DATE DUE:                                                             Name:                                                    
Ms. Terry J. Boroughs
Geology 300

MASS WASTING & MASS MOVEMENTS / Groundwater Systems


Instructions: Read each question carefully before selecting the BEST answer. Use GEOLOGIC VOCABULARY where APPLICABLE!


 

Mass Wasting/Mass Movements:

1.         The general process by which rock, soil, or unconsolidated material moves downhill is called                     .
            a. solifluction
            b. mass movement
            c. liquefaction
            d. plate tectonics

2.         Which of the following situations is least likely to result in mass movement?
            a. a steep slope
            b. a slope with loose material saturated with water
            c. a slope with abundant vegetation
            d. a slope consisting of fractured and deformed rock

3.         The characteristic slope of a pile of dry sand is called the                             .
           a. angle of repose
           b. strike
           c. consolidation factor
           d. dip

4.         Which of the following factors effects the maximum angle at which a slope of loose material is stable?
           a. the amount of moisture
           b. the shape of the particles
           c. the size of the particles
           d. all of these

5.         As one increases the amount of water in a pile of sand, the angle of repose will                 .
           a. increase
           b. decrease
           c. first increase and then decrease
           d. not change

6.         During an earthquake, water-saturated sand can behave like a liquid, a process called             .
          a. slurrification
          b. unconsolidation
          c. liquefaction
          d. solifluction

7.         When building a house on a slope, which of the following practices will help prevent a landslide?
          a. planting of vegetation with deep roots on the slope
          b. installing a drainage system to remove water from the slope
          c. both a. and b.
          d. neither a. nor b.

8.         How do geologists classify mass movements?
          a. by the speed of the mass movement
          b. by the nature of material
          c. by the nature of the movement
          d. all of these


9.         The accumulation of rocks at the base of a cliff is called                         .
          a. a dune
          b. soil creep
          c. an alluvial fan
          d. talus

10.      How fast is "soil creep?"
          a. 1 to 10 millimeters per year
          b. 1 to 10 meters per year
          c. 1 kilometer per hour
          d. over 10 kilometers per hour

11.      A slow slide of unconsolidated material that travels as a unit is called                     .
          a. soil creep
          b. a debris flow
          c. a slump
          d. a rockslide

12.      Surface tension is greatest when                         .
          a. sand is dry
          b. sand is moist, but not saturated with water
          c. sand is saturated with water
          d. sand is over-saturated with water

13.      What is the dominant force that causes mass movement?
          a. tidal force
          b. seismic energy
          c. gravity
          d. wind

14.      Which of the following statements best describes a slump?
          a. slow downhill movement of unconsolidated material moving as a unit
          b. slow downhill movement of unconsolidated material moving like a fluid
          c. rapid downhill movement of unconsolidated material moving as a unit
          d. rapid downhill movement of unconsolidated material moving like a fluid

15.      only occurs in permafrost regions.
          a. Landsliding
          b. Soil creep
          c. Liquefaction
          d. Solifluction

16.      Which of the following can lead to oversteepening of a slope?
          a. human construction and excavation
          b. natural erosional processes
          c. both a. and b.
          d. neither a. nor b.

17.      A person could not outrun which of the following types of mass movements?
          a. slump
          b. debris avalanche
          c. soil creep
          d. debris flow

18.      In what class of mass movement does the material move as if it were a fluid?
          a. flows
          b. slides
          c. falls
          d. all of these

19.      Loose, uncemented geologic material is said to be .
          a. liquefied
          b. crystallized
          c. unconsolidated
          d. consolidated


20.      A hill consisting of loose dry sand that slopes at the angle of repose and has no vegetation                .
          a. is stable unless oversteepened by excavation
          b. may flow if it becomes saturated with water
          c. will be more stable if vegetation takes root on the hill
          d. all of these

21.      Which of the following situations is most likely to undergo mass wasting?
          a. a dry, moderate slope of unconsolidated material

b. a wet, moderate slope of unconsolidated material

c. a dry, steep slope of unconsolidated material

d. a wet, steep slope of unconsolidated material

22.      Which of the following has the steepest angle of repose?
          a. fine quartz sand
          b. coarse quartz sand
          c. angular quartz pebbles
          d. all of these have the same angle of repose

