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. Flat land covered with tall grass and wildflowers.






2. A thickened elevated region of Earth's crust that is mainly (but not entirely) above sea level.






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






4. A steep-sided rounded extrusion of highly viscous lava squeezed out from a volcano and forming a dome-shaped or bulbous mass above and around the volcanic vent. The structure generally develops inside a volcanic crater.






5. A time of unusual winds and currents in the Pacific Ocean . El Nino generally causes warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures and increased rainfall and storm activity.






6. 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.






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






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






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






10. The formation & advance and retreat of glaciers and the results of these activities.






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






12. Any place where bedrock is visible on the surface of the Earth.






13. A permeable region of rock or soil through which ground water can move.






14. The direction & north (normal) or south (reversed) & that a magnetic compass needle points.






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






16. Heat transport by direct transfer of energy from one particle to another & without moving the particle to a new location.






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






18. A sedimentary rock composed primarily of biogenic sediments.






19. The point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the focus of an earthquake.






20. Heat extracted from the Earth for use as an power source.






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






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






23. Igneous. Antonym of intrusive. Synonym of volcanic. Pertaining to igneous rocks or features formed from lava released on the Earth's surface.






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






25. Any natural concentration of a valuable material in the Earth's crust & whether that material can be extracted profitably or not.






26. The solid innermost part of the core with a diameter of a little over 1 &200 km.






27. The accumulation of material in layers or beds.






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






29. Water that flows across watersheds during and immediately after severe rainstorms. In populated areas & stormwater runoff is often water that cannot be handled by existing sewer systems. Stormwater runoff is the leading source of water pollution in t






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






31. Where two plates are moving in opposite directions as in a mid-ocean ridge.






32. The two days of the year on which neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the sun.






33. To wash or scrub away.






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






35. Applies to igneous rocks that cool on the surface of the Earth & including beneath water; typically with small crystals due to the rapidity of cooling. Synonym of extrusive. Antonym of plutonic.






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






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






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






39. The surface between the zone of saturation and the zone of aeration.






40. 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.






41. Mars is named after the Roman god of war. It is the fourth planet from the Sun.






42. 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.






43. Pluto is named after the Roman god of the Underworld. No longer considered a planet.






44. Sediments produced directly by the life processes of plants or animals.






45. The relationship between distances in the area being mapped and distances in the map itself.






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






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






48. A volcano that is composed of alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic material & along with abundant dikes and sills. Viscous & intermediate lava may flow from a central vent. Example: Mt. Fuji in Japan.






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






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