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WorksheetsPlate Tectonics
Total questions: 10
Worksheet time: 6mins
True or False: The continents move because they are not connected to anything, so they float around in the ocean.
True
False
SELECT ALL THAT APPLY: What pieces of evidence can be used to support the theory of plate tectonics?
Some of the continents seem to "fit" together
Fossils of the same organism can be found on different continents
Tides from the Moon cause increased erosion of coastlines
The Earth is slowly shrinking over time as it cools
This scientist was the first to suggest the theory of "continental drift."
James Hutton
Alfred Wegener
Richard Wagner
Gregor Mendel
Like most scientific theories, the theory of plate tectonics was quickly accepted by the scientific community, with very little criticism.
False
True
What is the soft, weak layer of the Earth that the crust "floats" on top of?
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Outer Core
Inner Core
SELECT ALL THAT APPLY: Volcanoes and earthquakes primarily occur along the boundaries of tectonic plates because...
that is where the crust is thinnest, and molten rock can push through.
the plates are moving, colliding, and rubbing against each other.
that is where the most meteor impacts occurred in the past, creating cracks in the Earth's crust
plate boundaries happen around the equator, where it is warm, which helps create more lava
Why do the tectonic plates move?
Because of convection currents in the Earth's mantle.
Strong ocean currents pushing on the coastlines.
Volcanoes create new rock, which slowly pushes the continents apart.
Because of convection currents in the Earth's lower atmosphere
New crust is constantly being created where tectonic plates spread apart.
True
False
What was Pangaea?
A probable explanation for the lost city of "Atlantis"
A prehistoric continent that sank into the ocean 150 million years ago
A prehistoric "supercontinent" made up of all the continents pushed together
A new continent that formed when the meteor that killed the dinosaurs hit the Earth
Earth's tectonic plates...
stay still most of the time, but move very suddenly every few million years and re-arrange the continents.
are constantly moving very slowly, a few centimeters every year.
