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. Type of volcano; built from ejected lava fragments - cone shaped piles of tephra - steep slope angle - smaller in size - frequently occur in groups - deep craters.






2. Natural cracks that form in rocks due to removal of overburden or due to cooling.






3. Type of volcanic eruption; pyroclastic - produce clouds and avalanches of pyroclastic debris. Gas expands in the rising magma - cannot escape. The pressure becomes so great that it blasts the lava - and volcanic rock - out of the volcano.






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






5. Magma type; contains about 52% to 66% silica. Name indicates that these magmas have a composition between that of felsic and mafic magma.






6. Materials that easily transform into gas at the relatively low temperatures found at the Earth's surface.






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






8. The speed of the movements of the plates with respect to the speed of the other plates' movements. Absolute plate velocity is a measure of the movement of any plates relative to a fixed point in the mantle.






9. A mafic rock with small grains. Extrusive - aphanitic igneous rock.






10. 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.






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






12. Type of volcano; broad and slightly domed - primarily made of basaltic lava - large and erupt large volumes of lava. Form from either low viscosity basaltic lava or from large pyroclastic sheets.






13. A distinctive sequence of strata traced across a fairly large region. For example - a region may contain a succession of alternating sandstone and shale beds deposited by rivers - overlain by beds of marine limestone deposited later.






14. The record of paleomagnetism revealed that the location of Earth's magnetic poles had been changing through geologic time. This 'wandering' meant that Earth's magnetic poles do not move with respect to fixed continents. Rather - continents move relat






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






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






17. Mineral group; feldspars - quartz - muscovite - clay minerals.






18. Mineral group; olivine group - pyroxene group - amphibole group.






19. Mineral class; the anion within these types of minerals is a halogen ion (such as chlorine or fluorine).






20. 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






21. 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.






22. Type of volcanic eruption; produce mainly lava flows - yield low-viscosity basaltic lavas.






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






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






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






26. Rocks whose crystals interlock with each other.






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






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






29. A pluton formation theory; a process during Which magma assimilates wall rock - and blocks of wall rock break off and sink into the magma.






30. Sedimentary rock composed of calcite or dolomite.






31. Blocks of rock that are solid and durable but composed of rough quartz sand grains cemented together.






32. 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






33. 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.






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






35. 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.






36. 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






37. Elongate submarine mountain ranges whose peaks lie only about 2-2.5km below sea level. Consist of a ridge axis - are roughly symmetrical - and can include escarpments - axial troughs - and valleys. Examples - Mid-Atlantic Ridge - East Pacific Rise -






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






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






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






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 magma; high silica content - viscous - liquid at temperatures as low as 700 degrees C.






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






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






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






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






48. A single layer of sediment or sedimentary rock with a recognizable top and bottom.






49. Lava flowing on dry land cools more slowly that lava erupting underwater.






50. A column of very hot rock that flows upward until it reaches the base of the lithosphere. In this model - such deep-mantle plumes form because heat rising from the Earth's core is warming rock at the base of the mantle. A possible explanation to the