Earths Climate Past and Future 3rd Edition by Ruddiman - Test Bank

Earths Climate Past and Future 3rd Edition by Ruddiman – Test Bank

Instant Download – Complete Test Bank With Answers

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

Page 1
1. How many icehouse eras have existed since 450 million years ago?
A) 10
B) 5
C) 3
D) 1
E) none
2. What allows lithospheric slabs to move?
A) wind strength and direction
B) a soft, easily deformed layer of the mantle just below the lithosphere
C) flow of material in the outer core
D) formation and location of mountain uplift
E) incoming solar radiation
3. The paleomagnetic signature of minerals in rocks can help determine which of the
following?
A) the age of the rock
B) the paleolatitude of rock
C) the paleolongitude of the rock
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) Both A and B are correct.
4. How is the polar position hypothesis tested?
A) Paleogeography is compared to the geologic record of ice sheet existence.
B) Paleogeography is compared to paleomagnetic data.
C) It is modeled.
D) It cannot be tested because we cannot observe it in a laboratory.
E) Both B and D are correct.
5. A negative magnetic anomaly indicates:
A) a time period of reversed polarity in geologic record.
B) the position of a continent.
C) that Earth’s magnetic field at the time the rock formed was aligned similar to that of
today’s magnetic field.
D) None of the answers is correct.
E) Both B and C are correct.
Page 2
6. The solid Earth is differentiated into layers. Which of the following is a correct
statement about these layers?
A) The continental crust includes part of both the lithosphere and asthenosphere.
B) The density of oceanic crust is greater than that of continental crust.
C) The density of the crust is greater than that of the mantle.
D) The lithosphere is partially molten, whereas the asthenosphere is a hard, ridged
layer.
E) All of the answers are correct.
7. Tectonic plates:
A) are either oceanic or continental, but never both.
B) move at rates between 1–10 meters per year.
C) are rigid slabs of lithosphere.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) Both C and D are correct.
8. Transform plate margins:
A) are characterized by faults with compressional motion.
B) offset mid-ocean ridge segments.
C) are well-represented by the San Andreas fault.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) Both B and C are correct.
9. Which of the following characteristics would you expect at convergent plates’ margins
that contains oceanic crust on one plate and continental crust on the other?
A) mountains forming
B) earthquakes, with increasing depth toward the oceanic plate
C) a spreading center
D) All of the characteristics are expected.
E) None of the answers is correct.
10. Magnetic lineations on the ocean floor:
A) match the pattern of magnetic-reversal history from basalt sequences on land.
B) are true stripes of black and white color variations on the ocean floor.
C) can be used to reconstruct the rate of seafloor spreading.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) Both A and C are correct.
Page 3
11. Examine the following figure and determine which of the following statements about
seafloor spreading is correct.
A) The spreading rate is uniform everywhere in the world’s oceans during the last 5
Myr.
B) The only ocean crust from before 160 Myr ago that exists today is located in the
western Pacific.
C) Plate motion occurs at the same rate but in opposite directions perpendicular to the
ridge.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) None of the answers is correct.
12. Modern ice sheets exist at high latitudes because of:
A) cold temperatures caused by high angles of incoming solar radiation.
B) low albedos resulting from the low reflectivity of snow and sea ice.
C) sufficient moisture supply to maintain ice sheets despite any melting that occurs
along ice margins.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) Both A and C are correct.
Page 4
13. The polar position hypothesis:
A) maintains that ice sheets should appear on continents that were located at polar or
near polar positions in the geologic past.
B) maintains that no ice sheets should appear on continents located outside of the
polar regions.
C) only partially explains the sequence of icehouse and greenhouse intervals in the last
500 Myr.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) Both A and C are correct.
14. New evidence suggests that the continental-scale glaciation in North Africa 445 Myr
ago was brief, perhaps only ~1 Myr in duration. The best logical control on this
geologically brief glacial episode could be:
A) changes in atmospheric CO2 because of abrupt changes in the burial rate of organic
carbon.
B) changes in atmospheric CO2 because of changes in the rate of chemical weathering.
C) cooler temperatures because of a weaker Sun.
D) changes in the rate of seafloor spreading.
E) change in the paleogeographic position of North Africa.
15. Model simulation of climate during the time Pangaea existed requires input decisions
for which of the following boundary conditions?
A) sea level
B) geographic distribution of land and sea
C) distribution of land elevations
D) CO2 level in the atmosphere
E) All of the answers are correct.
