Structural Geology MCQs with Answers

1. In an undulated topography, a set of uniformly inclined beds show ‘V’-shaped outcrop

pattern with apex pointing downstream in a valley. This indicates:

A. The dip of the beds is more than the slope of the valley
B. The dip of the beds is less than the slope of the valley
C. The beds are vertical
D. The beds are horizontal

2. On a toposheet of 1:50.000 scale, the distance between upper and lower traces of a bed
is 5 cm. The actual distance on ground in kilometers is:

A. 2
B. 2.5
C. 4
D. 5

3. On a flat topography the outcrop width of a bed is 30 m. If the true dip of the bed is
30°, the actual thickness of the bed in meters is?

A. 30
B. 15
C. 45
D. 10

4. An ore body is dipping 30° towards west on a flat topography. At what distance (in
meters) should a borehole be placed so that it intersects the ore body perpendicularly at a
vertical depth of 70 meters?

A. 16.61
B. 161.63
C. 1.63
D. 1616.3

5. The lithostatic pressure in Mega Pascal (MPa) at a depth of 10 km in a granite

batholith having density 2700 kg/m3 is (Acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/s2);

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 1

 A. 26.45
B. 264.5
C. 2.64
D. 2645

6. In an oblique slip fault having 30° dip, the net slip is 10 meters at an angle of 45° to the
strike of the fault plane. The dip slip component of the fault in meters is: (Answer to be
given up to 2 decimal places).

A. 7.00
B. 7.07
c. 7.17
D. 7.70

7. If on a geological map, contour lines run parallel to contact lines, the beds are:

A. Horizontal
B. Vertical
C. Inclined
D. Any of the above

8. A thrust fault is:

A. a normal fault with fault plane at < 45 degree

B. A normal fault with fault plane at. > 45 degree
C. A reverse fault with fault plane at < 45 degree
D. A reverse fault with fault plane at > 45 degree

9. Which of the following type of fold is associated with migmatite?

A. Reclind
B. Suprataneous
C. Ptygmatic
D. Piercing

10. The angle between any line and its horizontal projection measured in a vertical plane
is the ……. of the line.

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 2

 A. Pitch
B. Plunge
C. Dip
D. Dip and Strike

11. Maximum dip of a plane can be obtained on a line that is at ………… angle with
strike of the bed.

A. 25°
B. 45°
C. 90°
D. 65°

12. How many components are generally required to define stress system at a point
within a three-dimensional solid body?

A. Four
B. Nine
C. Three
D. Two

13. If fold axis of a fold assumes near perpendicular relationship with axial trace of the
fold, then the fold is interpreted as a :-

A. Vertical fold
B. Recumbent fold
C. Reclined fold
D. Horizontal fold

14. What kind of fold will show parallelism between axial trace and fold axis in map?

A. Neutral fold
B. Horizontal fold
C. Reclined fold
D. None of the above

15. One can expect high angle relationship between bedding and cleavage in:

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 3

 A Fold limb
B. Any part of a fold
C. Only when the fold is overturned
D. Fold hinge

16. Bedding fault is a special type of:

A. Strike fault
B. Strike-slip fault
C. Oblique slip fault
D. Dip-slip fault

17. A discontinuous cleavage formed by micro folding of an existing cleavage/schistosity

is called:

A. Disjunctive cleavage
B. Slaty cleavage
C. Crenulation cleavage
D. Transected cleavage

18. Transform fault is a:

A. Strike-slip fault
B. Normal fault
C. Reverse fault
D. Thrust fault

19. If the strike of the inclined bed is N15°E, the dip direction can be:

A. S750 W
B. N75º E
C. S75º E
D. S15º W

20. Parallel fold is one in which:

A. The orthogonal thickness is same all around the fold.

B. The thickness is same parallel to the axial plane of the fold.

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 4

 c. The outer and inner arc have same curvature.
D. The dip isogons are parallel to each other.

21. The type unconformity in which older and younger formation remain:

A. Non-conformity
B. Disconformity
C. Angular unconformity
D. Local unconformity

22. The tightness of a fold should be estimated in sections:

A. Parallel to both the fold axis and the axial plane

B. Parallel to fold axis and perpendicular to the axial plane
C. Perpendicular to the profile plane of the fold
D. Perpendicular to the fold axis

