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






2. Sedimentary rock composed of quartz.






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






4. Subsoil - ions and clay leached and transported down from above accumulate here. As a result - new minerals form - and clay fills open spaces. Part of the zone of accumulation.






5. 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.






6. Weathering - erosion - transportation - deposition - and lithification.






7. Mineral crystal formation type; form by type of diffusion - the movement of atoms or ions through a solid to arrange into a new crystal structure; process takes place very slowly.






8. The rate of increase in temperature - decreases with increasing depth. The dashed lines represent the solidus and liquidus for mantle rock (peridotite). The solidus line defines the conditions of pressure and temperature at Which mantle rock begins t






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






10. Sublayer of the mantle - depth of 660km.






11. The layering nature of sedimentary rocks - surface features of layers formed during deposition - and the arrangement of grains within layers.






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






13. Four settings: in volcanic arcs bordering deep-ocean trenches - isolated hot spots - within continental rifts - and along mid-ocean ridges.






14. When silt and clay accumulate in the flat areas bordering a stream - lagoon - or delta - the silt when lithified becomes this type of sediment. And the mud - when lithified - becomes another type of sediment - also known as shale.






15. 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






16. Physical features of the land surface represented by changes in elevation.






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






18. 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






19. 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.






20. 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.






21. 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






22. 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






23. 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.






24. 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.






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






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






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






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






29. Equant - meaning that they have the same dimensions in all directions. Or inequant - meaning their dimensions are not the same in all directions.






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






31. Mineral crystal formation type; form from a solution - meaning that atoms - molecules - or ions dissolved in water bond together out of water.






32. Successive turbidity currents deposit successive graded beds - creating this sequence of strata.






33. A felsic rock with large grains. Intrusive - phaneritic igneous rock.






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






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






36. Refers to the proportions of different chemicals making up the rock - and thus the proportion chemicals affects the proportions of different minerals constituting the rock.






37. 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.






38. 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






39. 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






40. 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).






41. The compiled data from many marine cruises which defined a distinctive - striped and alternating bands of paleomagnetism.






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






43. 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.






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






45. Type of magma; low in silica - fluid - crystallize at high temperatures.






46. 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






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






48. 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






49. Aggregates of mineral crystals or grains - and masses of natural glass; a coherent - naturally occurring solid - consisting of an aggregate of minerals or a mass of glass.






50. The crust moves away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge axis at a rate of 1cm per year. This velocity of sea-floor spreading is determined by the relationship between the paleomagnetic anomaly-stripe's width and the reverse polarity duration - the data reve