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Plate Tectonics (unit)

Total questions: 69

Worksheet time: 48mins

Name
Class
Date
1.
What type of plate tectonic activity would most like occur along the San Andreas fault line?
a)
ocean basin
b)
volcano
c)
earthquake
d)
ridge 
2.
While seafloor spreading pushes tectonic plates apart the ___________________________ currents are believed to cause movement inside the Earth and helps to power the movement of the tectonic plates.
a)
magnetic
b)
gravity
c)
convection
d)
electricity  
3.
If you lived near a transform boundary you would practice a/an _________________________ drill while in school.
a)
fire
b)
tornado
c)
earthquake
d)
lock down
4.

Which force is responsible for the movement of tectonic plates?

a)

Gravity

b)

Convection Currents

c)

Electricity

d)

Magnetism

5.

Mountains in the Himalayans are increasing elevation due to-

a)

Sea Floor Spreading

b)

Earthquakes

c)

transform plates faulting

d)

plates colliding

6.

Mountains are created by which boundary-

a)

convergent

b)

divergent

c)

transform

7.

What geological feature is created at the MID OCEAN RIDGE?

a)

Mountain

b)

Volcano

c)

Plateau

8.

What geological process created the Himalayan Mountain Range?

a)

earthquake in a subduction zone

b)

tectonic plate over a hot spot

c)

movement at a transform fault

d)

two plates converging(moving toward another)

9.
What does the theory of plate tectonics predict about the location of earthquakes and volcanoes?
a)
They are evenly distributed across Earth’s surface.
b)
They occur mostly on the ocean floor.
c)
They occur mostly on the continents.
d)
They occur mostly at plate boundaries.
10.
 Earth’s plates are moved by convection currents in the
a)
upper mantle
b)
crust
c)
lithosphere
d)
core
11.
Where are nonvolcanic mountain chains most likely to form?
a)
at a boundary between two colliding continental plates.
b)
at a boundary where one oceanic plate slides under another oceanic plate
c)
at a boundary where an oceanic plate slides under a continental plate
d)
in the middle of a continental plate
12.
Where do mid-ocean ridges form?
a)
where two continental plates collide
b)
where one oceanic plate slides under another oceanic plate
c)
where a continental plate slides under an oceanic plate
d)
where two oceanic plates move apart
13.
What happens when two oceanic plates collide?
a)
One plate pushes up the other forming mountains.
b)
They form a rift valley.
c)
They combine to form one plate.
d)
One plate slides under another.
14.
Which features of the ocean floor result from interactions of Earth's plates? 
a)
trenches and seamounts
b)
canyons and seamounts
c)
rift valleys and canyons
d)
rift valleys and trenches
15.
What event formed most of the islands in the South Pacific?
a)
earthquakes
b)
meteors
c)
volcanoes
d)
land slides
16.
What geological feature is most commonly formed from an earthquake? 
a)
sink hole
b)
trench
c)
mid-ocean ridge
d)
fault
17.
Where are nearly 75% of earth's volcanoes located?
a)
Around the Pacific Ocean in the ring of fire
b)
in North America
c)
around the Atlantic Ocean in the ring of fire
d)
in Antarctica
18.
Convergent boundary plates move
a)
apart
b)
side to side
c)
together
d)
they don't move
19.
This is the place where two tectonic plates meet. 
a)
Hot spot
b)
subduction
c)
plate boundary
d)
fault
20.
The geological feature formed from an earthquake
a)
Hot spot
b)
subduction
c)
plate boundary
d)
fault
21.
Where does a dense tectonic plate push under a less dense plate?
a)
subduction zone
b)
hot spot
c)
plate boundary
d)
fault
22.
According to the table, very minor earthquakes happen
a)
1 per year
b)
18 per year
c)
6,200 per year
d)
thousands per day
23.
Evidence to support continental drift included ______________.
a)
remains of human beings on a number of continents
b)
similar fossils found on different continents
c)
how the continents drifted
d)
written records
24.
_____________ came up with the theory of continental drift. 
a)
Alfred Einstein
b)
Alfred Wegener
c)
Harry Hess
d)
Barack Obama
25.
Transform boundaries are most likely to produce what phenomenon?
a)
volcanoes
b)
deep sea trenches
c)
underwater mountain ranges
d)
earthquakes
26.
Two tectonic plates collide at a ___ plate boundary.
a)
convergent
b)
divergent
c)
transform
d)
transformer
27.
According to Wegener's hypothesis of continental drift, 
a)
Earth's surface is made up of seven major landmasses
b)
the continents DO NOT move
c)
Earth is slowly cooling and shrinking
d)
the continents were once joined together in a single landmass
28.
What is Pangaea?
a)
the name of a German scientist
b)
the name of the super-continent that existed millions of years ago
c)
another name for continental drift
d)
the name of an ancient fossil
29.
A place where two plates slide past each other, moving in opposite directions, is known as a
a)
transform boundary
b)
divergent boundary
c)
convergent boundary
d)
rift valley
30.
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
31.
Mountains are created when....
a)
Two continental plates collide
b)
Two oceanic plates pull apart
c)
An Oceanic plate subducts under a Continental Plate
d)
Two continental plates pull apart
32.
Earthquakes and volcanoes are most likely found in which locations?
a)
At plate boundaries
b)
in oceans
c)
in the middle of continents
d)
in the middle of plates
33.

