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 fracture or zone of fractures along the boundaries of tectonic plates where movement has taken place.






2. Named after the Roman god of the sea. It is the eighth planet from the Sun.






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






4. A general term including both oil and natural gas.






5. A measure of the size of an earthquake in terms of the damage it causes.






6. The generally dark & more or less stable part of the organic matter in a soil & so well decomposed that the original sources cannot be identified.






7. In the geologic time scale a unit of time less than an era and greater than an epoch. Example: The Tertiary period was the earliest period in the Cenozoic era and included & among others & the Eocene epoch.






8. 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.






9. 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.






10. The most recent eon of geologic time beginning 570 million years ago and continuing to the present.






11. A mound or ridge of sediment deposited by a glacier.






12. The processes (mechanical and chemical) responsible for the wearing away & loosening & and dissolving of materials of the Earth's crust.






13. 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






14. The southern portion of the late Paleozoic supercontinent known as Pangea. It means & literally 'Land of the Gonds' (a people of the Indian subcontinent).The supercontinent existed from Cambrian to Jurassic time & mainly composed of South America &






15. 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.






16. Any seismic wave that travels through the body of Earth & rather than along its surface.






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






18. Where two plates collide to form mountains.






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






20. Turbulent stream water flow down a steep gradient & but not as steep as in a waterfall.






21. A division of geologic time next shorter than a period. Example: the Pleistocene epoch is in the Quaternary period.






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






23. Destruction of the ozone layer caused by the release of CFC's (chlorofluorocarbons) into the atmosphere which react chemically with ozone and break it down into different gases.






24. An abandoned meander .






25. A continuous well-defined mass of material of sufficient ore content to make extraction economically feasible. compare mineral deposit.






26. A volcano in the shape of a flattened cone & broad and low & built by very fluid flows of basaltic lava.






27. Open pit mining & typically for coal.






28. A group of stars that appear to make a pattern in the sky. The Big Dipper is a constellation.






29. A supercontinent that existed from the the end of the Permian to the Jurassic & 300 to 200 million years ago & assembled from large continents like Euramerica & Gondwana & and Siberia & as well as smaller landmasses like the Cathaysian and Cimmerian






30. One of several rock-forming minerals that contain at least 95% silica (quartz). and usually one or more other common elements.






31. The amount of dissolved salt in water.






32. A hot & gaseous & self-luminous celestial body & as the Sun.






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






34. The zones of seismic activity long which plates are in contact.






35. 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.






36. Similar to a groin but built to keep sand out of a harbor entrance.






37. A thick layer of soil.






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






39. The low spot between two successive waves.






40. A study designed to collect critical data to be used for comparison or as a control in a later study.






41. All unconsolidated materials above bedrock. Natural earthy materials on the Earth's surface & in places modified or even made by human activity & containing living matter & and supporting or capable of supporting plants out of doors.






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






43. Any of various minerals prized for beauty & durability & and rarity. A few noncrystalline materials of organic origin (e.g. & pearl & red coral & and amber) also are classified as gemstones.






44. A dense & hot (sometimes incandescent) cloud of volcanic ash and gas produced in a Pelean eruption.






45. All of space and everything in it.






46. An earthquake that follows and has its epicenter near a larger earthquake.






47. Soil conditions prevailing in area whose mean annual temperature is 0o C.






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






49. Any porous and permeable rock that yields oil or natural gas.






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.