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






2. 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.






3. Sedimentary rock composed of calcite or dolomite.






4. By melting - dissolving - or other chemical reactions.






5. Molten rock beneath Earth's surface.






6. 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.






7. A type of carbonate rock; rocks formed from the calcite or aragonite skeletons of organisms form this biochemical sedimentary rock.






8. 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






9. 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.






10. Center of the Earth - consists mainly of iron alloy.






11. Mineral crystal formation type; form at interfaces between the physical and biological components of the Earth system by this process.






12. Outer surface level of Earth; composed of granite - basalt - and gabbro. Continental: mostly about 35-40km thick . Oceanic: about 7-10km thick. Oxygen - by far the most abundant element.






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






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






16. 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






17. A plate boundary at which two plates move toward one another so that one plate sinks beneath the other. Subduction zones; Engage the sinking process known as subduction - between plates - consuming old oceanic lithosphere due to high density. Can sim






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






19. 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






20. Core division; between 2900 and 5155km deep. Liquid iron alloy - it exists as a liquid because the temperature here is so high that even the great pressures squeezing the region cannot lock atoms into a solid framework. This liquid iron alloy is able






21. Natural bond connecting rocks; mineral material that precipitates from water and fills the space between grains.






22. An intrusion starting to inject between layers but then dome upwards - creating this blister-shaped intrusion.






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






24. 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.






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






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






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






28. 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.






29. Volcanic landform; pipes are short conduits that connect a magma chamber to the surface.






30. 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






31. 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






32. 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.






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






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






35. 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.






36. An envelope of gas surrounding Earth consisting of 78% nitrogen (N2) and 28% oxygen (O2) - with minor amounts 1% of argon - carbon dioxide - methane - etc. And 99% of the gas in the atmosphere lies below 50km.


37. Soil section below the A-horizon; a soil level that has undergone substantial leaching but has not yet mixed with organic material. Because it lacks organic materials - this horizon tends to be lighter than the A-horizon. Part of the zone of leaching






38. A reaction during which an element loses electrons - commonly takes place when elements combine with oxygen.






39. 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.






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






42. 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.






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






44. Volcanic landform; steep walled depression at the summit - size exceeds one kilometer in diameter.






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






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






47. A naturally occurring solid - formed by geologic processes - has a crystalline structure and a definable chemical composition - and is generally inorganic.






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






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






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