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 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






2. The runoff produced by melting snow






3. Forms south of the Arctic and is cold






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






5. The spectra of distant objects display a red shift - which is interpreted as meaning that they are rapidly receding from us - This apparent expansion of the universe has given rise to the big bang theory of cosmology - in which one primeval mass expl






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






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. 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






9. 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






10. The result of the buildup of once - living things






11. Large - dark clouds that indicate thunderstorms






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






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






14. Occur along plate boundaries






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






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






17. The state change where a solid (ice or snow) changes directly to a gas (water vapor)






18. 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...






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






20. 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)






21. 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






22. The lateral movement of the plates is typically at speeds of ___ mm annually






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






24. Traces of ancient life preserved in the strata as shells - footprints - and the like - Soft plant and animal tissues decompose quickly in the presence of decay bacteria - which exist wherever oxygen exists






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






26. A small Solar System body that orbits the Sun - When close enough to the sun - exhibits a visible coma (atmosphere) or a tail - both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the comet's nucleus - Have a variety of different orbital periods






27. Human civilization has lasted only _____ years






28. Seas - gulfs - bays - and other names






29. 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






30. 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






31. Due to a combination of differential heating and geometry - hen the sun rises - it is the tops of the mountain peaks which receive first light - and as the day progresses - the mountain slopes take on a greater heat load than the valleys - This resul






32. 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






33. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






34. Scientists theorize that massive volcanic eruptions on a global scale contributed to the earth's cooling - resulting in the onset of the...






35. Maritime tropical (wet - warm air)






36. 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






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






38. Pulls the planets toward the sun - while their inertia keeps them moving forward in an elliptical orbit around the sun


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






40. 4 terrestrials: Mercury - Venus - Mars - Earth 4 gas giants: Jupiter - Saturn - Uranus - Neptune At least 5 dwarf planets: Ceres - Pluto - Makemake - Haumea - Eris






41. 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






42. 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






43. 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






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. 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






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






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






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






49. Forms over the Tropics and is warm






50. The degrees north or south of the equator