1. How do porosity and permeability differ? Give examples of substances with high porosity but low permeability. 2. What is a water table, and what factors affect its level? What factors affect the flow direction of the water below the water table?

1. What is the difference between refraction and reflection of seismic waves? 2. What observation led to the discovery of the Moho? 3. Why do seismic waves bend in the mantle? 3. What are seismic-velocity discontinuities, and what do they tell us?

1. How did the atmosphere change during the first 2 billion years of Earth history? When did most continental crust form? 2. Did supercontinents exist in the Proterozoic? 3. How did the Cambrian explosion of life change the nature of the living world?

1. What is a tsunami, and why does it form? 2. Explain how sediment liquefaction occurs in an earthquake and how it can cause damage. 3. What types of structures are most prone to collapse in an earthquake? What types are most resistant to collapse?

Mt. Fuji is a 3.6-km-high stratovolcano in Japan formed as a consequence of subduction. Find it using Google Earth at Latitude 3521_46.72_ N, Longitude 13843_49.38_ E. Why do andesites erupt here? Very little andesite occurs on the Mariana Islands. Why?

1. Is groundwater a renewable or a nonrenewable resource? Explain your answer. 2. What are some sources of groundwater contamination? How can it be prevented? 3. Describe the process leading to the formation of caves and the speleothems within caves.

1. Why are transform plate boundaries required on an Earth with spreading and subducting plate boundaries? 2. What is a triple junction? 3. Describe the characteristics of a continental rift and give examples of where this process is occurring today.

1. What changes do rocks undergo during formation of a mountain belt? 2. Contrast brittle and plastic deformation. 3. What factors determine whether a rock will behave in brittle or plastic fashion? 4. Discuss the differences between stress and strain.

1. What do geologists date to determine when the Earth formed? 2. Why are there no whole rocks on the Earth that yield isotopic dates older than about 4 billion years? 3. Describe the formation of the crust, atmosphere, and oceans during the Hadean Eon.

1. Where do uranium deposits form in the Earths crust? 2. What are some of the drawbacks of nuclear energy? 3. Define geothermal energy, and describe the ways that it can be used. Can geothermal energy be used to generate energy economically everywhere?

Visit http://www.law.cornell.edu. Click on Constitutions and Codes, then Other Uniform Laws. Select a state. Then click on Judicial Opinions. Search for a case concerning quasi-contract. What are the details of the quasi-contract dispute? Who won and why?

1. What phenomena may be involved in transforming a protolith into metamorphic rock? 2. How does slate differ from phyllite? How does phyllite differ from schist? How does schist differ from gneiss? 3. What conditions lead to the formation of a migmatite?

1. What evidence did Louis Agassiz offer to support the idea that an ice age happened? 2. Describe the transformation from snow to glacial ice. 3. Describe the mechanisms that enable glaciers to move, and explain why glaciers move. Why do crevasses form?

1. Why do some volcanic eruptions consist mostly of lava flows, whereas others are explosive and do not produce lava flows? 2. Distinguish among different types of explosive eruptions. 3. Describe the activity in the mantle that leads to hot-spot eruptions.

You are working for an international nongovernmental organization and have been charged with the task of providing recommendations to an African nation that wishes to slow or halt the process of desertification within its borders. What are your recommendations?

1. How fast do glaciers normally move? How fast can they move during a surge? 2. Explain how the balance between ablation and accumulation controls advances and retreats. 3. How can a glacier continue to flow toward its toe even though its toe is retreating?

1. What is the oil window, and what happens to oil at temperatures higher than the oil window? 2. Explain how a conventional oil or gas reserve forms. 3. Where is most of the worlds oil found? At present rates of consumption, how long will oil supplies last?

1. Where does the salt in the ocean come from? How do the salinity and temperature in the ocean vary? 2. What factors control the direction of surface currents in the ocean? Explain thermohaline circulation. 3. What causes the tides? Why does tidal range vary?

1. Identify the various factors that make the coast of southern California susceptible to mass movements. 2. What factors do geologists take into account when producing a landslide-potential map, and how can they detect the beginning of mass movement in an area?

1. Discuss the processes by which mountain belts form in convergent margins, during collisions, and in continental rifts. 2. Describe the causes of uplift and the concept of isostasy. 3. How are the structures of a craton different from those of an orogenic belt?