Multiple Choice

• Which term describes the kind of system represented by Earth?
• Static
• Inert
• Dynamic
• Isolated

Answer: c

Section 2: The Concept of Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Evaluation

Format: Multiple Choice

• Which feature most closely resembles a steady-state system?
• Snow pack in Canada
• Lake Superior
• Erupting volcano
• Inner core of the Earth

Answer: d

Section 2: The Concept of Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Knowledge

Format: Multiple Choice

• Which kind of growth is representative of a system where the change in population increases proportionally with time?
• Linear
• Exponential
• Geometric
• Non-linear

Answer: a

Section 2: The Concept of Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Comprehension

Format: Multiple Choice

• Which situation is an example of a balancing feedback process?
• Increased cloud cover is created by enhanced evaporation rates that are the result of atmospheric warming due to rising CO₂ emissions.
• Groundwater is being extracted in areas with arid climates with a resulting decrease in aquifer productivity that leads to the drilling of new wells to maintain production.
• Emitting CO₂ causes an increase in atmospheric temperature that produces higher incidences of forest fires releasing even more CO₂.
• The reflection of solar energy off a glacier produces an enhanced surface cooling effect that stimulates glacier expansion.

Answer: a

Section 2: The Concept of Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Application

Format: Multiple Choice

• Which Earth system is composed mainly of silicates?
• Atmosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Lithosphere
• Pedosphere

Answer: c

Section 3: Earth’s Environmental Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Knowledge

Format: Multiple Choice

• Which element is most abundant in the material that makes up the lithosphere?
• Silicon
• Oxygen
• Iron
• Aluminum

Answer: b

Section 3: Earth’s Environmental Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Knowledge

Format: Multiple Choice

• Which part of the Earth contains the highest percentage of iron per unit volume?
• Atmosphere
• Mantle
• Crust
• Core

Answer: d

Section 3: Earth’s Environmental Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Comprehension

Format: Multiple Choice

• Which process created the structure of the mantle?
• Accretion
• Dissolution
• Differentiation
• Radioactive decay

Answer: c

Section 3: Earth’s Environmental Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Comprehension

Format: Multiple Choice

• A 10,000-foot well was drilled to extract oil.  Which temperature will the oil be when it is pumped to the surface assuming no temperature loss on the way up and a temperature gradient of 25°C per km? Assume the surface temperature is 25°C.  (1 km ~ 3300 feet)
• ~50°C (122°F)
• ~75°C (167°F)
• ~100°C (212°F)
• ~125°C (395°F)

Answer: c

Section 3: Earth’s Environmental Systems

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level: Application

Format: Multiple Choice

• In which manner do rocks in the upper part of the mantle behave when subjected to stress?
• Ductile