Earth "Rocks"
________ is the study of minerals.
Mineralogy
What is another term for a submarine volcano?
Seamount
________ is the proportion of dissolved salts to pure water.
Salinity
Which one of the following is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?
nitrogen
Our solar system resides in the ________.
Milky Way galaxy
The rock ________ is a description of how one rock may be transformed into another kind of rock through various internal and external processes.
Cycle
A transform plate boundary is characterized by ________.
a deep, vertical fault along which two plates slide past one another in opposite directions
Ocean covers approximately ________ percent of Earth's surface.
71
The amount of water vapor in the air is called ________.
humidity
Most of the time, the planets appear to move eastward. However, the occasional apparent westward "drift" of the planets compared to the background stars is called ________.
retrograde motion
An igneous rock that shows a vesicular texture ________.
Contains many small holes
Our greatest source of knowledge about Earth's interior comes from ________.
Seismic waves
The daily tidal range is of the least magnitude during ________.
neap tides
The line separating the dark half of Earth from the lighted half is called ________.
the circle of illumination
According to the big bang theory, the first two elements to form in the universe were ________.
hydrogen and helium
The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral is known as ____________.
Luster
A horizontal conduit that allows lava to flow from a volcanic vent is called a ________.
lava tube
The main difference between a seamount and a guyot is ________.
guyots are flat
Polar easterlies may dominate Alaska's prevailing winds, and NE trade winds may dominate in Hawaii, but ________ dominate the prevailing winds of the "lower 48" (contiguous) United States.
The westerlies
The moon's light-colored areas are called ________.
lunar highlands
You are handed a sample of an unknown silicate mineral. Which two elements must it contain?
Silicon and oxygen
Which type of basaltic lava flow has a fairly smooth, unfragmented, ropy surface?
Pahoehoe
Bones and teeth are an example of ________ sediment.
Biogenous
A(n) ________ provides a continuous record of pressure changes with the passage of time.
barograph
Our Sun is current in the ________ stage of solar evolution.
main sequence star