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. 4 terrestrials: Mercury - Venus - Mars - Earth 4 gas giants: Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune At least 5 dwarf planets: Ceres - Pluto - Makemake - Haumea - Eris






2. Both gravity and inertia work together to keep planets in orbit around the sun - Inertia makes a planet travel in a straight line






3. 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






4. The sun is not at the center of the disk - but out toward the perimeter - and is revolving around the ________






5. The science that describes and interprets the earth Fields: - Geomorphology (land forms) - Petrology (rocks) - Stratigraphy (layered rocks) - Paleontology (fossils)






6. Evaporation often implicitly includes ___________ from plants - although together they are specifically referred to as evapotranspiration






7. The movement of rainwater as it filters through soil and rocks into the ground - becoming groundwater






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






9. The earth is believed to be about ___ billion years old






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






11. Cause pressure differences - A hot surface heats the air above it and the air expands - lowering the air pressure and its density






12. The science of the atmosphere and weather






13. Defined by geometrically subdividing the earth's spheroid into 24 lunes (wedge - shaped sections) - bordered by meridians - each 15






14. Occur twice a year - when the tilt of the earth's axis is oriented neither from nor to the sun - causing the sun to be located vertically above a point on the equator - The name derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night) - because at the e






15. Characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the same area - Atlanta tropical cyclone activity is generally enhanced during La Nina - Often follows the El Nino - especially when the latter is strong






16. 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






17. The stress is particularly severe in _________ - which are characterized by volcanism - metamorphism - deformation - and uplift






18. Improved land - use practices can limit erosion by using techniques such as...






19. Occur when two plates slip past each other - Such faults are generally moderate and are relatively shallow Example: The San Andreas Fault






20. Somewhat cooler disturbances in the photosphere






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






22. Further caused by the elliptical orbit of the earth - Earth reaches perihelion (the point in its orbit closest to the sun) in January - and it reaches aphelion (farthest point from the sun) in July - Also depend on factors such as proximity to oceans






23. The spectra of distant objects display a red shift - which is interpreted as meaning that they are rapidly receding from us - This apparent expansion of the universe has given rise to the big bang theory of cosmology - in which one primeval mass expl






24. Forms over land and is associated with dry air






25. Runoff and groundwater are stored as ________ in lakes






26. A major determiner of coastal climate






27. Air currents move clouds around the globe and cloud particles collide - grow - and fall out of the sky as ________ - Most of it falls back into the oceans or onto land - where the precipitation flows over the ground as surface runoff - portion of run






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






29. (or summer time zones) include an offset (typically +1 hour) for daylight saving time






30. Form when magma or lava cools and solidifies - Depending on the rate of cooling - can contain visible crystals - while others can appear glassy






31. Texture is important in classifying ______ sedimentary rocks






32. Some isolated mountains were produced by volcanoes - including many apparently ________ that reach a great height above the ocean floor






33. Under solar conditions - gases are undergoing _____ to heavier elements with the increase of prodigious quantities of energy






34. 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






35. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






36. 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






37. The movement (carrying away or displacement) of solids (sediment - soil - rock - and other particles) - usually by the agents of currents such as wind - water - or ice by downward or down - slope movement in response to gravity






38. Refers to the long - term weather patterns of a large geographical area and takes into account temperature - humidity - and precipitation






39. Two types of mountains are formed - depending on how the rock reacts to the tectonic forces






40. Sedimentary rocks containing large fragments of other rock material - e.g. Sandstone






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






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






43. Igneous rock that cools beneath the earth's surface - Examples: plutons - dikes - and batholiths






44. The rising of the earth's ocean surface caused by the tidal forces of the moon and the sun acting on the oceans






45. Sometimes called minor planets or planetoids - Bodies






46. Form when dissolved mineral solutions crystalize out of lakes and oceans






47. Not all runoff flows into rivers; much of it infiltrates into the ground through...






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






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






50. The breakdown of rocks - soils and minerals through atmospheric chemicals or biologically produced chemicals (also known as biological weathering)