What is the name of the molten rock that is found deep inside volcanoes?
Magma Click to see the answer
The mineral 'galena' is the most important source of which metal?
Lead
Which of these soil types does NOT contain any rock particles?
Peat
Which two colors make up the naturally occurring gemstone known as 'watermelon tourmaline'?
Green and pink
After two defeats, which European Ryder Cup captain bounced back in 1995 with a memorable victory on US soil?
Bernard Gallacher
What color is the gemstone 'peridot'?
Green
In 1587, who was the first child born to English parents on American soil?
Virginia Dare Click to see the answer
On which continent is the Great Rift Valley?
Africa
Which of these rocks is hard and impermeable?
Marble
Earthworms in the soil help to do what?
Mix the nutrient
What is the name of the cells which take up water from the soil?
Root hair cells
What name is given to the wearing away of rocks and soil?
Erosion
Which rock forms the greater part of the White Cliffs of Dover?
Chalk
What is the name for dark volcanic glass?
Obsidian
What color is the gemstone 'jet'?
Black
Soil below the surface of a tundra that remains frozen permanently is called what?
Permafrost Click to see the answer
Which is the only type of rock that floats?
Pumice
What type of rock is cooled lava from a volcano?
Igneous
Which of these rocks is the hardest?
Granite
Which tectonic plate lies between the Pacific Plate and the South American Plate?
Nazca Plate
What color is the peridot stone?
Green
What name is given to any naturally occurring chemical found in the Earth?
Mineral
What name is given to the semi-molten rock found in the Earth's mantle?
Magma
Which of these does not drain as well as the others?
Clay soil
Which rock consists of quartz, feldspar and mica crystals?
Granite
Which of these is a precious stone?
Diamond
Growing plants without soil is called what?
Hydroponics
In what sort of rock do most caves occur?
Limestone
Which geographical feature can consist of vents, side pipes and a magma chamber?
Volcano
The soil type in deciduous woodlands is what?
Brown soil
In science, what 'L' is a type of fertile soil consisting of sand, silt, clay, and organic material?
Loam
Sapphire is usually which color?
Blue
By mass, what percentage of the Earth's crust is made up of just 8 elements?
98%
How many times have Brazil won the World Cup on European soil?
Once
Which of these processes is responsible for America's Monument Valley?
Erosion Click to see the answer
Which of these is the name of a type of soil?
Loam
What stone is only mined in Mount Kilimanjaro?
Tanzanite
How much more powerful is an earthquake that measures 6 on the Richter scale than one that measures 5?
x 10
By mass, which element makes up 26 per cent of the Earth's crust?
Silicon
Which gemstone can be blue, orange, yellow or colorless?
Topaz
What name is given to a volcano that is made up of layers of volcanic ash and that has a steep, conical shape?
Cinder volcano Click to see the answer
Which of these is a taiga soil?
Podsol
Which country produced almost all known diamonds until 1725?
India
Which name is given to a form of rich soil?
Loam
What sort of stone is the Derbyshire gorge, Dovedale, formed out of?
Limestone
Which of these is NOT a cause of erosion of rocks and soil?
Fire
What abrasive rock is produced by gases frothing in volcanic lava?
Pumice
What name is given to the useless stony minerals that occur with a metallic ore?
Gangue
The gemstones rhodochrosite and almandine are always shades of which color?
Pink
What color is the distinctive lapis lazuli gemstone?
Blue Click to see the answer
Which two elements make up the greater part of the Earth's inner core?
Iron and nickel
What type of rocks form when hot, liquid rock from deep in the earth cools and becomes solid?
Igneous
Where would you find the extinct volcano, Olympus Mons?
Mars
What sort of rock makes up the walls of the Grand Canyon?
Sedimentary
The mineral 'cubic zirconium' can be cut and polished to look like which precious stone?
Diamond
In the earth's structure, what is the name for the sharp boundary between the crust and the mantle?
Moho
Which of these types of coal occurs deepest in the ground?
Anthracite
What do you call a person who studies rocks?
Geologist
What word is used to describe the energy obtained from the Earth's interior?
Geothermal energy
What do biostratigraphers do?
Analyze rock samples
Rocks emit which kind of radiation?
Gamma
After oxygen and silicon, by mass, what is the most abundant element in the Earth's Crust?
Aluminum
By mass, which of these elements is the second most common element on Earth ?
Silicon
What name is given to the scale of hardness of minerals on which Talc registers 1 and Diamond registers 10?
Moh's Scale
By mass, which gas is most common in the compounds that make up the Earth's Crust?
Oxygen
Amorphous means what in the world in geology?
Without shape
What is the name given to the ancient remains of living things preserved in rocks?
Fossils Click to see the answer
The word geology orginates from which language?
Greek
Rocks are broken down by the elements by what gradual process?
Weathering
Which of these planets is made up of gas rather than rocks?
Jupiter
Petrology is the study of rocks from which perspective?
Chemical
In maritime navigation, what name is given to an area of rocks just below the surface of the sea?
Reef
What name is given to molten rocks thrown out by a volcano?
Lava Click to see the answer
A break in the sequence of sedimentary rocks, usually seen as an eroded surface, is called... what?
Unconformity
Which country in the North Atlantic ocean is built entirely of volcanic rocks?
Iceland
Which color indicates that soil is rich in organic matter?
Black
What is the name of the study of rocks and the earth's crust?
Geology
Which of these increases the nitrogen compounds in soil?
Lightening
In geology, what are the distinct layers into which sedimentary rocks are divided?
Strata
Moonstone is a pearly variety of which of these rocks?
Feldspar
What piece of equipment is used to break up clods of soil and to cover seeds after sowing?
Harrow
What term is used for the part of the soil that is always frozen in cold climates?
Permafrost
When studying rocks and soils, which of these could you use to separate small particles from bigger ones?
Sieve
Columbus is the state capital of which U.S.A. state?
Texas
Columbia is the capital of which American state?
South Carolina
What element makes up most of the weight of water and about half the weight of most rocks?
Oxygen