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Plate Tectonics Pre-assessment

Total questions: 21

Worksheet time: 19mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Name this boundary

a)

Convergent

b)

Divergent

c)

Transform

d)

Subduction Zone

2.

Name the boundary

a)

Divergent

b)

Convergent

c)

Transform

d)

Subduction Zone

3.

Name the boundary

a)

Convergent

b)

Transform

c)

Divergent

d)

Subduction Zone

4.
What was the name given to all the continents when they were joined as one super continent?
a)
Supreme Continent
b)
Eurasia
c)
Plate tectonics
d)
Pangea
5.

Study the diagram.

Which two plates on the diagram show a divergent boundary?

a)

The Eurasian and Pacific plates

b)

The South American and African plates

c)

The North American and Pacific plates

d)

The South American and Nazca Plates

6.
The illustration below shows some of Earth's tectonic plates. The arrows indicate the direction in which some of these plates are moving.

Based on the direction of the Cocos Plate, what type of plate boundary likely exists between the Cocos Plate and the Caribbean Plate? (Hint: Step 1. Analyze the likely relative motions of the Caribbean Plate and the Cocos Plate. Step 2. Relate the relative motions of plates to the type of plate boundary.)
a)
Transform Boundary
b)
Divergent Boundary
c)
Convection Boundary
d)
Convergent Boundary
7.

The San Andreas Fault formed at this type of boundary

a)

Transform Boundary

b)

Convergent Boundary

c)

Divergent Boundary

d)

Hot Spot

8.
What geologic process formed the Himalayas? 
a)
two continental plates converging
b)
an earthquake in a subduction zone
c)
a tectonic plate moving over a hot spot
d)
movement at a transform fault boundary
9.

The Great Rift Valley in Africa and the Mid-Ocean Ridge in the Atlantic were all created by this boundary

a)

Divergent

b)

Convergent

c)

Reform

d)

Transform

10.

Subduction zones in the ocean can create which features?

a)

islands

b)

volcanoes

c)

earthquakes

d)

all of the above

11.

What process causes the location of continents to change over time?

a)

measuring motion with GPS

b)

locating the plate boundaries

c)

convection currents in the mantle

d)

eruptions of hot spot volcanoes

12.

Which of the following causes Earth's tectonic plates to move?

a)

Energy from the Sun

b)

Magnetic Pole Reversal

c)

Convection currents in the mantle

d)

Faults in Mountain Ranges

13.

How is it possible for new crust to be formed without increasing the surface area of the Earth?

a)

Crust is destroyed at the same time it is created

b)

New crust is underwater where it sinks

c)

New crust breaks more easily than old crust

14.

Oceanic Trenches are formed by either _______ or _______ plate boundaries

a)

Convergent Oceanic / Continental

b)

Convergent Continental / Continental

c)

Convergent Oceanic / Oceanic

d)

Divergent

15.

Ocean Ridges are formed by _______ plate boundaries

a)

Convergent Oceanic / Continental

b)

Convergent Continental / Continental

c)

Convergent Oceanic / Oceanic

d)

Divergent

16.
Radiometric dating is possible because the rates of decay of radioactive isotopes _____.
a)
change over time
b)
change from place to place
c)
are constant
d)
vary widely
17.
The time it takes for 50% of the nuclei in a radioactive sample to decay to its stable isotope is called _____.
a)
the daughter product
b)
geologic time
c)
the half-life
d)
the half-time
18.
If the half-life of a radioactive group of atoms is 100 years, then how old is the rock if there have been two half-lives?
a)
25 years
b)
200 years
c)
400 years
d)
800 years
19.
The graph shows the radioactive decay of a 50-gram sample of a radioactive isotope. 
According to the graph, what is the half-life of this isotope? 
a)
100 years
b)
150 years
c)
200 years
d)
300 years
20.

According to the graph, what fraction of the original parent isotope still exists after 3 half lives?

a)

0.5000 g

b)

0.2500 g

c)

0.1250 g

d)

0.0625 g

21.

What is the best explanation for why the oldest rocks found on Earth are not as old as meteorites?

a)

Meteorites do not contain any elements found on Earth.

b)

Earth processes, such as volcanic eruptions, make new rocks.

c)

Meteorites did not form in our solar system.

d)

Earth processes, such as mountain building, have destroyed older rocks.