Chapter 3 Plate Tectonics Test

Who came up with the idea that all the continents were once joined together?

• Albert Einstein
• Alfred Wegener
• Charles Darwin

What is Pangaea?

• an ice sheet which covered several continents
• the fossil of a fern found on different continents
• a mountain belt linking two continents
• a supercontinent that contained all the continents

Lystrosaurus was a slow-moving, plant-eating reptile that lived over 250 million years ago. Fossils of Lystrosaurus have been found in the brown areas shown below. How is this explained by the existence of Pangaea?

• Lystrosaurus swam across the oceans from one continent to another.
• Lystrosaurus drifted on rafts of vegetation from one continent to another.
• Land bridges once crossed oceans to connect Africa, Antarctica, and India.
• Africa, Antarctica, and India used to be joined together into a single landmass.

What is the theory of continental drift?

• The continents move slowly over Earth's surface.
• The continents moved millions of years ago, but now they are fixed in one place.
• The continents were fixed in one place, but recently they have begun to move.

What clue supported the continental drift hypothesis?

• Fossils of animals have been found on continents separated by oceans
• Similar coal beds and rock structures have been found on different continents
• A puzzle-like fit of all the continents
• All answers are correct

What is the source of most of the information scientists have about Earth's interior?

• deep wells drilled in the ground
• satellite imaging
• analysis of earthquake waves
• studies of landforms

Which layer of the Earth is made up of tectonic plates?

• the core
• the asthenosphere
• the lithosphere
• the mantle

Which of the following is the best definition of density?

• the amount of space an object takes up
• the amount of stuff that fits into a space
• the amount of space that fits into a container

By which method is heat from deep in Earth's interior transferred to its crust?

• Subduction at mid-ocean ridges
• Conduction in the ocean
• Convection in the mantle

Which of the following is true about how heat affects fluids?

• heat makes fluid less dense so it rises up
• heat makes fluid more dense so it sinks
• heat does not affect fluids