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






2. 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






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






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






5. - 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






6. Forms over land and is associated with dry air






7. One tidal cycle per day






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






9. 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






10. 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






11. 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






12. 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






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






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






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






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






17. Can thaw and melt - and the ensuing water flows overland as snowmelt






18. The tendency of a moving object to stay in a straight line or a stationary object to remain in place - Without _______ - a planet would be pulled into the sun






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






20. Seas - gulfs - bays - and other names






21. Younger beds were originally deposited above older beds






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






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






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






25. The farther from the tropics you are positioned - the ________ the angle of the sun - This causes those locations to be cooler due to the indirect sunlight






26. Human civilization has lasted only _____ years






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






28. 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






29. Rocks are placed into groups according to how they form...






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






31. Featherlike clouds that indicate fair weather






32. The flow of water underground - in the vadose zone and aquifers - Subsurface water may return to the surface (as a spring or by being pumped) or eventually seep into the oceans






33. Bbreaking along flat surfaces






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






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






36. Scientists theorize that massive volcanic eruptions on a global scale contributed to the earth's cooling - resulting in the onset of the...






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






38. The process of chemical or physical breakdown of earth rocks - soils - and their minerals






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






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






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






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






43. 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...






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






45. Water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil






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






47. Faulting and folding






48. The variety of ways by which water moves across the land - This includes both surface runoff and channel runoff - As it flows - the water may percolate into the ground - evaporate into the air - become stored in lakes or reservoirs - or be extracted






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






50. Travels around the earth each month - - Distance from the earth averages 237000 miles - Has rugged topography formed billions of years ago by volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts - Mass is 1/6th that of Earth