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 best determiner of climate - as it is consistently and directly correlated with temperature - other factors: Rain shadows - as well as water currents - elevation and so forth






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






3. Maritime polar (wet - cold air)






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






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






6. Characterized by similar temperatures and moisture levels






7. Faulting and folding






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






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






10. Maritime tropical (wet - warm air)






11. 4 terrestrials: Mercury - Venus - Mars - Earth 4 gas giants: Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune At least 5 dwarf planets: Ceres - Pluto - Makemake - Haumea - Eris






12. One tidal cycle per day






13. 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






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






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






16. 1 hour of time






17. Forms over the Tropics and is warm






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






19. 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






20. 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






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






22. The degrees north or south of the equator






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






24. Cirrus - Stratus - Cumulonimbus - Altostratus






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






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






27. The sun is not at the center of the disk - but out toward the perimeter - and is revolving around the ________






28. Precipitation - Canopy interception - Snowmelt - Runoff - Percolation - Subsurface flow- Evaporation - Sublimation - Condensation






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






30. 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






31. 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






32. 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)






33. Rocks are placed into groups according to how they form...






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






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






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. Mountains blocking the path of precipitation to the desert






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






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. Texture is important in classifying ______ sedimentary rocks






41. Human civilization has lasted only _____ years






42. Affected by factors such as weathering and impurities






43. 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






44. 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






45. 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...






46. The atmosphere is a __________ - and so small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole - This makes it difficult to accurately predict weather more than a few days in advance






47. The science that describes and interprets the earth Fields: - Geomorphology (land forms) - Petrology (rocks) - Stratigraphy (layered rocks) - Paleontology (fossils)






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






49. 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






50. 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