Test your basic knowledge |

CSET Earth

Subjects : cset, 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. Igneous rock that forms on the earth's surface - Examples obsidian - basalt - and pumice






2. Water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil






3. Characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the same area - Atlanta tropical cyclone activity is generally enhanced during La Nina - Often follows the El Nino - especially when the latter is strong






4. Giant masses of solid rock that float upon the earth's mantle - These plates move in relation to one another at one of three types of plate boundaries...






5. The process in which one type of rock changes into another






6. The transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves from the ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere






7. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the...


8. Evaporation often implicitly includes ___________ from plants - although together they are specifically referred to as evapotranspiration






9. - The materials left over after the rock breaks down combine with organic material - The mineral content is determined by the parent material; thus - a soil derived from a single rock type can often be deficient in one or more minerals for good ferti






10. Formed from calcium carbonate - also an example of chemical sedimentary rocks - like roock salt - can contain organic or once - living matter and can record the history of that matter's formation in features such as strata - fossil evidence - and rip






11. Bodies similar to the sun but immensely distant - Closest stars are 4 light - years away






12. The process of chemical or physical breakdown of earth rocks - soils - and their minerals






13. The tidal force produced by the sun is ____ as large as that produced by the moon






14. Sun heats water in the oceans - Water evaporates as vapor into the air - Ice and snow can sublimate directly into water vapor...- Over time - the water reenters the ocean - where the water cycle started






15. The major mountains tend to occur in __________ - indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity






16. Test the item against materials of known hardness; for example - use your fingernail or the graphite in a pencil to attempt to scratch the items. This process should result in assigning a relative hardness to the unknown items.






17. Characterized by similar temperatures and moisture levels






18. Condensed water vapor that falls to the earth's surface - Most precipitation occurs as rain - but also includes snow - hail - fog drip - graupel - and sleet






19. Some water infiltrates deep into the ground and replenishes ________ - which store huge amounts of freshwater for long periods of time






20. The precipitation that is intercepted by plant foliage and eventually evaporates back to the atmosphere rather than falling to the ground






21. Solar Atmosphere is divided into the inner chromosphere with explosive prominences and the outer corona - a glowing halo visible only during a total eclipse - Constantly emitting particles as a...






22. Zero degrees latitude - generally has a tropical climate (warm and wet); at the extreme northern and southern latitudes (polar regions) - the climate is very cold and dry






23. 4 terrestrials: Mercury - Venus - Mars - Earth 4 gas giants: Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune At least 5 dwarf planets: Ceres - Pluto - Makemake - Haumea - Eris






24. Continental polar (dry - cold air)






25. Some precipitation falls as ____ and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers - which can store water for thousands of years






26. Air currents move clouds around the globe and cloud particles collide - grow - and fall out of the sky as ________ - Most of it falls back into the oceans or onto land - where the precipitation flows over the ground as surface runoff - portion of run






27. Loose collections of ice - dust - and small rocky particles - measuring a few kilometers or tens of kilometers across






28. Due to a combination of differential heating and geometry - hen the sun rises - it is the tops of the mountain peaks which receive first light - and as the day progresses - the mountain slopes take on a greater heat load than the valleys - This resul






29. Somewhat cooler disturbances in the photosphere






30. Continental tropical (dry - warm air)






31. Volcanoes can be caused by '____________'; these so - called hotspots - as in Hawaii - can occur far from plate boundaries






32. A ______________ - such as the Mid - Atlantic Ridge - has examples of volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates pulling apart






33. Travels around the earth each month - - Distance from the earth averages 237000 miles - Has rugged topography formed billions of years ago by volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts - Mass is 1/6th that of Earth






34. Volcanoes are generally found where ________ are diverging or converging






35. The lateral movement of the plates is typically at speeds of ___ mm annually






36. The runoff produced by melting snow






37. A continuous drill would find gas - oil - and water in that order - The three substances occur in their order of density - with the lightest substance on top and the heaviest on the bottom






38. Defined by geometrically subdividing the earth's spheroid into 24 lunes (wedge - shaped sections) - bordered by meridians - each 15






39. Can thaw and melt - and the ensuing water flows overland as snowmelt






40. When the moon is at first quarter or third quarter - the sun - earth and moon form a 90- degree (right) angle with the earth at the vertex - The combined effect of this alignment of the sun - earth - and moon results in tidal ranges on the earth - Wh






41. Affected by factors such as weathering and impurities






42. Forms south of the Arctic and is cold






43. Forms over land and is associated with dry air






44. The degrees east or west of the prime meridian through Greenwich - England






45. Travels in an orbit that is slightly elliptical (oval) - and so the distance from the sun ranges from 91.5 to 94.5 million miles - Its daily rotation deforms the earth to a flattened spheroid - with a polar radius slightly less than the equatorial ra






46. The North Pole is in the Arctic Ocean - and thus its temperature extremes are buffered by the water - The result is that the South Pole is consistently _______ during the southern winter than the North Pole during the northern winter






47. Large - scale movements of the earth's lithosphere - - The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift (first half of 20th century) and seafloor spreading (1960s)






48. Result from the earth's axis being tilted to its orbital plane - NOT the result of the variation in the earth's distance to the sun (Because of its elliptical orbit - the earth as a whole is slightly warmer when away from the sun; this is because the






49. Different visual appearance; when discovered - comets show a perceptible coma while asteroids do not






50. Occurs when the moon sets at sunset - Then the moon is between the earth and the sun - so we see only the dark half of the moon