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WorksheetsPlate Tectonics Fast and Curious
Total questions: 24
Worksheet time: 14mins
The graph shows the average number of daily earthquakes in Japan and East Asia from 1991 to 2007.
Which of the following is the likeliest explanation for the frequency of earthquakes shown on the graph?
a. There is a constant release of magma from all the volcanoes in the area.
b. It is located just off the mid-ocean ridge where new rock material is constantly being formed.
c. There are many tectonic plate boundaries in this area that are constantly moving.
d. It sits on the Pacific Ocean where large storms are constantly bombarding the coast.
The map shows the location of continents and mid-ocean ridges on Earth. The mid-ocean ridges can be used to provide evidence of past plate motions.
Which of the following best explains how tectonic plates move?
a. The forces of tension, compression, and shearing cause the rock that makes up plates to stretch, squeeze, or break apart, and these changes in the shape of the plates cause them to quickly move.
b. The force of uplifting pushes up large sections of Earth’s crust, which cause the plates to quickly shift and move.
c. Hot spots, where magma erupts through Earth’s crust, add new rock to plate boundaries, which cause the plates to slowly shift and move.
d. Sea-floor spreading at mid-ocean ridges and subduction at deep-ocean trenches work together to slowly move the plates.
Olivia became interested in the fossil evidence that Wegener used to form his hypothesis of continental drift. How did fossils show that the continents were once joined together?
a. Animal fossils such as the mesosaurus were found on one continent.
b. Scientists found examples of different kinds of fossils on some continents.
c. Plant fossils of the same kind of fernlike plants were found on five continents.
d. Freshwater animal fossils were found in the nearby oceans.
A collision between two pieces of continental crust at a converging boundary produces a
a. mid-ocean ridge.
b. deep-ocean trench.
c. rift valley.
d. mountain range.
How do moving plates change Earth's crust?
a. They add new crust at mid-ocean ridges.
b. They cause oceanic crust to be destroyed at deep-sea trenches.
c. They squeeze continental crust into mountains and pull the crust apart at rift valleys.
d. All of the above
Plate boundaries behave in different ways, depending on the location and their motion. What are two possible outcomes for a divergent boundary?
a. rift valley and mid-ocean ridge
b. deep ocean trenches and earthquakes
c. mountain building and subduction
d. volcanoes and seamounts
What does the theory of Continental Drift explain?
Ocean currents move continents around the planet
Convection works deep within the asthenosphere
Mid-ocean ridges force tectonic plates to move
Continents were once together and slowly drifted to where they are today
Tectonic plates are made of?
The mantle
Continental and oceanic lithosphere
The outer core
The mesosphere
Where are the youngest rocks on Earth found?
Along mid-ocean ridges
Along transform boundaries
On the edges of the continents
Near ocean trenches
Who was the scientist who proposed the theory of continental drift?
Alfred Powell
Harry Hess
Alfred Wegener
Ernest Rutherford
How far do tectonic plates move each year?
Meters per year
Centimeters per year
Kilometers per year
Feet per year
Where does seafloor spreading take place?
Convergent boundaries
The continentals shelves
Transform boundary
Mid-ocean ridges
What is the driving force behind the movement of the tectonic plates?
Gravity
Convection
Wave motion
Seismic activity
The super continent that existed when all continents were together was named
Gondwana
Laurasia
Eurasia
Pangea
What is the process of convection?
The process of hot material rising and cooler material sinking in circular patterns
The process of hot rock solidifying and forming new crust
The process of explaining what goes up must come down
Strong ocean currents moving tremendous amounts of material
At this boundary plates slide past one and other and earthquakes are created
Transform
Continental-Continental Convergent
Divergent
Oceanic-Continental Convergent
This type of boundary creates rift zones and shallow earthquakes
Transform
Continental-Continental Convergent
Divergent
Oceanic-Continental Convergent
Mountains are created along
Transform boundaries
Continental-Continental Convergent
Divergent
Oceanic-Continental Convergent
Subduction zones occur along
Transform boundaries
Continental-Continental boundaries
Divergent boundaries
Oceanic-Continental boundaries
Earthquakes can happen along
All boundaries
Divergent and transform boundaries
Convergent and divergent boundaries
Transform and Convergent boundaries
How do the plates move along convergent boundaries?
They move towards one another
They move away from one another
They move past one another
One moves up and one moves down
How do the plates move along transform boundaries?
They move towards one another
They move away from one another
They move past one another
one moves up and one moves down
