Chapters 8 – 11 Study Guide
1. Use the travel-time graph to determine approximately how many minutes it takes for a P
wave and an S wave to travel 8000 kilometers.
P Wave - _____12____________ minutes
S Wave - _____20____________ minutes
2. Label the drawing using the following terms: anticline & syncline. Draw lines from the
terms to these parts of the drawing they describe.
Iceland
denser
caldera
shield
Subduction
boundaries
increases
decreases
Rift valley
Pillow lava
older
3. The deepest earthquakes tend to occur at Subduction boundaries
4. As a tsunami approaches shallow water near shoreline its speed decreases ______ and
its height _______ increases.
5. The type of lava flow that forms underwater is pillow lava
6. True False: The breakup of Pangea is a process that is continuing today.
7. With increasing distance from a mid-ocean ridge, sea-floor rocks become older
8. Iceland is one of the few places in the world where a mid-ocean ridge is above sea level.
9. Crater Lake is an example of a(n) caldera
10. At a subduction boundary, the plate that subducts is the one that is denser
11. A shield volcano has a broad base and gently sloping sides.
12. The rift valley along a mid-ocean ridge marks the boundary between plates.
Asthenosphere
High
Within the Earth
earthquakes
volcanoes
Chain of
mountains
violent
High heat flow
13. Characteristics of plate boundaries include: earthquakes,
volcanoes, and mountain chains
14. Earth’s lithospheric plates are rigid and move about on the
asthenosphere
15. Magma is molten material within the Earth, lava is molten material
Above ground
16. The magma from Mt. Pinatubo could be described as violent, with
high gas content and high silica content.
17. The result of plates subducting or hot spots is the formation of volcanoes
rigid
Above ground
quiet
Strain along
faults or near
plate boundaries
Overriding
30 to 31 percent
South America
crust
Africa
Little pyroclastic three
material
Volcanoes
earthquakes
Richter scale
mantle
18. The shapes of South America and Africa led to the theory that continents had once been
joined.
19. True False: Monitoring volcanoes allows scientists to predict future eruptions.
20. The theory of plate tectonics helps to explain the location of earthquakes and
volcanoes
21. A volcano is most likely to form on the overriding plate.
22. An eruption of the shield volcano, Mauna Loa, could be described as
quiet with little pyroclastic material
23. Strain along faults or near plate boundaries is a cause of most major earthquakes
24. The Richter Scale is used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes.
25. True False: In Earth’s shadow zone, neither “P” waves nor “S” waves are received.
26. The energy of an earthquake is measured by its magnitude. For every increase in
magnitude the intensity increases by 30 to 31 percent
27. The Mohorovicic discontinuity occurs between the crust and mantle
28. Scientists need a minimum of three reporting stations in order to determine the location of
earthquakes.
29. The diagram below represents a chain of volcanic islands formed by the movement of a
lithospheric plate over a hot spot.
a -What letter is the hot spot? D
b - Which is the oldest island? A
c - Which is the youngest island? D
d - At which letter will the next island in the chain form? Y
folding
earthquakes
Marianas Trench
volcanoes
pangea
Mountain ranges
Convection
currents
Plate boundaries
Differential
erosion
Himalayas
30. The Himalayas formed as a result of two continents colliding.
31. The name of an ancient supercontinent is Panagea
32. Scientists use volcanoes and earthquake activity to establish plate boundaries
33. The Marianas Trench is a result of two tectonic plates subducting.
34. Folding and differential erosion could best explain the rolling topography of the Valley
and Ridge province in Virginia.
35. The movement of tectonic plates can cause earth quakes, volcanoes and
Mountain chains.
36. The Earth’s mantle is made up of very hot material that rises to the top of the mantle,
cools, then sinks, reheats, and rises again, constantly repeating the cycle. This action,
which causes the Earth’s crust to move, is known as convection currents.
Plates pull
apart, magma
moves to the
surface and
forms ridges
Hardens before
the animal
decays
Strike-slip fault
subduction
Convergent/collision Faults and
volcanoes are
found at plate
boundaries
divergent
Adding toxic
gases to the
atmosphere
37. The mountain shown is composed of deformed sedimentary layers. They are
located near a tectonic plate boundary and are still increasing in elevation due to what
type of plate boundary? Convergent collision
38. Evidence for the theory of plate tectonics includes faults and volcanoes are found at plate
boundaries
39. Volcanic eruptions can affect the atmosphere by adding toxic gasses
40. Volcanic ash can be involved in the formation of fossils/molds because the ash covers the
animal and hardens before the animal decays
41. Sea floor volcanoes and ridges can form when Plates pull apart, magma moves to the
surface and forms ridges
42. One part of California is on the Pacific Plate, while the remainder of the state is on the
North American Plate. The two plates are moving to the northwest at different speeds,
causing one plate to slide past the other. This movement in plates creates a strike slip fault
43. The diagrams show two types of plate boundaries. Label which one is a SUBDUCTION
boundary and which one is a DIVERGENT Boundary.
#1 is a Divergent boundary.
#2 is a convergent/subduction boundary.
SOL Questions – No Word Bank
44.
45.
47.
46.
48. Which of the following major
earthquakes did not occur at a
boundary between tectonic plates?
A South Carolina (U.S.A.) 1886 _
B San Francisco (U.S.A.) 1906
C Messina (southern Italy) 1908
D Chillan (Chile) 1939
49.
50. Which of the landforms is most likely
to result when two continents collide?
Identify the following faults and the force/stress that created each fault and label the hanging
wall (H) and the foot wall (F)
Word Bank
Compression
Strike slip
Normal fault
Shear
Tension
Reverse fault
51. Fault: Reverse52. Force: Compression
53. Fault: Strike slip 54. Force: shear
55. Fault: Normal 56. Force: Tension
57-28 Identify the passive and the active continental margin
57. Passive
58. Active
You will need to be able to complete this chart (59-70)
Plate Tectonics Worksheet and Study Guide
Diagram
Type of Boundary and
Motion (use arrows to
show direction of
movement
Divergent boundary
Plates are going away
from each other
 
Feature Formed
Example of this
feature
Mid ocean ridge, rift
valleys
Mid Atlantic Ridge
Convergent collision,
plates are colliding
into each other
Folded mountains
Himalayas
Convergent/subduction Ocean trenches,
boundary Ocean crust volcanic mountain
is denser and subducts ranges, earthquakes
beneath the overriding
continental crust
Marianas Trench
Mt. St. Helens,
Ring of Fire
Transform boundary
Plates slide past each
other
San Andreas Fault
Faults