Trivia Extra > Geology Quizzes

Welcome to our Geology Quizzes


Geology Quiz I

  1. Name the three main classes of rock?
  2. What's the name of the scale of mineral hardness commonly used by geologists?
  3. Which soft brown combustible sedimentary rock is often referred to as brown coal?


  4. Which geologic period comes between the Carboniferous and Triassic Periods?
  5. Which mineral is also known as fool's gold?
  6. True or false. A stalagmite is a type of formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves?
  7. Galena is the most important ore of which metal?
  8. In geology, if conglomerates are mostly composed of rounded gravel, what are composed of dominantly angular gravel?
  9. Name the continental fault that extends nearly a thousand miles through California?
  10. Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into which type of rock?
  11. What is the name given to the scientific study of earthquakes?
  12. Which geological period, often dubbed the 'Age of Fish', is named after an English county?
  13. Cheddar Gorge in Somerset was formed by the erosion of which rock material?
  14. Selenology refers to the geology of where?
  15. How old is our planet: (a)4.6 billion years, (b)2.6 billion years, or (c)0.6 billion years?

Answers:

  1. Sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous
  2. Mohs scale
  3. Lignite
  4. Permian
  5. Pyrites, or iron pyrites
  6. False. It's a stalactite.



  7. Lead
  8. Breccias
  9. The San Andreas Fault
  10. Granite
  11. Seismology
  12. Devonian
  13. Limestone
  14. The moon
  15. 4.6 billion years



Geology Trivia II

  1. Which geological period was named after a Welsh Celtic tribe?
  2. Some of the best-known fossils with spiral shapes like a ram's horn are called: (a) ammonites, (b) gastropods, or (c) crinoids?

    3. ammonite fossil
    Question 2 - Can you name the fossil?

  3. Which word, derived from the Ancient Greek for 'mountain' and 'creation', is the main means by which mountains are built on continents?
  4. Which fossilized tree resin is commonly used in jewelry?
  5. Which ore is the main source of aluminium?
  6. Ninety percent of Europe's natural roofing slate comes from which European country?
  7. What colour are emeralds?
  8. Uluru, or Ayers Rock, is a massive Australian monolith composed of which type of rock?
  9. Sapphires are rubies are actually both the same mineral, can you name this mineral?
  10. What term do geologists use to refer to metamorphosed limestone?
  11. The White Cliffs of Dover are composed of white chalk accented by black streaks; what material are these black streaks composed of?
  12. In which of the three major types of rock are fossils most commonly found in?
  13. What name is given to the sedimentary rock that is a fine-grained, flaky, dark-coloured compressed mudstone?
  14. Starting with the lettter 's' what name is given to broken accumulated rock fragments at the base of mountain cliffs and volcanoes?
  15. Stonewashed jeans are usually accomplished by washing them in a rotating drum with which light coloured volcanic rock?

Answers:

  1. Silurian (named after the Silures)
  2. Ammonites
  3. Orogeny
  4. Amber
  5. Bauxite
  6. Spain
  7. Green
  8. Sandstone





  9. Corundum
  10. Marble
  11. Flint
  12. Sedimentary rocks
  13. Shale
  14. Scree
  15. Pumice




For your reference we've included the Mohs scale of hardness. This is a scale of hardness for natural materials that geologists find useful which is based on the ability of one mineral to scratch another. Typical quiz questions include 'which mineral has a scale of hardness of 10 on Mohs Scale' (the answer is diamond).

Mohs Scale of Hardness

  1. TALC
  2. GYPSUM
  3. CALCITE
  4. FLOURITE
  5. APATITE
  6. FELDSPAR
  7. QUARTZ
  8. TOPAZ
  9. CORUNDUM
  10. DIAMOND


See Also

> Geography Quizzes