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WorksheetsTectonic Plate Boundaries
Total questions: 28
Worksheet time: 14mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
The movement of the tectonic plates is caused by
a)
the Moho discontinuity.
b)
the gravity of the iron-nickel core
c)
convection currents in Earth's mantle
d)
the rotation of the Earth.
2.
In the diagram of the ocean basin, where is the oldest oceanic crust found?
a)
A
b)
B
c)
C
d)
D
3.
There are three types of plate boundaries. Which choice is NOT a type of plate boundary?
a)
transform
b)
thrust
c)
divergent
d)
convergent
4.
Different events on Earth are associated with different tectonic plate boundaries.Which events are associated with transform plate boundaries?
a)
volcanoes and sea floor spreading
b)
folded mountains
c)
trenches and island arcs
d)
faults and earthquakes
5.
Observe this diagram of a plate boundary. One statement BEST describes what is happening. It is that
a)
this is typical of a subduction zone
b)
the tectonic plates are moving away from each other.
c)
volcanic islands are forming
d)
the oceanic crust is melting.
6.
The map shown would be useful in predicting the location of future
a)
tornadoes
b)
hurricanes
c)
earthquakes
d)
droughts
7.
Fossils of a now extinct dinosaur have been found near the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa. The dinosaur could not swim or fly. What does this suggest about the continents of South America and Africa?
a)
The continents were once connected.
b)
The same type of animals evolved on both continents.
c)
Prehistoric man transported the dinosaur between the continents.
d)
A land bridge once connected the continents.
8.
Earthquake epicenters were mapped for a 35 year period in the diagram above. The black dots marking the epicenters also represent what feature on Earth?
a)
hot spots
b)
rift zones
c)
plate boundaries
d)
sea floor spreading
9.
1 - convection in the upper mantle magma 2 - injection at the spreading boundaries
3 - gravity pulling the plates downward at subduction zones
These are three theorized causes of
3 - gravity pulling the plates downward at subduction zones
These are three theorized causes of
a)
changing of the climate.
b)
movement of the tectonic plates.
c)
glacial melting.
d)
high and low ocean tides.
10.
The Earth’s surface is not a solid surface but is divided into
a)
continental and oceanic plates.
b)
several oceanic plates.
c)
seven continental plates.
d)
continental and crustal plates.
11.
________currents in the Earth's mantle cause plate movement which causes earthquakes and volcanic activity.
a)
Conduction
b)
Convection
c)
Ocean
d)
Radiation
12.
The Atlantic Ocean gets about 3-5 ______ wider each year.
a)
centimeters
b)
meters
c)
kilometers
d)
miles
13.
The rock that caps Mt. Everest, in the Himalayas, is limestone and contains fossilizedmarine creatures. Alfred Wegener, a German scientist, explained the occurrence of marine fossils high in the mountains by describing the existence of a super-continent,Pangaea. Pangaea eventually broke apart and gradually became the continents we know today and this was referred to as continental drift. Wegener's early theory of continental drift helped provide evidence to support
a)
the big bang theory.
b)
the theory of plate tectonics.
c)
survival of the fittest.
d)
natural selection.
14.
Which is a result of seafloor spreading?
a)
the plates involved are cracked on the surface
b)
magma piles up on top of the plates involved
c)
earthquakes occur along the edge of the larger plate
d)
the plates involved grow in size as the ocean floor extends
15.
The map of the world is overlaid with the boundaries of the tectonic plates. Look at the location marked with an asterisk (*). What geologic feature would expect to find at that location and why
a)
island arc; two oceanic plates meet at a convergent boundary
b)
deep sea trench; subduction where two plates meet and one goes underneath the other
c)
mountains; two continental plates meet at a convergent boundary
d)
rift zone; two plates move in opposite directions
16.
The Pacific plate and the North American plate meet and result in many geologicfeatures on Earth. We are very familiar with what happens throughout the state ofCalifornia because of their meeting. But what about Alaska? What type of boundaryexists where these two plates meet? What is the resulting geologic feature(s) found inand around Alaska because of this?
a)
divergent boundary; flowing lava forms islands
b)
subduction zone; volcanoes and island arcs form
c)
transform plate boundary; site of multiple earthquakes
d)
continental plates converge; mountain building
17.
A ________ zone is the place where two lithospheric plates converge, one riding over the other. Most volcanoes on land occur parallel to the boundary between the two plates.
a)
convergent
b)
continental
c)
subduction
d)
volcano
18.
