Geology Self-Test Questions
Self-Test Chapter 1
1. ____________ is fundamentally concerned with understanding the processes that operate at or beneath the surface of Earth and the materials on which those processes operate.
a. Economic geology
b. Physical geology
c. Historical geology
d. Environmental geology
e. Planetary science
2. In the scientific method, a theory is ____________.
a. an assumption that cannot be either proven or refuted.
b. a plausible, but yet to be proved, explanation of a phenomenon
c. a plausible explanation that has been tested and is strongly supported by experimental or observational evidence
d. the same thing as a hypothesis
e. a guess that scientists make when they cannot find enough evidence to determine the facts
3. In the scientific method, suppose that an experimental test fails to confirm a certain hypothesis. Which of the following is never an appropriate step for a scientist to take?
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
a. Discard the hypothesis.
b. Alter the experimental data to agree with the hypothesis.
c. Repeat the experiment more carefully.
d. Formulate and test an alternative hypothesis.
4. The island depicted in the diagram acts as ____________.
a. an intermittent system
b. a closed system
c. a solar system
d. an open system
e. a isolated system
5. On the time scale of a human lifetime, Earth acts as ____________.
a. an intermittent system
b. a closed system
c. a solar system
d. an open system
e. an isolated system
6. The ____________ is a subset of the Earth system that comprises all of its bodies of water and ice, both on the surface and underground.
a. atmosphere
b. hydrosphere
c. lithosphere
d. ionosphere
e. biosphere
7. The ____________ explains how new crust is formed and recycled by large-scale motions of Earth’s surface and interior.
a. tectonic cycle
b. rock cycle
c. water (hydrologic) cycle
d. nebular hypothesis
8. According to the planetary accretion model, ____________.
1. ____________ is fundamentally concerned with understanding the processes that operate at or beneath the surface of Earth and the materials on which those processes operate.
a. Economic geology
b. Physical geology
c. Historical geology
d. Environmental geology
e. Planetary science
2. In the scientific method, a theory is ____________.
a. an assumption that cannot be either proven or refuted.
b. a plausible, but yet to be proved, explanation of a phenomenon
c. a plausible explanation that has been tested and is strongly supported by experimental or observational evidence
d. the same thing as a hypothesis
e. a guess that scientists make when they cannot find enough evidence to determine the facts
3. In the scientific method, suppose that an experimental test fails to confirm a certain hypothesis. Which of the following is never an appropriate step for a scientist to take?
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
a. Discard the hypothesis.
b. Alter the experimental data to agree with the hypothesis.
c. Repeat the experiment more carefully.
d. Formulate and test an alternative hypothesis.
4. The island depicted in the diagram acts as ____________.
a. an intermittent system
b. a closed system
c. a solar system
d. an open system
e. a isolated system
5. On the time scale of a human lifetime, Earth acts as ____________.
a. an intermittent system
b. a closed system
c. a solar system
d. an open system
e. an isolated system
6. The ____________ is a subset of the Earth system that comprises all of its bodies of water and ice, both on the surface and underground.
a. atmosphere
b. hydrosphere
c. lithosphere
d. ionosphere
e. biosphere
7. The ____________ explains how new crust is formed and recycled by large-scale motions of Earth’s surface and interior.
a. tectonic cycle
b. rock cycle
c. water (hydrologic) cycle
d. nebular hypothesis
8. According to the planetary accretion model, ____________.