California State University, Northridge » Geography » Geol 107: Geology Goes to Holywood » Fall 2019

Geol 107: Geology Goes to Holywood » Fall 2019 » Movie Quiz: Ring of Fire

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Question #1

What is the expected impact of a major earthquake on a modern city like Seattle?

A. Significant. Brick buildings and freeways could collapse. In Japan's modern city of Kobe, thousands of people died in the 1990's from a relatively moderate earthquake.

B. Moderate. It would be very disruptive but is not likely to cause much death or destruction

C. Minimal. Modern construction practices are largely earthquake resistant

Question #2

Review question: At around 5 minutes in to the Ring of Fire movie, the scientists says, "Since these are explosive volcanic eruptions, they're eruptions of volcanoes that are part of the Ring of Fire." Explosive eruptions are what we called "BOOM" volcanoes. Why do you think that knowing that they are explosive tells you that the volcanoes likely came from the Ring of Fire?

A. The Ring of Fire surrounds the biggest ocean on the planet

B. Most of Earth's hot spots are within the Ring of Fire

C. Most of Earth's subduction zones are around the Ring of Fire

Question #3

In Ring of Fire, the narrator claims that an ice core works like a 'time machine.' How does it do that?

A. The texture of the ice depends on the temperature at the time the ice forms.

B. The thickness of each layer of ice tells you about the amount of snow accumulated

C. The chemical composition changes from layer to layer to tell you about what was in the atmosphere in the past.

D. The ice is so cold that the molecules move slowly and preserve events from long ago.

Question #4

According to the Ring of Fire movie, what clue did scientists look for in ice cores to find evidence of volcanic eruptions?

A. Microscopic cracks in the layers indicating tectonic activity

B. The concentration of sulfuric acid in each layer

C. The ice temperature in each layer

D. Thin layers of ash trapped between layers of ice

Question #5

What fraction of the world's volcanoes are located along the coast?

A. More than 95%

B. Around half

C. Nearly 10%

D. About Two-thirds

Question #6

According to the strainmeter measurements in the Pacific-Northwest, Herb Dragert discovered that the earth builds up strain over 14-15 months and then

A. it will keep building up strain for another 3,000 years

B. there is an increase in volcanic activity

C. A megathrust earthquake occurs (rapid slip)

D. it slowly releases the strain over two weeks (slow slip)

Question #7

What caused the tsunami of 1700 in Japan?

A. An earthquake off the coast of Japan

B. A volcanic eruption in the Pacific

C. An earthquake in Alaska

D. An earthquake in the Pacific-Northwest of the US

E. An underwater landslide off the coast of China

Question #8

In the Ring of Fire movie, what do the big white trucks do in Tokyo?

A. Evacuate people during a disaster

B. Create seismic waves that travel through the crust

C. Fall in a crack that opens up during an earthquake

D. Provide water to spray on an approaching lava flow

Question #9

When the earthquake model at the lab in Minnesota makes its second appearance in the movie, they show the graduate student turning a crank. What does the crank represent?

A. the circular motion of S-waves during an earthquake

B. the reloading of stress due to the movement of plates

C. the release of stress due to an earthquake

D. the passage of time between megathrust earthquakes

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