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






2. 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






3. A region of the earth that has uniform standard time - usually referred to as the local time - divided into standard and daylight saving (or summer)






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






5. Affected by factors such as weathering and impurities






6. The runoff produced by melting snow






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






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






9. The transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves from the ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere






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






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






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






13. Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface - water bodies (and the ocean) as...






14. The precipitation that is intercepted by plant foliage and eventually evaporates back to the atmosphere rather than falling to the ground






15. Take up about 1/3 of the earth's land surface - many are formed by rain shadows - Usually have a large diurnal (day) and seasonal temperature range - with high daytime temperatures






16. 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






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






18. 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






19. 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






20. 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






21. Forms over water and is associated with wet air






22. 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






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






24. 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






25. Forms over the Tropics and is warm






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






27. Occurs when the moon sets at sunset - Then the moon is between the earth and the sun - so we see only the dark half of the moon






28. 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






29. 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






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






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






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






33. The outermost part of the earth's interior is made up of two layers...






34. Somewhat cooler disturbances in the photosphere






35. 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






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






37. 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






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






39. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






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






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






42. Continental polar (dry - cold air)






43. One tidal cycle per day






44. The degrees north or south of the equator






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






46. 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.






47. 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






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






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






50. 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