Plate Tectonics
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. Many early mapmakers thought Earth’s continents had moved based on
a. plate boundary locations.
c. climatic data.
b. fossil evidence.
d. matching coastlines.
2. Continental drift was not widely accepted when it was first proposed because
a. Wegener couldn’t explain why or how the continents moved.
b. continental landmasses were too big to move slowly over Earth’s surface.
c. magnetic and sonar data proved that Wegener’s hypothesis was incorrect.
d. mantle convection currents weren’t in motion at that time.
3. Compared to ocean crust near deep-sea trenches, crust near ocean ridges is
a. younger.
c. the same age.
b. older.
d. magnetically reversed.
4. Each cycle of spreading and intrusion of magma during seafloor spreading results in
a. magnetic reversals.
c. subduction.
b. new ocean crust.
d. plates colliding.
5. Features found at divergent boundaries include
a. ocean ridges.
c. crumpled mountains.
b. deep-sea trenches.
d. island arc volcanoes.
6. Subduction results in the formation of
a. a deep-sea trench.
c. a rift valley.
b. a magnetic reversal.
d. new continental crust.
7. Continental-continental plate collisions produce
a. island arcs.
c. deep-sea trenches.
b. rift valleys.
d. very tall mountain ranges.
8. Crust is neither destroyed nor formed along which of the following boundaries?
a. convergent
c. transform
b. divergent
d. magnetic
9. The driving forces of tectonic plates are related to convection currents in Earth’s
a. crust.
c. inner core.
b. mantle.
d. outer core.
10. This area is both a major earthquake zone and volcano zone.
a. Pacific Ring of Volcanoes
c. Oceanic Ring of Fire
b. Pacific Ring of Fire
d. Pacific Island Arc
11. Which of the following is NOT a major volcano cone type?
a. cinder cone
c. shield
b. composite
d. mantle plume
12. Most volcanoes occur ____.
a. along convergent boundaries
c. along divergent boundaries
b. far from tectonic plate boundaries
d. randomly
13. The supercontinent in the continental drift hypothesis was called ____.
a. Panthalassa
c. Mesosaurus
b. Pangaea
d. Africa
14. One kind of evidence that supports Wegener’s hypothesis is that ____.
a. the same magnetic directions exist on different continents
b. major rivers on different continents match
c. land bridges still exist that connect major continents
d. fossils of the same organism have been found on different continents
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15. What was the main reason Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis was rejected?
a. He was not well liked by other scientists.
b. He could not provide a mechanism for the movement of the continents.
c. He could provide only illogical explanations for the movement of the continents.
d. His evidence was incorrect.
16. In the plate tectonic theory, a plate can be made up of ____.
a. continental surface only
b. oceanic surface only
c. both continental and oceanic surface
d. neither continental and oceanic surface
17. What kind of plate boundary occurs where two plates grind past each other without destroying or producing
lithosphere?
a. divergent boundary
c. transitional boundary
b. convergent boundary
d. transform fault boundary
18. A divergent boundary at two oceanic plates can result in a ____.
a. rift valley
c. continental volcanic arc
b. volcanic island arc
d. subduction zone
19. What type of boundary occurs where two plates move together, causing one plate to subduct into the mantle
beneath the other plate?
a. transform fault boundary
c. convergent boundary
b. divergent boundary
d. transitional boundary
20. Which of the following is a geographic example of a transform fault boundary?
a. the East African Rift valley
c. the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
b. the San Andreas Fault
d. the Andes Mountains
21. Deep ocean trenches are associated with ____.
a. ocean ridge systems
c. transform fault boundaries
b. subduction zones
d. rift zones
22. Convection, slab pull, and ridge push all work together to produce
a. continental lithosphere
c. earthquakes
b. constant tectonic plate motion
d. fracture zones
23. The youngest rocks on the ocean floor are typically located near what feature?
a. a mid-ocean ridge
c. an abyssal plain
b. a continental shelf
d. a subduction trench
24. A rift valley is evidence of what kind of plate boundary?
a. convergent
c. transform
b. divergent
d. uniform
25. The driving forces of tectonic plates are related to convection currents in the Earth’s __________.
a. crust
c. inner core
b. mantle
d. outer core
26. The thickest layer of the Earth is the __________________.
a. inner core
c. continental crust
b. mantle
d. outer core
27. The largest tectonic plate is the _________________ plate.
a. Antarctic
c. Juan de Fuca
b. Eurasian
d. Pacific
28. The inner core is made of __________ and ___________ metals, and it is in a _____________ state.
a. iron, nickel, solid
c. copper, gold, gaseous
b. iron, nickel, liquid
d. molten rock, iron, liquid
29. The line on a map that represents 0 degrees latitude is also known as the _____________________.
a. International dateline
c. equator
b. Prime Meridian
d. compass
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30. The ______________ Ocean is shrinking, while the _____________Ocean is growing.
a. Indian, Pacific
c. Pacific, Indian
b. Atlantic , Pacific
d. Pacific, Atlantic
31. A device that bounces sounds waves off of underwater objects is called _______________.
a. Sonar
c. Radio
b. Richter Scale
d. Seismometer
32. Crust is created at a _________________ boundary.
a. Transform
c. Divergent
b. Convergent
d. Personal
33. According to Ms. Allen, what is the most important thing for you to learn in this class?
a. star size and luminosity
c. dimensional analysis
b. geologic time scale
d. HOW TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!
Matching
Match each letter that appears on the diagram with the appropriate feature below.
34. _____ subduction zone
35. _____ Rift valley
36. _____ Volcanoes
37. _____ Highly-folded mountains
Match the term with the correct definition.
a. caldera
b. vent
c. fault
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
d. surface wave
e. crater
Opening in Earth’s crust through which lava erupts
Bowl-shaped depression around a vent at the top of a volcano
Depression that forms when the top or side of a volcano collapses into the magma chamber
Seismic wave that causes the ground to move in two directions
Fracture in rock along which movement occurs
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Completion
Complete each sentence or statement.
Use the list below to identify the term that best completes the statement.
continental drift
subduction
convergent boundaries
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
Pangaea
seafloor spreading
divergent boundaries
rift valley
theory of plate tectonics
transform boundaries convection
Wegener’s hypothesis of ____________________ stated that Earth’s continents had once been joined as a
single landmass.
The _________________________ states that Earth’s crust and rigid upper mantle are broken into enormous
slabs called plates that move slowly over Earth’s surface.
_________________________ are places where plates slide horizontally past each other.
The transfer of thermal energy by the movement of heated matter is ____________________.
Places where plates move apart are _________________________.
____________________ occurs when one tectonic plate descends beneath another.
Earth’s continents were once joined as a single landmass called ____________________.
The theory of ____________________ explains how new ocean crust is created at ocean ridges and destroyed
in deep-sea trenches.
Plates come together at _________________________.
A long, narrow, fault-bounded, continental depression is a(n) ____________________.
Short Answer
53. Compare and contrast magma and lava.
54. Contrast the three major types of volcanoes.
Use the diagram on your answer sheet to answer the following questions:.
55. Where is the divergent boundary? Mark its position on the diagram with the letter X.
56. Locate the convergent plate boundaries and mark them with the letter Y.
57. Where is the process of ridge push occurring? Mark this area with the letter R.
58. Where is the process of slab pull taking place? Mark this area with the letter S.
59. Draw arrows to show the direction of flow of convection currents beneath the plates.
60-63. Label all layers of the earth.
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