23.      Which of the following processes was the major reason so many
          landslides occurred during the 1964
Anchorage, Alaska earthquake?
          a. motion along the fault oversteepened slopes
          b. water-saturated sandy layers became liquefied by the ground shaking
          c. the earthquake tilted the rock layers downhill
          d. the earthquake caused water to accumulate in the soil

24.      Which of the following processes is not strongly influenced by gravity?
          a. the flow of groundwater
          b. the movement of landslides and debris flows
          c. the movement of water in streams
          d. all of these are strongly influenced by gravity

25.      What is the relation between earthquakes and landslides?
          a. Earthquakes always trigger landslides.
          b. Earthquakes sometimes trigger landslides.
          c. Earthquakes never trigger landslides.
          d. Landslides sometimes trigger earthquakes.

26.      Which of the following can trigger a landslide?
          a. an earthquake
          b. a heavy rainstorm
          c. removal of material from the base of a slope
          d. all of these

27.      Which of the following statements is false?
          a. Rounder debris forms steeper slopes than angular debris.
          b. Larger debris forms steeper slopes than smaller debris.
          c. Dryer debris forms steeper slopes than water-saturated debris.
          d. Moist debris forms steeper slopes than dry debris.

28.      Mass wasting is the down slope movement of earth materials moving under the influence of gravity.
          a. True b. False

29.      The angle of repose is the minimum stable angle to which dry loose material can accumulate.
          a. True b. False

30.      Undercutting of a slope is one way to stabilize a slope.
          a. True b. False

31.      Overloading a slope with fill tends to compact the subsurface and increase a slopes stability.
          a. True b. False

32.      Earthquakes tend to make water saturated sediment more stable.
          a. True b. False

33.      Rapid mass wasting means that the earth materials move an appreciable distance over the time span of a human life.
          a. True b. False

34.      Solifluction can occur in all climates, but it is most common in the tropics.
          a. True b. False

35.      Soil creep is the slow down slope movement of the soil.
          a. True b. False

36.      In a down slope direction, one type of slope failure can change into a different type of mass wasting process.
          a. True b. False

37.      A scarp occurs at the top of a slump.
          a. True b. False

38.      The occurrence of subsurface clay layers tends to make a steep slope more stable.
          a. True b. False

39.      What of the following was not a contributing factor in the 1925 Gros Ventre slide near Jackson Hole, Wyoming?
          a. the orientation of the sedimentary layers with respect to the slope
          b. undercutting of the slope by construction activities
          c. heavy rains and melting snow
          d. all of these were contributing factors

40.      Which of the following features indicate former landslides or areas susceptible to slope failure?
          a. displaced objects
          b. scarps
          c. hummocky surfaces
          d. open fissures
          e. all of these

 

Groundwater Systems:

41.      What powers the hydrologic cycle?
            a. mantle convection
            b. radioactive decay
            c. solar energy

      d. all of these

42.      What is the process by which water enters the small pore spaces between particles of soil or rock?
            a. transpiration
            b. infiltration
            c. precipitation
            d. sublimation

43.      The release of water vapor from plants is called                       
            a. transpiration
            b. infiltration
            c. precipitation
            d. sublimation

44.      What is the term for the amount of water vapor in the air as a proportion of the maximum amount the air could hold at the same temperature?

a. dew point                b. sublimation point

c. evaporation rate       d. relative humidity

45.      Which of the following is true?

a.                   cool air can hold more water vapor than warm air.

b.                   warm air can hold more water vapor than cool air.

c.                   cool air and warm air can hold the same amount of water vapor.

d.                   air cannot contain water vapor.

46.      Which of the following is true?

a.                   most rain falls on the windward (upwind) side of a mountain range.

b.                   most rain falls on the leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range.

c.                   rain falls in approximately equal amounts on the windward (upwind) and leeward (downwind) side of a mountain range.

d. rain does not fall on mountain ranges.

