NAME:______________________
DATE:______________________
HOUR:______________________
PLATE TECTONICS TEST
1. How deep is the world’s deepest mine and what do they mine there?
a. 12 km, coal
b. 12 km, gold
c. 3.8 km, coal
d. 3.8 km, gold
2. How deep is the core of the earth?
a. 4000 km
b. 5000 km
c. 6000 km
d. 7000 km
3. What are the two types of evidence we study about the earth’s core?
a. Direct and Indirect
b. Mantle and Crust
c. Seismic Waves and Rock Samples
d. Both A and C
4. What is our main source of direct evidence?
a. Seismic Waves
b. Rock Samples
c. Core
d. Crust
5. What is our main source of indirect evidence?
a. Seismic Waves
b. Rock Samples
c. Core
d. Crust
6. How deep have we drilled for rock samples?
a. 10 km
b. 12 km
c. 20 km
d. 6000 km
7. Seismic waves are used in geology to…
a. Discover differences in composition between the layers of the earth.
b. Discover differences in thickness between the layers of the earth.
c. Discover differences in color between the layers of the earth.
d. Both A and B.
8. The three major layers of the earth are
a. Asthenosphere, Lithosphere, Lower Mantle
b. Crust, Mantle, Core
c. Liquid, Solid, Gas
d. Basalt, Granite, Salt Water
9. Which of the following is NOT a way the layers vary from each other?
a. Temperature
b. Thickness
c. Odor
d. Pressure
10. Where would the crust be the thinnest?
a. At the tops of mountains.
b. At the bottom of the sea.
c. In a river valley.
d. At the bottom of a mine.
11. How deep must you go before the rock of the earth begins to warm?
a. 12 m
b. 20 m
c. 3.8 km
d. 6000 km
12. What makes the core so hot?
a. Leftover energy from Earth’s creation and radioactive materials.
b. Leftover energy from Earth’s creation and animal decomposition.
c. Animal decomposition and radioactive materials.
d. Sugar, Spice, Everything Nice and Chemical X.
13. As we go deeper into the earth, how does pressure change?
a. Decreases
b. Increases
c. Stays Constant
d. Stops
14. The earth’s crust composes…
a. Dry Land Only
b. Ocean Floor Only
c. Dry Land and Ocean Floor
d. None of the Above
15. The crust of the earth…
a. Varies in thickness.
b. Is the thinnest layer.
c. Is the thickest layer.
d. Both A and B.
16. Basalt is found on the floor of the ocean. It is…
a. Lightly colored and fine in texture.
b. Darkly colored and fine in texture.
c. Lightly colored and coarse in texture.
d. Darkly colored and coarse in texture.
17. Granite is found on the dry land of the continental plates. It is…
a. Lightly colored and fine in texture.
b. Darkly colored and fine in texture.
c. Lightly colored and coarse in texture.
d. Darkly colored and coarse in texture.
18. The mantle is…
a. The cold liquid layer beneath the crust
b. The cold solid layer beneath the crust
c. The warm liquid layer beneath the crust
d. The warm solid layer beneath the crust
19. How thick is the mantle?
a. 2000 km
b. 3000 km
c. 4000 km
d. 5000 km
20. The lithosphere is …
a. The hard outer layer of the mantle
b. The soft outer layer of the mantle
c. The hard middle layer of the mantle
d. The soft middle layer of the mantle
21. The asthenosphere is…
a. The hard outer layer of the mantle
b. The soft outer layer of the mantle
c. The hard middle layer of the mantle
d. The soft middle layer of the mantle
22. What is the core made of?
a. Molten Lava
b. Titanium and Iron
c. Iron and Nickel
d. Nickel and Dime
23. The theory that the earth’s continents moved around over the course of history is
called…
a. Land Shift
b. Plate Movement
c. Continental Drift
d. Plate Drift
24. Who first proposed the idea the then continents had shifted over time?
a. J. Tuzo Wilson
b. Charles Darwin
c. Aristotle
d. Alfred Wegener
25. What did he name his idea of the supercontinent?
a. Pangaea
b. Big Chunk of Land
c. Landbrick
d. Germany
26. Which of the following was NOT a type of evidence collected by Wegener?
a. Land Features
b. Fossils
c. Hydrology
d. Evidence of Climate Change
27. Who first proposed the theory of plate tectonics?
a. J. Tuzo Wilson
b. Charles Darwin
c. Aristotle
d. Alfred Wegener
28. Boundaries between plates are sometimes called what?
a. Cracks
b. Gaps
c. Faults
d. Splits
29. Transform boundaries are when two plates…
a. Come Together
b. Come Apart
c. Grind Together
d. None of the Above
30. Convergent boundaries are when two plates…
a. Come Together
b. Come Apart
c. Grind Together
d. None of the Above
31. Divergent boundaries are when two plates…
a. Come Together
b. Come Apart
c. Grind Together
d. None of the Above
32. In subduction the _____________ dense plate will slide to the top while the
___________ dense plate will slide beneath.
a. Less, more
b. More, less
c. Larger, smaller
d. Lighter, heavier
SHORT ANSWER
33. Before Wegener’s discoveries, what was the assumption about how mountains
formed? Explain why Wegner said this must be incorrect and how it led to the theories
of plate tectonics.