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. Deposits of wind-borne dust.






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






3. The transformation of a soil from a solid to a liquid state as the result of increased pore pressure.






4. The two days of the year on which the noon sun is directly overhead at either 23.5






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






6. A rock that has crystallized from a molten state.






7. The low spot between two successive waves.






8. 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.






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






10. A planetary satellite.






11. A large volume of dust-sized particles lifted high into the atmosphere.






12. A waterway from open ocean into a lagoon.






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






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






15. The tectonic region in which two plates meet.






16. A hole or basin cut into bedrock of a stream by the abrasive action of pebbles and sand swirled by turbulent stream flow.






17. An instrument used to measure the speed of wind.






18. 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.






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






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






21. A region of high heat flow on the Earth's surface & thought to lie above a mantle plume .






22. The rigid outer shell of the Earth. It includes the crust and uppermost mantle and is on the order of 100 km in thickness.






23. Imaginary lines on a map or globe that measure distance in degrees east or west of the prime meridian. Longitude lines extend vertically & from pole to pole on a globe.






24. The effect of water and carbon dioxide absorbing outgoing infrared radiation & raising a system's temperature. The term is generally used with reference to the Earth's temperature & although it can also be applied to other systems & such as greenhous






25. Lies half way between the north and south magnetic poles.






26. Property possessed by certain rocks of breaking with relative ease along parallel planes or nearly parallel surfaces in their crystal structures where the bonds are weakest.






27. Heat transport by moving particles & and the thermal energy that they carry & to a new location.






28. The distance between two successive wave crests or troughs.






29. The portion of the continental margin that extends as a gently sloping surface from the shoreline seaward to a marked change in slope at the top of the continental slope . Seaward depth averages about 130 m.






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






31. A person who makes maps.






32. The resistance of a mineral to scratching & as measured by the Mohs scale.






33. The areas of & in & or constituting a city.






34. The level of light that penetrates through water.






35. A natural open space underground & large enough for a person to enter. Most commonly occur by the dissolution of soluble rocks & generally limestone.






36. The very slow & generally continuous downslope movement of soil and debris under the influence of gravity.






37. 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.






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






39. A naturally occurring inorganic solid that has a well-defined chemical composition and in which atoms are arranged in an ordered fashion.






40. A measure of acidity.






41. The resistance of a mineral to scratching & as measured by the Mohs scale.






42. A guide to reading a map that typically contains distance scales & arrows indicating direction & and/or explanations of symbols used.






43. A thick layer of soil.






44. A mass of ice & formed by the recrystallization of snow & that flows forward & or has flowed at some time in the past.






45. The perpendicular or very steep descent of a stream.






46. That part of the continental margin that lies between the continental shelf and the continental rise. Slope relatively steep & 3o - 6o. The continental slope is underlain by crustal rocks of the continent.






47. A sharp bend & loop or turn in a stream's course. When abandoned & it is called a meander scar or an oxbow.






48. Sediment formed by chemical precipitation from water. Example: halite precipitated as the result of the evaporation of sea water.






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






50. Ratio between weight of given volume of material and weight of equal volume of pure water.