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. The science of the atmosphere and weather






2. The degrees north or south of the equator






3. A major determiner of coastal climate






4. The earth is believed to be about ___ billion years old






5. The movement of rainwater as it filters through soil and rocks into the ground - becoming groundwater






6. Younger beds were originally deposited above older beds






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






8. Composed of the fragments of other types of rocks - Cover 75 to 80% of the earth's land area - Often deposited in distinct parallel layers - Weather and erosion break down other rock types into sediments - Over time - the sediments become cemented an






9. The outermost part of the earth's interior is made up of two layers...






10. Form when dissolved mineral solutions crystalize out of lakes and oceans






11. Weather occurs primarily due to density (temperature and moisture) differences between one location and another - These differences can occur due to the angle of the sun at any particular spot - which varies by latitude from the tropics






12. Almost all familiar weather phenomena occur in the __________ (the lower part of the atmosphere)






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






14. Earth movements - The result of forces within the earth - where temperature and pressure differences lead to instability






15. Cause pressure differences - A hot surface heats the air above it and the air expands - lowering the air pressure and its density






16. Faulting and folding






17. 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






18. A semi - closed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it - and with a free connection to the open sea - Often associated with high levels of biological diversity - They are made up of brackish water - Often given names






19. 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






20. Volcanoes are also found in __________ - where the denser oceanic plates are forced under continental plates; this adds massive volumes of water to the mantle - allowing magma to melt more readily and rise to the surface to form volcanoes






21. Erosion in many places is increased by human land use - Poor land - use practices include deforestation - overgrazing - unmanaged construction activity - and road building






22. Most sediments were deposited in beds that were originally horizontal - and any tilting is due to later earth movements






23. 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






24. A small Solar System body that orbits the Sun - When close enough to the sun - exhibits a visible coma (atmosphere) or a tail - both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the comet's nucleus - Have a variety of different orbital periods






25. Typically the tidal mouths of rivers and are often characterized by _____________ or silt carried in from terrestrial runoff - frequently from offshore






26. Take up about 1/3 of the earth's land surface - many are formed by rain shadows - Usually have a large diurnal (day) and seasonal temperature range - with high daytime temperatures






27. Water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil






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






29. The variety of ways by which water moves across the land - This includes both surface runoff and channel runoff - As it flows - the water may percolate into the ground - evaporate into the air - become stored in lakes or reservoirs - or be extracted






30. The spectra of distant objects display a red shift - which is interpreted as meaning that they are rapidly receding from us - This apparent expansion of the universe has given rise to the big bang theory of cosmology - in which one primeval mass expl






31. A natural flow of water - usually freshwater - traveling toward an ocean - a lake - or another stream






32. Paleontology: Fossil evidence indicates the similarity of fossils on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean - Continental 'jigsaw puzzle': The outlines of the continents seem to fit together






33. The center of the sun may have a temperature of millions of degrees; the visible surface - the ______ - is about 6000






34. Cirrus - Stratus - Cumulonimbus - Altostratus






35. Both gravity and inertia work together to keep planets in orbit around the sun - Inertia makes a planet travel in a straight line






36. The layers of sediment deposited in a quiet environment - Common sites of deposition are lakes - deltas at the mouths of rivers - beaches and sandbars along the coast - and (most important) the marine environment






37. Around a new or full moon - when the sun - moon - and the earth form a line - the tidal forces due to the sun reinforce those of the moon - The tide's range is at a maximum and is called a spring tide (spring as in 'to jump/leap -' not the season)






38. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






39. 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






40. The motive force behind land breezes and sea/lake breezes - also known as on - or off - shore winds - Land absorbs and radiates heat faster than water - but water releases heat over a longer period of time






41. Huge systems of stars - Milky Way is estimated to have 100 billion stars arranged in a great disk






42. Mountains blocking the path of precipitation to the desert






43. Theory that the earth's continents were originally united as a supercontinent - Pangaea - Established by Alfred Wegener in the early 1900s






44. Method of using the present to interpret the past - Processes occurring today are observed carefully and their effects are measured - Then - geologists assume that similar effects in ancient rocks were caused by processes similar to those of the pres






45. Occur when two plates pull away from each other - Such faults are generally weak and shallow Example: the Mid - Atlantic Range in the Atlantic Ocean






46. Large - dark clouds that indicate thunderstorms






47. Ancient astronomers found that eclipses occurred periodically and learned to predict them accurately - Lunar and solar






48. A warm - water current that carries warm water from the Tropics to the Arctic regions of the North Atlantic Ocean - This accounts for higher temperatures and higher humidity on the Eastern Seaboard during the summer






49. Takes place when the moon passes between the earth and the sun - with the moon blocking the sunlight for about two minutes - A total ___________ may be seen only from a small zone on the earth






50. Runoff and groundwater are stored as ________ in lakes