Plate tectonics

PBS Earthquakes and volcanoes interactive

Visit the interactive at the following link and consider the following:

• Why are most earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain ranges clustered together on edges of continents? 

• What inferences and conclusions can you draw after observing the global patterns of earthquakes and volcanic activity?

Open Ended

Why are most earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain ranges clustered together on edges of continents? 

Open Ended

What inferences and conclusions can you draw after observing the global patterns of earthquakes and volcanic activity?

Multiple Choice

The line of volcanoes that surround the Pacific Ocean's subduction zone is referred to as the

• Trench Ridge

• Hot Spot

• Ring of Fire

• Mid-Ocean Ridge

PBS Interactive

Visit this interactive to explore plate tectonic activity

Observe what happens to the land as you click on each circle. Then read the information that accompanies it.

Multiple Choice

What is the name Earth's longest mountain range and where is it located?

• Mid-ocean ridge, it runs down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (surfacing at Iceland), around Africa, through the Indian Ocean, between Australia and Antarctica, and north through the Pacific Ocean.

• the Andes, running along the western coast of South America through seven countries

• the Rocky Mountains, stretching from New Mexico in the southwestern U.S. up through Canada's British Columbia and Alberta, forming the continent's major mountain system. 

Multiple Choice

Which of these tectonic plate boundaries is most likely to form a volcano?

• a continental plate colliding with a continental plate

• an oceanic plate sliding past a continental plate

• a continental plate sliding past a continental plate

• an oceanic plate colliding into a continental plate

Multiple Choice

The reason plates are moving, is because _______

• Magma is semi-liquid and moves under the crust.

• The earth is spinning.

• The weather systems in the atmosphere.

• The Earth's core is spinning very fast.

Multiple Choice

The idea that the continents move around the Earth's surface is called?

• Pangea

• continental drift

• plate tectonics

• sea-floor spreading

Multiple Choice

Most scientists rejected the theory of continental drift because Wegner

• did not have enough evidence to support the idea of Pangaea.

• had no evidence to support his theory.

• could not explain what force caused the continents to move.

• was not well known in the scientific community.

Multiple Choice

Which of these is a key piece of evidence of contiental drift?

• Continent shapes
• Fossil record
• Rock layers
• All of the above

Multiple Choice

According to the continental drift hypothesis, the presence of similar fossils in South America and Africa supports which scientific idea?

• Animals easily and frequently travel from Africa to South America.

• Species of animals probably traveled between continents on natural rafts (such as trees destroyed in tsunamis).

• Land bridges once existed that connected the continents.

• South America and Africa were once connected together.

Open Ended

How does the picture of landforms and rock layers below support the theory of continental drift?

Fill in the Blanks

Multiple Choice

Which diagram shows what happens at a convergent plate boundary?

• A

• B

• A and B

• None of the above

Multiple Choice

Subduction zones occur on Earth where dense oceanic crust dives under more buoyant continental crust. These boundaries are characterized by a deep ocean trench next to a high continental mountain range, large numbers of earthquakes and volcanoes. All of this is further evidence for the

• big bang theory.
• theory of plate tectonics.
• origin of the species.
• theory of natural selection.
  

Multiple Choice

When oceanic and continental crust converge, the oceanic plate will dive beneath the continental plate. What best explains the results of this action?

• The oceanic crust is moved upward by the radiation of heat

• The oceanic crust will melt as it moves deeper in the earth.

• The continental crust will form a mountain range.

• The two crusts will form an ocean basin

Open Ended

Compare and contrast divergent plate boundaries and convergent plate boundaries. (Think about how do the plates move? What landforms are formed? How do the plates interact with the mantle at this boundary?

Multiple Choice

Sea-floor spreading explains how.....

• new crust is created at a divergent boundary

• volcanoes are formed on continents

• deep sea trenches are formed

Multiple Choice

What geological event can be created in the plate boundary shown below?

• Rift Valley

• Sea Floor Spreading

• Earthquakes

• Volcanoes

Multiple Choice

Which type of plate boundary is likely responsible for this landform?

• convergent

• divergent

• transform

• none of the above

Multiple Choice

Which type of plate boundary is likely responsible for this landform?

• convergent

• divergent

• transform

• none of the above

Multiple Choice

Which type of plate boundary is most likely responsible?

• convergent

• divergent

• transform

• none of the above

Multiple Choice

Which block diagram best represents the relative direction of plate motion at the San Andreas Fault?

Multiple Choice

What type of event will occur at this boundary?

• Earthquake
• Volcano Eruption
• Tsunami

• Mountain Building

Poll

How confident do you feel about this topic now?

• Very confident
• Somewhat confident
• Not confident