WorksheetsEarth Science
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 13mins
Tectonic plates are huge moving pieces of the Earth's crust and there are different mechanisms that can explain the causes of their movement. Which of the following are the causes of plate movement?
a. radiation and conduction
b. Convection currents and gravity
c. Mantle convection and diffusion
d. Gravity and sublimation
There are three types of plate boundaries. Each type is associated with different geological features. How are mountain ranges formed by plate tectonics?
a. It is formed when two tectonic plates move away from each other.
b. Mountain ranges are formed when two continental plates converge, neither of the buoyant plates are able to give way and subduct beneath the other.
c. Mountain ranges are formed when one of the plates (oceanic crust and lithospheric mantle) is pushed, or subducted, under the other and often it is the older and colder plate that is denser and subducts beneath the younger and warmer plate.
d. It is formed when two tectonic plates slide past one another.
The seven major plates are Pacific, North American, Eurasian, African, Antarctic, Indo- Australia, and South American plate. Which of the following statements is true about Pacific plate?
a. This plate extends all the way over the North Pole and even
contains Siberia and the northern island of Japan.
b. This plate is sandwiched between the North American and African Plates on the north and west sides.
c. This plate is the largest
and it stretches all the way along the west coast of North America to the east
coast of Japan and Indonesia.
d. This plate is surrounded by parts of the African, Australian, Pacific, and South American plates.
Scientists did not accept Wegener’s theory of continental drift. Why was Wegener's theory rejected by geophysicists of the 1920's?
a. He could not explain how or why the continents were drifting
b. He could not provide evidence for the continental drift
c. The presence of a continent directly over the south pole
d. The earth was then thought to be too young for such movements
The Ring of Fire, also referred to as the Circum-Pacific Belt, is a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. Which of the following statements is true about the Pacific Ring of Fire?
a. The Ring of Fire is home to 97% of the world's volcanoes and 99% of its earthquakes.
b. The Ring of Fire is home to the deepest ocean trench, called the Puerto Rico Trench and it is located east of Guam, the 4-mile-deep Puerto Rico Trench formed when one tectonic place was pushed under another.
c. The Ring of Fire is a roughly 90,000-mile chain of volcanoes and seismically active sites that outline the Pacific Ocean.
d. The Ring of Fire is the result of plate tectonics and it is a string of underwater volcanoes and earthquake sites around the edges of the Pacific Ocean.
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth's subterranean movements. Plate plates are able to move because Earth's lithosphere has greater mechanical strength than the underlying asthenosphere. Which of these is NOT the result of plate tectonics?
a. earthquake distribution
b. polar wander
c. formation of new oceans
d. convection in the outer core
How did Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift differ from the current theory of plate tectonics?
a. Wegener’s hypothesis was supported with evidence from fossils and rock formations.
b. According to Wegener’s hypothesis, South America and Africa were father apart in the past.
c. According to Wegener’s hypothesis, the driving force for plate tectonics was mantle convection.
d. Wegener’s hypothesis was based on the assumption that the continents were much younger than the ocean basins.
A student finds a map of the tectonic plates in a reputable geology resource. The map is completely different from the map on the NOAA website. Some plates are of different shapes and sizes, some are in different locations, and some do not even exist at all. What is the most reasonable explanation for this?
a. The map represents the plates as they existed 200 million years ago.
b. The approximate depth inside the Earth where the hotspot magma originates.
c. There is a random distribution of rocks of various ages on the islands.
d. Sediments from continents are carried to the ocean in rivers and spread out on the ocean floor.
Scientists collect a set of core samples from the ocean floor and plot the age of the basalt on a map. They notice that the age of the basalts increases steadily from east to west until a certain point and then starts to decrease again. The scientists then collect samples along series of parallel tracks and notice the same pattern along each track. Which topographic feature most likely lies along the ocean floor where the rocks begin to decrease in age?
a. A deep submarine trench
b. Underwater landforms
c. Abyssal plains
d. Continental shelf
The theory of sea floor spreading was developed by an American geophysicist in 1962. What technique was used to do this?
a. Seismic survey
b. Magnetic survey
c. Echo sounding survey
d. Gravity survey
Continental drift was a theory that explained how continents shift position on Earth’s surface and Wegener together with his supporters collected a great deal of evidence for the continental drift hypothesis. Which of the following evidences is used to support the continental drift hypothesis?
a. the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks and mountain ranges
b. seafloor spreading
c. subduction
d. formation of island arc and trenches
Volcanic island arcs are associated with __________ .
a. transform plate boundaries
b. divergent plate boundaries
c. ocean-ocean convergent plate boundaries
d. ocean-continent convergent plate boundaries
1. Scientist found that the continents were moving apart from each other due to magma rising out of mid-ocean ridges and they called this:
a. Rift valley
b. Seafloor spreading
c. Submarine volcanoes
d. Ocean trenches
What geologic feature will occur along divergent plate boundaries where new ocean floor is created as the Earth tectonic plates spread apart?
a. fault
b.mid-ocean ridges
c. island arc
d. mountain ranges
What leads to the creation of island arcs?
a. Collision of two oceanic plates
b. Collision of two continental plates
c. Collision of a continental and an oceanic plate
d. All of the above
Scientists believe that differences in ____ cause hot, plastic like rock in the asthenosphere to rise toward Earth's surface.
a. weight
b. magnetism
c. density
d. composition
Which scientist is credited with proposing the ideas that led to the development of the plate
tectonics theory?
a. Charles Darwin
b. Albert Einstein
c. Isaac Newton
d. Alfred Wegener
Which of these statements is correct?
a. Continental crust is thicker than oceanic crust
b. Continental crust is thinner than oceanic crust
c. Oceanic crust is thicker than continental crust
d. Continental and oceanic crusts have the same thickness
When looking at mid -ocean ridges, the oldest rocks are __________.
a. Found close to the rift zone
b. Found close to the rift valley
c. In the middle
d. Found far from the mid-ocean ridges
How is oceanic crust forced back into the earth's mantle?
a. It wants to float but is forced to curl as it cools.
b. It wants to float but is forced under by colliding plates.
c. It wants to sink because it is made of high-density minerals.
d. It wants to sink because it is cold and therefore dense.