16. Model simulations of climate on Pangaea indicate that the climate was likely one with:
A) little seasonal temperature contrasts across the latitudes.
B) arid conditions in the low-latitude continental interior.
C) strong monsoonal conditions in the high latitudes.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) None of the answers is correct.
Page 5
17. The BLAG spreading rate hypothesis proposes how:
A) Pangaea formed.
B) continents move into polar positions.
C) plate tectonic-control processes controlled CO2 atmosphere and ocean input, and
thus influenced long-term global climate trends.
D) hot spots form.
E) Both A and B are correct.
18. Under which conditions would you expect greater CO2 input to the atmosphere and
ocean?
A) fast seafloor spreading
B) fast subduction
C) during times of higher rates of hot spot volcanism
D) All of the above conditions are correct.
E) Both A and B are correct.
19. Chemical weathering increases when:
A) there is an increase in the rate of physical weathering.
B) continental collisions create high uplifted plateaus.
C) global climate is cooler and drier.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) Both A and B are correct.
20. Why is chemical weathering faster in the eastern Andes than in the Amazon lowlands?
A) The eastern Andes are wetter than the Amazon lowlands.
B) The eastern Andes have more fresh rock exposed than do the Amazon lowlands.
C) The eastern Andes cover a larger geographic area than the Amazon lowlands.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) None of the above is correct; chemical weathering is actually slower in the eastern
Andes than in the Amazon lowlands.
21. What evidence did Alfred Wegener present to support his hypothesis of the mobility of
continents?
A) magnetic reversals of oceanic crust
B) paleomagnetism of continental rock
C) radiometric age of ocean crust
D) similar shapes of widely separated continental margins
E) All of the answers are correct.
Page 6
22. Which of the following relationships is correct?
A) continental crust—thick, high density
B) continental crust—thick, low density
C) continental crust—thin, high density
D) oceanic crust—thick, high density
E) oceanic crust—thin, low density
23. Which of the following regions is the site of a convergent plate margin?
A) San Andreas fault, western California
B) Tibetan Plateau
C) west coast of South America
D) Both B and C are correct.
E) All of the regions are sites.
24. What is one direct result of the circulation of molten iron in Earth’s core?
A) Earth’s magnetic field
B) subduction of ocean crust
C) the movement of lithospheric plates
D) volcanoes on Earth’s surface
E) All of the answers are correct.
25. What geologic material is used to establish the changing latitude of portions of Earth’s
crust prior to 175 million years ago?
A) carbon-rich deposits
B) continental basalts
C) deep ocean sediments
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) None of the answers is correct.
26. How long ago did the last switch from reversed to normal in Earth’s magnetic polarity
occur?
A) 0 Myr ago
B) 0.78 Mry ago
C) 2.75 Myr ago
D) 3.4 Myr ago
E) 5 Myr ago
Page 7
27. Which of the following modern landmasses was NOT part of the supercontinent
Gondwana?
A) Africa
B) Antarctica
C) Arabia
D) Australia
E) Europe
28. During what time period was the African landmass positioned over the South Pole?
A) 300–250 Myr ago
B) 450–380 Myr ago
C) 240–125 Myr ago
D) 750–500 Myr ago
E) All of the answers are correct.
29. Which of the following statements about icehouse eras of the last 500 million years is
correct?
A) Each time continents were in polar position, ice sheets were present.
B) Ice sheets have only been present when continents were in polar position.
C) The polar position hypothesis explains all of Earth’s history of glaciation.
D) Both A and B are correct.
E) All of the answers are correct.
30. Pangaea:
A) did not include the Australian landmass.
B) formed around 250 million years ago.
C) was roughly symmetrical around the equator.
D) Both B and C are correct.
E) All of the answers are correct.
31. What does evidence about ice sheets and vegetation during the time of Pangaea suggest?
A) Glaciation was extensive at high latitudes.
B) Hard freezes occurred nearer to the equator than they do today.
C) The climate was somewhat cooler than today.
D) Wet conditions prevailed across the entire landmass.
E) None of the answers is correct.
Page 8
32. What factor partially accounts for aridity in the low-latitude interior of Pangaea?
A) cooler oceans around the margins of the landmass
B) large areas of land located under the dry descending limb of the Hadley circulation
C) small area of land cover in the tropics
D) Both A and C are correct.
E) All of the answers are correct.
33. What evidence supports model simulations of widespread Pangaean aridity?
A) Abundant evaporite deposits from the time of Pangaea.
