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






2. 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






3. Nearest galaxy - about 20 million light - years away






4. 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






5. The transformation of water vapor to liquid water droplets in the air - producing clouds and fog






6. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






7. Occur when two plates push together - Such faults are strong and relatively deep - Where the strongest earthquakes occur Example: mountain building in the Himalayas and the Andes






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






9. Maritime polar (wet - cold air)






10. Deviates by an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees - Thus - at any given time during summer or winter - one part of the planet is more directly exposed to the rays of the sun - This exposure alternates as the earth revolves in its orbit






11. 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






12. 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






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






14. Darkens the moon as the earth passes between it and the sun - casting a shadow on the moon - may be seen from anywhere the moon is visible - about half of the earth






15. Somewhat cooler disturbances in the photosphere






16. Defined by geometrically subdividing the earth's spheroid into 24 lunes (wedge - shaped sections) - bordered by meridians - each 15






17. 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






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






19. 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






20. The breakdown of rocks - soils and minerals through direct contact with atmospheric conditions such as heat - water - ice - and pressure






21. Officially defined as sustained sea surface temperature anomalies of magnitude greater than 0.5






22. Bbreaking along flat surfaces






23. Texture is important in classifying ______ sedimentary rocks






24. 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






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






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






27. Comprises one global - interconnected body of salt water often (though generally recognized as several separate oceans) - A continuous body of water with relatively free interchange among its parts






28. 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






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. Featherlike clouds that indicate fair weather






31. Forms south of the Arctic and is cold






32. The major mountains tend to occur in __________ - indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity






33. 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






34. Cirrus - Stratus - Cumulonimbus - Altostratus






35. Spiral - elliptical - and irregular form are speckled throughout the visible universe - Largest telescope has detected galaxies to its limit of several billion light - years






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






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






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






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






40. Characterized by similar temperatures and moisture levels






41. Forms over water and is associated with wet air






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






43. The cold - water current that flows north to south off the _____________ keeps the West Coast fairly cool during the summer - Cold - water currents create cooler temperatures in areas that would otherwise be much warmer






44. 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






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






46. 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






47. 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






48. Center: 3000


49. 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






50. An opening - or rupture - in a planet's surface or crust - which allows hot molten rock - ash - and gases to escape from below the surface - Volcanic activity involving the extrusion of rock tends to form mountains or features like mountains over a p