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Plate Tectonics

Total questions: 41

Worksheet time: 30mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What technology did scientists use in the mid-1900s to map the mid-ocean ridge?

a)

satellites

b)

submarines

c)

deep-sea diving

d)

sonar

2.

Old oceanic crust is more dense than new oceanic crust because it is

a)

hot

b)

cool

c)

warm

d)

closer to mid-ocean ridge

3.

According to Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift,

a)

Earth’s surface is made up of seven major landmasses.

b)

Earth is slowly cooling and shrinking

c)

the continents do not move.

d)

the continents were once joined together in a single landmass

4.

A place where two plates slip past each other, moving in opposite directions, is known as a

a)

rift valley

b)

convergent boundary

c)

transform boundary

d)

divergent boundary

5.

Most geologists think that the movement of Earth’s plates is caused by

a)

convection currents in the mantle

b)

earthquakes

c)

tornadoes

d)

landforms

6.

Any trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock is called a

a)

fossil

b)

pressured rocks

c)

continent

d)

landmass

7.

What is Pangaea?

a)

large grassy area

b)

the name of an ancient fossil

c)

the name of the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago

d)

the name of a German scientist

8.

A collision between two pieces of continental crust at a converging boundary produces a

a)

mountain range

b)

mid-ocean ridge

c)

rift valley

d)

deep-ocean trench

9.

In sea-floor spreading, molten material rises from the mantle and erupts

a)

along the edges of all the continents.

b)

along mid-ocean ridges

c)

in deep-ocean trenches

d)

at the north and south poles

10.

In sea-floor spreading, molten material rises from the mantle and erupts

a)

along the edges of all the continents.

b)

along mid-ocean ridges

c)

in deep-ocean trenches

d)

at the north and south poles

11.

The geological theory that states that pieces of Earth’s lithosphere are in constant, slow motion is the theory of

a)

plate tectonics

b)

subduction

c)

deep-ocean trenches

d)

sea-floor spreading

12.

Subduction occurs where the oceanic crust bends down toward the mantle at a(n)

a)

continental drift

b)

deep-ocean trench

13.

The hypothesis of (a)   was that all the continents once were joined as a single supercontinent and have since drifted apart.

14.

When continental plates pull apart at a divergent boundary on land, a(n) (a)   forms.

15.

The process of (a)   continually adds new crust to the ocean floor along both sides of the mid-ocean ridge.

16.

The lithosphere is broken into sections called ____________________, which float on top of the asthenosphere.

a)

deep trench

b)

sea-floor spreading

17.

Along a divergent boundary, two plates slip past each other, moving in opposite directions.

a)

True

b)

False

18.

Alfred Wegener provided evidence from landforms, fossils, and climate in support of his theory of the shrinking Earth.

a)

True

b)

False

19.

If subduction occurs faster than oceanic crust can be created, an ocean will expand.

a)

True

b)

False

20.

Oceanic crust near the mid-ocean ridge is younger than oceanic crust farther away from the ridge

a)

True

b)

False

21.

Mid-ocean ridges form the longest mountain ranges on Earth.

a)

True

b)

False

22.

Divergent boundary

a)

occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other

b)

occurs when two tectonic plates move toward each other

23.

Transform boundaries

a)

places where plates slide sideways past each other

b)

places where plates slide away from each other

24.

The formation of new areas of oceanic crust, which occurs through the upwelling of magma at midocean ridges and its subsequent outward movement on either side.

a)

deep trench ocean

b)

Sea-floor spreading

25.

What occurs when an oceanic plate runs into a continental plate and slides beneath it.

a)

earthquakes

b)

subduction

26.

What is molten rock that is underground?

a)

lava

b)

magma

27.

What is formed from magma that cools and solidifies within the crust of the planet.

a)

Lava rocks

b)

Intrusive rocks

28.

What is produced when magma exits and cools above (or very near) the Earth's surface

a)

Extrusive rocks

b)

Igneous Rocks

29.

What is an opening in the earth's crust through which lava, volcanic ash, and gases escape?

a)

Earthquake

b)

Volcano

30.

What is a naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an. orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical composition, crystal form, and physical. properties?

a)

mineral

b)

coal

31.

What tendency of a crystalline substance to split into fragments bounded by plane surfaces

a)

Mineral

b)

Cleavage

32.

Geologist

a)

an expert in or student of life

b)

an expert in or student of geology

33.

What is solid material that is moved and deposited in a new location?

a)

Crystal

b)

Sediment

34.

A large continuous mass of land conventionally regarded as a collective region

a)

Continent

b)

Grass field

35.

Plate tectonics a theory explaining the structure of the earth's crust and many associated phenomena as regarded as a collective region

a)

True

b)

False

36.

A long horseshoe-shaped seismically active belt of earthquake epicenters, volcanoes, and tectonic plate boundaries that fringes the Pacific basin.

a)

Island Arc

b)

Ring of Fire

37.

A curved chain of volcanic islands located at a tectonic plate margin, typically with a deep ocean trench on the convex side

a)

Island Arc

b)

Bermuda Triangle

38.

Convergent Boundary

a)

A tectonic boundary where four plates are moving toward each other and crashing

b)

A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving toward each other

39.

Supercontinent

a)

A hypothetical former large continent from which other continents are held to have broken off and drifted away.

b)

A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving toward each other. If the two plates are of equal density, they usually push up against each other.

40.

Any mineral that forms igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks and that typically, or solely, forms as an intimate part of rock-making processes.

a)

Rock Forming Mineral

b)

Intrusive Rocks

41.

Name the 7 continents.

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