Plate Tectonics Review

Olivia became interested in the fossil evidence that Wegener used to form his hypothesis of continental drift. How did fossils show that the continents were once joined together?

• Animal fossils such as the mesosaurus were found on one continent.

• Scientists found examples of different kinds of fossils on some continents.

• Plant fossils of the same kind of fernlike plants were found on five continents.

• Freshwater animal fossils were found in the nearby oceans.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

After studying plate tectonics, Lee became interested in mid-ocean ridges and how rock develops as the tectonic plates spread apart, so he decided to investigate further. Which of the following statements are true about sea-floor spreading? Choose the three statements that apply.

• Young rock forms in layers on the ocean floor as spreading occurs.

• Magma flows through cracks in Earth's crust and hardens.

• Continental crust is formed by the ridges as they grow.

• Mid-ocean ridges are the sources of the spreading.

• Older rock is farther away from the mid-ocean ridges.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

The sinking of ocean crust back into the mantle when it meets continental crust is ________, and this occurs at ________.

How do these currents drive the motion of Earth’s plates?

• Ocean water rises as it warms and falls as it cools to move the plates.

• Hot melted rock rises and cooler rock sinks in the mantle, forming currents that move the plates.

• Melted rock rises and falls, and the currents move the mantle while the crust remains in place.

• The crust moves in a current to drive the motion of the water in the oceans.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-3

Deonte compared continental crust to ocean crust and saw that they had differences, which helped him to understand how they behave. Read each word or phrase that describes ocean crust and continental crust, and then use the graphic organizer to place each word or phrase in the correct column. Where does the word 'dense' belong?

• Ocean Crust

• Continental Crust

Deonte compared continental crust to ocean crust and saw that they had differences, which helped him to understand how they behave. Read each word or phrase that describes ocean crust and continental crust, and then use the graphic organizer to place each word or phrase in the correct column. Where does the phrase 'under water' belong?

• Ocean Crust

• Continental Crust

Deonte compared continental crust to ocean crust and saw that they had differences, which helped him to understand how they behave. Read each word or phrase that describes ocean crust and continental crust, and then use the graphic organizer to place each word or phrase in the correct column. Where does the word 'thicker' belong?

• Ocean Crust

• Continental Crust

Deonte compared continental crust to ocean crust and saw that they had differences, which helped him to understand how they behave. Read each word or phrase that describes ocean crust and continental crust, and then use the graphic organizer to place each word or phrase in the correct column. Where does the word 'lighter' belong?

• Ocean Crust

• Continental Crust

What determines how the plates interact at their boundaries?

• the materials the plates are made of

• the difference in thickness of the plates

• the kind of plates they are and whether they keep moving

• the kind of boundary and the directions in which the plates are moving

Maria visited the mountains in Wyoming and became interested in the different ways that mountains and valleys form. How do mountains and valleys develop from a series of normal faults?

• A footwall slips down to form a valley at a converging plate boundary. Rock on either side of the valley becomes the mountains.

• Walls of rock grind past each other in opposite directions. This pushes one side up above the other to form the mountains.

• Compression causes rock to fold and bend, but not break, in the middle of a plate. The rock that folds upward becomes a series of mountains.

• A hanging wall slips down at a diverging plate boundary. The slab of crust that falls forms a valley, and the slabs on each side form mountains.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2