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 rocks made up of the shells of organisms.






2. Coarse pyroclastic debris - apple to refrigerator-sized fragments. Chunks of preexisting igneous rock or large lava blobs which discharge from volcanic eruptions.






3. The force that subducting plates apply to oceanic lithosphere at a convergent boundary - arises simply because lithosphere formed 10 million years ago is denser than asthenosphere - so it can sink into the asthenosphere. Thus once an oceanic plate st






4. Molten rock beneath Earth's surface.






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






6. A reference to the sinking of the lithosphere; allows for sediment to accumulate in regions where this occurs.






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






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






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






10. 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






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






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






13. Inorganic limestone; rock composed of crystalline calcium carbonate formed by chemical precipitation.






14. 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.






15. The four classes of igneous silicate rocks based on the proportion of silicon to iron and magnesium. As the proportion of silicon in a rock increases - the density decreases - thus felsic rocks are less dense than mafic. In order - from greatest to l






16. 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.






17. 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.






18. Distinct internal laminations within a ripple or dune that are inclined at an angle to the boundary of the main sedimentary layer. Form as a consequence of the evolution of dunes or ripples.






19. 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.






20. Distinguishing feature of magma; the composition of the melt reflects the composition of the solid from which it was derived. Not all magmas form from the same source rock - therefore not all magmas have the same compositions.






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






22. Sedimentary rock composed of calcite or dolomite.






23. A layer of sediment in which grain size varies from coarse at the bottom to fine at the top.






24. The shape of the sea floor surface. Investigation of the sea-floor revealed the presence of several important features: mid-ocean ridges - deep-ocean trenches - seamount chains - and fracture zones.






25. A term used for all the physical - chemical - and biological processes that transform sediment into sedimentary rock and that alter characteristics of sedimentary rock one the rock has formed.






26. 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






27. 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.






28. The ocean floor is diced up by narrow bands of vertical fractures. Lie roughly at right angles to mid-ocean ridges - effectively segmenting the ridges into small pieces.






29. Physical property of a mineral; refers to the shape (morphology) of a single crystal with well-formed crystal faces - or to the character of an aggregate of many well-formed crystals that grew together as a group. Depends on the internal arrangement






30. Magma viscosity depends upon temperature - volatile content - and silica content. Hotter magma - more volatiles - and mafic magma all have less viscosity.

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






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






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






35. Mineral crystal formation type; from directly from a vapor - occurs around volcanic vents or around geysers. At such locations - volcanic gases or steam enter the atmosphere and cool - so certain elements cannot remain in gaseous form.






36. Mineral crystal formation type; form from a solidification of a melt - meaning the freezing of a liquid.






37. Fracture type; smoothly curving - clamshell-shaped surfaces; typically formed in quartz.






38. 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






39. Alfred Wegener's suggestion that the positions of the continents change through time as they drift away from each other. The flaw was that he lacked a plausible moving mechanism.






40. Layer that lies below the lithosphere - and is the portion of the mantle in which rock can flow (slowly; 10-15cm per year) despite still being solid. Entirely within the mantle and lies below a depth of 100-150km.






41. The difference between the expected strength of the Earth's main field at a certain location and the actual measure strength of the magnetic field at that location. Places where the field strength is stronger that expected are positive anomalies - an






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






43. 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.






44. Volcanoes that exist as isolated points and appear to be independent of movement at a plate boundary - hot-spot volcanoes. Mostly are located on the interior of plates - away from boundaries.






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






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






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






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






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






50. 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.