Plate Tectonics Practice Test

Earth is divided into three compositional layers and five physical layers. The lithosphere is one of the physical layers. The lithosphere includes some or all of which two compositional layers?

• core and crust

• mantle and core

• crust and mantle

• core and mesosphere

Florida is not close to the edge of a tectonic plate. Therefore, which one of the following features does not exist in or beneath Florida?

• crust

• mantle

• tectonic plate

• tectonic plate boundary

Earth has five layers based on physical properties. The diagram below shows these five layers.

Which letter represents the mesosphere?

• B

• C

• D

• E

Which process was mainly responsible for forming the Grand Canyon?

• erosion by water

• erosion by ice

• deposition by water

• deposition by ice

Which of these phrases defines subsidence?

• Earth’s crust rising

• Earth’s crust sinking

• Earth’s crust shifting sideways

• Earth’s crust moving in any direction

Rift zones form at the border between tectonic plates. What must happen between tectonic plates to produce a rift zone?

• Two oceanic plates move toward each other.

• Two continental plates move toward each other.

• An oceanic plate collides with a continental plate.

• An oceanic plate moves away from another oceanic plate.

The innermost physical layers of Earth are the inner core and outer core. Which two metals are the inner and outer core mostly made of?

• lead and iron

• iron and nickel

• lead and mercury

• nickel and mercury

Earth’s core is made up of an inner core and an outer core. Which of these statements is true of the inner core but not the outer core?

• It is solid.

• It is liquid.

• It contains iron.

• It contains nickel.

Earth can be divided into layers based on chemical composition. The three compositional layers of Earth are the core, the mantle, and the crust. Which of these answers best describes the core?

• the innermost part of Earth below the mantle

• the solid outer layer of Earth above the mantle

• the hot, slow-flowing layer of material beneath the crust

• the layer of Earth on which the tectonic plates move

Tectonic plates can move, as shown in the figure.

What does this figure show?

• a divergent boundary

• a transform boundary

• a convergent boundary

• a stationary plate boundary