Department of Geosciences
North Dakota State University
GEOLOGY 105
SELF-TEST SITE


NDSU

Weathering Processes Self-Test: 12 questions

Special Instructions:
Using your mouse, click on the one, BEST answer. Upon completion of the exam, click the SUBMIT button, and the exam will be graded for you. You will also have the opportunity to review how well you answered each question.
1. CaSO4 + 2H2O ----> CaSO4.2H2O. This equation presents an example of what type of weathering process?:
hydrolysis
dissolution
oxidation
acid weathering
hydration

2. The high salinity of waters in Kelly's Slough near Grand Forks, ND, is principally due to:
pollution from a nearby processing plant
salty rainfall
the proximity of the land surface to saline groundwater flow
the spreading of road salt on U.S. Highway 2
the sweaty feet of jogging pelicans

3. The process by which larger plates or sheets of rocks are stripped from a larger rock mass by physical force is:
exfoliation
hydration
hydrolysis
dissolution
oxidation

4. Root growth by trees is an effective mechanical weathering mechanism when accompanied by:
hydrolysis
wind
fire
oxidation
salt crystal growth

5. An important, soluble product of the weathering of limestone is:
clay
calcium bicarbonate
gypsum
quartz
calcium carbonate

6. Water from a certain source is shown to contain 10,000 ppm dissolved solids. This indicates that what percentage of the particles in this water are represented by the dissolved solids?:
0.01%
0.1%
1.0%
10.0%
100.0%

7. The waters in many of the lakes in western North Dakota are often saturated with respect to which one of the following?:
cyanide
potassium chloride
sodium chloride
sulfates
calcium bicarbonate

8. Which one of the following (if any!) would NOT be considered a weathering process?:
the development of a soil
a Bowen's-type reaction within magma
the shattering by fire of a boulder
the transformation of gypsum to anhydrite
ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE WEATHERING PROCESSES

9. The chemical weathering of feldspar minerals yields which one (or ALL!) of the following?:
hematite
clay
gypsum
olivine
ALL OF THE ABOVE

10. The continual removal by water of soluble minerals from bedrock or regolith is called:
hydrolysis
fractionation
leaching
accumulation
hydration

11. Ms. Stick observes some freshly-exposed sediments in a gradual color change from black/grey to orange/red over a short period of time. She is observing within these sediments a transition from:
ferric to ferrous state of calcium
ferric to ferrous state of iron
ferrous to ferric state of calcium
ferrous to ferric state of iron
the hydration of sulfates

12. When liquid water freezes:
it actually does not expand in volume
it expands by 5% in volume
it expands by 9% in volume
it expands by 17% in volume
it doubles in volume


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