Physical Geology 15Th Edition By Charles (Carlos) Plummer – Test Bank

Physical Geology 15Th Edition By Charles (Carlos) Plummer – Test Bank

Chapter 09

Mass Wasting

True / False Questions

1. The term “mass wasting” refers to the improper use of Earth materials in a manner that is in conflict with the principles of conservation and environmental stewardship.
   FALSE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

2. The driving force for mass wasting is gravity.
   TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

3. When soil is saturated with water it becomes heavier and less viscous and more likely to flow downslope.
   TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

4. Surface tension created by a small amount of water in soil decreases its shear strength.
   FALSE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

5. A debris flow is a very rapidly moving turbulent mass of broken up bedrock.
   FALSE

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

6. Creep is very slow downslope movement of soil.
   TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember

7. In an earthflow soil moves downslope as a coherent mass.
   FALSE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

8. The type of material involved doesn’t matter in how a mass wasting event is classified.
   FALSE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

9. The term “debris,” implies that coarse-grained fragment predominates in the soil.
   TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

10. Landslides are natural phenomena that humans can either cause or prevent.
    TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

11. Pore pressure refers to the effect in which water forces grains apart.
    TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

12. Within the United States, fewer people have died as a result of landslides than other geologic hazards, such as earthquakes and tornadoes.
    FALSE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

13. Humans can trigger earthflows by adding water to soil from septic systems or by over watering lawns.
    TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

14. A mudflow is a flowing mixture of soil and water usually moving down a channel.
    TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

15. Relief is a term used to describe the horizontal distance between valley floor and mountain top.
    FALSE

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

16. In cold climates freezing and thawing contribute to downslope soil movement.
    TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

17. Viscosity is the resistance to movement of the material.
    FALSE

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

18. Permafrost occurs at depths that range from a few centimeters to a few meters below the ground surface.
    TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

19. Mudflows frequently occur on young volcanoes covered with ash.
    TRUE

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

20. Landslides that take place underwater are called waterslides.
    FALSE

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

Multiple Choice Questions

21. Resistance to movement or deformation of soil is called __.
    A.solifluction
    B. stiffness quotient
    C. stress resistance
    D. shear strength
    E. rigidity

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

22. In a translational slide, the descending mass __.
    A.slides as a generally intact block down a curved failure surface
    B. moves along a plane approximately parallel to the slope of the surface
    C. simply moves from one location to another, without specifying the mode of motion
    D. is moving and circulating within the flowing mass, behaving as a viscous fluid
    E. moves as a perfectly rigid block on top of a liquid layer

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

23. A _____ involves movement along a curved surface.
    A.rotational slide
    B. rock fall
    C. boulder slide
    D. creep
    E. debris flow

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

24. Slide is a term that means that the descending mass __.
    A.disintegrates as it moves down the slope
    B. circulates as a fluid as it moves down the slope
    C. must, by definition, remain entirely intact and move as a perfectly rigid block
    D. remains intact

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

25. List the following flow terms in the order of decreasing velocity (fastest first): mudflow, debris avalanche, creep, and earthflow.
    A.debris avalanche, earthflow, mudflow, creep
    B. debris avalanche, mudflow, earthflow, creep
    C. creep, earthflow, mudflow, debris avalanche
    D. mudflow, earthflow, debris avalanche, creep
    E. mudflow, debris avalanche, earthflow, creep

Bloom’s Level: 3. Apply
Topic: Unstable Slopes

26. When soil is saturated with water ____ increases.
    A.pore pressure
    B. surface tension
    C. viscosity
    D. density

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

27. _____ commonly trigger mass wasting events.
    A.Humans
    B. Earthquakes
    C. Hurricanes
    D. Wind
    E. Glaciers

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

28. _____ is the flow of water-saturated soil over impermeable material.
    A.Solifluction
    B. Landslide
    C. Rockslide
    D. Creep

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

29. ______ is ground that remains frozen for many years.
    A.Soil
    B. Permafrost
    C. Laterite
    D. Caliche
    E. Moraine

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

30. Shear strength __.
    A.is the total force/stress resisting movement
    B. is the same as shear resistance
    C. increases as the amount of water in soil increases
    D. is related to slope angle

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

31. Two factors that contribute significantly to soil creep are water in the soil and ___.
    A.freeze-thaw cycles
    B. hot climates
    C. the presence of boulders in the soil
    D. the presence of feldspar in the soil

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

32. In ____, soil in which fine grains predominate moves downslope as a viscous fluid.
    A.landslides
    B. avalanches
    C. rockfalls
    D. earthflows
    E. creep

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

33. _______ is (are) associated with permafrost.
    A.Thixiotropy
    B. Solifluction
    C. Avalanches
    D. Quicksands
    E. Expansive clays

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

34. Much of the damage from China’s Mary, 2008 earthquake was from ______.
    A.mudflow
    B. dam failure
    C. landslides
    D. creep
    E. human activity

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

35. In areas where the daily temperature regularly varies above and below the freezing temperature of water, the freeze-thaw cycle __.
    A.facilitates soil creep
    B. facilitates rock weathering
    C. promotes the opening of cracks and joints in rock that may lead to rock falls
    D. Both facilitates soil creep and facilitates rock weathering are correct.
    E. All of the choices are all correct.

Bloom’s Level: 3. Apply
Topic: Unstable Slopes

36. When a stream, wave action, or excavation by humans undercuts the base of a slope, slope failure may occur because __.
    A.ground water will be drained out of the slope
    B. the weight of the slope will have been reduced
    C. the shear force/stress on the base of a potential landslide mass will have been increased
    D. downslope support of the slope materials will have been reduced or eliminated
    E. the normal force/stress across the base of a potential landslide mass will have been reduced

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

37. The impermeable layer beneath saturated soil subject to solifluction may be ______.
    A.the A-horizon
    B. dehydrated
    C. caliche
    D. permafrost
    E. coal

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

38. Permafrost is __.
    A.a type of glacial soil
    B. a result of the freeze-thaw cycle
    C. material below the ground surface that remains continuously frozen over the course of many years
    D. a persistent coating of ice on top of the ground surface
    E. an expensive and very stylish brand of freezer

Bloom’s Level: 1. Remember
Topic: Unstable Slopes

39. Most solifluction takes place __.
    A.in most areas that have permafrost.
    B. in some areas that may not have permafrost
    C. in all areas that do not have permafrost
    D. is not associated in any way with permafrost

Bloom’s Level: 2. Understand
Topic: Unstable Slopes

40. Mudflows generally contain __.
    A.only mud-sized particles
    B. primarily water with some mud-sized particles, but no larger grains
    C. primarily mud-sized particles with some water, but no larger grains
    D. primarily mud-sized particles with some water, but certainly no particles greater than sand size
    E. primarily mud-sized particles with some water, but may also contain particles as large as boulders