Understanding Divergent Plate Boundaries

What are the two main questions to ask when understanding plate boundaries?

• What is the speed of the plates and their density?

• How old are the plates and what is their color?

• What is the temperature of the plates and how thick are they?

• How are the plates moving and what type of crust is on each plate?

What is the process called where one plate dives beneath another?

• Seafloor spreading

• Subduction

• Convection

• Erosion

What is the main outcome of seafloor spreading?

• Formation of mountains on land

• Creation of new oceanic crust

• Destruction of oceanic crust

• Increase in ocean temperature

What is a fissure eruption?

• A deep ocean trench

• A type of earthquake

• A single volcanic explosion

• A long crack where lava pours out

What landform is created by seafloor spreading?

• Deep ocean trenches

• Mid-ocean ridges

• Continental shelves

• Volcanic islands

What is found at the center of a mid-ocean ridge?

• A mountain peak

• A volcanic island

• A deep ocean trench

• A rift valley

How do the natural disasters at divergent boundaries compare to those at subduction zones?

• Less severe at divergent boundaries

• Equally severe at both

• No natural disasters at divergent boundaries

• More severe at divergent boundaries

Where is the youngest oceanic crust located?

• Near a subduction zone

• Closest to the plate boundary

• At the center of the ocean

• Near the continental shelf

What happens to the age of oceanic crust as you move away from the plate boundary?

• It gets younger

• It remains the same

• It disappears

• It gets older

What is the recycling nature of the seafloor?

• The seafloor remains unchanged over time

• The seafloor is only destroyed, never created

• The seafloor is constantly being created and destroyed

• The seafloor is only created, never destroyed