Fssa Earth Science Review

According to the theory of plate tectonics, which conclusion about the following diagram is most likely correct? (8.ESS2.4)

• Band A is older than band B, which is older than band C, which is older than band D.

• Band A is younger than band B, which is younger than band C, which is younger than band D.

• Bands A and D are older than bands B and C

• Bands B and C are older than bands A and D

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

A student concludes that Earth's lithosphere is gradually shrinking as crust is destroyed at subduction zones. What is wrong with this conclusion? (8.ESS2.5)

• Earth's lithosphere is not shrinking because new crust is being created at mid-ocean ridges.

• Earth's lithosphere is actually growing because much more crust is being created at subduction zones than destroyed.

• Earth's lithosphere is not shrinking because crust is not actually destroyed at subduction zones; it simply sinks into the mantle before resurfacing elsewhere.

• The student is correct; Earth's lithosphere is shrinking.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

The following diagram shows bands of oceanic crust at a mid-ocean ridge. Which of the following conclusions is justified? (8.ESS2.5)

• Bands A, B, C, and D all have the same magnetic polarity.

• Bands A, B, C, and D each has a different magnetic polarity.

• Bands A and B have the same magnetic polarity, and bands C and D have the same magnetic polarity. In addition, the same polarity of bands A and B is different from the polarity of bands C and D.

• Bands A and D have the same magnetic polarity, and bands B and C have the same magnetic polarity. In addition, the polarity of bands A and D is different from the polarity of bands B and C.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Earth's crust is being actively recycled. Where is new oceanic crust created? (8.ESS2.5)

• at convergent boundaries

• at mid-ocean ridges

• at subduction zones

• at transform boundaries

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Which of the following observations best supports the theory of plate tectonics? (8.ESS2.5)

• Fossils of many different kinds of organisms have been found at the same location.

• Fossils of the same species of organism have been found on opposite sides of the same ocean.

• Fossils are more likely to form when organisms die and are buried in layers of sediment at the bottoms of large water bodies.

• Fossils are more likely to form when organisms die in the open, where they are exposed to agents of weathering and erosion.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

A student argues that the theory of plate tectonics is false because we do not feel tectonic plates moving beneath our feet. What is wrong with this argument? (8.ESS2.4)

• On average, plates move only a few centimeters per year.

• Because the plates are all moving at the same speed relative to each other, we do not feel the motion of any single plate.

• Tectonic plates are located in Earth's asthenosphere, too far beneath the planet's surface for us to feel them moving.

• The student is correc; plate tectonics is no longer considered a valid theory.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

What happens at a mid-ocean ridge when magma wells up in the rift valley and cools into new lithosphere? (8.ESS2.5)

• The oceanic plates on either side of the valley are pushed apart.

• The oceanic plates on either side of the valley come together as they melt.

• The new lithosphere binds together the oceanic plates on either side of the valley.

• The new lithosphere pushes up an oceanic plate on one side of the valley until it slides into the other plate.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Which of these factors most affects the crystallization of igneous rock? (8.ESS2.3)

• the rate of cooling

• the amount of pressure

• the speed of the wind

• the color of the rock

A sedimentary rock along a plate boundary is forced below another plate during subduction. What will most likely happen to the rock immediately following subduction? (8.ESS2.3)

• Cooling will change the sedimentary rock into igneous rock.

• Cementation will change the sedimentary rock into igneous rock.

• Increased heat and pressure will change the sedimentary rock into metamorphic rock.

• Erosion and deposition will change the sedimentary rock into new sedimentary rock.

Which of these best describes how metamorphic rock forms? (8.ESS2.3)

• Melted rock cools at or beneath Earth's surface.

• Minerals that are dissolved in water crystalize.

• Pressure causes sediment to stick together.

• Heat and pressure change rocks buried beneath Earth's surface.