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Geography: Senior High School: 11th and 12th Grade Quiz - Limestone and Chalk Features (Questions)

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In senior high school, Geography students will look at the some of the different types of rock, and how to classify them. This quiz looks at some of the uses of limestone and chalk and also some limestone and chalk features found in the landscape, such as caves or cliffs.

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The features of every landscape are shaped by its underlying geology. The Yorkshire Dales, the Chalk Downs and the White Cliffs of Dover - each of these is a famous British landscape that is entirely shaped by an underlying geology of chalk or limestone.

Limestone is composed of the skeletal remains of marine creatures that died millions of years ago. The bodies of dead corals, molluscs and other animals have built up on the sea floor over time into layers that can be hundreds of meters deep. Sometimes entire reefs can be preserved as a window into the past.

Limestone has a variety of uses - it’s the raw material in cement, mortar, concrete, quicklime and slaked lime. It's also an ingredient in glass making and is added to bread, toothpaste, plastics, paint, tiles, medicines and cosmetics. On top of that it is used as a means of neutralizing acids in water and soils and as a control for pollution. Even the humble tortoise, as well as some other animals, may be fed limestone as a calcium supplement!

For all its versatility, probably the most visible use of limestone is as a building material. Some of its features - its pure white color and the flashes of light as the crystals present in some limestone catch the Sun - have made it a prized building material. Cathedrals, civic buildings and even the Great Pyramid of Giza are all built from limestone. However, limestone is easily attacked by acid rain, meaning that as pollution levels rise these buildings have been subjected to greater levels of erosion.

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What is the chemical composition of limestone?

[ ]	Calcium oxide CaCO
[ ]	Silica dioxide SiO₂
[ ]	Calcium carbonate CaCO₃
[ ]	Dihydro monoxide H₂O

Which of the following is an example of limestone?

[ ]	Kentish ragstone
[ ]	Cheshire sandstone
[ ]	Shap granite
[ ]	Italian marble

Why do underground rivers commonly form in limestone regions?

[ ]	There are natural caverns in the limestone when it forms
[ ]	Limestone can be dissolved by acid water, allowing it to flow down and through fissures and cracks
[ ]	As the rocks swirl they create pot holes which widen to form caverns
[ ]	Because limestone is one of the oldest types of rock, water has had millions of years to work its way through it

Stalactites are composed of layers of calcium carbonate. Why are stalactites more common in limestone regions?

[ ]	The water is alkaline and so doesn't dissolve the limestone
[ ]	Limestone regions are the only place that contain caves. Caves have the damp atmosphere that is crucial for stalactite formation
[ ]	As the water runs through the limestone it picks up imperfections such as sand and deposits these in the form of limestone
[ ]	As water runs through limestone it dissolves the limestone and deposits this as it drips off the roof of caves in the limestone

The White Cliffs of Dover are a chalk landscape. Why are these cliffs straight and relatively slow to erode rather than sloped and rapidly eroding?

[ ]	They are a soft rock, which means their base is rapidly eroded and collapses
[ ]	They are a hard rock, so the main way they are eroded is by wave action undercutting them until their unsupported weight collapses
[ ]	The bedding plains in the cliff are vertical, making it easy to collapse in vertical sections
[ ]	The calcium carbonate is easily eroded and so the water washes the rock away. Rain and wave spray remove the cliffs rapidly

Fossils are frequently found in limestone. What sort of rock is limestone?

[ ]	Sedimentary
[ ]	Metamorphic
[ ]	Igneous
[ ]	Basic

Marble has the same chemical composition as limestone but is a different type of rock. Which type of rock is marble?

[ ]	Sedimentary
[ ]	Metamorphic
[ ]	Igneous
[ ]	Basic

Limestone is frequently quarried for a variety of uses, often in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. Which of the following is a disadvantage of quarrying?

[ ]	Jobs are created for the local population
[ ]	The raw material limestone is available for a variety of uses
[ ]	Quarries cause an increase in traffic on often rural roads
[ ]	The former quarries are often used as nature reserves and sports facilities

Why are limestone products sometimes added to soil?

[ ]	As a plant food
[ ]	To help increase the drainage
[ ]	To prevent attack by snails and slugs
[ ]	To neutralize or increase the pH

10.

Since limestone is mostly composed of the remains of marine organisms, what does that tell us about the landscape these rocks were originally formed in?

[ ]	The limestone formed underwater before geological pressures and sea level change brought it up to form dry land
[ ]	The marine creatures were brought up on to land by some geological action and then formed the limestone layers
[ ]	Originally the landscape must have been warm and dry to prevent the rain washing away the remains of these creatures
[ ]	The rock hasn't moved very far since the layers of limestone formed these rocks

Geography: Senior High School: 11th and 12th Grade Quiz - Limestone and Chalk Features (Answers)

What is the chemical composition of limestone?

