Name: 
 

Glaciers and Mass Movements Short Study Guide



Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

1. 

Which of the following statements is NOT true about the factors affecting mass movement?
a.
Sudden mass movements are usually started by triggers such as earthquakes.
b.
After a heavy rain, sediment moves along with the water.
c.
A small amount of water may make the slope more stable.
d.
An important force that determines a material’s resistance to downhill movement is friction.
 

2. 

Which of the following statements is true about wind transport?
a.
Wind, like water, can only move materials downhill.
b.
Wind and water have the same relative ability to erode materials.
c.
Wind transport and erosion primarily occur in areas with little vegetative cover.
d.
Generally, wind can carry particles as large as those transported by moving water.
 

3. 

Which of the following statements is NOT true about valley glaciers?
a.
Flow rates are the same within the various portions of the glacier.
b.
The speed of the glacier is affected by the slope of the valley floor.
c.
They widen V-shaped stream valleys in U-shaped glacial valleys.
d.
Movement is usually less than a few millimeters a day.
 

4. 

Which of the following is NOT an indication that creep has occurred?
a.
Parallel grooves form in bedrock.
c.
Trees become bent.
b.
Vertical structures become tilted.
d.
Underground pipelines break.
 

5. 

Slumps are common after a rainfall because the water ____.
a.
reduces friction between soil grains
c.
causes snow to melt
b.
breaks the underlying rock
d.
washes away the vegetation cover
 

6. 

Which of the following causes deflation?
a.
glacial erosion
c.
wind deposition
b.
deposition by meltwaters
d.
wind erosion
 

7. 

Glaciers covered 30 percent of the earth during the last ice age that began about ____.
a.
10 000 years ago
c.
2000 years ago
b.
1.6 million years ago
d.
50 million years ago
 

8. 

Which of the following is NOT true about glaciers?
a.
Glaciers can form along the equator.
c.
Only valley glaciers flow.
b.
Glaciers carve U-shaped valleys.
d.
Glaciers produce moraines.
 

9. 

When two cirques on opposite sides of a valley meet, they form a(n) ____.
a.
arête
c.
moraine
b.
drumlin
d.
avalanche
 

10. 

A landslide that occurs on steep slopes in mountainous area is called a(n) ____.
a.
rockslide
c.
avalanche
b.
slump
d.
mudflow
 

Matching
 
 
Match each item with the correct description below.
a.
slump
d.
mudflow
b.
creep
e.
landslide
c.
water
 

11. 

The slow, steady, downhill flow of loose, weathered earth materials
 

12. 

Swiftly moving mixture of mud and water that causes many deaths
 

13. 

A rapid, downslope slide of earth materials
 

14. 

A landslide in which the material rotates and slides along a curved surface
 

15. 

This acts as a lubricant between grains of soils and sediments
 

Short Answer
 

16. 

Explain the importance of gravity in all mass movements.
 

17. 

Compare and contrast the conditions that produce a valley glacier with those that produce continental glaciers.
 

18. 

Name and describe the four main classifications of mass movements.
 

19. 

What are eskers and how do they form?
 

20. 

Explain how and where valley glaciers form. Why do they move?
 

21. 

Explain how water can both limit and increase a material’s potential for movement on a slope.
 

22. 

Compare and contrast erosion by wind and by glaciers.
 

23. 

Identify the landforms shown in the diagrams below. Then compare and contrast them.

glaciers_short_files/i0270000.jpgglaciers_short_files/i0270001.jpg
 

24. 

A family has decided to build their dream house on a dune on the shore of Lake Michigan. Their plans call for the natural vegetation to be dug up and construction begun. What are some possible consequences of their actions? What would you do differently to minimize these consequences?
 

25. 

“People impact mass movement just as mass movement impacts people.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain your answer.
 

Problem
 
 
Glaciers are similar to great rivers of ice. Glaciers certainly move slower, but they experience changes in flow rate much like rivers do. In order to determine a glacier’s flow rate, measurements are taken by a variety of methods. Some include the measurement of the movement of stakes placed in the ice, while other methods might include the observation of crevasses in the ice.

The table below contains measurements taken over 5 years. Two measurements were taken each year, one in April and the other in October. Measurements 1–3 are from the top of the glacier. Measurements 4–6 are from the bottom of the glacier. The numbers, in millimeters, represent the movement since the last measurement. Positive numbers mean the glacier is advancing. Negative numbers mean the glacier is retreating.

glaciers_short_files/i0310000.jpg

  
Top of Glacier
Bottom of Glacier
  
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
Point 4
Point 5
Point 6
Year 1
April
141
164
139
132
147
130
October
–8
–22
–7
–12
–18
–13
Year 2
April
163
173
162
139
156
138
October
8
11
7
3
5
2
Year 3
April
–2
–3
–1
–14
–15
–15
October
–34
–46
–31
–55
–59
–54
Year 4
April
0
–5
–1
–3
–6
–3
October
–14
–19
–13
–32
–49
–31
Year 5
April
80
106
78
68
92
68
October
2
7
3
1
4
1
 

26. 

What general statement can you make about the movement of the top of the glacier relative to that at the bottom of the glacier? Explain why this might happen.
 

27. 

Make a general statement about the movement of the glacier over the 5 years of measurements. Explain your results.
 

28. 

Why might scientists wish to measure and track the movement of a glacier?
 



 
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