Florida International University
Department of Earth Sciences
GLY 1010: Introduction to Earth Science
Practice Quiz (Not for credit)






1. Glacial ice forms by ___________ of snow.
A.burial and metamorphism
B.melting and refreezing
C.erosion and deposition
D.precipitation and melting


2. Large masses of ice on land that show evidence of movement are called ______.
A.ice packs
B.glaciers
C.icebergs
D.all of these


3. An extremely slow-moving sheet of ice that covers vast land areas is called ____________.
A.a valley glacier
B.a continental glacier
C.an ice shelf
D.an arete


4. The snow line is _________.
A.the lowest altitude at which snow will fall in the warm months
B.the lowest altitude at which snow will fall in the cool months
C.the altitude above which snow does not completely melt in the warm months
D.the altitude above which snow does not completely melt in the cool months


5. Which of the following lists is written in order of increasing ice "metamorphism"?
A.snow ® granular ice ® firn ® glacial ice
B.snow ® firn ® glacial ice ® granular ice
C.snow ® firn ® granular ice ® glacial ice
D.snow ® granular ice ® glacial ice ® firn


6. Which of the following forms of ice has the greatest density?
A.firn
B.glacial ice
C.granular ice
D.snow


7. What is the term for the breaking off of pieces of a glacier to form icebergs?
A.ablation
B.erosion
C.sublimation
D.calving


8. If accumulation exceeds ablation, then __________.
A.the glacial ice will flow downhill but the end of the glacier will move uphill
B.the glacial ice will flow downhill and the end of the glacier will move downhill
C.the glacial ice will flow uphill and the end of the glacier will move uphill
D.the glacial ice will flow uphill but the end of the glacier will move downhill


9. Striations are _____________.
A.grooves created by rocks scratching against bedrock at the base of a glacier
B.the dust formed by grinding rocks to clay-sized particles during glacial movement
C.the long, narrow, winding ridges of sand and gravel found in the middle of ground moraines
D.large, streamlined hills of till and bedrock that parallel the direction of ice movement


10. When two cirques at the heads of adjacent valleys meet at the moutaintop, they produce a sharp, jagged crest called _________.
A.an arete
B.a fjord
C.a drumlin
D.a moraine


11. Which of the following erosional features is characteristic of rivers and not glaciers?
A.arete
B.cirque
C.V-shaped valley
D.roche moutonée


12. Which of the following agents of erosion deposits the most poorly sorted sediment?
A.wind
B.ice
C.streams
D.ocean currents


13. Glacial drift that has been modified, sorted, and distributed by meltwater streams is called ______.
A.outwash
B.till
C.moraine
D.rock flour


14. Which of the following terms describes an accumulation of rocky, sandy, or clayey material deposited at the end of a glacier?
A.moraine
B.loess
C.dune
D.esker


15. The most recent ice ages occurred during the ______ Epoch.
A.Pliocene
B.Paleozoic
C.Pleistocene
D.Jurassic


16. During glaciations, marine sediments are enriched in __________ and depleted in ________.
A.oxygen-18…...oxygen-16
B.oxygen-18…...carbon dioxide
C.oxygen-16……carbon-12
D.oxygen-16……oxygen-18


17. Precession describes ___________.
A.the movement of ice sheets away from the poles
B.the movement of glacial ice down through valleys
C.the wobble of the Earth's axis of rotation
D.the changes in climate as the Earth warms or cools


18. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere ___________.
A.is low during glacial periods
B.is high during glacial periods
C.is constant between glacial and interglacial periods
D.varies in a manner unrelated to glacial and interglacial periods



This is the end of the test. When you have completed all the questions and reviewed your answers, press the button below to grade the test.