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. Used to arrange strata in a standard order - Used to measure the amount of radioactive decay in minerals and calculate the time at which the rock formed






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






3. 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






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






5. 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






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






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






8. 186000 miles/second






9. Composed of the fragments of other types of rocks - Cover 75 to 80% of the earth's land area - Often deposited in distinct parallel layers - Weather and erosion break down other rock types into sediments - Over time - the sediments become cemented an






10. Stars with the highest ___________ appear blue - while stars with the lowest surface temperature appear red






11. Comprises one global - interconnected body of salt water often (though generally recognized as several separate oceans) - A continuous body of water with relatively free interchange among its parts






12. Mountains blocking the path of precipitation to the desert






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






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






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






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






17. 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






18. Maritime polar (wet - cold air)






19. Forms over water and is associated with wet air






20. 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






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






22. The major mountains tend to occur in __________ - indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity






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






24. 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






25. 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






26. Erosion in many places is increased by human land use - Poor land - use practices include deforestation - overgrazing - unmanaged construction activity - and road building






27. 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






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






29. The layers of sediment deposited in a quiet environment - Common sites of deposition are lakes - deltas at the mouths of rivers - beaches and sandbars along the coast - and (most important) the marine environment






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






31. - 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






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






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






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






35. 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






36. 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






37. Around a new or full moon - when the sun - moon - and the earth form a line - the tidal forces due to the sun reinforce those of the moon - The tide's range is at a maximum and is called a spring tide (spring as in 'to jump/leap -' not the season)






38. Large - dark clouds that indicate thunderstorms






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






40. 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






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






42. 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






43. 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






44. The science of the atmosphere and weather






45. 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






46. Cirrus - Stratus - Cumulonimbus - Altostratus






47. 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






48. Defined by geometrically subdividing the earth's spheroid into 24 lunes (wedge - shaped sections) - bordered by meridians - each 15






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






50. This scale assigns a fixed number to 10 reference materials. Talc (1) is the softest and diamond (10) is the hardest

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