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. A semi - closed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it - and with a free connection to the open sea - Often associated with high levels of biological diversity - They are made up of brackish water - Often given names






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






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






4. 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






5. Piled in waves and indicate rain or snow






6. 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






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






8. 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






9. - 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






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






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






12. Bbreaking along flat surfaces






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






14. 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.






15. The best determiner of climate - as it is consistently and directly correlated with temperature - other factors: Rain shadows - as well as water currents - elevation and so forth






16. Earth movements - The result of forces within the earth - where temperature and pressure differences lead to instability






17. 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)






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






19. Believed to originate at a much greater distance from the Sun - in a cloud (the Oort cloud) consisting of debris left over from the condensation of solar nebula - Comets are thrown from the outer planets or nearby stars - or as a result of collisions






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






21. Some groundwater finds openings in the land surface and emerges as...






22. Continental polar (dry - cold air)






23. 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






24. 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)






25. 4 terrestrials: Mercury - Venus - Mars - Earth 4 gas giants: Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune At least 5 dwarf planets: Ceres - Pluto - Makemake - Haumea - Eris






26. Runoff and groundwater are stored as ________ in lakes






27. 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






28. Formed by sodium chloride






29. Younger beds were originally deposited above older beds






30. 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






31. A major determiner of coastal climate






32. The runoff produced by melting snow






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






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






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






36. Takes approx. seven and a half earth months to revolve around the sun - Takes approx. eight earth months to rotate on its axis - a day on ________ is longer than a year






37. Forms over water and is associated with wet air






38. Bodies similar to the sun but immensely distant - Closest stars are 4 light - years away






39. 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






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






41. Forms south of the Arctic and is cold






42. 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






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






44. A land form that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area - with a peak - Usually produced by the movement of lithospheric plates






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






46. The atmosphere is a __________ - and so small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole - This makes it difficult to accurately predict weather more than a few days in advance






47. 1 hour of time






48. Classified as warm - water or cold - water currents






49. 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






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