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. 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.






2. Clast size - clast composition - angularity and sphericity - sorting - and character of cement.






3. The layering nature of sedimentary rocks - surface features of layers formed during deposition - and the arrangement of grains within layers.






4. Volcanoes that exist as isolated points and appear to be independent of movement at a plate boundary - hot-spot volcanoes. Mostly are located on the interior of plates - away from boundaries.






5. Type of volcano; built from ejected lava fragments - cone shaped piles of tephra - steep slope angle - smaller in size - frequently occur in groups - deep craters.






6. 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.






7. Type of rock; accumulated sand bars - within are mineral grains of quartz and feldspar - this sediment if buried and lithified.






8. A mafic rock with small grains. Extrusive - aphanitic igneous rock.






9. A submarine suspension of sediment.






10. Alfred Wegener's suggestion that the positions of the continents change through time as they drift away from each other. The flaw was that he lacked a plausible moving mechanism.






11. A nearly horizontal - tabletop-shaped tabular intrusion - parallel to layering within the earth.






12. Type of soil; forms from sediment that has been carried in from elsewhere. Include those formed from deposits left by rivers - glaciers - or wind.






13. A thick accumulation of sediment (10-15km) - the surface of this sediment layer is this broad - shallow region.






14. The intrusion of numerous plutons in a region - produces a vast composite body that may be several hundred kilometers long and over 100km wide; an immense body of igneous rock.






15. The Earth radiated heat into space and slowly cooled. Eventually - the early formed sea of lava solidified and formed igneous rock. The cumulative effect of radioactivity has been sufficient to slow the cooling of the planet and subsequently allow fo


16. Cause of melting; when magma rises up from the mantle into the crust - it brings heat with it which raises the temperature of the surrounding crustal rock - and in some cases melting occurs.






17. A sheet of tuff formed from a pyroclastic flow.






18. Physical property of a mineral; refers to the color of a powder produced by pulverizing the mineral. Provides a fairly reliable clue to the mineral's identity - since the color of the mineral powder tends to be less variable than the color of the who






19. Cause of melting; magma can also form at locations where chemicals called volatiles mix with hot mantle rock. Elements such as water and carbon dioxide mix with hot rock - helping to break chemical bonds - so that if you add volatiles to a solid - ho






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






21. Type of igneous rock composition; composed of light-colored silicates - very rich in felsic (feldspar and silica). Major constituent of continental crust.






22. Process occurring in arid climates - dissolved salt in groundwater precipitates and grows as crystals in open pore spaces in rocks. This process pushes apart the surrounding grains and so weakens the rock that when exposed to wind or rain - the rock






23. Type of lava flow; higher silica content - greater viscosity - forms a large mound above the vent out of a volcano.






24. 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).






25. 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.






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






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






28. 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.






29. The most important mineral group; comprise the most rock-forming minerals - they are very abundant due to large % of silicon and oxygen in Earth's crust. Examples - oxygen - silica - aluminum.






30. The transformation of loose sediment into solid rock.






31. The shape of the sea floor surface. Investigation of the sea-floor revealed the presence of several important features: mid-ocean ridges - deep-ocean trenches - seamount chains - and fracture zones.






32. Sedimentary rocks made up of the shells of organisms.






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






34. Breaks intact rocks into unconnected grains or chunks - collectively called debris or detritus. Grain size from largest to smallest: boulders - cobbles - pebbles - sand - silt - mud/clay.






35. Magma is less dense than surrounding rock - and thus is buoyant. Magma is less dense both because rock expands as it melts and because magma tends to contain smaller proportions of heavy elements. Also - magma rises because the weight of overlying ro






36. Distinguishing feature of magma; the composition of the melt reflects the composition of the solid from which it was derived. Not all magmas form from the same source rock - therefore not all magmas have the same compositions.






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






38. 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.






39. Physical property of a mineral; refers to the way a mineral surface scatters light. Metallic versus non-metallic in nature.






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






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






42. Type of soil; forms directly from underlying bedrock.






43. The boundary between two beds is a bedding plane; several beds constitute this structure.






44. Rigid outer layer of Earth - 100-150km thick. Consists of the crust plus the uppermost part of the mantle.






45. 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






46. During this process - water chemically reacts with minerals and breaks them down - working faster in slightly acidic water.






47. 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.






48. The process by which sediment settles out of the transporting medium.






49. A distinctive sequence of strata traced across a fairly large region. For example - a region may contain a succession of alternating sandstone and shale beds deposited by rivers - overlain by beds of marine limestone deposited later.






50. Consists of rock and sediment that has been modified by physical and chemical interaction with organic material and rainwater - over time - to produce a substrate that can support the growth of plants.