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 segment of an active fault zone that has not experienced a major earthquake during a time period when most other segments of the zone have. They are generally regarded as having a higher potential for future earthquakes.






2. A minor tremor that precedes an earthquake. An increase in seismicity may signal that a major release of strain energy is about to occur.






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






4. The very small particles of dirt & soot & and other pollutants that are present in the air.






5. An accumulation of wind driven sand into a distinctive shape.






6. Pluto is named after the Roman god of the Underworld. No longer considered a planet.






7. The rise and fall of sea level caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon on the Earth.






8. A coral reef separated from the mainland by a lagoon.






9. In a stream & the volume of water passing through a channel in a given time.






10. To change back and forth uncertainly.






11. Formed when an organism is flattened (compressed) and a thin film of organic material from its body is left in the rock.






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






13. Enormous & thick sheets of rock that are part of the Earth's upper mantle that move and adjoin each other along zones of seismic activity. Many tectonic plates extend underneath both continents and sea floor.






14. A large amount of gas and dust in space & spread out in an immense volume.






15. The low spot between two successive waves.






16. Where two plates collide to form mountains.






17. In a stream & the volume of water passing through a channel in a given time.






18. An artificial hill formed by the debris of successive human settlements.






19. The relationship between distances in the area being mapped and distances in the map itself.






20. The closest galaxy to the Milky way. It is approximately 2 million light-years away.






21. A valley carved by glacier erosion and whose cross-valley profile has steep sides and a nearly flat floor & suggestive of a large letter 'you'.






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






23. A division of geologic time next smaller than the eon and larger than a period. Example: The Paleozoic era is in the Phanerozoic eon and includes & among others & the Devonian period.






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






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






26. The reflection of light on a given mineral's surface & classified by intensity and quality.






27. The surface between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeration.






28. The straightening and/or deepening of a river channel.






29. The Sun with all the celestial bodies that revolve around it.






30. The formation & advance and retreat of glaciers and the results of these activities.






31. Jupiter is named after the Roman king of the gods. It is the fifth planet from the Sun.






32. The surface between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeration.






33. 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






34. A vent in the surface of the Earth & from which lava & ash & and gases erupt.






35. A molecule composed of three atoms of oxygen and mostly found in the stratosphere. Though beneficial in the upper atmosphere & at ground level & ozone is called photochemical smog & and is a respiratory irritant and considered a pollutant.






36. A natural depression in the surface of the land caused by the collapse of the roof of a cavern or subterranean passage & generally occurring in limestone regions.






37. To change back and forth uncertainly.






38. An area subject to dust storms & especially south central United States .






39. A device containing a free-swinging magnetic needle that is attracted to Earth's magnetic North Pole. Used to determine direction of travel.






40. A guide to reading a map that typically contains distance scales & arrows indicating direction & and/or explanations of symbols used.






41. The southern portion of the late Paleozoic supercontinent known as Pangea. It means & literally 'Land of the Gonds' (a people of the Indian subcontinent).The supercontinent existed from Cambrian to Jurassic time & mainly composed of South America &






42. A method of sediment transport in which the turbulence of a fluid is able to keep particles supported in the fluid.






43. Water beneath the Earth's surface.






44. An artificial hill formed by the debris of successive human settlements.






45. Any solid material that has settled out of a state of suspension in liquid.






46. Large area of extremely flat ocean floor lying near a continent and generally over 4 km in depth.






47. A building that contains one or more telescopes.






48. A general term for a relatively hard layer of soil at or just below the ground surface & cemented by silica & iron oxide & calcium carbonate & or organic matter.






49. A blanket of wind-driven sand with an upper surface about a meter above ground level.






50. The seaward edge of coast between low tide and effective wave action.