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Tectonic Plates Quiz

Total questions: 30

Worksheet time: 16mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which theory states that Earth’s crust and rigid upper mantle move in different directions and at different rates over Earth’s surface?

a)

ridge push and slab pull

b)

seafloor spreading

c)

continental drift

d)

plate tectonics

2.

Tectonic plates interact at places called plate

a)

reversals

b)

boundaries

c)

regions

d)

subductions

3.

Places where tectonic plates move apart are called

a)

convergent boundaries

b)

transform boundaries

c)

subduction zones

d)

divergent boundaries

4.

Where are most divergent boundaries found?

a)

on the seafloor

b)

on continents

c)

along coastlines

d)

at subduction zones

5.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of a

a)

divergent boundary

b)

convergent boundary

c)

subduction zone

d)

transform boundary

6.

Places where tectonic plates come together are called

a)

convergent boundaries

b)

divergent boundaries

c)

transform boundaries

d)

rift valleys

7.

Convergent boundaries are classified according to the

a)

types of fossils found at the boundaries

b)

rate at which the plates collide

c)

compass direction of movement of the plates

d)

type of crust involved

8.

Oceanic crust is made mostly of

a)

granite

b)

basalt

c)

water

d)

sediments

9.

What can happen when two oceanic plates converge and one is subducted into the mantle?

a)

Magma erupts and forms an arc of islands

b)

The colliding plate edges become crumpled to form a mountain range

c)

The lithosphere splits to create a divergent plate boundary on land

d)

A continent splits to form a new ocean basin

10.

Which feature is associated with a continental-continental plate boundary?

a)

a subduction zone

b)

a mountain range

c)

a deep-sea trench

d)

a volcano

11.

At which tectonic plate boundary do plates slide horizontally past each other?

a)

transform boundary

b)

divergent boundary

c)

continental-continental boundary

d)

oceanic-oceanic boundary

12.

What does the theory of plate tectonics explain?

a)

The movement of Earth's lithospheric plates

b)

The formation of stars

c)

The process of photosynthesis

d)

The water cycle

13.

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

a)

convection.

b)

continental drift.

c)

subduction.

d)

conduction.

14.
Name the boundary
a)
convergent boundary
b)
divergent boundary
c)
transform boundary
d)
sergent boundary
15.
Name the boundary
a)
convergent boundary
b)
divergent boundary
c)
transform boundary
d)
sergent boundary
16.
Name the boundary
a)
convergent boundary
b)
divergent boundary
c)
transform boundary
d)
sergent boundary
17.
Earth's crust is broken up into several large rocky pieces called ...
a)
plates
b)
faults
c)
fossils
d)
puzzle pieces
18.

What type of plate boundary is shown in the picture

a)

convergent

b)

divergent

c)

transform

d)

faults

19.

Early mapmakers thought continents might have moved based on their observations of

a)

magnetism

b)

matching coastlines

c)

rock and fossil evidence

d)

earthquakes and floods

20.

Pangaea was an ancient supercontinent made up of


a)

South Africa, India, Australia, and South America

b)

the United States, Greenland, and Europe.

c)

Antarctica, India, and South America

d)

all of Earth’s continents.

21.
What boundary creates mountains?
a)
convergent
b)
divergent
c)
transform
d)
fast
22.
What is Pangaea?
a)
A German Scientist
b)
the name of the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago
c)
continental drift
d)
an ancient fossil
23.

To support his hypothesis of continental drift, Alfred Wegener did NOT use


a)

ancient climatic evidence.

b)

data on ancient reptiles and ferns.

c)

magnetic field data.

d)

evidence from rock formations.

24.

Coal beds in Antarctica indicated to Wegener that this continent was

a)

always cold

b)

inhabited by penguins

c)

once located closer to the equator

d)

once beneath the ocean

25.

Based on the glacial deposits he observed, Wegener argued that

a)

glaciers form near the equator.

b)

Earth’s axis of rotation had changed in the past.

c)

landmasses drifted away from the South Pole.

d)

Glossopteris could not survive hot weather.

26.

What does paleomagnetism tell us about the poles

a)

Earth's poles are constant

b)

The geographic and magnetic pole are the same

c)

Earth's poles have swapped throughout history

d)

There is no geographic north pole

27.

Which of the following is not a force that drives plate tectonics?

a)

Ridge Push

b)

Slab Pull

c)

Gravitational pulls

d)

Convection in the mantle

28.

How does sediment closer to the mid ocean ridge compare to sediment further away?

a)

Sediment closer to the ridge is older

b)

sediment closer to the ridge is younger

c)

sediment is all the same age

d)

sediment causes trenches

29.

Places in the ocean where oceanic crust subducts back into the mantle are called

a)

Deep sea trenches

b)

Mid Ocean Ridge

c)

Mid Atlantic Ridge

d)

Ocean Sediment

30.

One result of the collision that formed pangaea was?

a)

Convection Currents

b)

Appalachian Mountains

c)

Himalayas

d)

Deep Sea Trenches