Test your basic knowledge |

Subject : science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
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  • Match each statement with the correct term.
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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. Sedimentary rock composed of quartz.






2. Physical property of a mineral; refers to the shape (morphology) of a single crystal with well-formed crystal faces - or to the character of an aggregate of many well-formed crystals that grew together as a group. Depends on the internal arrangement






3. An ultramafic rock with large grains. intrusive - phaneritic igneous rock.






4. Mineral class; the molecule CO23 serves as the anionic group. Elements like calcium or magnesium bond to this group. Examples - calcite and dolomite.






5. The difference between the expected strength of the Earth's main field at a certain location and the actual measure strength of the magnetic field at that location. Places where the field strength is stronger that expected are positive anomalies - an






6. Coarse pyroclastic debris - apple to refrigerator-sized fragments. Chunks of preexisting igneous rock or large lava blobs which discharge from volcanic eruptions.






7. Type of volcanic eruption; pyroclastic - produce clouds and avalanches of pyroclastic debris. Gas expands in the rising magma - cannot escape. The pressure becomes so great that it blasts the lava - and volcanic rock - out of the volcano.






8. The display of the pattern of atoms or ions within a mineral. Meaning that the shape of one part of a mineral is a mirror image of the shape of another part.






9. An organic sedimentary rock; black - combustible rock consisting of over 50% carbon.






10. Layering in metamorphic rocks.






11. Elongate submarine mountain ranges whose peaks lie only about 2-2.5km below sea level. Consist of a ridge axis - are roughly symmetrical - and can include escarpments - axial troughs - and valleys. Examples - Mid-Atlantic Ridge - East Pacific Rise -






12. Type of magma; high silica content - viscous - liquid at temperatures as low as 700 degrees C.






13. A type of soil consisting of about 10-30% clay and the rest silt and sand. Pores remain between grains so that water and air can pass through and roots can easily penetrate.






14. Sedimentary rocks consisting of carbon-rich relicts of plants.






15. Rocks with a fragmental texture consist of igneous fragments that are packed together - welded together - or cemented together after having solidified. Examples - pyroclastic rocks such as tuff or breccia.






16. Type of lava flow; mafic - low viscosity - extremely hot - flows very quickly.






17. By melting - dissolving - or other chemical reactions.






18. Aggregates of mineral crystals or grains - and masses of natural glass; a coherent - naturally occurring solid - consisting of an aggregate of minerals or a mass of glass.






19. Active hot-spot volcanoes commonly occur at the end of a chain of dead volcanoes.






20. A mineral's growth that is uninhibited - has well-formed crystal faces.






21. The burial and lithification of angular or rounded clasts form these types of rocks.






22. A single - continuous (uninterrupted) piece of a crystalline solid bounded by flat surfaces called crystal faces that grew naturally as the mineral formed. Come in a variety of shapes - cubes - trapezoids - pyramids - octahedrons - hexagonal columns






23. Type of volcano; broad and slightly domed - primarily made of basaltic lava - large and erupt large volumes of lava. Form from either low viscosity basaltic lava or from large pyroclastic sheets.






24. Mineral crystal formation type; from directly from a vapor - occurs around volcanic vents or around geysers. At such locations - volcanic gases or steam enter the atmosphere and cool - so certain elements cannot remain in gaseous form.






25. The combination of processes that separate rock or regolith from its substrate and carry it away. Involves abrasion - plucking - scouring - and dissolution - and is caused by air - water or ice.






26. A naturally occurring solid - formed by geologic processes - has a crystalline structure and a definable chemical composition - and is generally inorganic.






27. A process occurring when the sea level rises - the coast migrates inland. Through this - an extensive layer of beach forms.






28. Outer surface level of Earth; composed of granite - basalt - and gabbro. Continental: mostly about 35-40km thick . Oceanic: about 7-10km thick. Oxygen - by far the most abundant element.






29. Magma type; contains about 45% to 52% silica. Named because it produces rock containing abundant mafic minerals - magnesium and iron combinations.






30. Magma type; contains about 66% to 76% silica. Name reflects the occurrence of feldspar and quartz in rocks formed in this magma.






31. Type of sedimentary soil/rock; Calcite in a pedocal soil accumulates in the B-horizon and may cement soil together - creating this solid mass.






32. A sedimentary bed that has developed a reddish color. The red comes from a film of iron oxide (hematite) that forms on grain surfaces.






33. A plate boundary at which two plates move toward one another so that one plate sinks beneath the other. Subduction zones; Engage the sinking process known as subduction - between plates - consuming old oceanic lithosphere due to high density. Can sim






34. Farther down from a zone of leaching - new mineral crystals precipitate directly out of the water or form when the water reacts with debris - this the region where the new minerals and clay collect.






35. The record of paleomagnetism revealed that the location of Earth's magnetic poles had been changing through geologic time. This 'wandering' meant that Earth's magnetic poles do not move with respect to fixed continents. Rather - continents move relat






36. Type of igneous rock composition; composed of dark silicates and calcium-rich feldspar - referred to as mafic (magnesium and iron). Make up the ocean floor/volcanic islands.






37. A process occurring when sea level falls - the coast migrates seaward.






38. Rock formations still attached to the Earth's crust.






39. An intrusion starting to inject between layers but then dome upwards - creating this blister-shaped intrusion.






40. Refers to the chemical reactions that alter or destroy minerals when rock comes in contact with water solutions or air.






41. Actively slipping segment of a fracture zone between two ocean ridge segments - these faults make a third type of plate boundary - transforms.






42. Layering in sedimentary rocks.






43. The four classes of igneous silicate rocks based on the proportion of silicon to iron and magnesium. As the proportion of silicon in a rock increases - the density decreases - thus felsic rocks are less dense than mafic. In order - from greatest to l






44. The most common minerals in the Earth. Contain silica (SiO2) mixed in varying proportions with other elements (typically iron - magnesium - aluminum - calcium - potassium - and sodium).






45. Physical property of a mineral; results from the way a mineral interacts with light. A mineral absorbs certain wavelengths - so the color seen represents the color wavelengths the mineral did not absorb.






46. The conditions in which sediment was deposited. Examples - beach - glacial - and/or river environments.






47. Built up deposit of volcanic bombs and lapilli - known as volcanic agglomerate.






48. If a stoped block does not melt entirely - but rather becomes surrounded by new igneous rock - it becomes this; xeno - meaning foreign.






49. A solid in which atoms are not arranged in an orderly pattern. Forms when a liquid freezes so fast that atoms do not have time to organize into an orderly pattern.






50. Two different minerals which have the same composition but have different crystal structures.