Question 1

The principal difference between a lahar and a mudflow is the ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  shape of the path taken by the moving mass 
B)  grain size of the moving mass 
C)  lahar's abundant water, compared to the dry mudflow 
D)  lahar's pyroclastic debris content from a volcanic eruption 
A)  shape of the path taken by the moving mass 
B)  grain size of the moving mass 
C)  lahar's abundant water, compared to the dry mudflow 
D)  lahar's pyroclastic debris content from a volcanic eruption

Question 2

All regions are susceptible to mass movements.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

Mass wasting always involves a sudden movement of material downslope.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

Which features in the figure are indicative of ongoing or recent slump movement?

Accepted Answer

A)  dead trees 
B)  sinking foundations 
C)  tilted utility poles 
D)  All of the above are correct. 
A)  dead trees 
B)  sinking foundations 
C)  tilted utility poles 
D)  All of the above are correct.

Question 5

Which process is illustrated below?

Accepted Answer

A)  landslide 
B)  lahar 
C)  rockfall 
D)  mudslide 
A)  landslide 
B)  lahar 
C)  rockfall 
D)  mudslide

Question 6

How could you distinguish a debris flow from a lahar?

Accepted Answer

A)  Look for volcanic ash. 
B)  Look at the steepness of the failure surface. 
C)  Look for evidence of trees within the deposit. 
D)  All of the above are correct. 
A)  Look for volcanic ash. 
B)  Look at the steepness of the failure surface. 
C)  Look for evidence of trees within the deposit. 
D)  All of the above are correct.

Question 7

Slope stability is determined by which two forces?

Accepted Answer

A)  downslope and resistance 
B)  gravity and friction 
C)  resistance and gravity 
D)  downslope and friction 
A)  downslope and resistance 
B)  gravity and friction 
C)  resistance and gravity 
D)  downslope and friction

Question 8

Why would a slope be more prone to slumping after storm A (ten successive days of 1/3-inch of rain every day)in comparison to storm B (a five-hour storm that totals 6 inches of rainfall)?

Accepted Answer

A)  In storm A, much of the water is likely to run off and not percolate into the slope. 
B)  In storm A, the rainfall is slow and steady enough for nearly all of it to percolate into the slope. 
C)  In storm B, debris flows might occur rather than slumps. 
D)  All of the above are correct. 
A)  In storm A, much of the water is likely to run off and not percolate into the slope. 
B)  In storm A, the rainfall is slow and steady enough for nearly all of it to percolate into the slope. 
C)  In storm B, debris flows might occur rather than slumps. 
D)  All of the above are correct.

Question 9

Tectonic activity generally destabilizes slopes.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

The principal difference between a debris slide and a debris avalanche is the ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  straightness of the path taken by the moving mass 
B)  grain size of material within the moving mass 
C)  degree to which the displaced material remains internally coherent 
D)  presence of pyroclastic (volcanically ejected material) within a debris slide 
A)  straightness of the path taken by the moving mass 
B)  grain size of material within the moving mass 
C)  degree to which the displaced material remains internally coherent 
D)  presence of pyroclastic (volcanically ejected material) within a debris slide

Question 11

Which type of bedrock provides the greatest risk of landslide?

Accepted Answer

A)  granite 
B)  gneiss 
C)  sandstone 
D)  shale 
A)  granite 
B)  gneiss 
C)  sandstone 
D)  shale

Question 12

____________ in sedimentary rock may become a failure surface.

Accepted Answer

A)  Bedding planes 
B)  Exfoliation joints 
C)  Foliation planes 
A)  Bedding planes 
B)  Exfoliation joints 
C)  Foliation planes

Question 13

A rockslide into a reservoir triggered catastrophic flooding of the landscape below which dam?

Accepted Answer

A)  Vaiont (Italy) 
B)  Aswan (Egypt) 
C)  Hoover (Nevada) 
D)  Glen Canyon (Arizona) 
A)  Vaiont (Italy) 
B)  Aswan (Egypt) 
C)  Hoover (Nevada) 
D)  Glen Canyon (Arizona)

Question 14

Moisture among sediment grains ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  always increases the likelihood of mass wasting 
B)  always decreases the likelihood of mass wasting 
C)  can promote stability if present in small amounts, but promotes mass wasting if sediment is saturated 
D)  can promote stability if the grains are saturated, but the presence of a small amount has little effect on the likelihood of mass wasting 
A)  always increases the likelihood of mass wasting 
B)  always decreases the likelihood of mass wasting 
C)  can promote stability if present in small amounts, but promotes mass wasting if sediment is saturated 
D)  can promote stability if the grains are saturated, but the presence of a small amount has little effect on the likelihood of mass wasting

Question 15

During the last ice age it rained more in the southwest United States,compared to now.Which factor below would probably have DECREASED the likelihood that increased rainfall would have caused more slope failure?

