Test your basic knowledge |

Earth Science

Subject : 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. An icicle-shaped accumulation of dripstone hanging from cave roof.






2. The portion of the continental margin that lies between the abyssal plain and the continental slope. The continental rise is underlain by crustal rocks of the ocean basin.






3. A unit of length used in sea navigation based on the length of 1 minute of arc on a great circle. On Earth & 1 minute of latitude.






4. The attractive force between two objects; its magnitude depends on their masses and the distance between them.






5. A sea level change due to change in load on Earth's crust.






6. A blanket of wind-driven sand with an upper surface about a meter above ground level.






7. A plate boundary in which plates on opposite sides of the boundary move past each other in opposite directions. The San Andreas fault of California is a good example.






8. Enormous & thick sheets of rock that are part of the Earth's upper mantle that move and adjoin each other along zones of seismic activity. Many tectonic plates extend underneath both continents and sea floor.






9. The line formed by the intersection of the axial plane of a fold with a bedding plane & marking where the bed shows its maximum curvature.






10. No identifiable layers of minerals in a rock sample






11. A tool for measuring the relative clarity of water.






12. A narrow & steep-walled depression in the ocean floor & much deeper than the adjacent ocean and associated with a subduction zone.






13. The dust-sized & sharp-edged & glassy particles resulting from an explosive volcanic eruption.






14. Living in water.






15. The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.






16. Gases (primarily water and carbon dioxide & but also a variety of sulfur and nitrogen compounds and gaseous hydrocarbons) that trap the Sun's heat in the atmosphere.






17. The environment where a particular plant or animal is normally found.






18. In a stream & the volume of water passing through a channel in a given time.






19. Heat extracted from the Earth for use as an power source.






20. The closest galaxy to the Milky way. It is approximately 2 million light-years away.






21. The study of earthquakes & and of the structure of the Earth by both natural and artificially generated seismic waves.






22. 1. A steep-walled & usually conical depression at the summit or on the flanks of a volcano & resulting from the explosive ejection of material from a vent. 2. A bowl-shaped depression with a raised & overturned rim produced by the impact of a meteori






23. Elongated rises on the ocean floor where basalt periodically erupts & forming new oceanic crust.






24. A division of geologic time next smaller than the eon and larger than a period. Example: The Paleozoic era is in the Phanerozoic eon and includes & among others & the Devonian period.






25. A process by which salts accumulate in soil.






26. A system involving continuous interaction of the solid Earth & the atmosphere & the oceans and living things.






27. A seismic body wave that involves particle motion from side to side & perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation. S-waves are slower than P-waves and cannot travel through a liquid.






28. The color of a mineral in its powdered form obtained from scraping a sample on a ceramic plate






29. A permeable region of rock or soil through which ground water can move.






30. Forms along a coast as wave erosion cuts through a headland.






31. The method of locating an epicenter by determining how far it lies from three widely separated seismographs.






32. Rock formed from the accumulation of sediment & Which may consist of fragments and mineral grains of varying sizes from pre-existing rocks & remains or products of animals and plants & the products of chemical action & or mixtures of these.






33. Any solid material that has settled out of a state of suspension in liquid.






34. A low & nearly flat accumulation of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river or stream & commonly triangular or fan-shaped.






35. Lacking in rainfall & very dry.






36. A comet that passed Earth in 1997 and won't return to the inner solar system until the year 4377.






37. The acidity in rain due to gases from internal combustion engines and coal- and oil-burning power plants.






38. A post of dripstone growing up from a cave floor.






39. As applied to glacier ice & the process by which ice below the snow line is wasted by evaporation and melting.






40. A sea level change due to change in load on Earth's crust.






41. The precipitation that runs directly off the surface to stream or body of standing water.






42. An isolated & steep-sided & rocky mass or island just offshore from a rocky headland & usually on a shore platform.






43. The great circle on the Earth's surface passing through The North and South Poles & which is considered 0 degrees longitude. The prime meridian passes through Greenwich & England & and is used as a reference point for measuring longitude east and w






44. A device containing a free-swinging magnetic needle that is attracted to Earth's magnetic North Pole. Used to determine direction of travel.






45. Refers to rock or sediments made up primarily of broken fragments of pre-existing rocks or minerals.






46. A portable time keeper with a mechanism for ensuring accuracy and adjusting itself & used for determining longitude at sea.






47. The current geologic era & which began 66.4 million years ago and continues to the present.






48. A vent in the surface of the Earth & from which lava & ash & and gases erupt.






49. All of space and everything in it.






50. A Hawaiian term for a lava flow that has a rough & jagged surface.