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 flat & dry plain covered with short grass.






2. The naturally occurring material from which a mineral or minerals of economic value can be extracted at a profit.






3. A mudflow composed chiefly of pyroclastic material on the flanks of a volcano.






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






5. Synonym of intrusive. Antonym of volcanic. Applies to igneous rocks formed beneath the surface of the Earth; typically with large crystals due to the slowness of cooling.






6. A post of dripstone growing up from a cave floor.






7. The great circle on the Earth's surface passing through The North and South Poles & which is considered 0 degrees longitude. The prime meridian passes through Greenwich & England & and is used as a reference point for measuring longitude east and w






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






9. 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.






10. Heat transport by direct transfer of energy from one particle to another & without moving the particle to a new location.






11. The processes of weathering by which physical actions such as frost wedging break down a rock into fragments & involving no chemical change.






12. A volcano in the shape of a flattened cone & broad and low & built by very fluid flows of basaltic lava.






13. Water beneath the Earth's surface.






14. Lava extruded beneath water characterized by pillow shapes.






15. An area where fresh water comes into contact with seawater & usually in a partly enclosed coastal body of water; a mix of fresh and salt water where the current of a stream meets the tides.






16. The production of living matter by organisms that make food using sunlight or chemicals. Usually expressed as grams of carbon per square meter per year.






17. 1. A steep-walled & usually conical depression at the summit or on the flanks of a volcano & resulting from the explosive ejection of material from a vent. 2. A bowl-shaped depression with a raised & overturned rim produced by the impact of a meteori






18. A small ice sheet.






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






20. An imaginary circle around the earth that represents the halfway mark between the North and South Poles and establishes the boundary between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.






21. Any seismic wave that travels through the body of Earth & rather than along its surface.






22. A vertical conduit through the Earth's crust below a volcano & through Which magma has passed.






23. The persistence of wind-formed waves after wind ceases.






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






25. The vertical distance between the crest and adjacent trough of a wave.






26. The region of a shore that is covered at high tide and exposed at low tide.






27. The Earth's crust underlying the ocean basins which is formed at mid-oceanic ridges. It is typically 5 to 10 kilometers thick composed of basalt.






28. The zone below the zone of aeration in which all pore spaces are filled with water.






29. Surficial mining & in which the valuable rock is exposed by removal of overlying rock or soil.






30. Named after the Roman god of the sea. It is the eighth planet from the Sun.






31. The prediction that climate will warm as a result of the addition to the atmosphere of humanly produced greenhouse gases.






32. Imaginary lines on a map or globe that measure distance in degrees north or south of the equator. Latitude lines extend horizontally & from east to west on a globe.






33. Turbulent stream water flow down a steep gradient & but not as steep as in a waterfall.






34. A measure of the strength of an earthquake based on the amount of movement recorded by a seismograph . compare Richter scale.






35. A type of volcanic eruption characterized by nuees ardentes and the development of lava domes.






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






37. A substance that produces negatively charged hydroxide ions ( OH- ) in water and reacts with acids to form salts.






38. A large & basin-shaped volcanic depression & more or less circular in form. Typically steep-sided & found at the summit of a shield volcano.






39. Materials that are found in nature that are useful or necessary for people to live.






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






41. A process of land degradation initiated by human activity & particularly in the zones along the margins of deserts.






42. Lacking in rainfall & very dry.






43. The perpendicular or very steep descent of a stream.






44. The accumulation of material in layers or beds.






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






46. A ridge of high water associated with a hurricane and which floods over the shore .






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






48. The color of a mineral in its powdered form obtained from scraping a sample on a ceramic plate






49. The theory that states that the present-day continents are the fragmented pieces of preexisting larger landmasses called supercontinents.






50. Turbulent stream water flow down a steep gradient & but not as steep as in a waterfall.