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. A sedimentary rock composed primarily of biogenic sediments.






2. The process by which ocean floors spread laterally from crests of main ocean ridges. As material moves laterally from the ridge & new material replaces it along the ridge crest by welling upward from the mantle.






3. The upper horizons in a soil & through which gravitational moisture travels & removing soluble decomposition products.






4. A measure of the strength of an earthquake based on the amount of movement recorded by a seismograph . compare Richter scale.






5. Imaginary lines on a map or globe that measure distance in degrees north or south of the equator. Latitude lines extend horizontally & from east to west on a globe.






6. The breaking away of ice from the front of the glacier when it ends in a lake or an ocean. Produces icebergs.






7. The point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the focus of an earthquake.






8. An aggregate of one or more minerals in varying proportions.






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






10. Woodland that usually gets at least 100 inches of rain each year.






11. Till deposited from main body of glacier during ablation.






12. A soft compact calcite & CaCO3 & with varying amounts of silica & quartz & feldspar & or other mineral impurities & generally gray-white or yellow-white and derived chiefly from fossil seashells.






13. The peak flow of water that tops the banks of a stream channel.






14. 1. A low & bowl-shaped area of land surrounded by higher lands. 2. any large depression in which sediments are deposited.






15. A small ice sheet.






16. The amount of material a stream carries in suspension.






17. Evidence in rock of the presence of past life & such as a dinosaur bone & an ancient clam shell & or the footprint of a long-extinct animal as well as life history artifacts.






18. The process by which ocean floors spread laterally from crests of main ocean ridges. As material moves laterally from the ridge & new material replaces it along the ridge crest by welling upward from the mantle.






19. A vent on the seafloor from which hydrothermal fluids are emitted. Upon mixing with seawater and cooling & the fluids precipitate a cloud of fine-grained sulfide minerals that resembles a cloud of black smoke.






20. An era of geologic time lasting from 570 to 245 million years ago.






21. The peak flow of water that tops the banks of a stream channel.






22. A cavity in a lava & formed by the entrapment of a gas bubble during solidification of the lava.






23. Plutonic. Antonym of extrusive. Pertaining to igneous rocks or features formed by the emplacement of magma in pre-existing rocks.






24. Any natural concentration of a valuable material in the Earth's crust & whether that material can be extracted profitably or not.






25. 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.






26. A rigid segment of the Earth's lithosphere that moves horizontally and adjoins other plates along zones of seismic activity. Plates may include portions of both continents and ocean basins.






27. 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.






28. A process of land degradation initiated by human activity & particularly in the zones along the margins of deserts.






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






30. The way in which a rock or mineral breaks in random patterns rather than cleaving






31. The seaward edge of coast between low tide and effective wave action.






32. A measure of acidity.






33. Bent rock strata.






34. A device built to study distant objects by making them appear closer.






35. The Earth's crust underlying the ocean basins which is formed at mid-oceanic ridges. It is typically 5 to 10 kilometers thick composed of basalt.






36. Living in water.






37. A ridge of high water associated with a hurricane and which floods over the shore .






38. A layer of sedimentary rock; plural is strata.






39. A volcano that is composed of alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic material & along with abundant dikes and sills. Viscous & intermediate lava may flow from a central vent. Example: Mt. Fuji in Japan.






40. Any object that revolves around another object in space.






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






42. A volcanic mountain on the seafloor. If flat-topped & it is a guyot.






43. A worldwide change in sea level & such as caused by melting glaciers.






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. A group of islands; an expanse of water with scattered islands.






46. An area where fresh water comes into contact with seawater & usually in a partly enclosed coastal body of water; a mix of fresh and salt water where the current of a stream meets the tides.






47. The tectonic region in which two plates meet.






48. Heat transport by direct transfer of energy from one particle to another & without moving the particle to a new location.






49. A community of plants and/or animals and its physical environment & regarded as a unit.






50. Sediments produced directly by the life processes of plants or animals.