Question 1

Which of the following glacial features is depositional?

Accepted Answer

A)  moraine ridges 
B)  hanging valley 
C)  knife-edged ridge 
D)  pointed peak 
A)  moraine ridges 
B)  hanging valley 
C)  knife-edged ridge 
D)  pointed peak A

Question 2

A narrow, knife-edge ridge separating glacially eroded valleys or cirques is called a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  esker. 
B)  arete. 
C)  drumlin. 
D)  horn. 
A)  esker. 
B)  arete. 
C)  drumlin. 
D)  horn. B

Question 3

Why do hanging valleys erode?

Accepted Answer

Hanging valleys erode because the main-valley glacier is thicker than the side-valley tributary glaciers. The main-valley glacier is thicker because it gains ice from each tributary that joins it. The shear stress is higher, and the depth of erosion is greater where the ice is thicker. This means that the thicker, main-valley glacier erodes more deeply than the thinner, side-valley glaciers.

Question 4

The U-shape of a glacial valley is explained by

Accepted Answer

A)  variation in glacier velocity. 
B)  the weight of overlying snow. 
C)  the action of meltwater. 
D)  the action of transported pebbles and boulders. 
A)  variation in glacier velocity. 
B)  the weight of overlying snow. 
C)  the action of meltwater. 
D)  the action of transported pebbles and boulders.

Question 5

Glacial striations form by

Accepted Answer

A)  melting. 
B)  plucking. 
C)  abrasion. 
D)  flow. 
A)  melting. 
B)  plucking. 
C)  abrasion. 
D)  flow.

Question 6

How much greater is the shear stress of the Athabasca Glacier than the Mississippi River?

Accepted Answer

A)  2 times 
B)  4 times 
C)  10 times 
D)  100 times 
A)  2 times 
B)  4 times 
C)  10 times 
D)  100 times

Question 7

Which type of rock flanks Lake Superior?

Accepted Answer

A)  shale 
B)  evaporite sedimentary rock 
C)  volcanic and sedimentary rock 
D)  metamorphic rock 
A)  shale 
B)  evaporite sedimentary rock 
C)  volcanic and sedimentary rock 
D)  metamorphic rock

Question 8

Which climatic factor is described as the angle between the vertical and rotational axis?

Accepted Answer

A)  the obliquity 
B)  the eccentricity 
C)  the precession 
D)  the Milankovitch cycle 
A)  the obliquity 
B)  the eccentricity 
C)  the precession 
D)  the Milankovitch cycle

Question 9

Which two factors act together to cause changes in the Earth-Sun distance at the seasonal solstices and equinoxes?

Accepted Answer

A)  the obliquity and the eccentricity 
B)  the precession and the Milankovitch cycle 
C)  the eccentricity and the precession 
D)  the Milankovitch cycle and the obliquity 
A)  the obliquity and the eccentricity 
B)  the precession and the Milankovitch cycle 
C)  the eccentricity and the precession 
D)  the Milankovitch cycle and the obliquity

Question 10

A crevasse stops in a glacier at a depth

Accepted Answer

A)  equal to the crustal boundary. 
B)  where plastic deformation occurs. 
C)  of 50 meters. 
D)  located at the rock or regolith below the glacier. 
A)  equal to the crustal boundary. 
B)  where plastic deformation occurs. 
C)  of 50 meters. 
D)  located at the rock or regolith below the glacier.

Question 11

"Glaciers have no defined cleavage planes, but instead flow plastically." Evaluate this statement.

Accepted Answer

A)  This statement is true, but it only applies to the upper part of a glacier. 
B)  This statement is false. Ice has cleavage similar to the mineral mica, and ice behaves like mica would under the same pressure. 
C)  This statement is partially true. The flow of glaciers is very slow and more similar to gravel than to plastic. 
D)  This statement is false. Glaciers do flow plastically, but also have well-defined cleavage planes similar to mica. 
A)  This statement is true, but it only applies to the upper part of a glacier. 
B)  This statement is false. Ice has cleavage similar to the mineral mica, and ice behaves like mica would under the same pressure. 
C)  This statement is partially true. The flow of glaciers is very slow and more similar to gravel than to plastic. 
D)  This statement is false. Glaciers do flow plastically, but also have well-defined cleavage planes similar to mica.

Question 12

Name the five landforms particularly distinctive of the current or former action of valley glaciers. Which one is depositional?

