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






2. This upslope wind is called a...






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






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






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






6. Occur twice a year - when the tilt of the earth's axis is oriented neither from nor to the sun - causing the sun to be located vertically above a point on the equator - The name derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night) - because at the e






7. Piled in waves and indicate rain or snow






8. 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






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






10. 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






11. The state change where a solid (ice or snow) changes directly to a gas (water vapor)






12. A major determiner of coastal climate






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






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






15. 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






16. Maritime tropical (wet - warm air)






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






18. Large - dark clouds that indicate thunderstorms






19. 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






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






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






22. Forms over water and is associated with wet air






23. Occur when two plates slip past each other - Such faults are generally moderate and are relatively shallow Example: The San Andreas Fault






24. Volcanoes are generally found where ________ are diverging or converging






25. 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






26. 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...






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






28. 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






29. When the moon is at first quarter or third quarter - the sun - earth and moon form a 90- degree (right) angle with the earth at the vertex - The combined effect of this alignment of the sun - earth - and moon results in tidal ranges on the earth - Wh






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






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






32. Most sediments were deposited in beds that were originally horizontal - and any tilting is due to later earth movements






33. Result from the earth's axis being tilted to its orbital plane - NOT the result of the variation in the earth's distance to the sun (Because of its elliptical orbit - the earth as a whole is slightly warmer when away from the sun; this is because the






34. The fossiliferous strata record is only the last __% of the earth's history






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






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






37. Solar Atmosphere is divided into the inner chromosphere with explosive prominences and the outer corona - a glowing halo visible only during a total eclipse - Constantly emitting particles as a...






38. 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






39. The process in which one type of rock changes into another






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






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






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






43. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






44. Continental tropical (dry - warm air)






45. Spiral - elliptical - and irregular form are speckled throughout the visible universe - Largest telescope has detected galaxies to its limit of several billion light - years






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






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






48. Continental polar (dry - cold air)






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