Test your basic knowledge |

Subject : science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

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






2. A cut and finished stone ready to be used in jewelry. Examples - diamond - ruby - sapphire - emerald.






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






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






5. 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






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

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /var/www/html/basicversity.com/show_quiz.php on line 183


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






8. The base of the soil profile; consists of material derived from the substrate that's been chemically weathered and broken apart - but has not yet undergone leaching or accumulation.






9. Highest soil horizon; consists almost entirely of organic matter and contains barely any mineral matter. Surface level has 'litter' and deeper it contains 'humus'. Part of the zone of leaching.






10. Forms a 2885-km-thick layer surrounding the core. In terms of volume - it is the largest part of the Earth. It consists entirely of ultramafic rock - peridotite.






11. Sedimentary rocks made up of minerals that precipitate directly from water solutions.






12. Physical property of a mineral; represents the density of a mineral - as specified by the ratio between the weight of a volume of the mineral and the weight of an equal volume of water a 4 degrees C.






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






14. 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.






15. 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.






16. Carbon-containing compounds that either occur in living organisms - or have characteristics that resemble the molecules within living organisms. Examples - oil - protein - plastic - fat - and rubber.






17. 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.






18. After sand has lost its feldspar composition due to weathering over time - sediment composed entirely of quartz grains gets buried and lithified to form this type of rock.






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






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






21. Occurs within the asthenosphere - actively drags plates along and attributes partially for the mechanism shifting the plates along the Earth's surface.






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






23. Sphere; Surface water along with groundwater - Earth consists of 70% surface water (oceans - lakes - and streams).






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






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






27. 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.






28. Some minerals have distinctive properties - such as calcite which reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid to produce carbon dioxide. Dolomite also reacts with acid - graphite can make clear markings - magnetite attracts a magnet - halite tastes salty -






29. The combination of processes that separate rock or regolith from its substrate and carry it away. Involves abrasion - plucking - scouring - and dissolution - and is caused by air - water or ice.






30. 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.






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






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






33. Physical property of a mineral; different minerals fracture in different ways - depending on the internal arrangement of atoms. If a mineral breaks to form distinct planar surfaces that have a specific orientation in relation to the crystal structure






34. 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.






35. 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.






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






37. 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






38. Low-viscosity (basaltic) lava flows out of a volcano easily - whereas high-viscosity (andesitic and rhyolitic) lava can clog and build pressure within a volcano. Basaltic eruptions are typically effusive and produce shield volcanoes - whereas rhyolit






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






40. Sedimentary rock composed of quartz.






41. 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






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






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






44. The distance of the deepest well ever drilled - hole in northern Russia. Penetrates only about 0.03% of the Earth.






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






46. On a gem are the ground and polished surfaces made with a certain type of machine.






47. A process occurring when sea level falls - the coast migrates seaward.






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






49. 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






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