The diagram below models the movement of two tectonic plates.


What is occurring as a result of the plate collision?

a)

A mid-ocean ridge is forming.

b)

Subduction is occurring because oceanic crust is denser than continental crust. This tectonic plate action forms a trench and a volcano.

c)

A divergent boundary is forming.

d)

A transform boundary is forming due to two plates sliding past one another.

34.

Which piece of evidence did Alfred Wegener NOT use for his theory of continental drift?

a)

Fossils

b)

Continental Fit

c)

Glacial

d)

Topographic Maps

35.

Alfred Wegener noted that fossils from a particular type of reptile were found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Which of the following would be the best explanation of how this occurred?

a)

The reptiles swam across the ocean.

b)

The Atlantic Ocean did not exist in earlier times.

c)

The reptiles walked across a giant land bridge that has weathered away.

d)

The reptiles walked across an ice bridge located near the equator.

36.

In an area known as The Ring of Fire, volcanic island chains have formed in the Pacific Ocean. What most likely caused this to happen?

a)

Convergent plate boundary

b)

Divergent plate boundary

c)

Transform plate boundary

d)

Mantle hot spot

37.
When rocks bend due to stress, they sometimes break.  This break is called a __________.
a)
transform boundary
b)
stress zone
c)
convergent zone
d)
fault
38.
Which if the following is NOT a type of earthquake wave?
a)
S waves
b)
P waves
c)
T waves
d)
surface waves
39.
These are the slowest and most destructive earthquake waves.
a)
P waves
b)
S waves
c)
T waves
d)
surface waves
40.
The _________ is the point on earth's surface directly above an earthquakes' starting point.
a)
focus
b)
Richter scale
c)
epicenter
d)
seismic wave
41.
This type of earthquake scale measures the amount of kinetic energy released by an earthquake (also known as the magnitude of the earthquake)
a)
mercalli scale
b)
richter scale
c)
epicenter scale
d)
earthquake scale
42.

Which of the following is NOT evidence that Pangaea once existed?

a)

Mountain ranges on continents line up

b)

Fossils of reptiles that can only be found on one continent were found on other continents

c)

Fossils of tropical plants were found in cold climates

d)

There were lines in the ocean from where the continent moved along the bottom

43.

Why are the oldest parts of the ocean floor no older than about 200 million years old?

a)

That is how long it takes for sand to completely cover the ocean floor

b)

That is how long it takes for new crust to form, move across the ocean and sink into a trench

c)

Underwater volcanoes erupt every 200 million years and create a new ocean floor

44.

