Review Sheet for Plate Tectonic Test
Section One: Inside the Earth
1.) Describe and Draw the chemical composition of the Earth; crust, mantle, core
Pg. 97
2.) Describe and Draw what the physical structure of the Earth is; lithosphere, asthenosphere,
mesosphere, outer and inner core.
Pg. 98-99
3.) Describe what tectonic plates are.
Pieces of the listhosphere that moves on tip of the asthenosphere
Made up of continental crust and continental crust. Oceanic crust is denser and
thinner that continental crust
Section 2: Restless Continent
4.) Define Continental drift. Who came up with the idea?
All the continents once formed a single land mass. Alfred Wegener was the author of
this theory
5.) Be able to describe the break up of Pangaea, and what has happened over the past 250
million years. Remember Laurasia and Gondwanaland!
Pg. 105
6.) Define sea floor spreading, and magnetic reversals
Sea floor spreading is the process by which new oceanic lithosphere forms as magma
rises toward the surface and solidifies ( lab)
Magnetic Reversals Earth’s magnetic pole have changed places. This is one of the
proofs that sea floor spreading has occurred
Section 3: The Theory of Plate Tectonics
7.) Be able to define the theory of plate tectonics, and the three possible causes of plate
tectonic motion.
The theory of plate tectonics is the theory that Earth’s lithosphere is divided into
tectonic plates that move around on top of the asthenosphere.
Three possible causes of plate motion ( 110-111)
Convection- Hot rock from deep within the Earth rises, but cooler rock near the
surface sinks
Slab Pull – The edge of the tectonic plate that contains oceanic lithosphere sinks
and pulls the rest of the tectonic plate with it.
Ridge Push – At mid-ocean ridges, the oceanic lithosphere is higher than it is
where it sinks into the
8.)Define Convergent Boundary- When two tectonic plates collide
Describe the three types of Convergent boundaries
A.) Continental- continental
B.)oceanic – continental
B.) – oceanic -oceanic
Define - Subduction zone: When oceanic plate converges to a continental plate and
the oceanic plate sinks into the asthenosphere.
(What happens)
9.) Define Divergent Boundary When two tectonic plates separate
10.) Define Transform Boundary
When two tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally
11.) How do scientists measure tectonic plate motion?
Global Positioning Satellite
Scientist can track ongoing tectonic plate motion
Section 4: Deforming the Earth’s Crust
12.) Define the term deformation
The process by which the shape of the rock changes because of stress
13. Define Stress
Amount of force per unit area on a given material
There are two types of stress listed below. Define both terms
Compression - Object are squeezed together
Tension - forces act to stretch the object
14.) Folding is defined as the bending of rock layers because of stress in the Earth’s
Crust.
There are three types of Folds listed below. Define, Draw, and Label them
Anticline and Syncline
Figure 2 Pg, 113
Anticline - During compression the rock forms a upward arching fold
Syncline – During compression the rock forms a downward trough like folds
Draw and label to help you remember
Monocline – rock layers are folded so that both ends of the fold are horizontal
Figure 2 pg. 113
Draw …… It will help you remember
Which type of Fold is the result of compression? Anticline/syncline
Which type of Fold is the result of shear stress? Monocline
.
15.) A fault is described as the surface in which rocks break and slide past one
another. The blocks of crust on each side of the fault are called fault blocks. The type of
fault that is formed is dependent on how the hanging wall and the footwall move in
relationship to each other.
Draw the following faults. Make sure you
label the hanging wall and the footwall.
Normal Faults
Hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall
Reverse Faults
Hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall
Strike – Slip Faults
Opposing forces cause rocks to break and move horizontally
16. When tectonic plates undergo compression and tension, they can form mountains.
There are three types of mountains. Define the following types of mountains and describe
how they were formed
Folded Mountain
Rock layers are squeezed together and pushed upwards Appalachian Mountains
Fault-block Mountains
Tension causes large blocks of the Earth crust to drop down relative to other
blocks.
Volcanic Mountains
At convergent boundaries oceanic crust subducts into the asthenosphere. The
rock is then melted and forms magma which rises to the earth’s surface.
17. Vertical Movement of the crust are divided into two types. Define and give one example
of the following types of Vertical Movement of the Crust
Uplift – The rising of regions of the Earth’s crust to higher elevations
Subsidence – the sinking of regions of the Earth’s crust to lower elevations