Understanding Plate Tectonics

What is the geological significance of the Teton Range?

• It is a young mountain range formed by volcanic activity.

• It contains rocks that date back 2.7 billion years.

• It was formed by the collision of two tectonic plates.

• It is the tallest mountain range in the world.

What was Alfred Wegener's revolutionary idea about continents?

• Continents are stationary and do not move.

• Continents move vertically due to tectonic activity.

• Continents drift laterally across the Earth's surface.

• Continents are formed by volcanic eruptions.

Which observation led Wegener to propose the theory of continental drift?

• The fit of Africa and South America like puzzle pieces.

• The alignment of mountain ranges across continents.

• The discovery of mid-ocean ridges.

• The presence of similar fossils in different continents.

What type of evidence supported Wegener's theory of continental drift?

• Fossil records and geological similarities.

• Ocean current patterns.

• Volcanic activity records.

• Meteorological data.

Why was Wegener's theory initially rejected by the scientific community?

• Inaccurate geological maps.

• Lack of evidence for continental movement.

• No mechanism for how continents could move.

• Contradictory fossil records.

What discovery provided a mechanism for Wegener's theory?

• The alignment of mountain ranges across continents.

• The fit of Africa and South America like puzzle pieces.

• The discovery of Earth's magnetic field reversals.

• The presence of similar fossils in different continents.

What role did Earth's magnetic field play in supporting plate tectonics?

• It explained the formation of mountain ranges.

• It provided evidence of magnetic reversals in rocks.

• It demonstrated the vertical movement of continents.

• It showed that continents are stationary.

What was discovered during the mapping of the ocean floor after World War II?

• The presence of ancient fossils.

• The existence of mid-ocean ridges.

• The vertical movement of tectonic plates.

• The alignment of continents.

What is the significance of mid-ocean ridges in plate tectonics?

• They are the deepest parts of the ocean.

• They are the oldest parts of the ocean floor.

• They are evidence of volcanic eruptions.

• They are sites where new ocean crust is formed.

How does seafloor spreading support the theory of plate tectonics?

• It explains the vertical movement of tectonic plates.

• It demonstrates the lateral movement of ocean crust.

• It provides evidence of ancient volcanic activity.

• It shows that continents are stationary.