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






2. 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.






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






4. 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






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






6. Physical property of a mineral; a measure of a minerals relative ability to resist scratching - and therefore represents the resistance of bonds in the crystal structure being broken. The atoms or ions in crystals of a hard mineral are more strongly






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






8. 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.






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






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






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






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






13. Forms when clots of lava fly into the air in lava fountains and then freeze to form solid chunks before hitting the ground. Some forms when the explosion of a volcano shatters preexisting rock and ejects the fragments over the countryside.






14. An insulated - tunnel-like conduit through which lava moves within a flow.






15. Distinguishing feature of magma; the process where magma changes composition as it cools because formation and sinking of crystals preferentially remove certain atoms from the magma.






16. Chemical precipitates; salt deposits formed as a consequence of evaporation. Examples - rock salt and gypsum.






17. 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.






18. Because different soil-forming processes operate at different depths - soils typically develop into these distinct zones. These zones can be arranged vertically into a soil profile.






19. Successive turbidity currents deposit successive graded beds - creating this sequence of strata.






20. 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






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






22. Contributes to formation of soil; occurs when rainwater percolates through the debris and carries dissolved ions and clay flakes downward - This is the region where the downward transport occurs.






23. 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.






24. The removal of soil by running water or by wind.






25. A column of very hot rock that flows upward until it reaches the base of the lithosphere. In this model - such deep-mantle plumes form because heat rising from the Earth's core is warming rock at the base of the mantle. A possible explanation to the






26. Type of volcanic eruption; produce mainly lava flows - yield low-viscosity basaltic lavas.






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






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






29. Type of sedimentary rock; rocks whose grains are stuck together by cement.






30. A reference to the supposed position of the Earth's magnetic pole at a time in the past.






31. 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.






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






33. The separated lithosphere into distinct pieces. Twelve major 'pieces' and several minor. Consist of active margins and passive margins between them.






34. A submarine suspension of sediment.






35. Rocks which develop when hot molten rock cools and freezes solid.






36. 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.






37. Rock made by the freezing of magma underground - after it has pushed its way (intruded) into preexisting rock of the crust.






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






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






40. 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.






41. The freely pivoting up and down compass needle's angle of tilt relative to the location upon the Earth's surface. At the equator - the specialized magnetic needle would position horizontally and at a magnetic pole it would point straight down.






42. Type of lava flow; a lava flow with warm - pasty surfaces wrinkling into smooth - glassy - rope-like bridges.






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






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






45. 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.






46. 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






47. The broad - relatively flat regions of the ocean that lie at a depth of about 4-5km below sea level.






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






49. A sediment-filled depression; in an area where the lithosphere has subsided.






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