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. A tool for measuring the relative clarity of water.






3. Any form of water & such as rain & sleet & or snow & that falls to Earth's surface.






4. The condition of equilibrium & comparable to floating & of units of the lithosphere above the asthenosphere.






5. A flood that rises and falls very rapidly.






6. A term applied to large areas of basaltic lava presumably extruded from fissures.






7. A mudflow composed chiefly of pyroclastic material on the flanks of a volcano.






8. A deposit of partly decayed plant remains in a very wet environment; marsh or swamp deposit of plant remains containing more than 50 percent carbon.






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






10. 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.






11. A broad & mound-like mass of glacier ice that usually spreads radially outward from a central zone.






12. Banks of sand and silt along stream bank built by deposition in small increments during successive floods.






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






14. The level of light that penetrates through water.






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






16. A river that is able to maintain its flow through a desert because of water received from outside the desert.






17. A major drainage divide separating the drainage to one ocean from another.






18. All of space and everything in it.






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






20. A conical volcano formed by the accumulation of pyroclastic debris around a vent.






21. The explosion of a dying giant or supergiant star.






22. The science that deals with the study of the planet Earth--the materials of which it is made & the processes that act to change these materials from one form to another & and the history recorded by these materials; the forces acting to deform the ou






23. A famous scientist who proposed that the Sun was the center of the solar system not the Earth. (Heliocentrism)






24. An area of land that delivers runoff water & sediment & and dissolved substances to surface water bodies & such as rivers or lakes. All watersheds consist of boundaries & a basin and collection areas.






25. The geologic eon lying between the Archean and Phanerozoic eons & beginning about 2.5 billion years ago and ending about 0.57 billion years ago.






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






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






28. That portion of the resources for a valuable mineral commodity that can be extracted from the Earth at a profit today.






29. The reflection of light on a given mineral's surface & classified by intensity and quality.






30. A pillar formed as a stalactite and stalagmite meet.






31. 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.






32. Deserts in zones of descending air between 25 degrees and 30 degrees north and south latitude.






33. A sedimentary rock made up of chemical sediments. Example: rock salt.






34. A method of sediment transport in which the turbulence of a fluid is able to keep particles supported in the fluid.






35. A reverse fault on which the dip angle of the fault plane is 15 degrees or less.






36. The layer of gases (air) & that surrounds a planet or moon.






37. A landscape that develops from the action of ground water in areas of easily soluble rocks. It is usually characterized by caves & underground drainage and sinkholes.






38. Molten rock & containing dissolved gases and suspended solid particles. At the Earth's surface & magma is known as lava.






39. A system that uses a constellation of 24 satellites & their ground stations & and individual GPS receivers to accurately locate points on Earth.






40. Temporary accumulations of sediments that collect between low and high water marks.






41. A large area with common features that set it apart from other areas.






42. The presence of layers in some rocks caused by parallel alignment of minerals.






43. Deserts formed by blocking moisture-bearing winds with mountain barriers.






44. The symbol used on a map to indicate directions & both cardinal and ordinal.






45. Gases that can be dissociated by solar radiation & which releases chlorine & which in turn destroys ozone.


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






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






48. A depression in the ground formed by the melting of a block of glacier ice buried or partially buried by drift.






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






50. Highly mafic igneous volcanic rock & typically fine-grained and dark in color; rough volcanic equivalent of gabbro. Basalt is the most abundant volcanic rock in the Earth's crust.