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Cantabria PAU Geology and Environmental Sciences Exam — Geología y Ciencias Ambientales 2º Bachillerato UNICAN 2026 practice questions are available now; exam metadata is being verified.
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2026 Statistics
Key Facts: PAU Geología y Ciencias Ambientales (Cantabria) Exam
UNICAN 2026
University of Cantabria PAU Organising Commission authority
Universidad de Cantabria (UNICAN)
90 Mins
Official examination duration
UNICAN PAU Regulations
Min 4.0
Minimum Access Phase score required to calculate university admission mark
Cantabria University Admission Regulations
5 Blocks
Internal Geodynamics, External Geodynamics, Earth Materials, Environmental Systems, Hazards & Sustainability
LOMLOE 2º Bachillerato Syllabus
100
Practice questions available in this OpenExamPrep bank
OpenExamPrep
The Cantabria PAU Geology and Environmental Sciences exam evaluates core geological literacy, Earth systems science, and environmental sustainability competencies for 2º Bachillerato students. This English-language MCQ bank is a study adaptation of the knowledge behind the official written exam, not a format simulation.
Sample PAU Geología y Ciencias Ambientales (Cantabria) Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to test your PAU Geología y Ciencias Ambientales (Cantabria) exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1What behavior characterizes P (primary or longitudinal) seismic waves as they travel through Earth’s interior?
A.They propagate through both solids and liquids, compressing and dilating material in the travel direction.
B.They travel only through solids and their speed drops to zero on entering the outer core.
C.They are shear waves vibrating perpendicular to travel direction and are the slowest waves.
D.They are exclusively surface waves causing the greatest structural damage in earthquakes.
Explanation: P waves are compressional (longitudinal) waves that can travel through solids and liquids via periodic volume/density changes, arriving first at seismographs.
2In the dynamic model of Earth’s interior, how is the lithosphere defined relative to the asthenosphere?
A.The lithosphere is a purely metallic Fe–Ni layer, while the asthenosphere is anhydrous silicates.
B.The lithosphere comprises crust plus part of the upper mantle with rigid, brittle behavior, floating on a ductile, deformable asthenosphere.
C.The lithosphere is only emergent continental crust, while the asthenosphere is all subducted oceanic lithosphere.
D.The lithosphere lies from 2900 km depth to Earth’s center, separated by the Gutenberg discontinuity.
Explanation: Dynamically, the lithosphere is the rigid outer shell of crust plus lithospheric upper mantle, resting on the weaker, ductile asthenosphere that enables plate motion.
3Which seismic fact unequivocally shows that Earth’s outer core is liquid?
A.Sudden P-wave acceleration at 35 km depth at the Moho.
B.Total reflection of Rayleigh waves at submarine continental margins.
C.An S-wave shadow zone between about 103° and 142° from the epicenter because S waves cannot travel through liquids.
D.Doubling of P-wave amplitude in the lower mantle due to molten-iron viscosity.
Explanation: S waves are shear waves needing rigidity; they stop at the mantle–core boundary (~2900 km), producing a wide S-wave shadow that proves the outer core is liquid.
4What characterized the Variscan (Hercynian) Orogeny in Iberia’s geological evolution?
A.Recent opening of the Cantabrian Sea in the late Neogene by Iberia separating from Europe.
B.Build-up of Quaternary deltas in the Bay of Biscay after Pleistocene glacial retreat.
C.Formation of extensional grabens creating the Duero and Ebro foreland basins.
D.Late Paleozoic (Carboniferous–Permian) continental collision that consolidated the Iberian Massif as part of Pangaea.
Explanation: The Variscan/Hercynian orogeny at the end of the Paleozoic built the igneous–metamorphic basement of the Iberian Massif (including the Cantabrian Zone) within Pangaea.
5At a convergent subduction boundary, what is the Benioff (Wadati–Benioff) plane?
A.The inclined plane along which earthquake foci concentrate from friction of the descending slab.
B.The horizontal surface separating oceanic and continental lithosphere at asymmetric ridges.
C.A dextral transform tear linking an accretionary prism to an intraplate hotspot.
D.The zone of pillow-lava accumulation on a mid-ocean ridge crest.
Explanation: The Wadati–Benioff zone is the inclined seismic belt marking the subducting oceanic plate’s path into the mantle, with foci deepening landward.
6How did paleomagnetic anomaly studies of ocean floors support seafloor-spreading theory?
A.They showed marine basalt lacks magnetic minerals such as magnetite.
B.They revealed magnetization stripes symmetric and parallel to ridges with alternating normal and reversed polarity.
C.They proved oceanic crust age is uniform worldwide (~4 Ga).
D.They confirmed continental drift is driven solely by lunar/solar gravity.
Explanation: Vine and Matthews (1963) showed ridge basalts record geomagnetic polarity; symmetric stripes parallel to ridges record spreading over time.
7What is the main genesis of intraplate hotspot volcanism such as the Canary Islands or Hawaii?
A.Direct tectonic friction between colliding continental plates.
B.Dehydration of clay minerals in deep trenches.
C.Ascent of deep-mantle thermal plumes (possibly from the D″ layer) causing melting by overheating.
D.Gravitational collapse of large salt domes in back-arc basins.
Explanation: Hotspots arise from mantle plumes: narrow hot columns rising from deep mantle that melt near the lithosphere, building volcanic chains as plates move.
8During Mesozoic–Cenozoic time the Cantabrian Mountains underwent complex tectonics. Which geodynamic event drove thrusting of Cantabrian marine lithosphere and Alpine orogenic uplift?
A.Separation of South America and opening of the South Atlantic.
B.A late Cretaceous asteroid impact in the Bay of Biscay.
C.Late Triassic extensional rifting and high-T metamorphism alone.
D.N–S convergence between Eurasia and Iberia with counterclockwise Iberian rotation and partial closing of the Bay of Biscay.
Explanation: Alpine structure of the Cantabrian range formed during Iberia–Eurasia convergence after Cretaceous extensional opening of the Bay of Biscay, then compressional inversion and uplift.
9In magmatic differentiation by fractional crystallization, how do silicates generally behave as magma temperature falls?
A.High-T ferromagnesian minerals (e.g., olivine) crystallize first, leaving a progressively more felsic, silica-rich residual melt.
B.Quartz and felsic micas crystallize first, concentrating Fe–Mg in a final pegmatitic phase.
C.Magma composition stays identical throughout cooling with no change in crystal proportions.
D.Plagioclase evolves from sodic (albite) to calcic (anorthite) as temperature falls.
Explanation: Bowen’s reaction series shows high-T ferromagnesians and calcic plagioclase crystallize early; residual melt becomes more silicic/felsic as those crystals are removed.
10In which geodynamic setting does high-pressure, low-temperature metamorphism (blueschist and eclogite facies) develop?
A.Thermal contact aureoles around shallow post-orogenic granite plutons.
B.Subduction trenches, where cold oceanic lithosphere descends rapidly, raising pressure faster than temperature equilibrates.
C.Mid-ocean ridges due to high-T seawater hydrothermal circulation.
D.Subsiding sedimentary basins under purely burial metamorphism.
Explanation: HP/LT metamorphism is diagnostic of subduction: cold slabs are buried deep quickly, producing blueschists/eclogites before heating catches up.
About the PAU Geología y Ciencias Ambientales (Cantabria) Practice Questions
Verified exam format metadata for Cantabria PAU Geology and Environmental Sciences Exam — Geología y Ciencias Ambientales 2º Bachillerato UNICAN 2026 is pending. The practice questions above remain available while official exam length, timing, passing score, fee, and administrator details are reviewed.