47.      Sandy layers, and other layers that carry groundwater are called
          a. aquicludes  b. aquifers c. influents d. exfluents


48.      Which of the following rock types will have the highest porosity?
          a. a fine-grained shale
          b. a cemented sandstone
          c. an uncemented sandstone
          d. all of these will have the same porosity

49.      The percentage of a rock's total volume taken up by pore space is called the                         .
          a. permeability. 
          b. recharge
          c. aquifer
          d. porosity

50.       Permeability is
          a. the ability of a solid to allow fluids to pass through
          b. the process by which plants release water vapor to the atmosphere
          c. the amount of water vapor in the air relative to the maximum
             amount of water vapor the air can hold
          d. the percentage of pore space in the rock

51.      Which of the following combinations make for the best groundwater reservoir?
          a. low permeability and low porosity
          b. low permeability and high porosity
          c. high permeability and low porosity
          d. high permeability and high porosity

52.      The groundwater table lies .
          a. at the top of the unsaturated zone
          b. at the top of the saturated zone
          c. at the base of the saturated zone
          d. at sea level

53.      The infiltration of water into the subsurface is called                     .
           a. influent 
           b. effluent
           c. discharge
           d. recharge

54.      A confined aquifer is                 .
           a. underlain by a relatively impermeable layer
           b. overlain by a relatively impermeable layer
           c. underlain and overlain by a relatively impermeable layer
           d. neither underlain nor overlain by a relatively impermeable layer

55.      What is the term for a relatively impermeable geologic unit?
           a. an artesian
           b. an aquiclude 
           c. an aquifer
           d. none of these

56.      A confined aquifer is recharged by .
          a. precipitation where the aquifer unit crops out
          b. water draining down from overlying streams
          c. precipitation draining down through the unsaturated zone
          d. all of these

57.      If the amount of discharge is greater than the amount of recharge, the groundwater table will
          a. rise
          b. drop
          c. remain the same
          d. rise or drop, depending on the porosity

58.      Which of the following statements about groundwater is false?

a.                   the steeper the water-table slope, the faster the groundwater will flow.

b.                   groundwater moves from areas where the water table is high to areas where the water table is low.

c.                   the higher the permeability of an aquifer, the slower the groundwater will flow.

d.                   gravity drives the flow of groundwater.

59.      In what type of rock do most caves form?
          a. granite
          b. shale
          c. limestone
          d. sandstone

60.      Which of the following statements about karst topography is false?
a. Karst topography contains many sinkholes.
b. Karst topography forms from freezing and thawing of groundwater .
c. Karst topography does not have a normal surface drainage system consisting of small and large rivers.
d. Karst topography forms in regions where subsurface limestone is dissolved by groundwater.

61.      Water that is good enough to drink is called                              .
          a. potable water
          b. groundwater
          c. surface water
          d. artesian water

62.      Which of the following sources can contaminate an aquifer?
                 a. landfills

b. agricultural regions
    c. gas stations
    d. all of these

63.      Stalactites and stalagmites in caves are composed of                 .
          a. quartz             b. feldspar
          c. calcite            d. halite

64.      The vast majority of the world's usable fresh water is in                             .

a. the biosphere           b. rivers and lakes

c. the atmosphere        d. the ground

65.      What is the difference between the saturated and unsaturated zones of groundwater?

a. The saturated zone has a higher porosity than the unsaturated zone.
b. The saturated zone has a lower porosity than the unsaturated zone.
c. The pore spaces in the saturated zone are completely full of water; the pore spaces in the unsaturated zone are not completely full of water.
d. The pore spaces in the saturated zone are not completely full of water; the pore spaces in the unsaturated zone are completely  full of water.

66.      Influent streams are                             .

a.                   more common in arid regions

b.                   more common in humid regions.

c.                   equally common in arid and humid regions.

d.                   only found in areas of permafrost.

67.      Which of the following aquifers would be best for removing bacteria from the groundwater?

a. limestone            b. sand

c. coarse gravel       d. none of these can effectively remove bacteria from groundwater.

68.      Which of the following statements about the water table is false?
           a. The water table changes when discharge is not balanced by
              recharge.
           b. The water table is generally flat.
           c. The water table is above the land surface in lakes.
           d. The water table is depressed near high volume pumping wells.

