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






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






3. 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






4. 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






5. 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






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






7. 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






8. 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






9. 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






10. Faulting and folding






11. 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






12. 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






13. 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






14. Volcanoes can be caused by '____________'; these so - called hotspots - as in Hawaii - can occur far from plate boundaries






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






16. 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






17. 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






18. The degrees east or west of the prime meridian through Greenwich - England






19. 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






20. Divided into two main types: large - low- density gas giants and smaller - rocky terrestrials - There are at least 341 identified _______ - 8 of which are in the Solar System






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






22. Paleontology: Fossil evidence indicates the similarity of fossils on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean - Continental 'jigsaw puzzle': The outlines of the continents seem to fit together






23. Piled in waves and indicate rain or snow






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






25. Texture is important in classifying ______ sedimentary rocks






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






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






28. 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






29. 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






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






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






32. 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






33. 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






34. Occur when two plates pull away from each other - Such faults are generally weak and shallow Example: the Mid - Atlantic Range in the Atlantic Ocean






35. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the...

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






37. Maritime tropical (wet - warm air)






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






39. 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






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






41. Water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil






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






43. 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






44. 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






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






46. 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






47. Largest zone of the planet (68%); crystalline silicates - rich in magnesium - calcium - and iron; very hot and mainly solid - but local melting to magma is the source of volcanic eruptions






48. Characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the same area - Atlanta tropical cyclone activity is generally enhanced during La Nina - Often follows the El Nino - especially when the latter is strong






49. 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






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