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. 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






2. A region of the earth that has uniform standard time - usually referred to as the local time - divided into standard and daylight saving (or summer)






3. 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






4. The runoff produced by melting snow






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






6. 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






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






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






9. At any given time - regardless of season - the Northern and Southern Hemispheres experience...






10. Used to arrange strata in a standard order - Used to measure the amount of radioactive decay in minerals and calculate the time at which the rock formed






11. An area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions associated with the plate boundaries surrounding the Pacific Ocean - In a 40000 km horseshoe shape - associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches - volcanic arcs - and volcanic






12. Stars with the highest ___________ appear blue - while stars with the lowest surface temperature appear red






13. Smooth layers of low clouds that indicate a chance of drizzle or snow






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






15. 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






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






17. 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






18. 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






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






20. Gas giants Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus and Neptune have diameters far larger than Earth's and have far greater masses






21. Thought to originate in the Kuiper Belt - or associated scattered discs - which lie beyond the orbit of Neptune






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






23. Formed by sodium chloride






24. Large - dark clouds that indicate thunderstorms






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






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






27. 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






28. 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






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






30. Distance to closest stars can be calculated by measuring the _________ - a slight shift in apparent position against the background of more distant stars as the earth travels around the sun






31. 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






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






33. Human civilization has lasted only _____ years






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






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






36. Faulting and folding






37. 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






38. The movement (carrying away or displacement) of solids (sediment - soil - rock - and other particles) - usually by the agents of currents such as wind - water - or ice by downward or down - slope movement in response to gravity






39. The resulting dust layer would act as a shield - blocking out much of the sun's rays - This would result in lower global temperatures and a general _____ of the earth






40. A major determiner of coastal climate






41. The strength of gravity in our solar system depends on both the masses of the celestial objects and the _______ between them






42. Occurs at the instant when the sun's position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer's hemisphere - Depending on the shift of the calendar - the winter solstice occurs some time betw






43. 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






44. The farther from the tropics you are positioned - the ________ the angle of the sun - This causes those locations to be cooler due to the indirect sunlight






45. 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






46. 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






47. 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






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






49. 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






50. A huge ball of incandescent gases - Its mass is more than 300000 times that of the earth - Principal constituents are the lightest elements - hydrogen and helium