23. Identify the primary structure:

A Bedding plane
B. Cleavage plane
C. Fault plane
D. Joint plane

24. Younger beds will always be found in the:

A. Opposite direction of the dip

B. Direction of dip
C. Direction of strike line
D. Inclined direction of dip and strike

35. Which fold has two hinges?

A. Fan fold
B. Chevron fold
C. Isoclinal fold
D. Box fold

26. If a fault plane is inclined with an angle of 35°, then the hade will be:

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 5

 A. 145°
B. 125°
C. 55°
D. 45°

27. The horizontal distance between two consecutive contours is:

A. Horizontal equivalent
B. Horizontal interval
C. Plane ground
D. Vertical surface

28. The distance between any two joints may be described as:

A. Slip cleavage
B. Crenulation cleavage
C. Fracture cleavage
D. Bedding cleavage

29. A contour line intersect a ridge or a valley line:

A. Perpendiculary
B. Parallely
C. Vertically
D. Obliquily

30. If hanging wall is moved down, then the fault is:

A. Normal
B. Reverse
C. Strike-slip
D. Indeterminate

31. The Great Boundary Fault occur in the region of:

A. Alwar
B. Chittorgarh
C. Jaipur
D. Haridwar

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 6

32. The fold in which the axes plunging direction shows the dip of the axial surface is
termed as:

A. Normal fold
B. Reclined fold
C. Concentric fold
D. Drag fold

33. When the minimum principal stress is vertical, the resulting fault is?

A. Strike-slip fault
B. Oblique slip fault
C. Normal fault
D. Reverse fault

34. The R.F. of a geological map prepared on a scale of 2 cm = 1 km is:

A. 1:50000
B. 1:5000
C. 1:500
D. 1:100000

35. Hade of the vertical fault will be:

A. 90 degree
B. 45 degree
C. 0 degree
D. 40 degree

36. The point which separates a convex and concave segment of a fold is called:

A. Median point
B. Inflection point
C. Hinge point
D. Crest point

37. The thrust fault will be generated when _________ (where σ1 is max. stress):

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 7

 A. σ1 and σ2 are horizontal
B. σ and σ3 are horizontal
C. σ2 and σ3 are horizontal
D. None of the above

38. For obtaining true dip of the bed the minimum number of apparent dip data required
is:

A. one
B. two
C. three
D. None of the above

39. A synformal anticline will have:

A. upward arching beds having older rocks in core

B. downward arching beds having older rocks in core
C. upward arching beds having younger rocks in core
D. downward arching beds having younger rocks in core

40. According to the Anderson theory of faulting, the principal stress should be
horizontal?

A. Strike-slip faulting
B. Normal faulting
C. Reverse faulting
D. Wrench faulting

41. The angle between the bonds joining the hydrothermal nuclei to the centre of the
oxygen atom in water molecules is:

A. 90 degree
B. 96 degree
C. 105 degree
D. 115 degree

42. If the folds plunge, the strike on the cleavage is:

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 8

 A. Parallel to the strike on the bedding
B. Diagonal to the strike of the bedding
C. Perpendicular to the strike of the bedding
D. Relation is uncertain

43. Slickenside are defined as:

A. Foliation
B. Bedding
C. Lineation
D. Fault Plane

44. A fault in which the displacement of limbs take place at a right angle to the surface of
discontinuity (like dykes) are known as:

A. Trench fault
B. Lag fault
C. Gaping fault
D. Drag fault

45. The columnar structures bounded by long cylindrical surface are called:

A. Boudinage
B. Bedding
C. Mullions
D. Cylinders

46. Two sets of joins nearly at right angle to one another, produce by the same stress
system, are called

A. Joint system
B. Joint set
C. Conjugate system
D. Master joint

47. A strike fault separating two lithospheric plates is generally known as:

A. Slip fault
B. Transform fault

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 9

 C. Wrench fault
D. Enechelon fault

48. An erosional surface separates sedimentary strata dipping 60 degree towards N 80

degree E from its overlying strata dipping 5 degree towards N 45 degree E, the structure
is called:

A. Disconformity
B. Nonconformity
C. Paraconformity
D. Angular unconformity

49. A discontinuous cleavage formed by microfolding of an existing cleavage/schistosity

is called

A. Disjunctive cleavage
B. Slaty cleavage
C. Crenulation cleavage
D. Transacted cleavage

50. According to the Anderson’s theory of faulting, the earth’s surface is assumed as a
plane of:

A. Principal strain
B. Principal stress
C. Maximum Shear stress
D. Maximum Shear strain

Answers
1 A 2 B 3 B 4 B 5 B 6 B 7 B 8 C 9 C 10 B

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 10

11 B 12 B 13 C 14 B 15 D 16 A 17 C 18 A 19 C 20 A
21 D 22 C 23 A 24 B 25 D 26 C 27 D 28 C 29 B 30 A
31 B 32 B 33 D 34 A 35 C 36 B 37 A 38 B 39 B 40 C
41 C 42 A 43 D 44 A 45 C 46 C 47 A 48 D 49 C 50 B

Answers are given at the bottom. Page 11