Dynamic Planet

Gopher Invitational 2017

DO NOT WRITE ON THIS EXAM. Please record your answers on your answer sheet.

Multiple Choice (30 points-1 point each)

1. About how many active volcanoes are there on earth?

A. 10,000 B. 5,000 C. 1,500 D. 500

2. How many major tectonic plates are there?

A. 30 B. 12 C. 7 D. 5

3. Who first hypothesized the formation of Gondwana?

A. Alfred Wegener B. Benjamin Franklin C. Eduard Suess D. Nicolas Steno

4. An aulocogen is a:
A. Failed arm of a triple junction B. Subducted plate that falls into the mantle
C. Failed formation of a mantle plume D. A displaced mountain chain

5. Who proposed convection currents as a mechanism for seafloor spreading?

A. Doc Ewing B. Bruce Heezen C. Arthur Holmes D. Marie Tharp

6. Who first showed that the ocean floor was made of young basalt, not old granite as previously
thought?
A. Doc Ewing B. Bruce Heezen C. Arthur Holmes D. Marie Tharp

7. Who first hypothesized that there was a rift valley running down the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
A. Doc Ewing B. Bruce Heezen C. Arthur Holmes D. Marie Tharp

8. Who is generally considered to be the father of seafloor spreading as we know it today?

A. Doc Ewing B. Bruce Heezen C. Harry Hess D. Arthur Holmes

9. Which of the following is NOT a valid method of deriving absolute plate spreading rates?
A. Hot spots B. GPS C. Hydrothermal vents D. Magnetic reversals

10. The average thickness of oceanic crust is about:

A. 1 km B. 7 km C. 13 km D. 35 km

11. The average thickness of continental crust is about:

A. 1 km B. 7 km C. 13 km D. 35 km

12. Which of the following is NOT a type of gravity anomaly?

A. Free-air B. Bouguer C. Geoid D. Both B and C

13. Which of the following is NOT an actual rift-valley?

A. Rhine Valley B. Red Sea C. East African Rift Valley D. Keystone Valley

14. Isostatic rebound occurs after:

A. Tensional forces B. Compressional forces C. Glacial advance D. Glacial Retreat

15. Which of the following pyroclastic debris is the smallest?

A. Ash B. Bomb C. Cinder D. Lapilli

16. Which of the following would lower rock melting temperatures?

A. More mafic rock B. Increase water content C. Increase pressure D. Larger crystals

17. Fractional crystallization segregation follows the:

A. Hess progression B. Wilson cycle C. Cope series D. Bowen’s reaction series

18. The lava in subduction volcanoes is sourced from:

A. The subducted slab B. Melted rock above the slab
C. The deep mantle D. Hot spots

19. Mid-ocean ridges are offset by:

A. Hot spots B. Mantle plumes C. Transform faults D. Normal faults

20. The mean elevation of land on Earth is ________ many meters above sea level?
A. 840 B. 560 C. 220 D. 100

21. If all the land on the Earth was moved into the ocean, about how deep would the sea be?
A. 10 km B. 7 km C. 5 km D. 3 km

22. The formation of the isthmus of Panama led to the:

A. South American Extinction B. Great American Interchange
C. American Diversification Event D. American Redistribution

23. Horst and graben topography is dominated by what kind of fault?

A. Normal B. Reverse C. Thrust D. Strike-slip

24. Which of the following form from trench roll-back?

A. Rift basin B. Intermontane basin C. Foreland basin D. Back arc basin

Questions 25-30 refer to the image below:

25. Where would a forearc basin form?
A. Location 1 B. Location 2 C. Location 3 D. Location 4

26. A is pointing to which of the following?

A. Subduction zone B. Aulacogen C. Ridge D. Hot spot volcano

27. B is pointing to which of the following?

A. Ocean trench B. Normal fault C. Transform fault D. Mid-ocean ridge

28. Which location would be most likely to produce andesitic lava?

A. Location 5 B. Location 6 C. Location 7 D. Location 8

29. Where would a backarc basin form?

A. Location 1 B. Location 2 C. Between 2 and 6 D. To the right of 6

30. Which volcano is the closest analogue to Location 6?

A. Mauna Loa B. Mount Vesuvius C. Yellowstone D. A and C

True or False (15 points-1 point each)

31. The asthenosphere is a compositional layer of the earth. True False

32. Kauai is the oldest Hawaiian island. True False

33. The Juan de Fuca plate shares a transform boundary with the True False
North American plate.

34. Alfred Wegener proposed that North America and Europe True False
were drifting apart at around 30 meters per year.

35. Two driving mechanisms for seafloor spreading are slab push and True False
ridge pull.

36. The Vine-Matthews-Morley hypothesis theorized symmetric True False

magnetic patterns around mid-ocean ridges.

37. The Earth’s average density is about 3.0 g/cm3. True False

38. The upper mantle is two times as dense as continental crust. True False

39. The mantle makes up about 67% of the Earth’s mass. True False

40. The Yellowstone Hotspot has not erupted since 640,000 years ago. True False

41. A thrust fault is a low-angled normal fault. True False

42. John Tuzo Wilson proposed the idea of a transform fault. True False

43. The Wiechert-Gutenberg Discontinuity is between the core and True False
mantle.

44. The Mohorovicic Discontinuity is closer to the Earth beneath True False
oceanic crust than beneath continental crust.

