Plate Motion Amplify Critical Juncture

1. Which statement best describes Earth’s outer layer underneath the surface in the image?

• Underneath the soil, Earth’s outer layer is made of water.

• Underneath both the soil and the ocean, Earth’s outer layer is made of sand and water.

• Underneath the soil, Earth’s outer layer is made of hard, solid rock. Underneath the ocean, Earth’s outer layer is made of sand.

• Underneath both the soil and the ocean, Earth’s outer layer is made of hard, solid rock.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

2. Dr. Choi and his team of geologists have been studying GPS data that shows that two plates moved apart. Which diagram shows what happened between the two plates as they moved away from each other?

• Diagram A: Soft, solid rock from underneath the plates rose and hardened, adding solid rock to the edges of both plates.

• Diagram B: Sand and dirt filled in the gap that was created by the plates moving apart.

• Diagram C: Ocean water filled in the gap that was created by the plates moving apart.

• Diagram D: A new plate from underneath filled in the gap that was created by the plates moving apart.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

3. Fossil remains of Glossopteris (an extinct plant with large leaves) have been discovered in India and Australia. When they were living, all the Glossopteris were located together on land, but now the Glossopteris fossils are separated by an ocean. What could explain how these fossils got so far apart?

• India and Australia are parts of different plates. The plates slowly moved apart as new plates from underneath got added between them over millions of years.

• India and Australia are parts of different plates. The plates slowly moved far apart as soft, solid rock from underneath got added to the edges of the plates over millions of years.

• India and Australia are parts of different plates. The plates floated away from each other across the ocean.

• India and Australia are parts of different plates. The plates were sometimes pushed far apart by earthquakes, and soft, solid rock from underneath got added to the edges of the plates.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

4. Dr. Steiner and her team have been using GPS to track two plates that are moving toward each other. Which diagram shows what is happening at the place where the plates are moving toward each other?

• Diagram A: Two plates are hitting each other, and the plates are breaking into pieces, creating sand.

• Diagram B: Two plates are pushing against each other, causing the edges to bend upward.

• Diagram C: One plate is going underneath the other plate and sinking into the soft rock below.

• Diagram D: One plate is going underneath the other plate and sinking into the ocean below.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

5.  India, a country that is part of Asia, was not always connected to the Asian continent. How did India come to be part of Asia?

• India and Asia are parts of different plates. The plates were sometimes pushed toward each other by earthquakes, and one plate went under the other plate into soft, solid rock.

• India and Asia are parts of different plates. The plates floated toward each other across the ocean.

• India and Asia are parts of different plates. The plates slowly moved toward each other over millions of years. When the plates hit each other, they broke into smaller pieces.

• India and Asia are parts of different plates. The plates slowly moved toward each other as one plate went under the other plate into soft, solid rock over millions of years.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Dr. Moore and his team have learned from GPS data that two continents with an ocean between them have been moving toward each other. Some students living on the coast of one of these continents don’t understand what is happening and they are worried that the continents will run into each other. How could Dr. Moore explain to them what is happening?

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-3