WorksheetsTectonic Plates & Earth's Layers Test Review
Total questions: 41
Worksheet time: 21mins
The San Andreas Fault is a major fault line that runs through California, where the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate slide past each other. This movement causes earthquakes as stress builds up and is released along the fault. What type of plate boundary is represented by the San Andreas Fault?
convergent boundary
transform boundary
divergent boundary
subduction zone
Why would there be fossils present on one continent and also on another continent?
Each continent has completely unique plants and animal life.
The fossils moved across the sea.
The continents were once connected to each other.
The continents never were connected.
Which of the following is true about Earth's crust?
Earth's crust is a mass of rock that moves as a single unit.
Earth's crust is a mass of rock that do not move relative to each other.
Earth's crust is divided into several large plates that do not move relative to each other.
Earth's crust is divided into several large plates that move relative to each other.
Which answer lists the layers of the Earth from the surface of our planet to it's interior (center).
Crust, Mantle, Outer Core, Inner Core
Mantle, Outer Core, Inner Core, Crust
Crust, Inner Core, Outer Core, Mantle
Mantle, Inner Core, Outer Core, Crust
Which layer of the Earth does the crust float on?
inner core
outer core
mantle
crust
What is the force or "energy transfer" that causes Earth's plates to move?
convection currents
solar energy
radiation
the core
Why is the outer core of the Earth liquid while the inner core is solid?
The magnetic field in the outer core heats it up more, turning it liquid.
The outer core is hotter than the inner core.
The material of the inner core requires more heat to become a liquid.
The higher pressure on the inner core prevents it from becoming a liquid.
The image below shows what occurs under Earth's surface in certain areas such as a mid-oceanic ridge. What does the model demonstrate?
In the asthenosphere, circulating heat expands the thickness of the crust of each plate.
In the asthenosphere, as heat circulates, plates are pushed upward causing seismic
activity.
Tectonic plates are pushed apart partly due to convection currents moving through the
mantle.
Tectonic plates are pushed apart due to steam caused by heat circulation in the
mantle.
Crustal plates sometimes scrape and slide past, and parallel to, each other along faults at their boundaries. For example, the Pacific and North American Plates slide past each other along the San Andreas Fault in northern California. What natural hazard usually results when crustal continental plates, such as the San Andreas, scrape and slide past one another?
hurricanes
tornados
tsunamis
earthquakes
The image below shows a divergent boundary between two tectonic plates. Based on the image, which of the following would most likely occur at point X as a result of the diverging plates?
formation of barrier islands
subduction of oceanic crust
formation of new rocks
deposition of sediment
Convergent plates move _________ each other. This causes _______ to form as well as volcanoes.
toward, mountain ranges
away from, mountain ranges
away from, volcanoes
toward, rifts
An earthquake is the shaking and trembling that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface. Earthquakes most commonly occur near tectonic plate boundaries. Why is this most likely the case?
Many plate boundaries are bordered or covered by the ocean. Water from the ocean seeps into earthquake fault lines, softening the rock materials so that they can move and cause earthquakes.
Tectonic plates move along, against, or away from each other at their boundaries. These movements produce earthquakes.
Seismic waves transmit through different media at different speeds. Subduction zones at plate boundaries are ideal for transmission of these waves.
Earthquakes only happen near mountain ranges where erosion moves sediment, and most volcanoes occur on or near plate boundaries.
A subduction zone is an area where one tectonic plate sinks underneath another one. Volcanoes often form as a result. Which of the following plate collisions would most likely result in a subduction zone?
two pieces of continental crust meeting at a divergent boundary
a piece of continental crust and a piece of oceanic crust meeting at a convergent boundary
two pieces of oceanic crust meeting at a divergent boundary
a piece of continental crust and a piece of oceanic crust meeting at a divergent boundary
The diagram below shows an oceanic-continental subduction zone. Which of the following accurately describes an effect of the subducting plate in this setting?
The continental plate will plunge below the oceanic plate and be recycled into the Earth's interior.
A volcanic arc will form on the subducting oceanic plate.
Magma will rise upward through the continental plate uplifting the land.
A trench will form in the asthenosphere below the continental plate.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an underwater mountain range that runs down the center of the Atlantic Ocean. It is formed by the movement of tectonic plates pulling apart, a process known as seafloor spreading. As the plates move away from each other, magma rises from beneath the Earth's surface, cools, and solidifies to create new oceanic crust, gradually widening the Atlantic Ocean.
Convergent Boundary
Transform Boundary
Divergent Boundary
Which geological feature is located in the ocean along continental edges, forms due to subduction, and is linked to volcanic activity and earthquakes?
rift valley
mid ocean ridges
hot spots
deep sea trenches
What did the findings of the Glomar Challenger help confirm?
The idea that Earth's continents have always been in the same location.
The theory of plate tectonics and seafloor spreading.
The existence of underwater mountain ranges.
The theory that Earth's crust is a single, unbroken layer.
The Appalachian Mountains formed hundreds of millions of years ago when two continental plates collided, causing massive rock layers to fold and uplift. This collision created one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. What type of plate boundary was responsible for the formation of the Appalachian Mountains?
divergent boundary
transform boundary
convergent boundary
Earthquakes primarily happen
along plate boundaries, allowing us to predict where they will occur.
on land, allowing us to predict how they will occur.
during the summer months, allowing us to predict when they will occur.
in the southern hemisphere, allowing us to predict who they will affect.
Volcanic eruptions will most likely occur
along tectonic plate boundaries.
during the summer months.
more often at the equator.
for short periods of time near the ocean.
The image below is a cross-section of the Earth's interior. The crust's Tectonic plates are shown in grey/green at the Earth's surface. The Earth's mantle is shown in red-orange. Black arrows in the crust show the directions in which tectonic plates move. Red arrows in the mantle represent convection currents. According to the diagram, which of the following is true?
Tectonic plates move in only one direction.
Tectonic plates move in only one direction.
Near Earth's surface, convection currents and tectonic plates tend to move in the same directions.
Near Earth's surface, convection currents and tectonic plates tend to move in opposite directions.
The "Ring of Fire" is a region surrounding the Pacific Ocean known for its high volcanic and seismic activity. Volcanic arcs form in this region due to which geological process?
The eruption of shield volcanoes over hot spots
The collision of two continental plates forming mountain ranges
The subduction of an oceanic plate beneath a continental plate at a converging boundary.
The spreading of the seafloor at mid-ocean ridges