Which is the FIRST step of sea-floor spreading?

a)

The molten material cools and hardens, forming a strip of rock along the ocean floor

b)

The strip of rock moves away from the ridge

c)

Molten material from inside Earth rises to the ocean floor at a mid-ocean ridge

45.

At which boundary do two plates move away from each other

a)

Divergent

b)

Convergent

c)

Transform

46.

At which boundary do two plates move towards each other

a)

Divergent

b)

Convergent

c)

Transform

47.

At which boundary do two plates slip past each other

a)

Divergent

b)

Convergent

c)

Transform

48.

Your classmate tells you that Earth's surface is broken into different plates that move. What Theory are they telling you about?

a)

Plate Tectonic Theory

b)

Continental Drift Theory

c)

Convection Theory

49.

The movement of matter due to differences in density; the transfer of energy due to the movement of matter

a)

plate tectonics

b)

convergent boundary

c)

convection

d)

divergent boundary

50.

The process by which new oceanic lithosphere (sea floor) forms when magma rises to Earth's surface at mid-ocean ridges a solidifies (hardens) as older, existing sea floor moves away from the ridge.

a)

sea-floor spreading

b)

transform boundary

c)

plate tectonics

d)

convection

51.

The theory that Earth's outer layer is made up of large moving pieces called tectonic plates; the theory explains how plates interact and how those interactions relate to processes such as earthquakes and mountain building.

a)

mid ocean ridges

b)

plate tectonics

c)

divergent boundary

d)

convection theory

52.

The San Andreas fault in California is on this type of plate boundary

a)

convergent boundary

b)

divergent boundary

c)

transform boundary

53.

Mid-ocean ridge and sea-floor spreading happen at this plate boundary

a)

convergent boundary

b)

transform boundary

c)

divergent boundary

54.

Molten rock that erupts form volcanos

a)

hot rock

b)

lava

c)

fraggle rock

d)

magma

55.

A vent at the earth's surface through which magma and gases erupt

a)

volcano

b)

black hole

c)

head

d)

mouth

56.

The zone of earthquakes and volcanoes surrounding the Pacific Ocean.

a)

Three Ring Circus

b)

Ring of Fire

c)

Devil's Rim

d)

Round House of Horror

57.

Tectonic plates are made of?

a)

The mantle

b)

Continental and oceanic lithosphere

c)

The outer core

d)

The mesosphere

58.

How far do tectonic plates move each year?

a)

Meters per year

b)

Centimeters per year

c)

Kilometers per year

d)

Feet per year

59.
What are the two types of crust?
a)
continental and oceanic
b)
ocean and basin
c)
lower and upper
d)
thick and thin
60.
When an oceanic plate and a continental plate collide, which one will subduct? 
a)
oceanic
b)
continental
c)
neither
d)
both
61.
What type of evidence was NOT used by Alfred Wegener to support his continental drift hypothesis?
a)
evidence from landforms
b)
evidence from fossils
c)
evidence from human remains
d)
evidence from climate
62.
The process by which the ocean floor sinks beneath a deep ocean trench and back into the mantle is known as
a)
convection
b)
continental drift
c)
subduction
d)
conduction
63.
Which travels fastest, always being the first detected by seismic stations?
a)
P waves
b)
S waves
64.
An instrument that detects and measures earthquakes is a 
a)
seismogram
b)
focus seismic map
c)
focus
d)
seismograph 
65.
What is the shaking of the Earth’s crust caused by a release of energy?
a)
Earthquake
b)
Epicenter
c)
Fault
d)
Plate
66.
Where is the point at which the first movement occurs during an earthquake?
a)
Epicenter
b)
Focus
c)
Fault
d)
Plate
67.
Where is the point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus of an earthquake?
a)
Epicenter
b)
Fault
c)
Hypocenter
d)
Tremor
68.
Which type of wave is the first to arrive after an earthquake occurs?
a)
P Wave
b)
Rayleigh Wave
c)
S Wave
d)
Shear Wave
69.
What is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake?
a)
Aftershock
b)
Liquefaction
c)
Seismic Gap
d)
Tsunami

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