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. An exposure of bedrock.






2. The conditions in which sediment was deposited. Examples - beach - glacial - and/or river environments.






3. 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






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






5. Forms from a chemical reaction between solid calcite and magnesium-bearing groundwater.






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






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






8. Irregular or blob-shaped intrusions that range in size from tens of meters across to tens of kilometers across.






9. Volcanic landform; bulbous mass of congealed lava - associated with explosive eruptions of gas-rich magma.






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






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






12. Type of lava flow; the most viscous of any lava flow because it is the most silicic and the coolest in nature. Tends to accumulate in a lava dome above the vent or in short and bulbous flows 1 to 2 km long.






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






14. Soil section below the O-horizon - humus has decayed further and has mixed with mineral grains (clay - silt - and sand). Water percolating through this horizon causes chemical weathering reactions to occur and produces ions in solution and new clay m






15. 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






16. 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






17. 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.






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






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






20. 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.






21. 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.






22. Unconsolidated deposits of pyroclastic grains - regardless of size - that have been erupted from a volcano constitute these pyroclastic deposits.






23. Places with particularly voluminous quantities of magma erupting or intruding.






24. Sea-floor spreading proponents - Hess and others realized that in order for the circumference of the Earth to remain constant through time - ocean floor must eventually sink back into the mantle. This sinking process consumes the ocean floor between






25. A reference to the pattern structure of a mineral. A material in which atoms are fixed in an orderly pattern - a crystalline solid.






26. 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.






27. Physical property of a mineral; results from the way a mineral interacts with light. A mineral absorbs certain wavelengths - so the color seen represents the color wavelengths the mineral did not absorb.






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






29. Mineral class; the fundamental component within these types of minerals in the Earth's crust is the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron anionic group - a silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms that are arranged to define the corners of a tetrahedron - a






30. 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.






31. Magma type; contains about 45% to 52% silica. Named because it produces rock containing abundant mafic minerals - magnesium and iron combinations.






32. 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.






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






34. 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.






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






36. An ultramafic rock with large grains. intrusive - phaneritic igneous rock.






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






38. Theory confirmed by 1968 - geologists had developed the complete model of continental drift - sea-floor spreading - and subduction. Within this model - Earth's lithosphere consists of about 20 distinct pieces - or plates - that move relative to each






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






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






41. A plate boundary at which two plates move apart from one another by process of sea-floor spreading. Mid-ocean ridges or simply a ridge. New crust is formed at ridges through the buoyant rising of magma from beneath the surface and solidifies to creat






42. Sedimentary rock composed of clay.






43. A sedimentary bed that has developed a reddish color. The red comes from a film of iron oxide (hematite) that forms on grain surfaces.






44. The distance that the world's deepest mine-shaft penetrates into the Earth beneath South Africa.






45. Lava flow; associated with felsic magma - consists of ash and pumice fragments - material is propelled from the vent at a high speed.






46. 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.






47. Core division; from a depth of 5155km down to Earth's center at 6371km. A radius of about 1220km - is solid iron-nickel alloy - can reach temperature of 4700 degrees C. Solid in nature because of subjection to greater pressure - keeps atoms from wand






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






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






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