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






2. A proposition in 1960 - by Princeton University professor Harry Hess - that continents drift apart because new ocean floor forms between them by this process.






3. Rocks that forms by the freezing of lava above ground - after it spills out (extrudes) onto the surface of the Earth and comes into contact with the atmosphere or ocean.






4. Pea to plum-sized fragments of pyroclastic debris - consists of pumice or scoria fragments.






5. Places where intrusive igneous rock creates tabular intrusions cutting across rock that does not have layering - this nearly vertical - wall-like tabular intrusions is formed. Cut across layering within the earth.






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






7. Low-viscosity (basaltic) lava flows out of a volcano easily - whereas high-viscosity (andesitic and rhyolitic) lava can clog and build pressure within a volcano. Basaltic eruptions are typically effusive and produce shield volcanoes - whereas rhyolit






8. A fine spray of lava instantly freezes to form fine particles of glass.






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






10. The angle between the direction that a compass needle points at a given location and the direction of the 'true' (geographic) north. Through this process - the magnetic poles never stray more than 15 degrees of latitude from the geographic pole.






11. 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.






12. Weathering - erosion - transportation - deposition - and lithification.






13. Refers to the arrangement of grains in a rock; that is - the way the grains connect each other and whether inequant grains are aligned parallel to one another.






14. The nature of Earth's magnetic field - like the familiar magnetic field around a bar magnet - has a North and South pole. The magnetic field is drawn with field lines - the paths along Which magnets would align - or charged particles would flow - if






15. The absorption of water into the crystal structure of minerals - causes some minerals to expand.






16. A single layer of sediment or sedimentary rock with a recognizable top and bottom.






17. Layering in sedimentary rocks.






18. 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.






19. 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.






20. Develops because mid-ocean ridges lie at a higher elevation than the adjacent abyssal plains of the ocean. The surface of the sea floor overall slopes away from the ridge axis. Gravity causes the elevated lithosphere at the ridge axis to push on the






21. Mineral group; feldspars - quartz - muscovite - clay minerals.






22. Most common mineral on Earth; compose over 95% of the continental crust. Consist of combinations of a fundamental building block called silicon-oxygen tetrahedron - different groups: independent tetrahedra - single chains - double chains - sheet sili






23. Sedimentary rock consisting of cemented together solid fragments and grains derived from preexisting rocks.






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






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






26. Blocks of rock that are solid and durable but composed of rough quartz sand grains cemented together.






27. 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






28. 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.






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






30. Process where a convergent boundary ceases to exist when a piece of buoyant lithosphere - such as a continent or island arc - moves into the subduction zone. Yield some of the most spectacular mountains/mountain ranges on the planet including the Him






31. The bottom portion of the upper mantle - the interval lying between 400km and 660km deep. Here within the Earth - the character of the mantle undergoes a series of abrupt changes.






32. Refers to the proportions of different chemicals making up the rock - and thus the proportion chemicals affects the proportions of different minerals constituting the rock.






33. Sedimentary rock composed of quartz.






34. A pluton formation theory; a process during Which magma assimilates wall rock - and blocks of wall rock break off and sink into the magma.






35. Molten rock beneath Earth's surface.






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






37. The supercontinent; existence proposed by Wegener - suggested that the supercontinent later fragmented into separate continents that then drifted apart - moving slowly to their present positions.






38. The resistance to flow of magma. Reflects its distinct silica content - for silica tends to polymerize - meaning it links up to form long - chainlike molecules whose presence slows down the flowing ability of magma. Thus felsic magmas flow less easil






39. 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.






40. A mafic rock with large grains. Intrusive - phaneritic igneous rock.






41. Physical features of the land surface represented by changes in elevation.






42. Refers to the processes that break up and corrode solid rock - eventually transforming it into sediment. Physical and chemical variations.






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






44. 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 -






45. Equant - meaning that they have the same dimensions in all directions. Or inequant - meaning their dimensions are not the same in all directions.






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






47. Fluid basaltic lava extruded from crustal fractures called fissures.






48. Distinguishing feature of magma; Because not all minerals melt by the same amount under given conditions - and because chemical reactions take place during melting - the magma that forms as a rock begins to melt does not have the same composition as






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






50. Mineral class; consist of a metal cation bonded to a sulfide anion. Examples - galena and pyrite. Many have a metallic luster. Can also be considered ores with high proportions of metal within the mineral.