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. 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)






2. Two feldspars (orthoclase and plagioclase) - quartz - olivine - and augite - These five minerals are silicates - built from interlocking silicon and oxygen atoms






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






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






5. 1 hour of time






6. Occur when two plates slip past each other - Such faults are generally moderate and are relatively shallow Example: The San Andreas Fault






7. Seasons are marked by changes in the amount of sunlight - which in turn often cause cycles of dormancy in plants and hibernation in animals - These effects vary with latitude and with proximity to bodies of water






8. The tendency of a moving object to stay in a straight line or a stationary object to remain in place - Without _______ - a planet would be pulled into the sun






9. Less than 1% of the earth; this relatively thin zone (5 to 25 miles) contains the only rocks we can study - even in the deepest mines or drill holes






10. An individual weighing 200 lbs on Earth would weigh more on a _______________ - Weight is a function of gravity






11. The difference between levels of ocean water at high and low tides






12. 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






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






14. 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






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






16. The rising of the earth's ocean surface caused by the tidal forces of the moon and the sun acting on the oceans






17. Igneous rock that cools beneath the earth's surface - Examples: plutons - dikes - and batholiths






18. Some groundwater finds openings in the land surface and emerges as...






19. 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






20. Hotspot volcanoes are also found elsewhere in the Solar System - especially on...






21. The degrees north or south of the equator






22. 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...






23. Refers to the long - term weather patterns of a large geographical area and takes into account temperature - humidity - and precipitation






24. Featherlike clouds that indicate fair weather






25. 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






26. The flow of water underground - in the vadose zone and aquifers - Subsurface water may return to the surface (as a spring or by being pumped) or eventually seep into the oceans






27. Classified as warm - water or cold - water currents






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






29. Igneous rock that forms on the earth's surface - Examples obsidian - basalt - and pumice






30. (in descending order of size) the Pacific Ocean - the Atlantic Ocean - the Indian Ocean - the Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean






31. Large - dark clouds that indicate thunderstorms






32. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the ________






33. Comprised of the crust and the rigid uppermost part of the mantle - broken up into tectonic plates (7 major and many minor) - ride on the asthenosphere






34. The stress is particularly severe in _________ - which are characterized by volcanism - metamorphism - deformation - and uplift






35. Can influence climate by sending tremendous volumes of dust - ash - and smoke into the atmosphere






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






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






38. The Pacific Ring of Fire has examples of volcanoes caused by ___________ coming together






39. Occur twice a year - when the tilt of the earth's axis is oriented neither from nor to the sun - causing the sun to be located vertically above a point on the equator - The name derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night) - because at the e






40. Sedimentary rocks containing large fragments of other rock material - e.g. Sandstone






41. Tends to move slowly and is replenished slowly - and so it can remain in aquifers for thousands of years






42. Characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific - warm current of nutrient - poor tropical water - heated by its eastward passage in the Equatorial Current - replaces the cold - nutrient - rich surface water of th






43. 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






44. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmopshere where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into ____






45. On maps - the characteristics of an air mass are represented by two letters: The lowercase letter represents ________ - and the uppercase letter represents temperature






46. 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






47. Forms south of the Arctic and is cold






48. After the moon has waxed through crescent - quarter - and gibbous phases - a ________ appears - At that time - the moon rises at sunset - and we see all of its illuminated side - Then the phase wanes gradually to another new moon






49. 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






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