Quiz 9: Mass Wasting
Geology/Geography/Oceanography/Atmospheric Sciences
Q 1Q 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.
Free
True False
False
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True False
True
Q 3Q 3
When soil is saturated with water it becomes heavier and less viscous and more likely to flow downslope.
Free
True False
True
Free
True False
Free
True False
Free
True False
Free
True False
Free
True False
Free
True False
Free
True False
Free
True False
Q 12Q 12
Within the United States, fewer people have died as a result of landslides than other geologic hazards, such as earthquakes and tornadoes.
Free
True False
Q 13Q 13
Humans can trigger earthflows by adding water to soil from septic systems or by over watering lawns.
Free
True False
Free
True False
Q 15Q 15
Relief is a term used to describe the horizontal distance between valley floor and mountain top.
Free
True False
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True False
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True False
Q 18Q 18
Permafrost occurs at depths that range from a few centimeters to a few meters below the ground surface.
Free
True False
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True False
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True False
Q 21Q 21
Resistance to movement or deformation of soil is called __.
A) solifluction
B) stiffness quotient
C) stress resistance
D) shear strength
E) rigidity
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 22Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 23Q 23
A _____ involves movement along a curved surface.
A) rotational slide
B) rock fall
C) boulder slide
D) creep
E) debris flow
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 24Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 25Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 26Q 26
When soil is saturated with water ____ increases.
A) pore pressure
B) surface tension
C) viscosity
D) density
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 27Q 27
_____ commonly trigger mass wasting events.
A) Humans
B) Earthquakes
C) Hurricanes
D) Wind
E) Glaciers
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 28Q 28
_____ is the flow of water-saturated soil over impermeable material.
A) Solifluction
B) Landslide
C) Rockslide
D) Creep
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 29Q 29
______ is ground that remains frozen for many years.
A) Soil
B) Permafrost
C) Laterite
D) Caliche
E) Moraine
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 30Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 31Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 32Q 32
In ____, soil in which fine grains predominate moves downslope as a viscous fluid.
A) landslides
B) avalanches
C) rockfalls
D) earthflows
E) creep
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 33Q 33
_______ is (are) associated with permafrost.
A) Thixiotropy
B) Solifluction
C) Avalanches
D) Quicksands
E) Expansive clays
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 34Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 35Q 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.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 36Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 37Q 37
The impermeable layer beneath saturated soil subject to solifluction may be ______.
A) the A-horizon
B) dehydrated
C) caliche
D) permafrost
E) coal
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 38Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 39Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 40Q 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
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 41Q 41
Mudflows are ___ likely to occur in areas not protected by vegetation.
A) more
B) less
C) just as
D) Mudflow occurrence is not related to average rainfall or vegetative cover.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 42Q 42
Mudflows are ___ likely to occur in arid regions than in wet climates.
A) more
B) less
C) just as
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 43Q 43
Which of the following factors are how geologists, engineers, and others classifying mass wasting?
A) viscosity, shear strength, translational movement
B) rate of movement, shear strength, gravity
C) type of material, shear strength
D) rate of movement, type of material, type of movement
E) gravity, shear strength, slip motion
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 44Q 44
A(n) apron of fallen rock fragments called ___ is generally found at the base of a slope affected by rockfall.
A) loess
B) talus
C) grus
D) alluvial
E) fluvial
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 45Q 45
A rock avalanche begins its downslope journey __.
A) as a result of an earthquake
B) near the top of a volcano
C) due to the undercutting of a slope
D) as a result of a snow or ice avalanche
E) as bedrock
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 46Q 46
If movement becomes very rapid, a rockslide may break up and become __.
A) a debris flow
B) a rock avalanche
C) a rock fall
D) a soil slip
E) a mudflow
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 47Q 47
The rate of movement in creep is usually __.
A) a centimeter or less per year
B) a centimeter or so per week
C) a centimeter or so per day
D) around a meter per day
E) around a meter per hour
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 48Q 48
One way to prevent slope failure is to __.
A) drain ground water from the slope
B) re-grade the slope so that it is more gently inclined
C) pin the rock onto the slope with rock bolts or other devices
D) retain or establish vegetation to protect the slope
E) All of the answers are correct.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 49Q 49
The Gros Ventre slide in 1925 generated a secondary hazard, namely __, whose failure was responsible for the destruction of the town of Kelly, Wyoming.
A) a debris flow
B) a landslide dam that impounded a river
C) a mudflow
D) an over-steepened slope
E) an undercut hillslope
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 50Q 50
Assuming that all other conditions are identical, a slope that is ___ is more stable.
A) more nearly vertical
B) more steeply inclined
C) more gently inclined
D) Slope angle has nothing to do with slope stability.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 51Q 51
____ generally makes a slope more susceptible to mass wasting of soil.
A) New vegetation
B) Construction
C) Humid climates
D) Creep
E) Solifluction
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 52Q 52
A region with high relief (the distance between high and low points in an area) has a ______ rate of debris flow.
A) higher
B) lower
C) Relief has nothing to do with slope stability.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 53Q 53
A region prone to frequent earthquakes is ____.
A) more likely to have debris flows
B) less likely to have debris flows
C) Earthquake frequency has little influence on the frequency of debris flows.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 54Q 54
The 1928 failure of the St. Francis Dam near Los Angeles was due to _____.
A) presence of foliation planes in one abutment of the dam
B) landslides associated with the reservoir
C) excessive water pressure at the base of the dam
D) one abutment was built against rock that disintegrated in water
E) All of the answers are correct.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 55Q 55
A(n) _____ is the rapid sliding of a mass of bedrock along an inclined surface of weakness.
A) debris flow
B) rockslide
C) avalanche
D) rockfall
E) creep
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 56Q 56
Among techniques used to prevent rockfalls along highways is to _____.
A) cover with a shed
B) spray the exposed roadside with cement
C) remove slide-prone rock
D) step the slope back
E) All of the answers are correct.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 57Q 57
If, over a period of time, your home develops doors that stick, cracked walls, broken pipes, and cracked driveways, ____ may be occurring.
A) frost wedging
B) translation gliding
C) a debris flow
D) soil creep
E) sublimation
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 58Q 58
Heavy irrigation on a hillslope will cause __.
A) increase in pore-fluid pressure
B) increase in weight of the slope
C) decrease in shear strength
D) increase in shear force/stress
E) All of the answers are correct.
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 59Q 59
As a result of the landslide at the Vaiont Dam, northern Italy, in 1963, approximately 3000 people died __.
A) as their houses that had been built on the landslide were destroyed
B) as their houses were buried by the landslide
C) when the landslide impacted and destroyed the dam structure
D) when slope failure allowed the dam structure to be pushed downstream by the water pressure of the reservoir
E) as a huge wave of water was displaced from the reservoir by the landslide
Free
Multiple Choice
Q 60Q 60
A(n) _____ is a general term that tells nothing about the processes involved.
A) avalanches
B) rockfalls
C) landslide
D) creep
E) solifluction
Free
Multiple Choice