Accepted Answer

A)  increased plant growth resulting from increased precipitation 
B)  increased extent of frozen soils and solifluction 
C)  higher lake levels and groundwater levels 
D)  less precipitation of salts because of the higher ratio of rainfall to evaporation 
A)  increased plant growth resulting from increased precipitation 
B)  increased extent of frozen soils and solifluction 
C)  higher lake levels and groundwater levels 
D)  less precipitation of salts because of the higher ratio of rainfall to evaporation

Question 16

Which of the following mass movements will include large identifiable fragments of bedrock?

Accepted Answer

A)  slump 
B)  creep 
C)  rock slide 
D)  mudflow 
A)  slump 
B)  creep 
C)  rock slide 
D)  mudflow

Question 17

Ground shaking can transform wet sediments into liquid-like slurries in a process known as ____________.

Accepted Answer

A)  liquefaction 
B)  slumping 
C)  undercutting 
D)  sloping 
A)  liquefaction 
B)  slumping 
C)  undercutting 
D)  sloping

Question 18

All types of mass wasting have approximately the same velocities.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

If the slump shown below had occurred many thousands of years before,and the head scarp and toe were no longer visible,how might you infer the presence of this slump?

Accepted Answer

A)  Look for bent-over trees. 
B)  Look for sedimentary layers that were dipping at different angles from those nearby. 
C)  Look for an unusually steep slope. 
D)  Apply absolute age-dating techniques. 
A)  Look for bent-over trees. 
B)  Look for sedimentary layers that were dipping at different angles from those nearby. 
C)  Look for an unusually steep slope. 
D)  Apply absolute age-dating techniques.

Question 20

Which of the following types of mass movement is the least coherent internally?

Accepted Answer

A)  slump 
B)  creep 
C)  rock slide 
D)  mudflow 
A)  slump 
B)  creep 
C)  rock slide 
D)  mudflow

Exam 13: Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements

The principal difference between a lahar and a mudflow is the ____________.

All regions are susceptible to mass movements.

Mass wasting always involves a sudden movement of material downslope.

Which features in the figure are indicative of ongoing or recent slump movement?

Which process is illustrated below?

How could you distinguish a debris flow from a lahar?

Slope stability is determined by which two forces?

Why would a slope be more prone to slumping after storm A (ten successive days of 1/3-inch of rain every day)in comparison to storm B (a five-hour storm that totals 6 inches of rainfall)?

Tectonic activity generally destabilizes slopes.

The principal difference between a debris slide and a debris avalanche is the ____________.

Which type of bedrock provides the greatest risk of landslide?

____________ in sedimentary rock may become a failure surface.

A rockslide into a reservoir triggered catastrophic flooding of the landscape below which dam?

Moisture among sediment grains ____________.

During the last ice age it rained more in the southwest United States,compared to now.Which factor below would probably have DECREASED the likelihood that increased rainfall would have caused more slope failure?

Which of the following mass movements will include large identifiable fragments of bedrock?

Ground shaking can transform wet sediments into liquid-like slurries in a process known as ____________.

All types of mass wasting have approximately the same velocities.

If the slump shown below had occurred many thousands of years before,and the head scarp and toe were no longer visible,how might you infer the presence of this slump?

Which of the following types of mass movement is the least coherent internally?

The Earth in Context

The Way the Earth Works: Plate Tectonics

Patterns in Nature: Minerals

Up From the Inferno: Magma and Igneous Rocks

The Wrath of Vulcan: Volcanic Eruptions

Pages of Earths Past: Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphism: a Process of Change

A Violent Pulse: Earthquakes

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

Deep Time: How Old Is Old

A Biography of Earth

Riches in Rock: Energy and Mineral Resources

Streams and Floods: the Geology of Running Water

Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts

A Hidden Reserve: Groundwater

Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts

Amazing Ice: Glaciers and Ice Ages

Global Change in the Earth System

Rock Groups

A Surface Veneer: Sediments and Soils

The Rock Cycle

The Earths Interior Revisited: Insights From Geophysics

Memories of Past Life: Fossils and Evolution

An Introduction to Landscapes and the Hydrologic Cycle

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