ASBOG Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield ASBOG facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which federal law created the Superfund program and established liability for cleanup of hazardous substance releases in the United States? → CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act)
2. Which element is the most abundant by weight in the Earth's crust? → Oxygen
3. Sandy soils have higher hydraulic conductivity than clay soils primarily because: → Sand has larger pore spaces allowing faster water flow
4. What does the plasticity index (PI) of a fine-grained soil indicate? → The range of moisture content over which the soil behaves plastically
5. the slope's slope angle from the horizontal → Slope Angle (σ)
6. a 1 to 9 second-long, essentially constant motion in the Earth that is unconnected to earthquakes → Microseism
7. Which radiometric dating method relies on the decay of uranium-238 to lead-206? → Uranium-Lead dating
8. Which of the following site conditions is MOST susceptible to liquefaction during a strong earthquake? → Loose, saturated, uniformly-graded fine sand
9. continuous flow of water → Perennial Stream
10. "a region of land where surface water will eventually converge to one location The greatest significant restriction on drainage patterns is topography." → Drainage Patterns
11. In the context of dam site investigations, what is the primary concern when a foundation contains soluble carbonate rocks? → Seepage and potential dam failure due to karst dissolution features
12. The Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) framework determines site cleanup goals based on: → Site-specific risk to identified human health and ecological receptors
13. What physical property is measured by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys in subsurface investigations? → Electrical resistance of subsurface materials to current flow
14. Which geochemical process is responsible for the supergene enrichment of copper ore deposits? → Downward percolation of oxidizing groundwater dissolving and re-precipitating copper
15. the inclination of an inclined plane measured perpendicular to its maximum slope → Dip (δ)
16. the orientation of the line-containing vertical plane. → Trend
17. A uranium deposit occurs as flat-lying tabular ore bodies in sandstone at redox fronts. This is best described as what deposit type? → Roll-front sandstone deposit
18. Which of the following lists the five essential elements required for the formation and preservation of a conventional hydrocarbon accumulation? → Source rock, Reservoir rock, Seal, Trap, and Migration
19. Which of the following physical properties is LEAST reliable for identifying most minerals, especially varieties of quartz? → Color
20. A geologist observes tension cracks at the head of a slope and bulging at the toe. What type of slope failure is most likely developing? → Rotational slump
21. the angle of an object measured in a direction other than parallel to the strike → Apparent Dip
22. The principle of faunal succession states that: → Fossil assemblages succeed one another vertically in a definite and determinable order
23. a stream that only occasionally flows in the area during and after a time of rainfall → Ephemeral Stream
24. Extensive, thick blankets of homogenous, unstratified, wind-blown silt that cover large areas of the mid-latitudes are known as: → Loess
25. What is diagenesis in the context of sediment geochemistry? → Physical and chemical changes in sediments after deposition but before metamorphism
26. A horizontal line's bearing on an inclined plane → Strike
27. Steno's Law of Original Horizontality states that: → Sedimentary layers are deposited in essentially horizontal or near-horizontal sheets
28. Which soil horizon is characterized by the accumulation of illuviated clay, iron oxides, and aluminum? → B horizon
29. On a geologic map, what does a hachure pattern (short lines pointing downslope) on a contact indicate? → A thrust fault with the upper plate moving in the hachured direction
30. In a magnetic survey over a sedimentary basin, a large circular positive aeromagnetic anomaly is detected. What is the most likely source? → A mafic igneous intrusion (sill or stock) with high magnetic susceptibility