Lithosphere Part 1 Test Review

Which geographic features form as a result of continental-continental convergent plates?

• rift valleys

• volcanic islands

• oceanic trenches

• mountain ranges

Which analogy BEST illustrates why Earth’s plates move?

• A glass shatters as it falls from a table onto a tile floor.

• A tree root grows into a ledge and breaks off a piece of rock.

• Burning diesel fuel forces a piston downward, turning the crankshaft

• A moving sidewalk transports travelers from one gate to another at an airport.

Which of the following BEST explains why Earth is tectonically active?

• Earth’s solid surface layer rotates more rapidly than the layers beneath it.

• Areas of Earth’s solid surface layer are under great pressure from ocean water.

• Earth’s solid surface layer sits on a layer of semimolten rock that slowly flows.

• Areas of Earth’s solid surface layer are thicker and so heavier than other areas.

Which differences in properties of Earth’s crust and mantle are MOST responsible for tectonic activity?

• differences in state and density

• differences in color and viscosity

• differences in temperature and color

• differences in temperature and viscosity

Which statement BEST describes the greatest impact that the ozone layer has had on the geosphere?

• The ozone layer served as a catalyst for the oxidization of exposed iron-containing surface rocks.

• The ozone layer prevented surface rocks from being broken down by high-energy ultraviolet light.

• The presence of the ozone layer was necessary for the formation of organic sedimentary rocks.

• The presence of the ozone layer allowed for liquid water to form and start eroding exposed rock at the surface.

Landforms are created through destructive forces such as weathering. Which of these is an example of physical weathering?

• acid rain

• abrasion

• hydrolysis

• oxidation

Which of these is the BEST example of physical weathering?

• insects eating a dead tree

• a bulldozer pushing soil

• ice fracturing a stone

• acid rain dissolving limestone

Many houses are built on the sides of hills. Which of these actions would BEST prevent houses from sliding down hills after heavy rainfalls?

• increasing the slope of the hill

• spraying herbicides on the hill

• adding plants to the hill

• removing grass from the hill

Which of these natural disasters is LEAST likely to cause major damage to a prairie ecosystem?

• a flood

• a tornado

• a hurricane

• an earthquake

Oceanic crust is composed mainly of basalt. Continental crust is composed mainly of granite. Why does oceanic crust generally tend to subduct under continental crust when plates collide?

• The oceanic crust is thicker than the continental crust.

• The continental crust is thicker than oceanic crust.

• The oceanic crust is denser than the continental crust.

• The continental crust is denser than the oceanic crust.