Earth Science Quiz

Which layer of Earth is composed mainly of iron and is intensely hot?

• Mantle

• Core

• Crust

• Lithosphere

What is the earth’s brittle outer layer called?

• Core

• Asthenosphere

• Lithosphere

• Mantle

What characteristic describes the asthenosphere?

• Completely rigid

• Brittle and cold

• Flows plastically under stress

• Composed mainly of liquid iron

Which scientist first sketched the idea that continents fit together?

• Alfred Wegener

• Antonio Snider

• Justus von Liebig

• Charles Darwin

Who proposed the theory of continental drift?

• Alfred Wegener

• Robert MacArthur

• Charles Elton

• Vesilind

What does plate tectonics explain?

• Photosynthesis

• Energy flow

• Large-scale movement of Earth’s plates

• Formation of ions

What happens at divergent plate boundaries?

• Plates move together

• Plates slide past each other

• Plates move apart

• Plates collide and form mountains only

Where does seafloor spreading occur?

• Convergent boundaries

• Subduction zones

• Divergent boundaries

• Transform faults

What is formed at convergent boundaries where oceanic crust is forced below continental crust?

• Rift valley

• Subduction zone

• Mid-ocean ridge

• Transform fault

What geological feature is common at transform boundaries?

• Volcanoes only

• Earthquakes

• Coral reefs

• Hot springs