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 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






2. Mountains blocking the path of precipitation to the desert






3. Water returns to the land surface at __________ than where it entered - under the force of gravity or gravity - induced pressures






4. 186000 miles/second






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






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






7. Large - dark clouds that indicate thunderstorms






8. Forms over the Tropics and is warm






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






10. 4 terrestrials: Mercury - Venus - Mars - Earth 4 gas giants: Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune At least 5 dwarf planets: Ceres - Pluto - Makemake - Haumea - Eris






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






12. Believed to originate at a much greater distance from the Sun - in a cloud (the Oort cloud) consisting of debris left over from the condensation of solar nebula - Comets are thrown from the outer planets or nearby stars - or as a result of collisions






13. Two types of mountains are formed - depending on how the rock reacts to the tectonic forces






14. 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






15. Characterized by similar temperatures and moisture levels






16. Human civilization has lasted only _____ years






17. Water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil






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






19. - 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






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






21. 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)






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






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






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






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






26. Largest zone of the planet (68%); crystalline silicates - rich in magnesium - calcium - and iron; very hot and mainly solid - but local melting to magma is the source of volcanic eruptions






27. 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.






28. There are approx. _____ days between each lunar cycle






29. 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






30. Natural chemical compounds that are the crystals that make up rocks - Each has a specific composition or narrow range of composition






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






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






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






34. Continental polar (dry - cold air)






35. Common: wind - clouds - rain - snow - fog - dust storms - Less common: natural disasters such as tornadoes - hurricanes - and ice storms






36. Somewhat cooler disturbances in the photosphere






37. 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






38. Generally forms deep in the mantle as one type of rock changes into another - Due to intense pressure - can show signs of bending and distortion - Examples: schist - marble - gneiss - and slate






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






40. (or summer time zones) include an offset (typically +1 hour) for daylight saving time






41. 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






42. Sometimes called minor planets or planetoids - Bodies






43. 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






44. Under solar conditions - gases are undergoing _____ to heavier elements with the increase of prodigious quantities of energy






45. A land form that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area - with a peak - Usually produced by the movement of lithospheric plates






46. Some isolated mountains were produced by volcanoes - including many apparently ________ that reach a great height above the ocean floor






47. Bbreaking along flat surfaces






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






49. 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






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