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






2. The fit of the continents - locations of past glaciations - the distribution of equatorial climatic belts - the distribution of fossils - and matching geologic units.






3. Chemical weathering during Which minerals dissolve into water.






4. Biochemical sedimentary rock; it's made from cryptocrystalline quartz. Examples - flint and jasper.






5. A rock made of solid mass of glass - or of tiny crystals surrounded by glass. Reflect light as glass does and tend to break conchoidally. Examples - obsidian - tachylite - pumice.






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






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






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






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






10. Chemical weathering occurring in warm - wet climates can produce a layer of rotten rock - over 100km thick.






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






12. 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






13. Lava flowing on dry land cools more slowly that lava erupting underwater.






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






15. Mineral class; consist of a metal cation bonded to the anionic group. Many form by precipitation out of water at or near the Earth's surface. Example - gypsum.






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






17. Layering in sedimentary rocks.






18. Cause of melting; the variation in temperature with depth is expressed in the geotherm; because pressure prevents melting - a decrease in pressure can permit melting. Specifically - if the pressure affecting hot mantle rock decreases while the temper






19. Molten rock that has flowed out onto Earth's surface.






20. Natural cracks that form in rocks due to removal of overburden or due to cooling.






21. 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.






22. A name for any kind of unconsolidated debris that covers bedrock. Includes both soil and accumulations of sediment that have not evolved into soil.






23. 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.






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






25. 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).






26. 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.






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






28. When water is trapped in a joint freezes - it forces the joint open and may cause the joint to grow.






29. 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.






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






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






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






33. 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.






34. 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






35. 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






36. Distinguishing feature of magma; the process where different magmas formed in different locations from different sources may come in contact within a magma chamber prior to freezing. Thus the originally distinct magmas mix to create a new - different






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






38. Measure of pressure or push in units of force - per unit area. 1 atm = 1.04 kilograms per square centimeter.






39. Created from preexisting rocks which undergo changes - such as the growth of new minerals in response to pressure and heat - and/or as a result of squashing - stretching - or shear.






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






41. Relatively small - elongated ridges that form on a bed surface at right angles to the direction of the current flow of the rock.






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






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






44. A vent at Which melt from inside the Earth spews onto the planet's surface. Erupt.






45. In addition to islands that rise above sea level - seamounts have been detected (isolated submarine mountains) - once volcanoes but no longer erupt.






46. Type of soil; forms in tropical regions where abundant rainfall drenches the land during the rainy season - and the soil dries during the dry season.






47. 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.






48. 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






49. A plate boundary at which one plate slips along the side of another plate. No new plate is formed and no old plate is consumed. But the grinding between the plates generates frequent and destructive earthquakes.






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