45. Magma from mid-ocean spreading centers often originates True False
from decompression melting.
Matching (25 points)

Match each of the following natural hazards with their corresponding characteristics or
description. Each will be used once. (1 point each)

46. Faulting and A. Primary earthquake hazards

shaking A
47. Landslides D B. Mass-wasting from freeze-thaw action

48. Liquefaction E C. Fast-moving current of hot gas and tephra

49. Tsunami G D. Can be mitigated by lowering groundwater level

50. Lahar F E. Occurs when soils lose their shear strength

51. Pyroclastic flow C F. Volcanic mudflow

52. Solifluction B G. Can be predicted from drawback phenomenon

Match each of the following layers of the earth with its corresponding characteristics or
description. Each will be used once. (1 point each)

53. Inner Core C A. Composed of low-density silicate rocks

54. Outer Core E B. Takes up about 84% of the Earth’s volume

55. Mesosphere F C. Approximately 94% iron

56. Asthenosphere D D. Effectively the Low-Velocity Zone

57. Mantle B E. Layer in which S waves cannot propagate

58. Lithosphere G F. Upper boundary defined by 660 km velocity discontinuity

59. Crust A G. Forms the tectonic plates

Match each of the following North American geologic events with the its correct place in
chronological order (1st is the oldest event). Order them based on what time each event began.
(1 point each)

60. Taconic orogeny C. 3rd Ordovician 440 mya A. 1st

61. Laramide orogeny H. 8th Cretaceous 80-40 mya B. 2nd

62. Formation of Midcontinent Rift B. 2nd 1.1 bya C. 3rd

63. Formation of Bering land bridge J. 10th 70,000 ya D. 4th

64. Inundation of Bering land bridge K. 11th 11,000 ya E. 5th

65. Formation of isthmus of Panama I. 9th Neogene 12-15 F. 6th

mya

66. Alleghenian orogeny E. 5th Carboniferous 325-260 G. 7th

mya

67. Formation of Canadian shield A. 1st Archean- H. 8th

Precambrian

68. Acadian orogeny D. 4th Silurian to Devonian 375-325 I. 9th

mya

69. Completion of Pangaea F. 6th Early Permian 300-272 J. 10th

mya

70. Beginning of Pangaea break-up G. 7th Early Jurassic K. 11th

175 mya
 Calculation (15 points)

71. Using the provided data, calculate the average rate of movement in centimeters per year of
the Kanto plate over a hot spot in the last million years and compare it to the rate 5 million years
ago. 1 mile=1,609 meters (10 points)

Island Age (millions of years)

Pallet Island 0.0

Viridian Island 1.0

Pewter Island 3.6

Cerulean Island 4.8

Vermillion Island 5.4

Islands Distance apart (miles)

Pallet Island to Viridian Island 1.2

Viridian Island to Pewter Island 36

Pewter Island to Cerulean Island 67

Cerulean Island to Vermillion Island 75

Work for 1 million years:

Grading: 2 points for correct set-up (distance divided by age, distance conversion), 2
points for correct islands (check distance and age difference), 1 point correct final
answer
Work for 5 million years:

Grading: 2 points for correct set-up (distance divided by age, distance conversion), 2
points for correct islands (check distance and age difference), 1 point correct final
answer

72. How do the rates compare to each other? (2 points)

The 1 million year plate movement rate is less than the 5 million year plate movement.

Graders: 2 points for the correct relation.

73. How do the rates compare to the average seafloor spreading rate? (3 points)

Seafloor spreading rates typically range between 1 and 10 cm per year. This makes the 1
million year plate movement rate slower than the typical seafloor spreading rate and the
5 million year plate movement rate faster than the average seafloor spreading rate.

Graders: 1 point for giving an average seafloor spreading rate within the above range. 1
point for recognizing the 1 million year rate as being lower than average and 1 point for
recognizing the 5 million year rate as being higher than average.
 Cross-Section (25 points)

74. Determine the relative sequence of the events in the diagram below. Write the letter of the
rock unit or geologic structure in its proper place in the event sequence. Event #20 is the
youngest event. Use the words “tilting”, “folding”, or “erosion” where appropriate in the proper
order
as
their
own

separate events. (1 point each)

Event 20: Erosion Event 10: D

Event 19: F Event 9: M
Event 18: Erosion Event 8: Erosion
Event 17: Tilting Event 7: H
Event 16: B Event 6: Tilting
Event 15: K Event 5: C
Event 14: N Event 4: L
Event 13: Erosion Event 3: G
Event 12: A Event 2: Erosion
Event 11: J Event 1: E

75. What kind of fault is H? How can you tell? (3 points)

A normal fault--the hanging wall has moved down relative to the footwall.

Graders: 1 point for recognizing it as a normal fault, 2 points for saying the hanging wall
has moved down relative to the footwall if recognized as normal fault (do not accept “the
hanging wall is below the footwall” and no points if they don’t say normal fault).

76. In reference to your answer to 75, near which kind of tectonic boundary would you expect to
find this type of fault? (2 points)

A divergent boundary.

Graders: 2 points for divergent boundary, and 2 points for convergent boundary if they
said “reverse fault” for question 3.