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Quiz about Caves
Quiz about Caves

Caves Trivia Quiz


Join me on an expedition to explore and study a cave.

A multiple-choice quiz by qcobb. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
qcobb
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
194,180
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
1904
Last 3 plays: Guest 98 (7/10), Guest 125 (4/10), Dunkeroo (6/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. We are on an expedition to explore and study this cave, otherwise we'd just be "caving" What is the study and exploration of caves called? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The landscape around the cave has flat bare patches, with narrow fissures, dolines, disappearing streams and springs. What is this type of landscape called? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The cave we're going to explore is formed in limestone. It was formed by water gradually dissolving and eroding solid rock. Which gas also played a crucial role in this cave's formation? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Before we enter the cave we make sure that each person has at least 2 kg of this vital chemical. If we run out, we are likely to get lost underground. Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. As we enter the cave we can see some bats roosting in the entrance chamber. These bats choose to sleep and breed in the cave and leave to catch food. The scientific term for such animals is? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The passage narrows down until we have to walk sideways between smooth canyon walls with a stream at the bottom. This tells us how this passage was formed and it's a fine example of a ____ passage? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Now we have entered a passage with an almost perfectly circular cross section, so we can deduce that this passage was formed: Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. We have just entered a huge chamber. Our lamps can pick out 'icicles' of stone hanging from the roof and matching pillars on the floor. In places they have joined to form columns like dribbly candles. What's the name of the pillars that are forming on the floor and growing upwards? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The stream has entered a pool and the roof has lowered to meet it. We've tried holding our breath and making short dives, but to progress further we'll need diving gear. What do we call this pool? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Before we leave we would like to perform a water trace to confirm where this water resurges (comes to the surface). As the most likely resurgence is near habitation, we'll use something that's discreet and won't cause problems for us with the locals. What should we use? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 21 2024 : Guest 98: 7/10
Oct 20 2024 : Guest 125: 4/10
Oct 17 2024 : Dunkeroo: 6/10
Oct 09 2024 : Guest 13: 5/10
Oct 08 2024 : Guest 68: 3/10
Sep 24 2024 : Guest 35: 6/10
Sep 02 2024 : Guest 24: 5/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. We are on an expedition to explore and study this cave, otherwise we'd just be "caving" What is the study and exploration of caves called?

Answer: Speleology

Or spelaeology if you prefer diphthongs. From the Latin (who got it from the Greek) for cave.
2. The landscape around the cave has flat bare patches, with narrow fissures, dolines, disappearing streams and springs. What is this type of landscape called?

Answer: Karst

Karst is from the Slovenian "rocky place". Karst areas have soluble bedrock, cracks and water. The slightly acidic rain and surface water is able to dissolve and erode small amounts of rock and carry them away. When water gets into cracks, it dissolves the rock and forms caves and caverns.

The Yorkshire Dales, Burren (Co. Claire, Ireland) and Gottesackerplateau (Germany) are all examples of Karst landscapes.
3. The cave we're going to explore is formed in limestone. It was formed by water gradually dissolving and eroding solid rock. Which gas also played a crucial role in this cave's formation?

Answer: CO2

Water is not able to dissolve limestone by itself, however water containing carbon dioxide (CO2) is slightly acidic and is able to dissolve limestone.

Carbon dioxide is naturally present in the air, currently it's about 0.028% of our atmosphere. Living things breathe air, burn the oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. When the rainwater falls, it absorbs some carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However the spaces in soil contain a much higher proportion of biogenetic CO2 - mostly from bacteria. As the water flows though the soil it picks up additional dissolved CO2 to form carbonic acid.
CO2 + H20 ---> H2CO3=H+ + HCO3-

This will slowly dissolve limestone:
H+ + HCO3- + CaCO3 ---> Ca(2+) + 2 HCO(3-)
4. Before we enter the cave we make sure that each person has at least 2 kg of this vital chemical. If we run out, we are likely to get lost underground.