Accepted Answer

(1) U-shaped valleys, (2) knife-edge rid

Question 13

Which is not a common characteristic of an outwash stream?

Accepted Answer

A)  a braided channel pattern 
B)  extremely fast flow 
C)  a milky color 
D)  a heavy sediment load 
A)  a braided channel pattern 
B)  extremely fast flow 
C)  a milky color 
D)  a heavy sediment load

Question 14

Why didn't ice gather in central and northern Alaska in the last ice age?

Accepted Answer

A)  Proximity to the sea kept it too warm. 
B)  The climate at that time was tropical. 
C)  There was too little precipitation. 
D)  There was too much geothermal heating from volcanic action. 
A)  Proximity to the sea kept it too warm. 
B)  The climate at that time was tropical. 
C)  There was too little precipitation. 
D)  There was too much geothermal heating from volcanic action.

Question 15

Glacier movement is not due to

Accepted Answer

A)  gravity. 
B)  plastic flow. 
C)  friction. 
D)  basal slip. 
A)  gravity. 
B)  plastic flow. 
C)  friction. 
D)  basal slip.

Question 16

Glaciers cover ________ of Earth's surface and contain ________ of Earth's fresh water.

Accepted Answer

A)  1%, 90% 
B)  5%, 41% 
C)  14%, 63% 
D)  10%, 84% 
A)  1%, 90% 
B)  5%, 41% 
C)  14%, 63% 
D)  10%, 84%

Question 17

Name, not necessarily in detail, the steps that make snow metamorphose into ice.

Accepted Answer

1) The transformation of irregular snowf

Question 18

What is the Mohs hardness of ice?

Accepted Answer

A)  0.15 
B)  0.5 
C)  1.5 
D)  15.0 
A)  0.15 
B)  0.5 
C)  1.5 
D)  15.0

Question 19

How was Great Salt Lake formed?

Accepted Answer

Runoff from mountains within a

Question 20

A glacier undergoes ________ deformation in its upper part and ________ in its lower part.

Accepted Answer

A)  plastic, brittle 
B)  plastic, plastic 
C)  brittle, plastic 
D)  brittle, brittle 
A)  plastic, brittle 
B)  plastic, plastic 
C)  brittle, plastic 
D)  brittle, brittle

Exam 18: Glaciers: Cold-Climate Sculptors of Continents

Which of the following glacial features is depositional?

A narrow, knife-edge ridge separating glacially eroded valleys or cirques is called a(n)

Why do hanging valleys erode?

The U-shape of a glacial valley is explained by

Glacial striations form by

How much greater is the shear stress of the Athabasca Glacier than the Mississippi River?

Which type of rock flanks Lake Superior?

Which climatic factor is described as the angle between the vertical and rotational axis?

Which two factors act together to cause changes in the Earth-Sun distance at the seasonal solstices and equinoxes?

A crevasse stops in a glacier at a depth

"Glaciers have no defined cleavage planes, but instead flow plastically." Evaluate this statement.

Name the five landforms particularly distinctive of the current or former action of valley glaciers. Which one is depositional?

Which is not a common characteristic of an outwash stream?

Why didn't ice gather in central and northern Alaska in the last ice age?

Glacier movement is not due to

Glaciers cover ________ of Earth's surface and contain ________ of Earth's fresh water.

Name, not necessarily in detail, the steps that make snow metamorphose into ice.

What is the Mohs hardness of ice?

How was Great Salt Lake formed?

A glacier undergoes ________ deformation in its upper part and ________ in its lower part.

Why Study Earth

Minerals: Building Blocks of the Planet

Rocks and Rock-Forming Processes

Formation of Magma and Igneous Rocks

Formation of Sediment and Sedimentary Rocks

Formation of Metamorphic Rocks

Earth Materials As Time Keepers

Earth Materials As Time Keepers

Making Earth

Motion Inside Earth

Deformation of Rocks

Global Tectonics: Plates and Plumes

Tectonics and Surface Relief

Soil Formation and Landscape Stability

Mass Movements: Landscapes in Motion

Streams: Flowing Water Shapes the Landscape

Water Flowing Underground

Shorelines: Changing Landscapes Where Land Meets Sea

Wind: a Global Geologic Process

Global Warming: Real Time Change in the Earth System

Filters

Glaciers cover of Earth's surface and contain of Earth's fresh water.

A glacier undergoes deformation in its upper part and in its lower part.