B) Deep coal deposits formed in the interior of the landmass from Pangaean times.
C) Relatively small ice sheets formed at mid- to high-latitudes at the time.
D) Widespread fossils of plants, common in desert areas today, from the period.
E) All of the answers are correct.
34. What does the occurrence of oxidized sedimentary rocks suggest about Pangaean
climate?
A) Dry conditions prevailed along the coasts.
B) Monsoons were relatively weak.
C) Prevailing wind direction remained constant throughout the seasons.
D) Seasonal changes in moisture were strong.
E) None of the answers is correct.
35. In what tectonic setting is the expulsion of CO2 to the atmosphere least important?
A) along the margins of converging plates
B) along transform plate boundaries
C) at divergent plate boundaries
D) at volcanic hot spots
E) Both A and C are correct.
36. What is the role of chemical weathering under the BLAG hypothesis?
A) It is a negative feedback on atmospheric CO2 changes.
B) Increases in atmospheric CO2 due to fast seafloor spreading ultimately lead to
increased CO2 removal by chemical weathering.
C) Warmer temperatures during times of increased volcanic activity cause an increase
in the rate of chemical weathering.
D) All of the answers are correct.
E) None of the answers are correct.
Page 9
37. How is the spreading rate hypothesis informed by geological evidence from the last 100
million years?
A) Evidence of relatively high rates of seafloor spreading coincides with evidence for
a lack of polar ice sheets.
B) Generally cooler conditions prevailed when volcanic activity was high.
C) Ice sheets were large when the hypothesis predicts high atmospheric CO2.
D) Both A and C are correct.
E) All of the answers are correct.
38. Under the uplift weathering hypothesis, what is the main factor that influences the
global rate of chemical weathering?
A) mean temperature
B) precipitation rates
C) the amount of fresh rock exposed at Earth’s surface
D) the atmospheric concentration of CO2
E) the rate of seafloor spreading
39. What does evidence from moraines in the Wind River Basin of Wyoming suggest about
chemical weathering?
A) Chemical weathering takes place very slowly on glacially deposited material.
B) CO2 is released from rocks when chemical weathering is fast.
C) Newly exposed rocks resist chemical weathering for thousands of years before
beginning to break down.
D) Rates of chemical weathering decrease exponentially with time after rocks are
exposed at the surface.
E) None of the answers are correct.
40. Why does the exposure rate of fresh rock increase in areas of uplift?
A) Earthquakes are common in mountainous areas.
B) High mountains have increased precipitation rates on their slopes.
C) High-elevation surfaces can support the growth of glaciers.
D) Mass wasting occurs predominantly on steep slopes.
E) All of the answers are correct.
41. The BLAG hypothesis is based on the assumption that the globally averaged rate of
seafloor spreading has remained constant through time.
A) True
B) False
Page 10
42. The polar position hypothesis does not explain the lack of glaciations between 425 and
325 million years ago.
A) True
B) False
43. The fragmentation of rock leads to a reduction in rock surface area subject to chemical
weathering.
A) True
B) False
44. The land area covered by large plateau features formed from continental collision has
been relatively constant through time.
A) True
B) False
45. Cooling of global climate due to uplift weathering, and the corresponding decrease in
chemical weathering on lowland continental surfaces, could act as a negative feedback
on atmospheric CO2 removal.
A) True
B) False
46. Describe the characteristics of lithospheric plates, and discuss evidence for their
movement over time.
47. How might periods of glaciation over the last 500 million years be related to continental
movements? Give specific examples from Earth’s history.
48. Describe the arrangement of landmasses during the time of Pangaea. What evidence
has been used to produce an understanding of Pangaean climate?
49. How does the rate of seafloor spreading influence the CO2 concentration of the
atmosphere? What does evidence suggest about the rate of seafloor spreading 100
million years ago?
50. In what ways could uplift of the land surface influence the CO2 concentration of the
atmosphere?
Page 11
Answer Key
1. C
2. B
3. E
4. A
5. A
6. B
7. C
8. E
9. A
10. E
11. B
12. C
13. D
14. A
15. E
16. B
17. C
18. D
19. E
20. B
21. D
22. B
23. D
24. A
25. B
26. B
27. E
28. B
29. B
30. D
31. E
32. B
33. A
34. D
35. B
36. D
37. A
38. C
39. D
40. E
41. B
42. A
43. B
44. B
Page 12
45. A
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.