Test your basic knowledge |

Earth Science

Subject : 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. A sedimentary rock made up of chemical sediments. Example: rock salt.






2. A substance that produces positively charged hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water.






3. The weak or 'soft' zone in the upper mantle just below the lithosphere & involved in plate movement and isostatic adjustments. It lies 70 to 100 km below the surface and may extend to a depth of 400 km.






4. The resistance of a mineral to scratching & as measured by the Mohs scale.






5. Geologic time expressed in years before the present.






6. The distance light travels through a vacuum in one year.






7. Any place where bedrock is visible on the surface of the Earth.






8. The point on the Earth's surface where a magnetic needle points vertically downward (north magnetic pole) or vertically upward (south magnetic pole).






9. The internal resistance to flow in a liquid.






10. A hot & gaseous & self-luminous celestial body & as the Sun.






11. The mass of an object divided by its volume.






12. The presence of layers in some rocks caused by parallel alignment of minerals.






13. Any of various minerals prized for beauty & durability & and rarity. A few noncrystalline materials of organic origin (e.g. & pearl & red coral & and amber) also are classified as gemstones.






14. A study designed to collect critical data to be used for comparison or as a control in a later study.






15. (Latin- Sol & Greek- Helios)the closest star to Earth. It is a giant ball of gas without any solid surface.






16. A major drainage divide separating the drainage to one ocean from another.






17. Produced as a wave steepens and falls forward as the wave nears the shore.






18. The part of the crust that directly underlies the continents and continental shelves. Averages about 35 km in thickness & but may be over 70 km thick under largest mountain ranges.






19. The layer of gases (air) & that surrounds a planet or moon.






20. Of or relating to or containing basalt & a dark & dense & extrusive rock that has a silica content of 40% to 50% and makes up most of the ocean floor.






21. Rock formed from the accumulation of sediment & Which may consist of fragments and mineral grains of varying sizes from pre-existing rocks & remains or products of animals and plants & the products of chemical action & or mixtures of these.






22. Lies half way between the north and south magnetic poles.






23. A naturally occurring inorganic solid that has a well-defined chemical composition and in which atoms are arranged in an ordered fashion.






24. A system involving continuous interaction of the solid Earth & the atmosphere & the oceans and living things.






25. A fracture or zone of fractures along the boundaries of tectonic plates where movement has taken place.






26. A type of thermal spring which ejects water intermittently with considerable force.






27. A soft compact calcite & CaCO3 & with varying amounts of silica & quartz & feldspar & or other mineral impurities & generally gray-white or yellow-white and derived chiefly from fossil seashells.






28. A term applied to large areas of basaltic lava presumably extruded from fissures.






29. The sudden fall of one or more large pieces of a rock from a cliff.






30. The very slow & generally continuous downslope movement of soil and debris under the influence of gravity.






31. A narrow strip of land along the margin of the ocean extending inland for a variable distance from low water mark.






32. Igneous. Antonym of intrusive. Synonym of volcanic. Pertaining to igneous rocks or features formed from lava released on the Earth's surface.






33. The acidity in rain due to gases from internal combustion engines and coal- and oil-burning power plants.






34. Weathering processes that are the result of chemical reactions. Example: the transformation of orthoclase to kaolinite.






35. Reduction of pore space between individual particles as the result of overlying sediments or of tectonic movements.






36. The process of one plate descending beneath another.






37. A comet that passed Earth in 1997 and won't return to the inner solar system until the year 4377.






38. A thick layer of soil.






39. A lake of lava & usually basaltic & in a volcanic caldera.






40. A steep or vertical cliff & either above or below sea level.






41. Distance over which wave-forming winds blow.






42. Distance over which wave-forming winds blow.






43. A building that contains one or more telescopes.






44. Heat extracted from the Earth for use as an power source.






45. An instrument that merely indicates the occurrence of an earthquake.






46. A worldwide change in sea level & such as caused by melting glaciers.






47. A delta formed at both sides of a tidal inlet.






48. Heat extracted from the Earth for use as an power source.






49. Pertaining to or composed of granite & a coarse-grained igneous rock dominated by light-colored minerals & consisting of about 50 percent orthoclase & 25 percent quartz & and balance of feldspars and ferromagnesian silicates. Granite is commonly foun






50. An eon of geologic time extending from about 3.9 billion years to 2.5 billion years ago.