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 runoff produced by melting snow






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






3. 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






4. Improved land - use practices can limit erosion by using techniques such as...






5. Temperature - pressure - and composition






6. 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






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






8. Sedimentary rocks containing large fragments of other rock material - e.g. Sandstone






9. One tidal cycle per day






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






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






12. 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






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


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






15. Formed by sodium chloride






16. Younger beds were originally deposited above older beds






17. This scale assigns a fixed number to 10 reference materials. Talc (1) is the softest and diamond (10) is the hardest


18. 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






19. Can influence climate by sending tremendous volumes of dust - ash - and smoke into the atmosphere






20. Volcanoes are also found in __________ - where the denser oceanic plates are forced under continental plates; this adds massive volumes of water to the mantle - allowing magma to melt more readily and rise to the surface to form volcanoes






21. 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






22. Earth movements - The result of forces within the earth - where temperature and pressure differences lead to instability






23. 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






24. 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






25. 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






26. Oceans cover __ of the earth's surface






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






28. 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






29. 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






30. Faulting and folding






31. Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the...


32. Some water infiltrates deep into the ground and replenishes ________ - which store huge amounts of freshwater for long periods of time






33. A semi - closed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it - and with a free connection to the open sea - Often associated with high levels of biological diversity - They are made up of brackish water - Often given names






34. Seas - gulfs - bays - and other names






35. 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






36. Ancient astronomers found that eclipses occurred periodically and learned to predict them accurately - Lunar and solar






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






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






39. 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






40. Mountains blocking the path of precipitation to the desert






41. 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






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






43. Forms over the Tropics and is warm






44. Takes approx. seven and a half earth months to revolve around the sun - Takes approx. eight earth months to rotate on its axis - a day on ________ is longer than a year






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






47. Result from the earth's axis being tilted to its orbital plane - NOT the result of the variation in the earth's distance to the sun (Because of its elliptical orbit - the earth as a whole is slightly warmer when away from the sun; this is because the






48. Piled in waves and indicate rain or snow






49. 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






50. When the moon is at first quarter or third quarter - the sun - earth and moon form a 90- degree (right) angle with the earth at the vertex - The combined effect of this alignment of the sun - earth - and moon results in tidal ranges on the earth - Wh