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. The symbol used on a map to indicate directions & both cardinal and ordinal.






2. The distance between two successive wave crests or troughs.






3. A Hawaiian term for a basaltic lava flow with a smooth & or ropy surface.






4. To preserve & or to avoid wasteful use.






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






6. The areas of & in & or constituting a city.






7. Forms along a coast as wave erosion cuts through a headland.






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






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






10. The green pigment in the cells of many plants that enables them to use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates in the process called photosynthesis.






11. Containing moisture.






12. The internal resistance to flow in a liquid.






13. The top of a wave.






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






15. A dense & hot (sometimes incandescent) cloud of volcanic ash and gas produced in a Pelean eruption.






16. To preserve & or to avoid wasteful use.






17. An isolated & steep-sided & rocky mass or island just offshore from a rocky headland & usually on a shore platform.






18. An astronomical instrument for measuring angles & primarily altitude of celestial bodies to determine latitude.






19. A large area with common features that set it apart from other areas.






20. Plutonic. Antonym of extrusive. Pertaining to igneous rocks or features formed by the emplacement of magma in pre-existing rocks.






21. Similar to a groin but built to keep sand out of a harbor entrance.






22. Any porous and permeable rock that yields oil or natural gas.






23. The point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the focus of an earthquake.






24. A hole or basin cut into bedrock of a stream by the abrasive action of pebbles and sand swirled by turbulent stream flow.






25. A ball of ice and dust & whose orbit is a long & narrow ellipse.






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






27. Geologic time expressed in years before the present.






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






29. Fossils formed when water containing minerals leaks into a mold. The minerals harden to form a copy of the original structure or organism.






30. A rigid segment of the Earth's lithosphere that moves horizontally and adjoins other plates along zones of seismic activity. Plates may include portions of both continents and ocean basins.






31. Saturn is named after the Roman god of the harvest. It is the sixth planet from the Sun.






32. The amount of material a stream carries in suspension.






33. The outermost layer of the Earth & varying in thickness from about 10 kilometers (6 miles) below the oceans & to 65 kilometers (about 40 miles) below the continents; represents less than 1 percent of the Earth's volume.






34. Any accumulation of material & by settling from water or air & chemical precipitation & evaporation from solution & etc.






35. A commonly used measure of earthquake magnitude & based on a logarithmic scale. Each integral step on the scale represents a tenfold increase in the extent of ground shaking & as recorded on a seismograph.






36. 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.






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






38. The dust-sized & sharp-edged & glassy particles resulting from an explosive volcanic eruption.






39. Gases (primarily water and carbon dioxide & but also a variety of sulfur and nitrogen compounds and gaseous hydrocarbons) that trap the Sun's heat in the atmosphere.






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






41. A device built to study distant objects by making them appear closer.






42. 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.






43. The accumulation of material in layers or beds.






44. The theory of Plate Tectonics states that the Earth's crust is fragmented into a dozen or more large and small pieces floating on a semi-molten mantle.






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






46. A narrow & elongate region in which one lithospheric plate descends relative to another.






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






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






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






50. Water that flows across watersheds during and immediately after severe rainstorms. In populated areas & stormwater runoff is often water that cannot be handled by existing sewer systems. Stormwater runoff is the leading source of water pollution in t