Earth's Interior & Plate Tectonics Quiz Review

The most dense layer of our planet is the (a)   . It is made of solid iron and nickel.

Which layer(s) of the earth make up the rigid lithosphere - that is broken up into the 15 major tectonic plates?

• crust and lower mantle

• crust and upper mantle

• lower mantle and outer core

Answer explanation

As seismic waves move through the interior of the Earth they ____.

• A. are bent or refracted

• B. change speed and direction

• C. both a and b

• D. neither a nor b

Answer explanation

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NGSS.HS-ESS2-3

Lord Kelvin estimated the age of the Earth based on the cooling rate of rock. His age was waaaay too young. What source of heat in the Earth's core was he unaware of?

• gravitational compression

• residual heat from Earth's formation

• radioactivity of elements in the core

Answer explanation

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NGSS.HS-ESS2-3

Where do most earthquakes occur?

• In Indonesia

• Along plate boundaries

• in the southern hemisphere

• in Asia

Answer explanation

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NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

What evidence is there to support Wegener's ideas about continental drift and the existence of Pangaea?

• The apparent jigsaw-puzzle fit of continental coastlines

• distribution of fossils across multiple continents

• similarities of rocks and mountains on different continents

• people live on all the continents

Answer explanation

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

A Naval Reserve officer and geologist, Harry Hess, gathered data while on board submarines during WW II that helped him develop a mechanism - and explanation - for how continents could have moved to their present locations after Pangaea broke up. This mechanism is called ___.

• slab pull

• convection currents

• seafloor spreading

• continental drift

Answer explanation

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

When an ocean plate runs into a continental plate at a convergent plate boundary, why does the oceanic plate sink beneath the continental plate?

• Because it is less dense

• because it is moving faster

• because it is cooler

• Because it is more dense

Answer explanation

Both earthquakes and _____ occur due to plate tectonics.

• deep sea trenches

• volcanic eruptions

• erosion

Answer explanation

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NGSS.MS-ESS3-2