WorksheetsMT 4 Plate Tectonics
Total questions: 34
Worksheet time: 8hrs 47mins
The Mid-Ocean Ridge is a divergent fault on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean that helps explain continental drift. Which best describes where the oldest rock is on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean?
Next to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on it's East side.
Next to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on it's West side.
At the very center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
At the far edge of the ocean plate where it meets the continents
In the center of the oceans where it is still moving
At the Mid-Ocean Ridge and active volcanoes you can find:
fault lines
earthquakes
older crust
newest crust
At which age strip in the picture will new crust form?
5
4
3
2
1
The similarity of fossils on different continents is strong evidence for:
Continental drift and that land masses were once closer together
Continental drift and that land masses were once further apart
Plate tectonics theory of recycling crustal plates
Alfred Wegener's theory of continental drift and divergent species
Convection cells mixing the heat from the core to the surface of Earth
Ferromagnetic molecules make up little shavings of iron that are in rock and align themselves to magnetic north when the rock is molten and liquid. Where do we find this?
Past the subduction zones where land and ocean plates collide
On either side of mid-ocean ridges
On the land under the Antarctic cap
In the layers of rock surrounding the Grand Canyon
In the convection cells of the mantle
Where new magma comes up through the opening at the Mid Ocean Ridge then hardens, the little iron shavings are stuck facing magnetic north when the lava hardens into rock on either side of the ridge.
Plant fossils matching on two continents
Animal fossils matching on two continents
glacier scaring matching on two continents
rock formations matching on two continents
erosion matching on two continents
At the mid-ocean ridge new crust forms and spreads apart the plates at a rate of 1 inch per year. How long would it take for the plates to be 10 inches apart?
10 months
1 year
10 years
100 years
1000 years
Which description most accurately explains what is occurring in the diagram?
If you are 600 Km from the ridge the crust is 40 million years old
The distance from the ridge does not affect the age of the crust just the depth of the water
The further from the ridge the younger the crust
The further from the ridge the older the crust
When one plate slides underneath another, it ____ and forms _____.
hardens; crust
hardens; magma
melts; magma
melts; crust
This landform can occur at a divergent plate boundary.
trench
mountain
mid-ocean ridge
fault
According to Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift,
Earth is slowly cooling and shrinking
the continents were once joined together in a single supercontinent
the continents DO NOT move
Earth's surface is made up of seven major landmasses
What type of evidence was NOT used by Alfred Wegener to support his continental drift hypothesis?
evidence from ancient climates
evidence from landforms
evidence from human remains
evidence from fossils
In Seafloor Spreading, molten material rises from the mantle and erupts or flows out
along the edges of all the continents
in the deep ocean trenches
along mid-ocean ridges
in the north and south poles
The process by which the ocean floor sinks beneath a deep ocean trench and back into the mantle is known as
continental drift
subduction
convection
conduction
What discovery caused scientists to rethink Wegener's continental drift theory?
the discovery of deep trenches off the coast of South America
the discovery of earthquake activity in California
the discovery of the ring of fire in the Pacific Ocean
the discovery of seafloor spreading in the Atlantic Ocean
The diagram shows the magnetic polarity (they look like zebra stripes) of the seafloor at the Mid-Ocean Ridge. Which of the following statements is true about the magnetic polarity pattern of the ridge?
Stripes of normal polarity and reversed polarity DO NOT alternate across the ocean bottom.
Stripes form mirror images (are symmetrical) on either side of the mid-ocean ridges
Stripes form different images on either side of the mid-ocean ridges
there is not a pattern that is created
Using the picture, explain how seafloor spreading (divergent boundary) and subduction (convergent boundary) recycle Earth’s materials?
New crust is forming at a mid-ocean ridge and older crust is suducting during seafloor spreading into the mantle and hardening
New crust is forming in a trench and older crust is suducting into the mantle and melting
New crust is forming at a mid-ocean ridge and older crust is suducting into the mantle and melting
New crust is forming at a trench and older crust is colliding at rift valley into the mantle and hardening
When an oceanic plate and a continental plate are colliding at a convergent boundary, the oceanic plate always subducts under the continental plate. Why?
The plate that is the largest will always stay on top
Both plates are made of the same material
the faster moving plate will move under the slower plate
Oceanic plates are more dense than land plates, so they move downward
Land plates are more dense than oceanic plates, so they always move downward under the ocean plates.
What types of features may form when two oceanic plates collide?
A large mountain range
A small valley
Volcanic island arc
A trench
Volcanic island arc and trench
In a subduction zone, the tip of the plate that moves below the plate on top, melts and the magma moves upward creating volcanoes. Where does the heat come from that causes this?
The heat energy comes from the sun
The heat energy comes from stars in the galaxy
The thermal heat source is the mantle
The thermal heat source is the ocean floor
The thermal heat source is the mid ocean ridge
What would two tectonic plates need to do to form folded mountains?
Divide apart at a divergent zone
Push together at a convergent zone
Move past each other at a transform boundary
Subduct at a transform boundary
Push together and create a trench underwater
What type of boundary would form volcanoes that look like mountains on land and a trench on the ocean floor?
Divergent Ocean-land
transform Ocean-land
Convergent Ocean-land
Convergent ocean-ocean
Convergent land-land
What type of plate boundary would form new crust on the ocean floor?
Divergent, Ocean-Ocean
Divergent, Land-Land
Convergent, ocean-ocean
Convergent, land-land
transform, ocean-ocean
What type of plate boundary would form the largest mountain ranges on the planet?
Transform boundary
Divergent boundary
Convergent boundary, ocean plate to ocean plate
Convergent boundary, land plate to land plate
What process is the pictures showing?
comprehension
mantle
Earth's layers
convection
melting
What processes causes tectonic plates move?
mountain building
earthquakes
convection currents
water cycle
subduction zones
What evidence is there of Earth's magnetic field changing directions?
Earth moving through seasons
Minerals aligned to magnetic north in hardened crust
Crust hardening at mid-ocean ridge
magma erupting through mid-ocean ridge
Earth's rotation around the Sun
What kind of energy moves the molten rock in Earth's mantle?
thermal energy
chemical energy
personal energy
solar energy
wind energy
What evidence exists that proves that Earth has layers?
They can be seen from special locations on the Earth
observations of earthquakes and buildings swaying
seismic data from earthquakes on the other side of the Earth
tsunami data from other countries and the impact on the land
rock samples from deep layers
The speed of a seismic wave (from earthquakes) depends on the material it is traveling through.
This has helped us learn about:
Earth's layers
Rotation of the planet
Rock cycle
Fault lines
Subduction zones
The Earth's inner core is solid but the layer around it, the outer core, is a liquid.
Turbulence or movement in that layer can allow the inner core to turn upside down. When this happens:
Earthquakes occur
The tides change
The tectonic plates converge
Magnetic North switches to south
Polar bears hibernate
Earth's layers are not all the same temperature or ________________. This is what causes them to form layers.
age
size
depth
radioactive decay levels
density
The theory of plate tectonics is supported by the fact that
The oldest rocks are on the bottom of layers of rock
Glaciers move very slowly
Ocean currents have changed over time
Weathering and erosion are very common
Magnetic reversals can be seen in the rock of the ocean floor
Heat inside the Earth's core is maintained due to
Heat and pressure from gravitational pull
Decaying radioactive isotopes in the core
Core layers slowly changing over time
Liquid outer core turbulence
Daylight savings time changing once a year
