Question 1

Over time,alluvial fans may merge to form a ________.

Accepted Answer

A) wadi 
B) talus apron 
C) playa 
D) bajada 
A) wadi 
B) talus apron 
C) playa 
D) bajada

Question 2

Which statement about desert life is correct?

Accepted Answer

A) Mammals,unlike reptiles and birds,very rarely inhabit deserts. 
B) Mammals are the most common desert inhabitants among vertebrates and are most active at midday. 
C) Mammals survive in deserts but are less conspicuous than birds and reptiles because they are generally less active at midday. 
D) Herbivorous mammals are found in desert environments,whereas carnivorous mammals are not. 
A) Mammals,unlike reptiles and birds,very rarely inhabit deserts. 
B) Mammals are the most common desert inhabitants among vertebrates and are most active at midday. 
C) Mammals survive in deserts but are less conspicuous than birds and reptiles because they are generally less active at midday. 
D) Herbivorous mammals are found in desert environments,whereas carnivorous mammals are not.

Question 3

The process of lowering the surface of the land by wind erosion is known as ________.

Accepted Answer

A) deflation 
B) desertification 
C) saltation 
D) calcretion 
A) deflation 
B) desertification 
C) saltation 
D) calcretion

Question 4

A(n)________ consists of sand and gravel deposited by ephemeral distributary channels that occur where a gully or a canyon discharges from its mouth.

Accepted Answer

A) alluvial fan 
B) ventifact 
C) wadi 
D) yardang 
A) alluvial fan 
B) ventifact 
C) wadi 
D) yardang

Question 5

The definition of a desert depends on a region's ________.

Accepted Answer

A) latitude 
B) elevation 
C) aridity 
D) temperature 
A) latitude 
B) elevation 
C) aridity 
D) temperature

Question 6

Fine-grained sediment,such as dust and silt,is transported by wind in ________.

Accepted Answer

A) suspension 
B) saltation 
C) deflation 
D) surface creep 
A) suspension 
B) saltation 
C) deflation 
D) surface creep

Question 7

Most hot deserts ________.

Accepted Answer

A) retain their high temperatures throughout the night because there is no vegetation to absorb heat from the sediment at the surface 
B) cool off greatly at night because of sparse vegetation,dry air,and little cloud cover 
C) cool off by no more than 8°C on most nights 
D) gain additional heat at night because the desert air rises 
A) retain their high temperatures throughout the night because there is no vegetation to absorb heat from the sediment at the surface 
B) cool off greatly at night because of sparse vegetation,dry air,and little cloud cover 
C) cool off by no more than 8°C on most nights 
D) gain additional heat at night because the desert air rises

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT an adaptation of plants that helps them survive in deserts?

Accepted Answer

A) a thick waxy outer coating and needlelike leaves 
B) shallow,expansive root systems that can uptake infiltrated water over a broad area 
C) succulence (tissues that retain moisture for a long period of time) 
D) thin-skinned seeds that can quickly germinate when it rains 
A) a thick waxy outer coating and needlelike leaves 
B) shallow,expansive root systems that can uptake infiltrated water over a broad area 
C) succulence (tissues that retain moisture for a long period of time) 
D) thin-skinned seeds that can quickly germinate when it rains

Question 9

A mushroom-shaped landform consisting of a column of less resistant rock supporting a broader extent of wind-resistant rock is termed a ________.

Accepted Answer

A) blowout 
B) ventifact 
C) wadi 
D) yardang 
A) blowout 
B) ventifact 
C) wadi 
D) yardang

Question 10

During heavy rainstorms,rates of physical weathering and erosion are ________.

Accepted Answer

A) greater in humid climates than in deserts because dry desert soils soak up all the available moisture 
B) greater in deserts than in humid climates because soil tends to be more easily eroded in deserts than in humid regions 
C) greater in humid climates than in deserts because vegetation tends to break up the soil 
D) about equally fast in both deserts and humid climates 
A) greater in humid climates than in deserts because dry desert soils soak up all the available moisture 
B) greater in deserts than in humid climates because soil tends to be more easily eroded in deserts than in humid regions 
C) greater in humid climates than in deserts because vegetation tends to break up the soil 
D) about equally fast in both deserts and humid climates

Question 11

A salt-encrusted muddy tidal flat is known as a ________.

Accepted Answer

A) wadi 
B) pediment 
C) sabkha 
D) bajada 
A) wadi 
B) pediment 
C) sabkha 
D) bajada

Question 12

An arroyo is a steep-sided,linear trough produced by ________.

Accepted Answer

A) normal faulting or other extensional processes 
B) wind erosion of more susceptible layers 
C) scouring erosion by water and sediment during flash floods 
D) cliff retreat 
A) normal faulting or other extensional processes 
B) wind erosion of more susceptible layers 
C) scouring erosion by water and sediment during flash floods 
D) cliff retreat

Question 13

A desert may form along a coastline because a ________.

