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Sample CA CEG Practice Questions
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1Under the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, a fault is considered 'active' if it has experienced surface displacement within which timeframe?
A.The last 100 years of recorded history
B.The Pleistocene epoch (last 2.6 million years)
C.The Holocene epoch (approximately the last 11,000 years)
D.The last 500,000 years
Explanation: The Alquist-Priolo Act defines an active fault as one that has ruptured the ground surface within Holocene time, roughly the last 11,000 years. This definition was established by the California Geological Survey and governs which faults trigger regulatory fault zones.
2What event most directly prompted the California Legislature to pass the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act in 1972?
A.The 1906 San Francisco earthquake
B.The 1971 San Fernando (Sylmar) earthquake
C.The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
D.The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake
Explanation: The 1971 San Fernando earthquake (M6.6) produced extensive surface fault rupture that destroyed structures built directly across the trace, motivating the 1972 Alquist-Priolo Act. The Act's primary goal is to prevent construction of habitable structures astride active fault traces.
3The standard structural setback distance from an active fault trace generally applied under the Alquist-Priolo Act, absent site-specific data, is approximately:
A.10 feet
B.200 feet
C.500 feet
D.50 feet
Explanation: In the absence of more detailed fault-location data, a setback of approximately 50 feet from a well-defined active fault trace is the generally applied minimum for structures for human occupancy. Site-specific investigation may justify a different distance.
4The Seismic Hazards Mapping Act of 1990 was enacted primarily in response to which earthquake?
A.The 1971 San Fernando earthquake
B.The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
C.The 1994 Northridge earthquake
D.The 1933 Long Beach earthquake
Explanation: The Seismic Hazards Mapping Act was passed in 1990 following the 1989 Loma Prieta (M6.9) earthquake, which caused widespread liquefaction and ground-failure damage. The Act addresses non-surface-rupture hazards such as liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslides.
5Which two ground-failure hazards are the primary focus of the California Seismic Hazards Mapping Act's Zones of Required Investigation?
A.Surface fault rupture and tsunami inundation
B.Liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslides
C.Volcanic ashfall and subsidence
D.Expansive soils and karst collapse
Explanation: The Seismic Hazards Mapping Act directs the California Geological Survey to map zones where liquefaction and earthquake-induced (seismically triggered) landslides are likely. Within these Zones of Required Investigation, site-specific geotechnical study is required before development.
6The San Andreas Fault represents the boundary between which two tectonic plates?
A.The Juan de Fuca Plate and the North American Plate
B.The Pacific Plate and the Cocos Plate
C.The Pacific Plate and the North American Plate
D.The Farallon Plate and the Pacific Plate
Explanation: The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform boundary separating the Pacific Plate (west) from the North American Plate (east). The Pacific Plate moves northwest relative to North America, producing right-lateral strike-slip motion.
7The predominant sense of slip along the San Andreas Fault is:
A.Left-lateral strike-slip
B.Right-lateral strike-slip
C.Normal (dip-slip)
D.Reverse (thrust)
Explanation: The San Andreas is a right-lateral (dextral) strike-slip fault: an observer on one side sees the opposite block move to the right. This reflects the northwestward motion of the Pacific Plate relative to North America.
8In the Varnes landslide classification, a slump is best described as which type of movement?
A.A translational slide along a planar surface
B.A free-fall of rock from a steep cliff
C.A rotational slide along a concave-upward rupture surface
D.A flow of saturated debris
Explanation: A slump is a rotational slide in which the failure surface is concave-upward and the displaced mass rotates backward toward the slope. Slumps commonly produce a back-tilted bench and a head scarp.
9A translational landslide most characteristically fails along:
A.A concave-upward, spoon-shaped rupture surface
B.A vertical tension crack only
C.A randomly oriented internal shear zone
D.A planar surface of weakness such as a bedding plane, joint, or fault
Explanation: Translational (planar) slides move down and outward along a roughly planar discontinuity such as a bedding plane, joint set, or fault. Because the surface is planar rather than curved, displaced material can travel long distances if the slope is favorably oriented.
10Liquefaction during an earthquake occurs when saturated, loose granular soils:
A.Dry out and crack from ground shaking
B.Become more dense and gain shear strength
C.Experience a rise in pore-water pressure that reduces effective stress to near zero
D.Bond chemically into a solid mass
Explanation: Cyclic earthquake shaking generates excess pore-water pressure in saturated, loose, cohesionless soils. When pore pressure approaches the total overburden stress, effective stress drops to near zero and the soil temporarily behaves like a liquid, losing shear strength.
About the CA CEG Practice Questions
Verified exam format metadata for California Certified Engineering Geologist Examination is pending. The practice questions above remain available while official exam length, timing, passing score, fee, and administrator details are reviewed.