[ ]	Calcium oxide CaCO
[ ]	Silica dioxide SiO₂
[x]	Calcium carbonate CaCO₃
[ ]	Dihydro monoxide H₂O

Limestone is calcium carbonate. This key part of concrete, glass making and other products is the same stuff that you study in science

Which of the following is an example of limestone?

[x]	Kentish ragstone
[ ]	Cheshire sandstone
[ ]	Shap granite
[ ]	Italian marble

This sort of question may crop up in the exam. Whilst you're not expected to know that Kentish ragstone is a type of limestone you are expected to know that sandstone, granite and marble are not limestone, even though marble and limestone share the same chemical formula

Why do underground rivers commonly form in limestone regions?

[ ]	There are natural caverns in the limestone when it forms
[x]	Limestone can be dissolved by acid water, allowing it to flow down and through fissures and cracks
[ ]	As the rocks swirl they create pot holes which widen to form caverns
[ ]	Because limestone is one of the oldest types of rock, water has had millions of years to work its way through it

Limestone is relatively easily dissolved, especially by water with a low pH. This is why acid rain is so damaging to limestone statues and buildings

Stalactites are composed of layers of calcium carbonate. Why are stalactites more common in limestone regions?

[ ]	The water is alkaline and so doesn't dissolve the limestone
[ ]	Limestone regions are the only place that contain caves. Caves have the damp atmosphere that is crucial for stalactite formation
[ ]	As the water runs through the limestone it picks up imperfections such as sand and deposits these in the form of limestone
[x]	As water runs through limestone it dissolves the limestone and deposits this as it drips off the roof of caves in the limestone

Stalactites are layers of dissolved limestone, or other types of calcium carbonate. As the water runs down the formation it leaves behind some of that dissolved limestone

The White Cliffs of Dover are a chalk landscape. Why are these cliffs straight and relatively slow to erode rather than sloped and rapidly eroding?

[ ]	They are a soft rock, which means their base is rapidly eroded and collapses
[x]	They are a hard rock, so the main way they are eroded is by wave action undercutting them until their unsupported weight collapses
[ ]	The bedding plains in the cliff are vertical, making it easy to collapse in vertical sections
[ ]	The calcium carbonate is easily eroded and so the water washes the rock away. Rain and wave spray remove the cliffs rapidly

Chalk is a hard rock, meaning that it resists erosion. The powerful action of the waves at the bottom of the cliff will be the main source of erosion, causing the cliffs to have a steep straight profile. Remember that soft cliffs will have a lower profile

Fossils are frequently found in limestone. What sort of rock is limestone?

[x]	Sedimentary
[ ]	Metamorphic
[ ]	Igneous
[ ]	Basic

Fossils are the remains of formerly living creatures, but the heat and pressure of metamorphic and igneous processes destroy them. Remember that fossils are found in sedimentary rocks as this is a frequent exam question

Marble has the same chemical composition as limestone but is a different type of rock. Which type of rock is marble?

[ ]	Sedimentary
[x]	Metamorphic
[ ]	Igneous
[ ]	Basic

Marble is created after limestone has been subjected to heat and pressure

Limestone is frequently quarried for a variety of uses, often in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. Which of the following is a disadvantage of quarrying?

[ ]	Jobs are created for the local population
[ ]	The raw material limestone is available for a variety of uses
[x]	Quarries cause an increase in traffic on often rural roads
[ ]	The former quarries are often used as nature reserves and sports facilities

Quarries will often lead to an increase in noise and air pollution in rural areas - often in national parks and areas of outstanding natrual beauty. The other three options were all advantages rather than disadvantages

Why are limestone products sometimes added to soil?

[ ]	As a plant food
[ ]	To help increase the drainage
[ ]	To prevent attack by snails and slugs
[x]	To neutralize or increase the pH

Powdered limestone is often used to neutralize acids in the soil or water. This can be because the soil is naturally acidic, or acidic due to pollution

10.

Since limestone is mostly composed of the remains of marine organisms, what does that tell us about the landscape these rocks were originally formed in?

[x]	The limestone formed underwater before geological pressures and sea level change brought it up to form dry land
[ ]	The marine creatures were brought up on to land by some geological action and then formed the limestone layers
[ ]	Originally the landscape must have been warm and dry to prevent the rain washing away the remains of these creatures
[ ]	The rock hasn't moved very far since the layers of limestone formed these rocks

Limestone reefs often contain the remains of full heads of coral and other marine creatures. Over millions of years the land has been uplifted out of the sea