69.      Sinkholes are a possible danger in regions underlain by what type of bedrock?
           a. granite
           b. sandstone
           c. shale
           d. limestone

70.      Streams that gain water from groundwater are called                         streams.

a. groundwater             b. artesian

c. effluent                    d. influent

71.      The boundary between the saturated zone and the unsaturated zone is called the                 .
          a. water table
          b. aquifer
          c. aquiclude
          d. porosity

72.      Stalactites
          a. grow up from the floor of a cave
          b. hang down from the ceiling of a cave
          c. form in the pore spaces of a sandstone
          d. form in the pore spaces of a limestone

73.      In which of the following regions is groundwater not being significantly depleted?
          a.
Arizona
          b. western
Texas
          c.
California
          d. groundwater is being depleted in all of these areas

74.      Which of the following materials has the lowest permeability?

a. shale            b. moderately-cemented sandstone

c. gravel            d. sand

75.      Which of the following statements regarding porosity and permeability is generally true?

a.                   the greater the porosity, the greater the permeability

b.                   the greater the porosity, the lower the permeability

c.                   porosity and permeability are the same thing.

d.                   porosity and permeability are unrelated.

76.      Excessive pumping in relation to recharge can cause                                 .
                 a. the water table to decline
                 b. a cone of depression to form

c. the well to go dry
            d. all of these

77.      Porosity is determined by the size, shape, and arrangement of the grains, by their sorting, and the degree of cement present.

a. true        b. false

78.      In the zone of saturation the pore spaces are completely filled with water .
          a. True        b. False.

79.      The water well is an artificial opening in the zone of saturation.

a. True        b. False

80.      To have a water well pump water all year long, the well must be in the zone of saturation all year long.
          a. True b. False

81.      In the United States, artesian conditions have greatly declined as more wells are drilled.

a.                   True b. False

82.      Sinkholes are common features of Florida sandstones.
          a. True b. False

83.      Dripstone deposits are composed of calcium carbonate.
          a. True b. False

84.      Salt water incursion can occur in a coastal aquifer .
          a. True b. False

85.      Lowering of a water table has no effect on the cost of water, nor the length of time an aquifer can be pumped.
          a. True b. False

86.      Groundwater needs to be protected from pollution.
          a. True b. False

87.      Geothermal water can be very corrosive.

a.                   True b. False

 

Use the answer sheet provided in class for the following questions and crossword puzzles.

Mass Wasting/Mass Movements:

88.                           is a type of mass movement that is associated with large particles released by frost wedging and occurs in mountainous regions. (It causes talus to accumulate at the base of a cliff .)

89.      As friction is reduced by water content, it becomes                          than the shear force, and mass wasting will occur.

90.      Solifluction is a special kind of earth flow that moves on a layer of                     .

91.      The amount of                    in a mass of debris strongly influences the rate and type of its movement.

92.      The most unstable situation involving planes of weakness in rocks is when they are                  to the hillside slope.

93.      Loose grains of sand adhere to one another due to the                          which is created BY a film of water

94.                                    is the slowest, but most pervasive type of mass movement.

95.      Hard water" is water that contains large amounts of dissolved                         or magnesium.

96.      The contact of the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone is called the                         .

97.      The slope of the water table is controlled by                         .

98.      Lakes and ponds mark places where the                         intersects the land surface.

99.                                    areas are characterized by sinkholes, caves and the lack of surface streams.

100.  The hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park are heated by a body of                    

101.  An aquifer recharged from the surface with a rising or falling water table is said to be                         

102.  The storage capacity of a rock unit is located in its                                 .

103.  Heavily pumped wells near the sea coast can be contaminated by                                 .

104.  The capacity of a rock unit to transmit fluids is its                             .


GEOLOGY 300

MASS WASTING -CLUES

ACROSS

1. A mass movement of rock material and soil largely as one or more units along planes of weakness at the base of or within the rock material.

