Plate Tectonics

Which of the following best describes where the youngest and oldest crustal rocks can be found on the Earth?

• The oldest crustal rocks can be found on the Earth?

• The oldest crustal rocks are found at the edge of the continents and the youngest in the center.

• The oldest crustal rocks are found on continents and the youngest on the ocean floor.

• The oldest crustal rocks are found at the North and South Pole and the youngest at the equator.

Not all crustal rock found on the earth is the same age. Some of it is younger than 200 million years old, while other crust rock can be as old as 4 billion years. Which Earth processes are most responsible for the difference in ages.

• Destruction and renewal of rock at tectonic plate boundaries.

• Changes that rocks experience when exposed to heat and pressure.

• The different rates at which molten minerals cool and form crystals.

• Weathering and erosion by moving wind, water, and ice.

Which of the following observations can be explained by plate tectonics?

• The difference in ages of crustal rock in a different locations on the earth.

• The sorting of sediments from smaller to large particles on coastlines.

• The shapes and sizes of rock formations found in caves.

• The layering of sedimentary rock with youngest on top and oldest on bottom.

Transform boundaries most commonly have what phenomena associated them?

• Gyres

• Earthquakes

• Volcanoes

• Magnetic Reversals

What type of thermal energy transfer drives plate movement?

• Radiation

• Advection

• Convection

• Conduction

The movements of Earth's plates are primarily caused by_________?

• The Coriolis effect and Earth's rotation

• Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

• The expansion of rocks in the crust

• Convection currents in the mantle.

Convection currents in the mantle are the driving force behind plate tectonics. These convection currents are caused by the tremendous heat of Earth's core and the magma found in the mantle. The magma in the mantle is heated and becomes ___________________?

• Less Dense

• More Dense

The amount of time for half an isotope nuclei to decay is its?

• Relative age

• Parent-to-daughter ration

• Half-life

• Absolute age