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. 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...






2. Tides may be...






3. Some groundwater finds openings in the land surface and emerges as...






4. Form when dissolved mineral solutions crystalize out of lakes and oceans






5. Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface - water bodies (and the ocean) as...






6. 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






7. 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






8. Faulting and folding






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. Smooth layers of low clouds that indicate a chance of drizzle or snow






11. Continental tropical (dry - warm air)






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






13. - 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






14. Sometimes called minor planets or planetoids - Bodies






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






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






17. 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






18. 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






19. Younger beds were originally deposited above older beds






20. Paleontology: Fossil evidence indicates the similarity of fossils on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean - Continental 'jigsaw puzzle': The outlines of the continents seem to fit together






21. Maritime tropical (wet - warm air)






22. 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






23. Takes place when the moon passes between the earth and the sun - with the moon blocking the sunlight for about two minutes - A total ___________ may be seen only from a small zone on the earth






24. 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






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






26. Occur along plate boundaries






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






28. Distance to closest stars can be calculated by measuring the _________ - a slight shift in apparent position against the background of more distant stars as the earth travels around the sun






29. 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






30. 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






31. 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






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






33. Volcanoes are generally found where ________ are diverging or converging






34. 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






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






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






37. 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






38. Runoff and groundwater are stored as ________ in lakes






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






40. Forms south of the Arctic and is cold






41. 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






42. 1 hour of time






43. 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






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






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






46. Further caused by the elliptical orbit of the earth - Earth reaches perihelion (the point in its orbit closest to the sun) in January - and it reaches aphelion (farthest point from the sun) in July - Also depend on factors such as proximity to oceans






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






48. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmopshere where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into ____






49. 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






50. Human civilization has lasted only _____ years