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






2. 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






3. Piled in waves and indicate rain or snow






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






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






6. Further caused by the elliptical orbit of the earth - Earth reaches perihelion (the point in its orbit closest to the sun) in January - and it reaches aphelion (farthest point from the sun) in July - Also depend on factors such as proximity to oceans






7. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






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






9. Occur when two plates push together - Such faults are strong and relatively deep - Where the strongest earthquakes occur Example: mountain building in the Himalayas and the Andes






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. How much matter is in the object






12. Characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific - warm current of nutrient - poor tropical water - heated by its eastward passage in the Equatorial Current - replaces the cold - nutrient - rich surface water of th






13. Generally forms deep in the mantle as one type of rock changes into another - Due to intense pressure - can show signs of bending and distortion - Examples: schist - marble - gneiss - and slate






14. 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






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. 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






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






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






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






20. Forms over land and is associated with dry air






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






22. 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






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






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






25. 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






26. Zero degrees latitude - generally has a tropical climate (warm and wet); at the extreme northern and southern latitudes (polar regions) - the climate is very cold and dry






27. 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.






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






29. 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)






30. 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






31. Formed by sodium chloride






32. Cause pressure differences - A hot surface heats the air above it and the air expands - lowering the air pressure and its density






33. The stress is particularly severe in _________ - which are characterized by volcanism - metamorphism - deformation - and uplift






34. Loose collections of ice - dust - and small rocky particles - measuring a few kilometers or tens of kilometers across






35. 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






36. Due to a combination of differential heating and geometry - hen the sun rises - it is the tops of the mountain peaks which receive first light - and as the day progresses - the mountain slopes take on a greater heat load than the valleys - This resul






37. Younger beds were originally deposited above older beds






38. Occurs at the instant when the sun's position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer's hemisphere - Depending on the shift of the calendar - the winter solstice occurs some time betw






39. Air currents move clouds around the globe and cloud particles collide - grow - and fall out of the sky as ________ - Most of it falls back into the oceans or onto land - where the precipitation flows over the ground as surface runoff - portion of run






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






41. 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






42. Maritime polar (wet - cold air)






43. 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






44. Bbreaking along flat surfaces






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






46. Forms south of the Arctic and is cold






47. 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






48. Mountains blocking the path of precipitation to the desert






49. Refers to the long - term weather patterns of a large geographical area and takes into account temperature - humidity - and precipitation






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