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 process in which one type of rock changes into another






2. Formed by sodium chloride






3. (in descending order of size) the Pacific Ocean - the Atlantic Ocean - the Indian Ocean - the Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean






4. Zero degrees latitude - generally has a tropical climate (warm and wet); at the extreme northern and southern latitudes (polar regions) - the climate is very cold and dry






5. Stars with the highest ___________ appear blue - while stars with the lowest surface temperature appear red






6. The Pacific Ring of Fire has examples of volcanoes caused by ___________ coming together






7. Temperature - pressure - and composition






8. A major determiner of coastal climate






9. The motive force behind land breezes and sea/lake breezes - also known as on - or off - shore winds - Land absorbs and radiates heat faster than water - but water releases heat over a longer period of time






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






11. One tidal cycle per day






12. 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






13. Less than 1% of the earth; this relatively thin zone (5 to 25 miles) contains the only rocks we can study - even in the deepest mines or drill holes






14. At any given time - regardless of season - the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience...






15. Almost all familiar weather phenomena occur in the __________ (the lower part of the atmosphere)






16. Theory that the earth's continents were originally united as a supercontinent - Pangaea - Established by Alfred Wegener in the early 1900s






17. The breakdown of rocks - soils and minerals through direct contact with atmospheric conditions such as heat - water - ice - and pressure






18. An individual weighing 200 lbs on Earth would weigh more on a _______________ - Weight is a function of gravity






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






20. 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






21. - The materials left over after the rock breaks down combine with organic material - The mineral content is determined by the parent material; thus - a soil derived from a single rock type can often be deficient in one or more minerals for good ferti






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






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






24. Two feldspars (orthoclase and plagioclase) - quartz - olivine - and augite - These five minerals are silicates - built from interlocking silicon and oxygen atoms






25. Thought to originate in the Kuiper Belt - or associated scattered discs - which lie beyond the orbit of Neptune






26. The strength of gravity in our solar system depends on both the masses of the celestial objects and the _______ between them






27. A ______________ - such as the Mid - Atlantic Ridge - has examples of volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates pulling apart






28. Common: wind - clouds - rain - snow - fog - dust storms - Less common: natural disasters such as tornadoes - hurricanes - and ice storms






29. The science of the atmosphere and weather






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






31. On maps - the characteristics of an air mass are represented by two letters: The lowercase letter represents ________ - and the uppercase letter represents temperature






32. Distance to closest stars can be calculated by measuring the _________ - a slight shift in apparent position against the background of more distant stars as the earth travels around the sun






33. A huge ball of incandescent gases - Its mass is more than 300000 times that of the earth - Principal constituents are the lightest elements - hydrogen and helium






34. Giant masses of solid rock that float upon the earth's mantle - These plates move in relation to one another at one of three types of plate boundaries...






35. Bbreaking along flat surfaces






36. Weather occurs primarily due to density (temperature and moisture) differences between one location and another - These differences can occur due to the angle of the sun at any particular spot - which varies by latitude from the tropics






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






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






39. Composed of the fragments of other types of rocks - Cover 75 to 80% of the earth's land area - Often deposited in distinct parallel layers - Weather and erosion break down other rock types into sediments - Over time - the sediments become cemented an






40. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmopshere where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into ____






41. Igneous rock that forms on the earth's surface - Examples obsidian - basalt - and pumice






42. Forms over the Tropics and is warm






43. Younger beds were originally deposited above older beds






44. Largest zone of the planet (68%); crystalline silicates - rich in magnesium - calcium - and iron; very hot and mainly solid - but local melting to magma is the source of volcanic eruptions






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






46. 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






47. There are approx. _____ days between each lunar cycle






48. This upslope wind is called a...






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






50. Volcanoes are also found in __________ - where the denser oceanic plates are forced under continental plates; this adds massive volumes of water to the mantle - allowing magma to melt more readily and rise to the surface to form volcanoes