Answer: CaC2

The one thing we must have is light! CaC2 is calcium carbide which reacts with water to make acetylene.
CaC2 + 2 H2O --> Ca(OH)2 + C2H2
Carbide lamps have a chamber for carbide and a water reservoir. The water drips onto the carbide and the acetylene burns with an intense white flame. Although they are a bit smelly (called stinkys) and can burn your ropes and hands if you're careless, they are almost indestructible and the burn time is limited only by the amount of carbide you can carry. 2 kg of carbide will give us light for over 36 hours. On a big expedition we can leave caches of carbide around the cave. We'll have some battery lamps too for the wet/windy sections, but we can't carry enough batteries for the whole trip.
Water (H2O) is usually easy to find in a cave, as is oxygen (O2). We'll save the alcohol (CH3CH2OH) for when we get out!
5. As we enter the cave we can see some bats roosting in the entrance chamber. These bats choose to sleep and breed in the cave and leave to catch food. The scientific term for such animals is?

Answer: Trogloxenes

All the "Trogs" spend time in caves. (trog=cave, from the Greek)
Troglobites (bios=life) live permanently in the cave and have adapted for it, they can't live outside.
Troglophiles (phileo=love) can venture outside caves but can live and feed entirely inside. They may have some adaptions for cave life.
Trogloxenes (xenos=visitor) are temporary cave residents which freely move in and out of the cave. These cave visitors seek out such a habitat from choice, and never complete their entire life cycle in the cave.
Troglodyte is a confusing term. It originally meant cave dweller i.e. a caveman. But it is non specific and is no longer used to classify cave life. It's also the species name of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and a genus of singing birds including the common wrens (Troglodytes troglodytes) neither of which spend any significant time in caves.
6. The passage narrows down until we have to walk sideways between smooth canyon walls with a stream at the bottom. This tells us how this passage was formed and it's a fine example of a ____ passage?

Answer: Vadose

The passage was formed by the stream eroding downwards, just as they do above ground. The stream carries pebbles and sand and erodes by abrasion and solution only at the bottom, resulting in a tall narrow passage. The area above the water table where this can occur is called the vadose zone and this is a vadose passage.
7. Now we have entered a passage with an almost perfectly circular cross section, so we can deduce that this passage was formed:

Answer: While completely underwater

This is an example of a phreatic passage, i.e. one that was formed completely underwater. The water dissolves the rock evenly all round and can produce almost perfect tubes - sometimes the size of train tunnels. As the water table drops, the passage empties, and a small stream can erode a vadose slot in the floor - forming a keyhole passage.
8. We have just entered a huge chamber. Our lamps can pick out 'icicles' of stone hanging from the roof and matching pillars on the floor. In places they have joined to form columns like dribbly candles. What's the name of the pillars that are forming on the floor and growing upwards?

Answer: Stalagmites

Stalactites and stalagmites are types of speleothems. As water laden with dissolved minerals drips from the roof, some minerals are deposited which accumulate to form stalactites. When the drip lands on the floor some of it evaporates, depositing more minerals there to form stalagmites.

Not only are they rather beautiful, by taking samples and analysing the chemical composition of the layers, we can deduce past temperature and rainfall patterns.
9. The stream has entered a pool and the roof has lowered to meet it. We've tried holding our breath and making short dives, but to progress further we'll need diving gear. What do we call this pool?

Answer: Sump

A whaletail is a descender (friction device for abseiling down ropes) consisting of a machined aluminium block with slots, used almost exclusively by Australians.
A vug is a cavity filled with crystals.
Some streams in farming areas carry animal dung and are quite sewer-like, but the normal term is "Sump"
10. Before we leave we would like to perform a water trace to confirm where this water resurges (comes to the surface). As the most likely resurgence is near habitation, we'll use something that's discreet and won't cause problems for us with the locals. What should we use?

Answer: Lycopodium

All of these can be used to trace water. Fluorescein used to be widely used and can be detected in tiny quantities, but fluorescent green water can be quite upsetting to locals wanting to use the water for drinking. Leucophor is a fluorescent whitener which is more discreet, but can still cause the water to glow under ultraviolet light - creepy. Salt can be detected in small quantities by changes in water resistance - but you do need to dump a lot of it so it's heavy to carry and can be harmful to aquatic life until it's very diluted. Lycopodium spores are the most troublesome, but are the most benign. You have to filter them out with fine nets and identify them under a microscope.

The longest successful water trace was from Beysehir Golu to the Manavgat springs, in Turkey, over a distance of 130km. 390kg of fluorescein was used and the dye reappeared after 366 days.
Source: Author qcobb

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
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