Mid-term Exam II Questions

TYPICAL MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (Correct answers in parentheses).

1. Most major landslides (D)

A. are caused by earthquakes.

B. are caused by volcanic eruptions.

C. have natural causes.

D. are due to human activity and poor engineering.

E. none of the above

 2. Mass wasting does NOT occur on (E) A. unstable material.

B. near-level slopes.

C. steep slopes.

D. gradual slopes.

E. It occurs on all of the above.

 3. After gravity, the major cause of mass wasting is (C) A. slope gradient.

B. weakening by weathering.

C. overloading.

D. vegetation loss.

E. increased water content.

 4. Mudflows are particularly common in climates which are (C) A. humid and warm.

B. temperate.

C. arid to semi-arid.

D. cool.

E. very rainy.

 5. An example of a rock/sediment type which could be an effective aquiclude is (D) A. quartz sandstone.

B. arkose.

C. gravel.

D. shale.

E. graywacke.
 

 TYPICAL TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS (Correct answers in parentheses).

1. True False Some mass wasting occurs at almost imperceptibly slow rates. (TRUE)

2. True False Overloading of a slope is not often the result of human action. (FALSE)

3. True False Creep is the most economically damaging and widespread type of material flow. (TRUE)

4. True False Slumps occur most commonly in well consolidated material. (FALSE)

5. True False Mass wasting can be an important source of sediment carried in a stream. (TRUE)

6. True False Glaciers are geologically important because they erode, transport, and deposit so much material. (TRUE)

  TYPICAL FILL-IN-THE-BLANKS QUESTIONS (Correct answers in parentheses).

1. The outer bank of a meander in a meandering stream is called the ________ ________ (cut bank), where ________ (erosion) takes place. The inner side of the channel meander is called the________ ________ (point bar), which is where ________ (deposition) occurs.

2. A change in base level leading to formation of stream terraces can come about by ________ (rise or uplift) of the land over which the stream flows, or a ________ (drop) of sea level.

3. Rounded depressions and water-filled "holes" common in regions having limestone bedrock are known as ________ (sinkholes).
 

TYPICAL MATCHING QUESTIONS (Correct answers in parentheses).

1. Match the characteristics of the various types of streams below with the appropriate stream type (A, braided streams; B. meandering streams; C. deltaic river systems):

_____ dividing and rejoining channels (A)

_____ oxbow lakes (B)

_____ meander scars (B)

_____ common in semi-arid and arid regions (A)

_____ bottomset, foreset and topset beds (C)

_____ common where vegetation is sparse (A)

_____ common where melting glaciers are the primary water source (A)

_____ bird's foot distributary channels (C)

_____ peat deposits (C)

 2. Match the glacially produced landforms with the type of glacier (A, continental glacier; B. valley glacier) by which each was formed: _____ U-shaped valleys (B)

_____ drumlins (A)

_____ hanging valleys (B)

_____ cirques (B)

_____ tarn (B)

_____ arète (B)

_____ esker (A)

_____ horn (B)

_____ ice-scoured plains (A)
 
 

 TYPICAL SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. What is a drainage basin? Area from which a stream system derives its water.

2. What is the water table? The top of the zone of saturation, where water occupies all void spaces and/or fractures in the rock or sediments

3. On the basis of what three criteria are mass movements classified? Physical state of the material, manner of movement (slide, glide, fall, etc.), and rate of movement (slow/fast).

4. What are the principle ways by which glaciers erode the surface over which they flow? Plucking, abrasion, and bulldozing.