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Weathering & Erosion by Mass Wasting Pre-Test

Name: ____________________________________________

1) As a particle of sediment in a stream breaks 3) Which graph best represents the chemical
into several smaller pieces, the rate of weathering rate of a limestone boulder as the
weathering of the sediment will boulder is broken into pebble-sized
A) increase due to a decrease in surface particles?
area
B) decrease due to an increase in surface
area A)
C) increase due to an increase in surface
area
D) decrease due to a decrease in surface
area

2) Which substance has the greatest effect on

the rate of weathering of rock? B)
A) hydrogen C) water
B) argon D) nitrogen

C)

D)

4) Chemical weathering of rocks occurs most

rapidly in a climate that is
A) hot and arid
B) cold and arid
C) cold and humid
D) hot and humid
5) A landscape having which climate would be
influenced by the fewest types of weathering
and erosional agents?
A) arid
B) glacial
C) humid tropical
D) subarctic
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6) Solid bedrock is changed to soil primarily by
the process of
A) erosion C) infiltration
B) transpiration D) weathering

7) The diagram below represents a geologic cross section of a portion of the Earth's crust. The rock
layers have not been overturned.

Which type of rock appears to be most resistant to weathering?

A) conglomerate C) sandstone
B) shale D) limestone

8) The cross section below shows residual soils

that developed on rock outcrops of
metamorphic quartzite and sedimentary
limestone.

Which statement best explains why the soil is

thicker above the limestone than it is above
the quartzite?
A) The limestone is less resistant to
weathering than the quartzite.
B) The quartzite is older than the limestone.
C) The limestone is thicker than the
quartzite.
D) The quartzite formed from molten
magma.
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9) The diagram below shows a residual soil 10) On the Earth's surface, transported materials
profile formed in an area of granite bedrock. are more common than residual materials.
Four different soil horizons, A, B, C, and D, This condition is mainly the result of
are shown. A) folding
B) recrystallization
C) erosion
D) subduction

11) The best evidence that erosion has taken

place would be provided by
A) tilted rock layers observed on a mountain
B) faulted rock layers observed on a plateau
C) deep residual soil observed on a hillside
D) sediment observed at the bottom of a
cliff

Which soil horizon contains the greatest

amount of material formed by biological
activity?
A) A C) C
B) B D) D

12) In the cartoon below, the mountain climber's remarks show that he is aware of which pair of Earth
processes?

A) folding and faulting C) compaction and uplifting

B) weathering and erosion D) deposition and sedimentation
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13) Which factor has the least effect on the Questions 16 through 18 refer to the following:
weathering of a rock?
A) exposure of the rock to the atmosphere The diagram below represents the dominant type
B) composition of the rock of weathering for various climatic conditions.
C) the number of fossils found in the rock
D) climatic conditions
14) At high elevations in New York State, which is
the most common form of physical
weathering?
A) alternate freezing and melting of water
B) abrasion of rocks by the wind
C) oxidation by oxygen in the atmosphere
D) dissolving of minerals into solution
15) Which is the best example of physical
weathering?
A) the formation of a sandbar along the side
of a stream
B) the reaction of limestone with acid
rainwater
C) the cracking of rock caused by the
freezing and thawing of water
D) the transportation of sediment in a
stream
16) Why is no frost action shown for locations
with a mean annual temperature greater than
13DC?
A) Large amounts of precipitation fall at
these locations.
B) Large amounts of evaporation takes
place at these locations.
C) Very little precipitation falls at these
locations.
D) Very little freezing takes place in these
locations.
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17) Four samples of the same material with 19) A large rock is broken into several smaller
identical composition and mass were cut as pieces. Compared to the rate of weathering
shown in the diagrams below. When of the large rock, the rate of weathering of the
subjected to the same chemical weathering, smaller pieces is
which sample will weather at the fastest rate? A) less
B) greater
A) C) C) the same
20) The diagram below represents a sedimentary
rock outcrop.
B) D)

18) Assume that the rate of precipitation

throughout the year is a constant. Which
graph would most probably represent the
chemical weathering of most New York State
bedrock?

A)

Which rock layer is the most resistant to

B)
weathering?
A) 2 C) 3
B) 4 D) 1
21) Which erosional force acts alone to produce
C) avalanches and landslides?
A) gravity
B) winds
C) sea waves
D) D) running water
 Answer Key 3048 - 1 - Page 1
1) C

2) C

3) B

4) D

5) B

6) D

7) C

8) A

9) A

10) C

11) D

12) B

13) C

14) A

15) C

16) D

17) C

18) B

19) B

20) C

21) A