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WorksheetsPlate Tectonics Quiz
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 8mins
What is plate tectonics?
The study of dinner plates and kitchen items
The theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into moving plates
The process of building tectonic structures
The measurement of earthquake strength
What is a tectonic plate?
A large, rigid piece of Earth's lithosphere that moves slowly
A small piece of rock on Earth's surface
A type of volcanic rock
A layer of ocean water
What are the three main types of plate boundaries?
Fast, medium, and slow
Hot, warm, and cold
Convergent, divergent, and transform
Oceanic, continental, and mixed
What happens at a convergent boundary?
Plates move away from each other
Plates slide past each other horizontally
Plates move toward each other and collide
Plates stop moving completely
What is subduction?
The process of plates moving apart
The sinking of one tectonic plate beneath another
The formation of new crust
The breaking apart of continents
What typically forms at a transform boundary?
Volcanoes
Mountain ranges
Fault lines where plates slide past each other
Ocean trenches
What is a volcanic arc?
A curved line of volcanoes formed above a subduction zone
A single large volcano
The path lava takes when it flows
A type of earthquake pattern
What are ocean trenches?
Shallow areas in the ocean
Deep, narrow valleys in the ocean floor formed at subduction zones
Underwater mountain ranges
Areas where new ocean floor forms
What causes earthquakes according to plate tectonic theory?
Ocean waves hitting the shore
Volcanic eruptions only
The sudden movement or slipping of tectonic plates
Changes in weather patterns
What is the Ring of Fire?
A circle of forest fires around the Pacific Ocean
A zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity around the Pacific Ocean
The equator line around Earth
A type of tectonic plate boundary
What type of boundary creates new oceanic crust?
Convergent boundary
Transform boundary
Divergent boundary
Subduction boundary
What happens when two continental plates collide?
One sinks beneath the other
They form ocean trenches
They create large mountain ranges like the Himalayas
They slide past each other smoothly
What drives the movement of tectonic plates?
Ocean currents
Wind patterns
Convection currents in Earth's mantle
Gravity from the moon
What is a fault?
A mistake in scientific theory
A crack or fracture in Earth's crust along which movement occurs
A type of volcanic rock
The center of a tectonic plate
How does plate tectonic theory explain both continental drift and sea floor spreading?
It proves both theories are wrong
It shows they are unrelated processes
It provides the mechanism (moving plates) that makes both processes possible
It only explains sea floor spreading
