Geoscience Education in the Mountain State: CATS Environmental Geochemistry Telecourse, Spring 2002 Quiz #2 Due date is May 5.

Quiz Instructions:

You may submit your quiz answers using one of the following methods. (Regardless of the method you use, don't forget to include your name. Please keep a copy of your answers; this applies to all methods of submission.)

1. fax to Dr. Bob Behling:

         fax number:       304-293-6522
      

2. regular mail to Dr. Bob Behling postmarked no later than the quiz due date:

            address:  Department of Geology and Geography
                      West Virginia University
                      P.O. Box 6300
                      Morgantown, WV  26506-6300
      

3. electronically:
   Please read and follow the instructions shown below to submit your answers electronically.
   • Compose your answers in a word processor such as WordPerfect or Word.
   • Save a copy of your answers.
   • Click on the quiz e-mail submission address, rbehling@wvu.edu.
   • Cut and paste your answers from your word processor into the body of the e-mail box. You do not need to retype the questions. But, please number the answers to correspond to the question number.
   • Make sure that your e-mail address is clearly visible.
   • Send the e-mail.
   • Dr. Bob Behling will confirm that your submission was successful with a short response.

QUIZ #1 :

1. (+6) In a forest soil in West Virginia, there is a horizon that is gray. What visual evidence do we note that demonstrates that iron has been mobilized, moved out of this horizon, and then stayed in the profile in the B horizon below? (+4) What do you predict about the chemistry of the iron minerals? (+2)

2. (+3) Can clay minerals "grow" in a soil, especially in the B2t horizon, similar to the way other minerals can form in a soil? Explain.

3. (+4) Rocks on the floor of Wright Valley, in Antarctica, are polished by the wind and have a desert varnish coating. The valley is ice-free. On the undersides of the rocks, I find a gray to orangish-gray coating, not thick, but present under all black, fine-grained igneous rocks on the floor of the valley. The coating fizzes when treated with dilute hydrochloric acid (HCl). Explain the origin of the coating and predict the chemistry.

4. (+4) Bauxite is the ore of Aluminum. Why does it take so much energy (electrical) to obtain the metal from its oxide?

5. (+3) What is the chemists notation for Magnetite? How would a geologist write the chemical notation? How did the Magnetite ore form at Cornwall, Pennsylvania?

6. (+5) Where is carbon to be found in sedimentary rocks? (+2) The climate at the end of the Cretaceous was very, very warm. Trapped air in amber has consistently demonstrated a very high percentage of carbon dioxide. Chalk deposits of Cretaceous age are very conspicuous (the White Cliffs of Dover come to mind). They are marine sediments from single-cell life forms. What conclusions do you draw from these three scientific observations? (+3)

NOTE: The third and final quiz will be available on the field trip. It will relate to the field trip. There will be an optional quiz for those who do not attend the field trip.

Page last revised: April 19, 2002