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Plate Tectonics

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What are tectonic plates?

a)

slabs of Earth's crust (or lithosphere) that move over the mantle (or asthenosphere)

b)

plates made of delicate porcelain clay found deep within the Earth's core

c)

when you technically leave sandwich crust on your plate, but feed it to the dog when no one is looking

2.

What causes the tectonic plates to move?

a)

uneven heating due to convection currents cause warm magma to rise and cool within the mantle

b)

earthquakes and volcanoes

c)

infrared rays of energy cause more dense rock to rise and less dense rock to sink.

3.

True/False. Hot magma within Earth is less dense and will rise, while cooler magma becomes more dense and sinks.

a)

True

b)

False

4.

What are the 3 main types of plate boundaries?

a)

small, medium, and large

b)

subduction, convection, and divergent

c)

convergent, divergent, and transform

5.

What are the 3 main types of plate boundaries?

a)

Convergent, Divergent, Transfer

b)

Convection, Divergent, Transform

c)

Convergent, Divergent, Transform

d)

Convection, Divergent, Transfer

6.

Which is the only boundary that does NOT involve magma?

a)

divergent

b)

convergent

c)

transform

7.

A convergent boundary can form a mountain chain or a ____________.

a)

Earthquake

b)

Rift Valley

c)

Sea-floor trench

d)

Mid-ocean ridge

8.

Based on what you've learned about plate tectonics, which statement would you consider to be accurate in comparing the 2 maps?

a)

Most of the world’s volcanoes and earthquakes are located along the edges of continents and ocean basins and along island chains. It is likely evidence that these movements are related to the movement found at tectonic plates boundaries.

b)

Earthquakes and Volcanoes are very different processes and do not have much to do with how the land is changed, or the tectonic plates.

c)

The map on the left shows where tectonic plates are, and the map on the right shows the ancient civilizations that settled there.

9.

California is home to the San Andreas fault, a well-known __________ boundary, where plates slide past each other.

a)

convergent

b)

divergent

c)

transform

10.

Which diagram best shows the movement of tectonic plates at a CONVERGENT boundary?

a)
b)
c)
d)
11.

Which diagram shows the movement for tectonic plates at a TRANSFORM boundary?

a)
b)
c)
d)
12.

Which diagram shows the movement of tectonic plates at a DIVERGENT boundary?

a)
b)
c)
d)
13.

Which diagram shows the movement of tectonic plates at a SUBDUCTION zone?

a)
b)
c)
d)
14.

What geologic feature can be created by a divergent boundary?

a)

Mountain chains

b)

Volcanoes

c)

Earthquakes

d)

Mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys

15.

What is the difference between convergent and divergent plate boundaries?

a)

Convergent collides together, divergent divides apart.

b)

Convergent collides together, divergent slides by each other

c)

Convergent divides apart, divergent collides together

d)

Convergent divides apart, divergent slides by each other

16.

What are 3 possibilities that can occur at a convergent boundary when one tectonic plate goes beneath another tectonic plate?

a)

subduction

b)

volcanoes can form

c)

sea-floor spreading

d)

trenches can form

17.

Sea-floor spreading occurs at which type of plate boundary?

a)

convergent

b)

transform

c)

divergent

18.

If seafloor spreading were occurring, then the seafloor closest to the mid-ocean ridge (where magma is rising to the surface) would be the youngest, and the seafloor farthest away from the mid-ocean ridge would be the oldest.

a)

True

b)

False

19.

Which scientist is most famously known for having the idea that all the continents were once connected as part of a supercontinent, known as Pangaea?

a)

Albert Einstein

b)

John Muir

c)

Harry Hess

d)

Alfred Wegener

20.

What is the theory that states the continents slowly drifted to their current positions after having been part of a single, giant landmass that broke apart

a)

Continental Drift Theory

b)

Land Mass Theory

c)

Theory of Plates and Tonics