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






2. The process of removing metal from ore.






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






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






5. A curved belt of volcanic islands lying above a subduction zone.






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






7. A collection of maps.






8. The closest galaxy to the Milky way. It is approximately 2 million light-years away.






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






10. 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.






11. A measure of acidity.






12. The internal resistance to flow in a liquid.






13. Extending across a continent.






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






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






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






17. The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.






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






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






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






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






22. The low spot between two successive waves.






23. 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






24. A large area of flat or nearly flat land.






25. An atmospheric shield providing the Earth with protection from ultra-violet rays which can cause sun burn & skin cancer and the destruction of the delicate plant life which supports the planet's food chain.






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






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






28. A commonly used scale of earthquake intensity.






29. A statement of relative age in layered rocks: In a series of sedimentary rocks that has not been overturned & the topmost layer is always the youngest and the bottommost layer is always the oldest.






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






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






32. Shapes & like mountains or hills that make up the Earth's surface.






33. An area subject to dust storms & especially south central United States .






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






35. A narrow & steep-walled depression in the ocean floor & much deeper than the adjacent ocean and associated with a subduction zone.






36. The pattern of water circulation from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean.






37. The top of a wave.






38. A slide involving a downward and usually sudden movement of newly detached segments of bedrock sliding or slipping over an inclined surface of weakness such as a bedding plane & fault plane & or joint surface.






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






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






41. The very small particles of dirt & soot & and other pollutants that are present in the air.






42. Lacking in rainfall & very dry.






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






44. The color of a mineral in its powdered form obtained from scraping a sample on a ceramic plate






45. An instrument that merely indicates the occurrence of an earthquake.






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






47. The method of locating an epicenter by determining how far it lies from three widely separated seismographs.






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






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






50. A post of dripstone growing up from a cave floor.