Plate Tectonics Reading Passage

What does the theory of plate tectonics state?

• Earth's surface is made of rigid slabs of rock that move with respect to each other.

• Earth's surface is expanding due to the formation of ocean crust.

• Earth's surface is shrinking due to subduction zones.

• Earth's surface is static and unchanging.

What are the three types of plate boundaries?

• Divergent, Convergent, Transform

• Convergent, Divergent, Parallel

• Transform, Parallel, Divergent

• Convergent, Transform, Static

What causes tectonic plates to move?

• Convection currents in the mantle

• The rotation of the Earth

• The gravitational pull of the moon

• The expansion of the Earth's crust

Which plate is the largest tectonic plate on Earth?

• Pacific Plate

• Eurasian Plate

• African Plate

• North American Plate

What is the lithosphere?

• The cold and rigid outermost rock layer of Earth

• The hot and semiplastic layer beneath the crust

• The molten core of the Earth

• The layer where tectonic plates are formed

What is a subduction zone?

• An area where a denser plate descends into the Earth along a convergent plate boundary

• A region where two plates slide past each other

• A location where new oceanic crust is formed

• A zone where tectonic plates are static

What is the process called when two tectonic plates slide past each other?

• Transform plate boundary

• Convergent plate boundary

• Divergent plate boundary

• Subduction zone