Plate Tectonics Extra Credit Quiz

Going from the center of the earth outward, the four major layers in order are

• mantle, inner core, outer core, crust

• crust, mantle, inner core, outer core

• inner core, outer core, crust, mantle

• inner core, outer core, mantle, crust

The lithosphere is

• another name for the crust

• the uppermost solid portion of the mantle

• the uppermost solid portion of the mantle and the crust

• the liquid layer that the crust floats on

The theory of continental drift says that

• all of the continents were once one continent that broke up and drifted apart over hundreds of millions of years

• the continents have always been separate but may one day drift together to form a single continent

Evidence Wegener used to support the theory of continental drift included (choose ALL that apply)

• the shapes of the continents fit together

• the magnetic anomalies on the sea floor

• the distribution of fossils

• matching mountain ranges on separate continents

If Wegener could have explained ___________, his theory of continental drift might have been more widely accepted in his day.

• why Australia has organisms like kangaroos

• what causes the tides

• how coal forms

• what forces move continents

A _______ is an underwater mountain range with a _________ running through the center of it.

• trench, rift valley

• trench, mid-ocean ridge

• rift valley, trench

• mid-ocean ridge, rift valley

According to the theory of seafloor spreading, new seafloor _________ due to ______

• emerges from the rift valley, magma pushing up from the asthenosphere

• subsides at the trenches, polar reversal

• emerges from the mid-ocean ridge, polar reversal

Evidence of seafloor spreading includes (check all that apply)

• the pattern of shells

• mineral patterns consistent with moon rocks

• age of the sea floor and rocks

• magnetic patterns found on the sea floor

According to the theory of plate tectonics, the lithosphere consists of

• an unbroken solid mass that surrounds the molten interior

• several rigid plates that float on the asthenosphere

• hot spots that float up from the mantle

Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys, and trenches are thought to

• mark the boundaries between tectonic plates

• occur in the middle of tectonic plates

• have no relationship to plate tectonics

• reverse roles in the southern hemisphere