Plate Tectonics and Seafloor Spreading

The movement of the tectonic plates is caused by

• the rotation of the Earth.

• convection currents in the Asthenosphere

• the gravity of the iron-nickel core.

• the Moho discontinuity.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Observe this diagram of a plate boundary. One statement BEST describes what is happening. It is that

• the oceanic crust is melting.

• the denser ceanic crust is subducting under the less dense oceanic crust

• volcanic islands are forming.

• the tectonic plates are moving away from each other.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

What are the two types of crust?

• Thick and thin

• Ocean and basin

• Lower and upper

• Continental and oceanic

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

According to Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift,

• Earth's surface is made up of seven major landmasses

• The continents were once joined together in a single landmass

• Earth is slowly cooling and shrinking

• the continents DO NOT move

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Most geologists rejected Alfred Wegener's idea of continental drift because...

• it did not agree with their current theory

• Wegener was interested in what Earth was like millions of years ago

• Wegener used several different types of evidence to support his hypothesis

• Wegener could not identify the force that moved the continents

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

What type of evidence was NOT used by Alfred Wegener to support his continental drift theory?

• evidence from landforms

• evidence from human remains

• evidence from fossils

• evidence from climate

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The geological theory that states that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant, slow motion is the theory of

• subduction

• plate tectonics

• evolution

• seafloor spreading

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

How is it possible for new crust to be formed without increasing the surface area of the Earth?

• Crust is destroyed at the same time it is created

• New crust is underwater where it sinks

• New crust breaks more easily than old crust

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

The outer layer of the Earth (the crust) is the...

• Mantle

• Asthenosphere

• Lithosphere

• Crust

The upper part of the mantle that is semisolid where convection pushes the tectonic plates

• Mantle

• Asthenosphere

• Lithosphere

• Crust

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1