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 thick layer of soil.






2. A measure of acidity.






3. The tectonic region in which two plates meet.






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






5. The concept of a sequence of events involving the formation & alteration & destruction and reformation of rocks as a result of geologic processes.






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






7. A hydrocarbon (coal or petroleum) that can be extracted from the Earth for use as a fuel. Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy sources.






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






9. A low & nearly flat accumulation of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river or stream & commonly triangular or fan-shaped.






10. A sedimentary rock composed of combustible matter derived from the partial decomposition of plant material.






11. A lake in an abandoned meander.






12. That portion of the Earth below the crust and reaching to about 2 &780 km & where a transition zone of about 100 km thickness separates it from the core.






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






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






15. A spring whose temperature is 6.5o C or more above mean annual air temperature.






16. A plate boundary in which plates on opposite sides of the boundary move past each other in opposite directions. The San Andreas fault of California is a good example.






17. The process by which building stone & usually in blocks or sheets & is extracted from the Earth. radiation -- (Electromagnetic radiation) -- energy that travels through space in the form of waves without the intervention of matter & as in the transp






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






19. Soil conditions prevailing in area whose mean annual temperature is 0o C.






20. A deposit of partly decayed plant remains in a very wet environment; marsh or swamp deposit of plant remains containing more than 50 percent carbon.






21. A roughly circular reef with an occasional small & low & coral sand island surrounding a shallow lagoon.






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






23. Distance over which wave-forming winds blow.






24. Deposition of fine mineral particles (silt) on the beds of streams or lakes.






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






26. 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.






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






28. 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






29. A rock changed from its original form and/or composition by heat & pressure &shearing stress & or chemically active fluids & or some combination of them.






30. Mars is named after the Roman god of war. It is the fourth planet from the Sun.






31. The attractive force between two objects; its magnitude depends on their masses and the distance between them.






32. Where one plate slides beneath another plate as the two are pushed together & a subduction zone.






33. An individual grain or constituent of a rock.






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






35. A chuck of rock or dust in space.






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






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






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






39. The innermost zone of Earth. It consists of two parts & an outer liquid section and an inner solid section & both chiefly of iron and nickel with about 10 percent lighter elements. It is surrounded by the mantle.






40. A group of stars that appear to make a pattern in the sky. The Big Dipper is a constellation.






41. 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'.






42. 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.






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






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






45. (Greek-Aphrodite)named after the Roman goddess of love. It is the planet closest in size to Earth and the second planted from the Sun.






46. A commonly used scale of earthquake intensity.






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






48. A large ridge or mound-like structure within a body of water that is built by calcareous organisms such as corals & red algae & and bivalves.






49. A river that is able to maintain its flow through a desert because of water received from outside the desert.






50. The most recent eon of geologic time beginning 570 million years ago and continuing to the present.