Test your basic knowledge |

CSET Earth

Subjects : cset, science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. The state change where a solid (ice or snow) changes directly to a gas (water vapor)






2. Deviates by an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees - Thus - at any given time during summer or winter - one part of the planet is more directly exposed to the rays of the sun - This exposure alternates as the earth revolves in its orbit






3. A major determiner of coastal climate






4. Forms over land and is associated with dry air






5. Large - scale movements of the earth's lithosphere - - The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift (first half of 20th century) and seafloor spreading (1960s)






6. Gas giants Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus and Neptune have diameters far larger than Earth's and have far greater masses






7. Used to arrange strata in a standard order - Used to measure the amount of radioactive decay in minerals and calculate the time at which the rock formed






8. The tendency of a moving object to stay in a straight line or a stationary object to remain in place - Without _______ - a planet would be pulled into the sun






9. The center of the sun may have a temperature of millions of degrees; the visible surface - the ______ - is about 6000






10. The North Pole is in the Arctic Ocean - and thus its temperature extremes are buffered by the water - The result is that the South Pole is consistently _______ during the southern winter than the North Pole during the northern winter






11. The transformation of water vapor to liquid water droplets in the air - producing clouds and fog






12. Around a new or full moon - when the sun - moon - and the earth form a line - the tidal forces due to the sun reinforce those of the moon - The tide's range is at a maximum and is called a spring tide (spring as in 'to jump/leap -' not the season)






13. Characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific - warm current of nutrient - poor tropical water - heated by its eastward passage in the Equatorial Current - replaces the cold - nutrient - rich surface water of th






14. Occur when two plates push together - Such faults are strong and relatively deep - Where the strongest earthquakes occur Example: mountain building in the Himalayas and the Andes






15. Tends to move slowly and is replenished slowly - and so it can remain in aquifers for thousands of years






16. Some water infiltrates deep into the ground and replenishes ________ - which store huge amounts of freshwater for long periods of time






17. After the moon has waxed through crescent - quarter - and gibbous phases - a ________ appears - At that time - the moon rises at sunset - and we see all of its illuminated side - Then the phase wanes gradually to another new moon






18. The degrees east or west of the prime meridian through Greenwich - England






19. The evaporation of these oceans is how we get most of our __________ - and their temperature determines our climate and wind patterns






20. The layers of sediment deposited in a quiet environment - Common sites of deposition are lakes - deltas at the mouths of rivers - beaches and sandbars along the coast - and (most important) the marine environment






21. The cold - water current that flows north to south off the _____________ keeps the West Coast fairly cool during the summer - Cold - water currents create cooler temperatures in areas that would otherwise be much warmer






22. Continental polar (dry - cold air)






23. The difference between levels of ocean water at high and low tides






24. Travels in an orbit that is slightly elliptical (oval) - and so the distance from the sun ranges from 91.5 to 94.5 million miles - Its daily rotation deforms the earth to a flattened spheroid - with a polar radius slightly less than the equatorial ra






25. Comprised of the crust and the rigid uppermost part of the mantle - broken up into tectonic plates (7 major and many minor) - ride on the asthenosphere






26. Method of using the present to interpret the past - Processes occurring today are observed carefully and their effects are measured - Then - geologists assume that similar effects in ancient rocks were caused by processes similar to those of the pres






27. The tidal force produced by the sun is ____ as large as that produced by the moon






28. Condensed water vapor that falls to the earth's surface - Most precipitation occurs as rain - but also includes snow - hail - fog drip - graupel - and sleet






29. Formed from calcium carbonate - also an example of chemical sedimentary rocks - like roock salt - can contain organic or once - living matter and can record the history of that matter's formation in features such as strata - fossil evidence - and rip






30. Darkens the moon as the earth passes between it and the sun - casting a shadow on the moon - may be seen from anywhere the moon is visible - about half of the earth






31. Most sediments were deposited in beds that were originally horizontal - and any tilting is due to later earth movements






32. Occur when two plates pull away from each other - Such faults are generally weak and shallow Example: the Mid - Atlantic Range in the Atlantic Ocean






33. The major mountains tend to occur in __________ - indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity






34. Nearest galaxy - about 20 million light - years away






35. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






36. Huge systems of stars - Milky Way is estimated to have 100 billion stars arranged in a great disk






37. The lateral movement of the plates is typically at speeds of ___ mm annually






38. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the...

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39. Different visual appearance; when discovered - comets show a perceptible coma while asteroids do not






40. Featherlike clouds that indicate fair weather






41. A natural flow of water - usually freshwater - traveling toward an ocean - a lake - or another stream






42. Officially defined as sustained sea surface temperature anomalies of magnitude greater than 0.5






43. Test the item against materials of known hardness; for example - use your fingernail or the graphite in a pencil to attempt to scratch the items. This process should result in assigning a relative hardness to the unknown items.






44. Hotspot volcanoes are also found elsewhere in the Solar System - especially on...






45. Erosion in many places is increased by human land use - Poor land - use practices include deforestation - overgrazing - unmanaged construction activity - and road building






46. The source of energy for evaporation is primarily through ___________






47. Maritime polar (wet - cold air)






48. A small Solar System body that orbits the Sun - When close enough to the sun - exhibits a visible coma (atmosphere) or a tail - both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the comet's nucleus - Have a variety of different orbital periods






49. Water returns to the land surface at __________ than where it entered - under the force of gravity or gravity - induced pressures






50. Paleontology: Fossil evidence indicates the similarity of fossils on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean - Continental 'jigsaw puzzle': The outlines of the continents seem to fit together