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. 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






2. A huge ball of incandescent gases - Its mass is more than 300000 times that of the earth - Principal constituents are the lightest elements - hydrogen and helium






3. 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






4. 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






5. Forms over the Tropics and is warm






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






7. Common: wind - clouds - rain - snow - fog - dust storms - Less common: natural disasters such as tornadoes - hurricanes - and ice storms






8. Temperature - pressure - and composition






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






10. 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






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






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






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






14. Characterized by similar temperatures and moisture levels






15. 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






16. 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






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






18. Texture is important in classifying ______ sedimentary rocks






19. 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






20. The result of the buildup of once - living things






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






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






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






24. Maritime tropical (wet - warm air)






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






26. Large - dark clouds that indicate thunderstorms






27. 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






28. Human civilization has lasted only _____ years






29. Some isolated mountains were produced by volcanoes - including many apparently ________ that reach a great height above the ocean floor






30. 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






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






32. 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






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






34. (in descending order of size) the Pacific Ocean - the Atlantic Ocean - the Indian Ocean - the Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean






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






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






37. An area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions associated with the plate boundaries surrounding the Pacific Ocean - In a 40000 km horseshoe shape - associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches - volcanic arcs - and volcanic






38. Typically the tidal mouths of rivers and are often characterized by _____________ or silt carried in from terrestrial runoff - frequently from offshore






39. 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






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






41. Piled in waves and indicate rain or snow






42. Continental tropical (dry - warm air)






43. The runoff produced by melting snow






44. Tides may be...






45. Two types of mountains are formed - depending on how the rock reacts to the tectonic forces






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






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






48. Bbreaking along flat surfaces






49. Not all runoff flows into rivers; much of it infiltrates into the ground through...






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