Chapter 5-Study Questions
Multiple Choice:Select the best answer to complete the statement.
___1. Which of the following refers to the deformation of Earth’s crust
that results in the formation of structural features such as mountains.
a. tectonics b. destruction c. transformation d. catastrophics
e. lithification
___2. One of the major tenets of the continental drift hypothesis
suggested the existence of a supercontinent. What is the name if this
continent?
a. Antaustria b. Euroam c. Soafric d. Paneuro e. Pangaea
___3. Which one of the following was NOT used to support the
continental drift hypothesis?
a. fossils b. paleomagnetism c. paleoclimates d. fit of
continents e. rock types and structures
___4. Today we know that Earth’s rigid outer shell consists of about 20
segments called _____.
a. continents b. basins c. plates d. layers e. crust segments
___5. Which of the following is NOT a distinct type of plate boundary?
a. transform b. convergent c. divergent d. zonal e. a and d
___6. As plates move apart along ridges, broken slabs are displaced
downward, creating downfaulted valleys called _____ valleys.
a. trend b. displaced c. hanging d. matching e. rift
___7. The theory of plate tectonics does NOT help to explain the origin
and location of which one of the following?
a. earthquakes b. mountains c. volcanoes d. ocean currents
e. major seafloor features
___8. The basic outline of plate tectonics was firmly established by the
late _____.
a. 1800s b. 1920s c. 1940s d. 1960s e. 1980s
___9. Which one of the following provides a method for tracking a
plate’s descent into the “plastic” mantle along a deep-ocean trench?
a. echo soundings b. earthquakes c. surveying d. drilling
e. light reflections
___10.
Researchers have proposed that the Hawaiian Islands are
forming over a plume of rising mantle material called a _____ spot.
a. hot b. core c. mantle d. convergence e. island
True/False
___11. The basic idea of continental drift is that Earth’s rigid outer shell is
made of several large segments that are slowly moving.
___12. Earth’s rigid outer shell, called the crust, lies over a hotter, weaker
zone known as the athenosphere.
___13. Sea floor spreading is the mechanism responsible for producing
ocean-floor material at the crest of oceanic ridges.
___14. The region where an oceanic slab sinks into the athenosphere
because of convergence is called a subduction zone.
___15. When rocks exhibit the same magnetism as the present magnetic
field, they are said to possess reversed polarity.
___16. According to the plate tectonics theory, continents are moving
through the ocean basins.
___17. The continental drift hypothesis can be used to explain the existence
of identical fossils on widely separated landmasses.
___18. The average rate of spreading along ocean ridges is about 60
centimeters per year.
___19. Mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, Alps, and Appalachians
formed because of continental convergence.
___20. One result of plate tectonics is that ocean basins are all older than
continents.