3. The mass movement of large blocks of detached bedrock sliding more or less as a unit.

5. A downhill movement of soil or fractured rock under the force of gravity.

9. The rapid downhill mass movement of broken rock material, during which further breakage of the material may occur .

11. The relatively free falling of a newly detached segment of bedrock from a cliff or other steep slope.

13. The volume of rock not occupied by mineral grains or lithic fragments.

14. The attractive force between molecules at a surface.

17. The angle of repose for a rock surface.

18. A slow mass movement of rock fragments supported by a muddy matrix, that move faster than earth flows.

DOWN

1. A fluid mass movement of rock fragments supported by a muddy matrix, that move faster than earth flows.

2. In this type of mass movement, the bulk of the material moves more or less as a unit.

4.                     material is sediment that is lithified: compacted and bound together by mineral cements.

5. A mass movement of material mostly finer than sand, along with some rock debris, lubricated with large amounts of water.

6. The steepest slope angle at which a particular sediment will lie without cascading down.

7. A fluid mass movement of mainly fine-grained material, along with some broken rock, at slow or moderate speeds.

8. A slow mass movement of unlithified materials that slide as a unit.

10. The creep of soil saturated with water and/or ice, caused by alternate freezing and thawing; most common in polar regions.

12. The set of all processes by which soil and rock are loosened and moved downhill or downwind.

15. Slow, downhill mass movement of soil and regolith under gravitational force.

16. A deposit of large angular fragments of physically weathered bedrock, usually at the base of a cliff or a steep slope.


GEOLOGY 300MASS WASTING

WORD LIST

ANGLE OF REPOSE

CONSOLIDATED

 CREEP

DEBRIS FLOW

DEBRIS SLIDE

EARTH FLOW

EROSION

LANDSLIDE

MASS WASTING

MUD FLOW

PORE SPACE

ROCK AVALANCHE

ROCK FALL 

ROCK SLIDE

ROCK SLOPE

SLIDE

SLUMP

SOLIFLUCTION

SURFACE TENSION

TALUS

UNCONSOLIDATED

 


 

GEOLOGY 300: GROUNDWATER


WORD LIST

AQUIFER
ARTESIAN
CONFINED
DISCHARGE
EFFLUENT
GROUNDWATER
HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
INFILTRATION
INFLUENT
KARST
METEORIC WATERS

PERMEABILITY
POROSITY
POTABLE
RELATIVE HUMIDITY
RESERVOIR
RUNOFF

SATURATED
SUBLIMATION
TRANSPIRATION
WATER TABLE

 



GEOLOGY 300  GROUNDWATER -CLUES


ACROSS
3.The amount of water vapor in the air, expressed as a percentage of the total amount of water vapor that the air could hold at that temperature if saturated.
 
8.This type of water is agreeable to the taste and is not dangerous to the health. 
11. A source or place of residence for elements in a chemical cycle or hydrologic cycle.

18.This type of zone consists of soil and rock in which pores are completely filled with groundwater .
19.This type of topography is irregular and is characterized by caverns and sinkholes, and the lack of surface streams, and forms in humid regions.
20.An                     stream recharges groundwater through the stream bottom because its elevation is above the groundwater table. 
21.The ability of a formation to transmit groundwater or other fluids through pores and cracks.
DOWN
1.The mass of water in the ground below the unsaturated zone.

2.The exit of groundwater to surface water bodies.
4.A permeable formation that stores and transmits groundwater in sufficient quantity to supply wells.
5.The movement of groundwater or hydrothermal water into rock or soil through pores and joints.
6. The cyclical movement of water from the ocean to the atmosphere, through rain to the surface, through runoff and groundwater to streams, and back to the sea.
7. Rain water, snow, hail, and sleet.
9.The release of water vapor by plants into the atmosphere.
10 .The percentage of the total volume of rock that is pore space.
12.A phase change between the solid and gaseous states without passing through the liquid state.
1 3 .The amount of rain water directly leaving an area in surface drainage, as opposed to the amount that seeps out as groundwater.

 14.The upper surface of the saturated zone of groundwater .
15.                            flow is flow in a confined aquifer, in which the groundwater is at a greater pressure than in an unconfined aquifer at similar depths. 
1 6. A                 aquifer is overlain by relatively impermeable strata (aquicludes) thereby causing the water to be contained under pressure.
17.An                 stream receives some water from groundwater discharge because the stream's elevation is below the groundwater table. 

 

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