Accepted Answer

A) warm current warms and dries the air 
B) warm current forces hot air inland 
C) cold current cools and dries the air 
D) cold current forces hot air inland 
A) warm current warms and dries the air 
B) warm current forces hot air inland 
C) cold current cools and dries the air 
D) cold current forces hot air inland

Question 14

Badlands are characterized by ________.

Accepted Answer

A) thick caliche crusts 
B) closely spaced parallel drainages 
C) sabkhas 
D) perennial streams 
A) thick caliche crusts 
B) closely spaced parallel drainages 
C) sabkhas 
D) perennial streams

Question 15

Native Americans produced petroglyphs by etching into ________.

Accepted Answer

A) rocks that had been subjected to case hardening 
B) rocks that had been coated with desert varnish 
C) dark basalts 
D) obsidian 
A) rocks that had been subjected to case hardening 
B) rocks that had been coated with desert varnish 
C) dark basalts 
D) obsidian

Question 16

Vegetation in the desert consists of ________.

Accepted Answer

A) cacti only 
B) extensive grasslands with water-seeking deep roots 
C) scattered,scrub-like plants as succulents,such as cacti,with adaptations to obtain and retain as much water as they can 
D) forests of tall,broad-leafed trees 
A) cacti only 
B) extensive grasslands with water-seeking deep roots 
C) scattered,scrub-like plants as succulents,such as cacti,with adaptations to obtain and retain as much water as they can 
D) forests of tall,broad-leafed trees

Question 17

A rock that has been significantly reshaped on multiple surfaces by windborne particles and sometimes has a sharp edge is a(n)________.

Accepted Answer

A) inselberg 
B) ventifact 
C) wadi 
D) yardang 
A) inselberg 
B) ventifact 
C) wadi 
D) yardang

Question 18

The deserts found in the western United States are primarily the result of being located ________.

Accepted Answer

A) in the subtropics 
B) within the rain shadow of one or more mountain ranges 
C) near the center of a large continent 
D) next to a cold ocean current 
A) in the subtropics 
B) within the rain shadow of one or more mountain ranges 
C) near the center of a large continent 
D) next to a cold ocean current

Question 19

According to the textbook,the highest recorded temperature on Earth was in a ________.

Accepted Answer

A) tropical rainforest in Brazil 
B) low-latitude,high-elevation desert in Mexico 
C) high-latitude,high-elevation desert in Mongolia 
D) low-latitude,low-elevation desert in Libya 
A) tropical rainforest in Brazil 
B) low-latitude,high-elevation desert in Mexico 
C) high-latitude,high-elevation desert in Mongolia 
D) low-latitude,low-elevation desert in Libya

Question 20

Desert climate associated with a rain shadow is found ________.

Accepted Answer

A) on the windward side of mountain ranges 
B) on the leeward side of mountain ranges 
C) in the middle of flat plains 
D) along continental coastlines 
A) on the windward side of mountain ranges 
B) on the leeward side of mountain ranges 
C) in the middle of flat plains 
D) along continental coastlines

Exam 21: Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts

Over time,alluvial fans may merge to form a ________.

Which statement about desert life is correct?

The process of lowering the surface of the land by wind erosion is known as ________.

A(n)________ consists of sand and gravel deposited by ephemeral distributary channels that occur where a gully or a canyon discharges from its mouth.

The definition of a desert depends on a region's ________.

Fine-grained sediment,such as dust and silt,is transported by wind in ________.

Most hot deserts ________.

Which of the following is NOT an adaptation of plants that helps them survive in deserts?

A mushroom-shaped landform consisting of a column of less resistant rock supporting a broader extent of wind-resistant rock is termed a ________.

During heavy rainstorms,rates of physical weathering and erosion are ________.

A salt-encrusted muddy tidal flat is known as a ________.

An arroyo is a steep-sided,linear trough produced by ________.

A desert may form along a coastline because a ________.

Badlands are characterized by ________.

Native Americans produced petroglyphs by etching into ________.

Vegetation in the desert consists of ________.

A rock that has been significantly reshaped on multiple surfaces by windborne particles and sometimes has a sharp edge is a(n)________.

The deserts found in the western United States are primarily the result of being located ________.

According to the textbook,the highest recorded temperature on Earth was in a ________.

Desert climate associated with a rain shadow is found ________.

Cosmology and the Birth of Earth

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Drifting Continents and Spreading Seas

The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics

Patterns in Nature: Minerals

Up From the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks

Pages of Earths Past: Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism: a Process of Change

The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions

A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes

Crags,cracks,and Crumples: Crustal Deformation and Mountain Building

Deep Time: How Old Is Old

A Biography of Earth

Squeezing Power From a Stone: Energy Resources

Riches in Rock: Mineral Resources

Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements

Streams and Floods: the Geology of Running Water

Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts

A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater

An Envelope of Gas: Earths Atmosphere and Climate

Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages

Global Change in the Earth System

Introducing Rocks

a Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils

the Rock Cycle in the Earth System

the Earths Interior, revisited: Seismic Layering, gravity, and the Magnetic Field

Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution

Ever-Changing Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle

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