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. 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






2. Actively slipping segment of a fracture zone between two ocean ridge segments - these faults make a third type of plate boundary - transforms.






3. In degrees Celsius - the high temperatures at which igneous rocks freeze; the freezing of liquid melt to form solid igneous rock represents the same phenomenon as the freezing of water - except at much higher temperatures.






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






5. 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






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


7. 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.






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






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






10. Chemical weathering during Which minerals dissolve into water.






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






12. 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






13. The Earth radiated heat into space and slowly cooled. Eventually - the early formed sea of lava solidified and formed igneous rock. The cumulative effect of radioactivity has been sufficient to slow the cooling of the planet and subsequently allow fo


14. 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






15. 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






16. 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






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. 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






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






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






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






22. 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.






23. A name for any kind of unconsolidated debris that covers bedrock. Includes both soil and accumulations of sediment that have not evolved into soil.






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






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






26. Type of rock; accumulated sand bars - within are mineral grains of quartz and feldspar - this sediment if buried and lithified.






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






28. 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.






29. Perhaps the cause for the large igneous provinces; formations within the mantle - plumes that bring up vastly more hot asthenosphere than normal plumes.






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






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






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






33. 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.


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






35. 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 -






36. 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.






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






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






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






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






41. 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






42. Clast size - clast composition - angularity and sphericity - sorting - and character of cement.






43. 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






44. Layering in metamorphic rocks.






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






46. 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.






47. The display of the pattern of atoms or ions within a mineral. Meaning that the shape of one part of a mineral is a mirror image of the shape of another part.






48. 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.






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






50. 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