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 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.






2. Synonym of intrusive. Antonym of volcanic. Applies to igneous rocks formed beneath the surface of the Earth; typically with large crystals due to the slowness of cooling.






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






4. A sea wave produced by any large-scale & short duration disturbance on the seafloor & commonly a shallow submarine earthquake but possibly also a submarine slide or volcanic eruption.






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






6. Verifying assessments made from satellite data by doing direct & 'on-the ground' measurements.






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






8. The region of a shore that is covered at high tide and exposed at low tide.






9. Lava extruded beneath water characterized by pillow shapes.






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






11. A valley caused by extension of the Earth's crust. Its floor forms as a portion of the crust moves downward along normal faults.






12. Bent rock strata.






13. Where two plates collide to form mountains.






14. No identifiable layers of minerals in a rock sample






15. A flood that rises and falls very rapidly.






16. Where one plate slides beneath another plate as the two are pushed together & a subduction zone.






17. The point on the Earth's surface where a magnetic needle points vertically downward (north magnetic pole) or vertically upward (south magnetic pole).






18. The persistence of wind-formed waves after wind ceases.






19. A sedimentary rock composed of combustible matter derived from the partial decomposition of plant material.






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






21. Surficial mining & in which the valuable rock is exposed by removal of overlying rock or soil.






22. 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.






23. A period of dryness & that when prolonged & causes damage to crops; a shortage of water.






24. A type of volcanic eruption characterized by nuees ardentes and the development of lava domes.






25. A large & basin-shaped volcanic depression & more or less circular in form. Typically steep-sided & found at the summit of a shield volcano.






26. An astronomical instrument for measuring angles & primarily altitude of celestial bodies to determine latitude.






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






28. The tendency of a moving object to continue in a straight line or a stationary object to remain in place.






29. A commonly used measure of earthquake magnitude & based on a logarithmic scale. Each integral step on the scale represents a tenfold increase in the extent of ground shaking & as recorded on a seismograph.






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






31. An instrument that detects & magnifies & and records vibrations of the Earth & especially earthquakes.






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






33. Where two plates collide to form mountains.






34. 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.






35. The weak or 'soft' zone in the upper mantle just below the lithosphere & involved in plate movement and isostatic adjustments. It lies 70 to 100 km below the surface and may extend to a depth of 400 km.






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






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






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






39. 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.






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






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






42. Lacking in rainfall & very dry.






43. A detailed mathematical description of the cause-and-effect relationships between events that can be used to predict or explain other such events.






44. A ball of ice and dust & whose orbit is a long & narrow ellipse.






45. 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.






46. No identifiable layers of minerals in a rock sample






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






48. Pertaining to clastic material formed by volcanic explosion or aerial expulsion from a volcanic vent.






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






50. Any accumulation of material & by settling from water or air & chemical precipitation & evaporation from solution & etc.