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






2. Takes place when the moon passes between the earth and the sun - with the moon blocking the sunlight for about two minutes - A total ___________ may be seen only from a small zone on the earth






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






4. 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






5. 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






6. Human civilization has lasted only _____ years






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






8. A continuous drill would find gas - oil - and water in that order - The three substances occur in their order of density - with the lightest substance on top and the heaviest on the bottom






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






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






11. 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.






12. Runoff and groundwater are stored as ________ in lakes






13. Natural chemical compounds that are the crystals that make up rocks - Each has a specific composition or narrow range of composition






14. 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






15. Large - dark clouds that indicate thunderstorms






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






17. Water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil






18. Volcanoes can be caused by '____________'; these so - called hotspots - as in Hawaii - can occur far from plate boundaries






19. 1 hour of time






20. 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






21. Occur along plate boundaries






22. 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






23. Mountains blocking the path of precipitation to the desert






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






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






26. 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






27. 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






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






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






30. Sun heats water in the oceans - Water evaporates as vapor into the air - Ice and snow can sublimate directly into water vapor...- Over time - the water reenters the ocean - where the water cycle started






31. This scale assigns a fixed number to 10 reference materials. Talc (1) is the softest and diamond (10) is the hardest

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32. 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






33. 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)






34. Ancient astronomers found that eclipses occurred periodically and learned to predict them accurately - Lunar and solar






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






36. Two high waters and two low waters each day - in most locations - tides are semidiurnal






37. 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)






38. 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






39. Some precipitation falls as ____ and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers - which can store water for thousands of years






40. Faulting and folding






41. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the ________






42. 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






43. Traces of ancient life preserved in the strata as shells - footprints - and the like - Soft plant and animal tissues decompose quickly in the presence of decay bacteria - which exist wherever oxygen exists






44. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






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






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






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






48. Can influence climate by sending tremendous volumes of dust - ash - and smoke into the atmosphere






49. Smooth layers of low clouds that indicate a chance of drizzle or snow






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