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6th (6.10C - Tectonic Plates) Part 2

Total questions: 12

Worksheet time: 6mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What are Plate Tectonics?

a)

Earth's land based plates

b)

Major events in Earth's past based on geological time, using the study of the planet's rock layers

c)

The theory that pieces of Earth's lithosphere are in constant motion, driven by convection currents in the mantle

d)

The theory that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time

2.

What are continental plates?

a)

It is an area on Earth where two or more lithosphere plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other causing a process known as subducton.

b)

It is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.

c)

They are thinner than continental plates, and they are also more dense, so they ride lower on the mantle. They are more dense because they are mostly basalt, having been erupted from mid-ocean ridges.

d)

They are tectonic plates that lie under surface land masses. Tectonic plates are parts of the planet's crust that lie far below the sea around the world, and there are two types of plates continental plates and oceanic plates.

3.

What is a continental drift?

a)

developed the continental drift theory

b)

one big continent or land mass

c)

the theory that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time

d)

Earth's land based plates

4.

Fossil records indicate that the continents were once connected. How do fossil records support this claim?

a)

We have been able to transport the same types of fossils from one continent to another.

b)

fossils of the same organism have been found on continents that are now separated by oceans.

c)

some continents contain fossils of many different types of organisms.

5.

One piece of evidence for Plate Tectonics is that __.

a)

some continents appear to fit together like a puzzle

b)

we have video footage of the plates actually moving

c)

all continents have formed from volcanic eruptions

d)

the continents are no longer moving

6.

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

7.

At first, a lack of evidence for continental drift prevented many scientists from believing a single super-continent called ____ existed.

a)

Glossopteris

b)

Pangaea

c)

Gondwanaland

d)

Mesosauris

8.

The theory of _______ states that Earth's crust and upper mantle are broken into sections that are constant, slow motion.

a)

Plate tectonics

b)

continental drift

c)

seafloor spreading

d)

divergent boundaries

9.

What drives tectonic plate movement?

a)

gravity

b)

convection currents

c)

coriolis effect

d)

the earth's magnetic core

10.

How do glaciers play a role in Plate Tectonics?

a)

Glaciers cover parts of the Earth that have remained stationary.

b)

There is evidence that glaciers have not always existed.

c)

There is evidence that shows that the same glaciers covered different regions of several continents.

d)

Glaciers exist in different places on the Earth.

11.

One piece of evidence that supports the Theory of Plate Tectonics is found in the observation of rocks on either side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, shown in the picture provided. Plate Tectonic Theory is supported because as you move out from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the rocks -

a)

have higher iron content

b)

become thicker and thicker

c)

are increasingly older

d)

are made of smaller particles

12.

Who is considered the father of plate tectonics when he came up with the early theory of continental drift?

a)

Thomas Edison

b)

Isaac Newton

c)

Alfred Wegener

d)

Galileo