________ is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and gradually moves away from the ridge.
a)
Subduction
b)
Spreading
c)
Divergence
d)
Convergence
19.
All BUT ONE statement provides evidence supporting plate tectonics, through data collected at the sites of sea floor spreading. That is
a)
paleomagnetic reversals in specific areas of the sea floor.
b)
the presence of unique species in remote locations, such as Australia and New Zealand.
c)
a large occurrence of earthquakes along specific lines within the Earth's oceans.
d)
an increase in the thickness of ocean crust as you move away from the area of spreading.
20.
What causes seafloor spreading?
a)
gas leaks
b)
magma from convection currents
c)
Conduction
d)
Radiation
21.
A tectonic plate near Niihau, an island in Hawaii, grows at an average rate of 11cm/year. How many centimeters will the plate grow in 2 years?
a)
2 cm
b)
11 cm
c)
22 cm
d)
30 cm
22.
This map shows the movement of the world’s tectonic plates. Which plate moves in more than one direction?
a)
The Arabian plate
b)
The Cocos plate
c)
The Pacific plate
d)
The Scotia plate
23.
Where is the youngest crust on earth is found?
a)
under the ice in Antarctica
b)
along the fault line in California
c)
in the ocean along the mid ocean ridges
d)
at the peak of tall mountains
24.
This illustration shows the East Pacific Rise, which grows at an approximate rate of 15 cm/year. Approximately how much will the East Pacific Rise have grown in five years?
a)
60 cm
b)
75 cm
c)
90 cm
d)
110 cm
25.
In 1915, Alfred Wegener proposed his continental drift theory. He said that thecontinents floated atop the mantle, a heavier, denser layer of rocks deep within theearth. Wegener predicted that heat rising within the hot mantle created currents of partially melted rocks that could move the continents around the earth’s surface. Likemany revolutionary theories, Wegener’s was not initially accepted by scientists. The continued research described above supports Wegener's continental drift theory and als supports the 1965 theory of
a)
Earth's magnetosphere.
b)
superposition
c)
plate tectonics
d)
core accretion
26.
In 1915, Alfred Wegener proposed his continental drift theory. He said that thecontinents floated atop the mantle, a heavier, denser layer of rocks deep within theearth. Wegener predicted that heat rising within the hot mantle created currents ofpartially melted rocks that could move the continents around the earth’s surface. Likemany revolutionary theories, Wegener’s was not initially accepted by scientists. All BUTONE of the research scenarios below supports Wegener's continental drift theory andalso supports the 1965 theory of plate tectonics.
a)
In the 1950's and 1960's, marine geologists used data from echo sounders tomap ocean ridges in the North Atlantic and the Pacific. They noticed that theseridges stretched on for thousands of kilometers in long, continuous mountainchains that wound around the Earth’s surface, almost like the stitches on abaseball. The scientists also observed that the crest of the ridges had atopography that closely resembled volcanic rift zones on land. This evidence ledearly marine geologists to deduce that the mid-ocean ridges were formed byseafloor volcanoes.
b)
Henry Hess discovered that as the ocean crust spreads and cools over millions ofyears, it becomes denser and eventually sinks down into oceanic trenches, orsubduction zones, a long way from where it forms at the mid-ocean ridge crest.As ocean crust descends toward the hot mantle, it melts and becomes recycledinto the mantle.
c)
In the late 1960's, data revealed an alternating striped pattern of seafloor rocks.Rocks that formed when Earth’s magnetic field was in one position alternatedwith rocks that formed when the field was reversed. The stripes ran parallel tothe mid-ocean ridges and extended out hundreds of miles on either side of them.The seafloor’s permanent magnetic signatures showed that new ocean crust wascreated at the ridge crests and then spread outward in both directions.
d)
In the 1960's, Nicholas Steno studied the relative positions of sedimentary rocksand found that solid particles settle from a fluid according to their relativeweight or size. The largest, or heaviest, settle first, and the smallest, or lightest,settle last. Slight changes in particle size or composition result in the formationof layers in the rock. He theorized that in any sequence of layered rocks, a givenbed must be older than any bed on top of it.
27.
What type of plate boundary is shown in this illustration?
a)
convergent boundary
b)
divergent boundary
c)
transform boundary
d)
mantle boundary
28.
The process of circular motion in the Earth’s mantle that causes the plates of the lithosphere to move is called
a)
convection
b)
conduction
c)
deposition
d)
drifting
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