5 Written Questions

1. The frequency and intensity of earthquakes.
2. An element with properties that allows it to conduct electricity and heat energy, and perform other important functions.
3. Rock underlying soil; the material from which the inorganic components of a soil are derived.
4. The organic horizon at the surface of many soils, composed of organic detritus in various stages of decomposition.
5. The ability of a particular soil to absorb and release cations.

5 Matching Questions

1. mining spoils/tailings
2. placer mining
3. rock cycle
4. earthquake
5. mineral

1. a A solid chemical substance with a uniform, often crystalline, structure that forms under specific temperatures and pressures.
2. b Rock forms when magma from Earth's interior reaches the surface, cools, and hardens. Once at Earth's surface, rock masses are broken up, moved, and deposited in new locations by processes such as weathering and erosion. New rock may be formed from the deposited material. Eventually, the rock is subducted into the mantle, where it melts and becomes magma again. It slowly but continuously breaks down rock and forms new rock.
3. c A mining technique in which metals and precious stones are sought in river sediments.
4. d The sudden movement of Earth's crust caused by a release of potential energy along a geologic fault and usually causing a vibration or trembling at Earth's surface.
5. e Unwanted waste material created during mining.

5 Multiple Choice Questions

1. The zone of leaching that forms under the O horizon or, less often, the A horizon.
   1. O horizon
   2. E horizon
   3. horizon
   4. erosion
2. The property of soil determined by relative proportions of sand, silt, and clay.
   1. texture
   2. core
   3. ore
   4. mantle
3. The cycle of processes that build up and breakdown the lithosphere.
   1. tectonic cycle
   2. texture
   3. rock cycle
   4. Richter scale
4. The least-weathered soil horizon, which always occurs beneath the B horizon and is similar to the parent material.
   1. O horizon
   2. E horizon
   3. B horizon/subsoil
   4. C horizon/subsoil
5. In reference to Earth, the innermost layer. It is approximately 3000 km (1,860 miles) below the Earth's surface. It is a dense mass largely made up of nickel and some iron. The inner ____ is sold and the outer ____ is liquid.
   1. crust
   2. ore
   3. soil
   4. core

5 True/False Questions

1. hot spots → In geology, a place where molten material from Earth's mantle reaches the lithosphere.

   True        False

2. soil degradation → The process of one crustal plate passing under another.

   True        False

3. base saturation → The proportion of soil bases to soil acids, expressed as a percentage.

   True        False

4. B horizon/subsoil → The least-weathered soil horizon, which always occurs beneath the B horizon and is similar to the parent material.

   True        False

5. chemical weathering → The breakdown of rocks and minerals by chemical reactions, the dissolving of chemical elements from rocks, or both.

   True        False