Discovery Education quiz

The first installment to the Theory of Plate Tectonics was Alfred Wegener's Hypothsis of Continental Drift.  What was the basic idea of the hypothesis?

• Modern continents are where they have always been.
• Modern continents are made up of many small land mass that have fused together.
• Modern continents were once part of a super-continent that broke part.
• Modern continents are slowly mnoving toward one another.

Which of the following was not included in Wegener's supporting evidence?

• Animal fossils found on multiple continents.
• Plant fossils found on arctic islands
• New seafloor being made at the mid-ocean ridge
• Identical geological make-up on different continents

What was the name Wegener gave to the supercontinents in his hypothesis?

• Terra Firma
• Pangaea
• Continent Maxima
• Gondwanaland

What was the problem with Wegener's hypothesis?

• Not enough supporting data.
• Wegener wasn't a geologist.
• No mechanism describing how continents move.
• His data was flawed.

In the 1940's, during World War II, Harry Hess began mapping the ocean floor, what was his first major discovery?

• Rift
• Deep-sea trenches
• Seamounts
• Mid-ocean ridge

While investigating the mid-ocean ridge, what did Hess discover about the ocean floor?

• The ocean floor is flat.
• The age of the seafloor gets younger as you move further away from the mid-ocean ridge.
• Newest seafloor is found at the mid-ocean ridge and it gets older as your move away from the ridge.
• The age of the seafloor decreases as you get closer to a continent.

The Theory of Seafloor Spreading states

• New seafloor is constantly being generated at the mid-ocean ridge, while older seafloor is recycled at deep-ocean trenches.
• New seafloor is constantly being generated at deep-ocean trenches and older seafloor is being
  recycle at the mid-ocean ridge.
• The Modern continents were once part of a supercontinent called Pangaea
• The continents are being consumed at deep ocean trenches.

How did the Theory of Seafloor Spreading help support Wegener's Hypothesis of Continental Drift?

• It didn't support Wegener's hypothesis.
• It provided the mechanism by which the continents move.
• It provided more evidence of clomate change.
• It provided more evidence for animal migration.

In the Theory of Plate Tectonics, what is the mechanism that causes plate movement?

• Tidal forces in the oceans.
• Seismic waves in the lithosphere.
• Convection Currents in the asthenosphere.
• Magma waves in the asthenosphere

What is the type of plate boundary that exists between two oceanic plates as they spread apart?

• Convergent
• Divergent
• Subductive
• Transform