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. Some rock bodies appear to contain distinct formations - defined either by bands of different compositions or textures - or by the alignment of inequant grains so that they trend parallel to one another.






2. Mineral class; consist of metal cations bonded by oxygen anions. Examples - hematite and magnetite. Some contain a relatively high proportion of metal atoms - and thus are ore minerals.






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






4. Subsoil - ions and clay leached and transported down from above accumulate here. As a result - new minerals form - and clay fills open spaces. Part of the zone of accumulation.






5. The speed of the movements of the plates with respect to the speed of the other plates' movements. Absolute plate velocity is a measure of the movement of any plates relative to a fixed point in the mantle.






6. The way in which the atoms are packed together within a mineral by chemical bonds. Five difference types of bonding can occur - covalent - ionic - metallic - Van der Waal's - and hydrogen.






7. 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






8. Soil section below the O-horizon - humus has decayed further and has mixed with mineral grains (clay - silt - and sand). Water percolating through this horizon causes chemical weathering reactions to occur and produces ions in solution and new clay m






9. A felsic rock with large grains. Intrusive - phaneritic igneous rock.






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






11. 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.






12. In degrees Celsius - the high temperatures at which igneous rocks freeze; the freezing of liquid melt to form solid igneous rock represents the same phenomenon as the freezing of water - except at much higher temperatures.






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






14. 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.






15. Deeper sublayer of the mantle - depth of 660km to 2900km.






16. Mineral class; consist of pure masses of a single metal - with metallic bonds. Copper and gold can appear in this way.






17. Rocks that consist of mineral crystals that intergrow when the melt solidifies - interlocking structure. Examples - granite and rhyolite.






18. Sedimentary rock composed of calcite or dolomite.






19. Mineral group; olivine group - pyroxene group - amphibole group.






20. Times when the Earth's magnetic field flips from normal to reversed polarity - or vice versa. When the Earth has reversed polarity - the south magnetic pole lies near the north geographic pole - and the north magnetic pole lies near the south geograp






21. Mineral class; the anion within these types of minerals is a halogen ion (such as chlorine or fluorine).






22. Occurs within the asthenosphere - actively drags plates along and attributes partially for the mechanism shifting the plates along the Earth's surface.






23. A plate boundary at which two plates move apart from one another by process of sea-floor spreading. Mid-ocean ridges or simply a ridge. New crust is formed at ridges through the buoyant rising of magma from beneath the surface and solidifies to creat






24. Magma type; contains about 52% to 66% silica. Name indicates that these magmas have a composition between that of felsic and mafic magma.






25. Lava flow; associated with felsic magma - consists of ash and pumice fragments - material is propelled from the vent at a high speed.






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






27. Along much of the perimeter of the Pacific Ocean - the ocean floor reaches astounding depths of 8-12km. These areas define elongate troughs - and they border volcanic arcs - the curving chains of active volcanoes.






28. Layering in metamorphic rocks.






29. 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.






30. During the final stages of cooling - lava flows contract and may fracture into roughly hexagonal columns.






31. Distinct internal laminations within a ripple or dune that are inclined at an angle to the boundary of the main sedimentary layer. Form as a consequence of the evolution of dunes or ripples.






32. Molten rock beneath Earth's surface.






33. Distinguishing feature of magma; the process where magma sits in a magma chamber before completely solidifying - it may incorporate chemicals derived from the walls rocks of the chamber.






34. Solids composed of metal atoms (such as iron - aluminum - copper - and tin). Within this type of solid - outer electrons are able to flow freely.






35. Form when solid materials become hot and transform into liquid - example - molten rock.






36. Form from grains that break off preexisting rock and become cemented together - or from minerals that precipitate out of a water solution.






37. A term used for all the physical - chemical - and biological processes that transform sediment into sedimentary rock and that alter characteristics of sedimentary rock one the rock has formed.






38. Fracture type; smoothly curving - clamshell-shaped surfaces; typically formed in quartz.






39. Inorganic limestone; rock composed of crystalline calcium carbonate formed by chemical precipitation.






40. Sphere; Surface water along with groundwater - Earth consists of 70% surface water (oceans - lakes - and streams).






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






42. Type of lava flow; the most viscous of any lava flow because it is the most silicic and the coolest in nature. Tends to accumulate in a lava dome above the vent or in short and bulbous flows 1 to 2 km long.






43. Process that occurs after the sediment has been buried - pressure cause by the overburden squeezes out water and air that had been trapped between clasts - and the clasts press together tightly.






44. The ocean floor is diced up by narrow bands of vertical fractures. Lie roughly at right angles to mid-ocean ridges - effectively segmenting the ridges into small pieces.






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






46. A place where three plate boundaries intersect at a point.






47. Sublayer of the mantle - depth of 660km.






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






49. Process where new divergent boundaries form when a continent splits and separates into two continents.






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