Dynamic
planet
Mentor science Olympiad 2009
invitational
Team name______________
Team number____________
Team member names_______________
_______________
Arrows in the block diagram below show the relative movement along a tectonic plate
boundary.
1. Between which two tectonic plates does this type of plate boundary exist?
A. Nazca Plate and South American Plate
B. Eurasian Plate and Indian-Australian Plate
C. North American Plate and Eurasian Plate
D. Pacific Plate and North American Plate
2. A seismic station 4000 kilometers from the epicenter of an earthquake records the arrival
time of the first P wave at 10:00:00. At what time did the first S wave arrive at this
station?
A. 9:55:00
B. 10:07:05
C. 10:05:40
D. 10:12:40
3. Which statement correctly describes the density of Earth’s mantle compared to the density
of Earth’s core and crust?
A. The mantle is less dense than the core but more dense than the crust.
B. The mantle is less dense than both the core and the crust.
C. The mantle is more dense that the core but less dense than the crust
D. The mantle is more dense than both the core and the crust.
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4. Convection currents in the plastic mantle are believed to cause divergence of lithospheric
plates at the
A. Peru-Chile Trench
B. Mariana Trench
C. Canary Island Hot Spot
D. Iceland Hot Spot
5. Why does the oceanic crust sink beneath the continental crust at a subduction boundary?
A. The oceanic crust has a greater density.
B. The oceanic crust is pulled downward by Earth’s magnetic field.
C. The continental crust has a more mafic composition.
D. The continental crust is pulled upward by the Moon’s gravity.
6. An earthquake’s magnitude can be determined by
A. analyzing the seismic waves recorded by a seismogaph
B. calculating the depth of the earthquake faulting
C. calculating the time the earthquake occurred
D. comparing the speed of P waves and S waves
7. Which observation about the Mid-Atlantic Ridge region provides the best evidence that the
seafloor has been spreading for millions of years?
A. The bedrock of the ridge and nearby seafloor is igneous rock
B. The ridge is the location of irregular volcanic eruptions
C. Several faults cut across the ridge and nearby seafloor
D. Seafloor bedrock is younger near the ridge and older farther away
8. The movement of tectonic plates is inferred by many scientists to be driven by
A. Tidal motions in the hydrosphere
B. Density differences in the troposphere
C. Convection currents in the asthenosphere
D. Solidification in the lithosphere
9. Which two tectonic plates are separated by a mid-ocean ridge
A. Indian-Australian and Eurasian
B. Indian-Australian and Pacific
C. North American and South American
D. North American and Eurasian
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Use the map below to answer question 10. The map below shows the location of an earthquake
epicenter in New York State. Seismic stations A, B, and C received the data used to locate the
earthquake epicenter.
10. The seismogram recorded at station A would show the
A. arrival of P waves, only
B. earliest arrival time of P waves
C. greatest difference in the arrival times of P waves and S waves
D. arrival of S waves before the arrival of P waves
Use the map below to answer #11. The map shows the northern section of the boundary
between the Arabian Plate and the African Plate. Arrows show the relative direction of plate
motion.
11. Which type of plate boundary is located at the Jordan Fault?
A. divergent
B. subduction
C. convergent
D. transform
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12. Identify the type of tectonic plate motion represented by the arrow shown at D.
13. Identify the type of tectonic motion represented by the arrows shown at A, B and C.
14. Which statement correctly compares seismic P waves with seismic S waves?
A. P waves travel faster than S waves and pass through Earth's liquid zones
B. P waves travel faster than S waves and do not pass through Earth's liquid zones
C. P waves travel slower than S waves and pass through Earth's liquid zones
D. P waves travel slower than S waves and do not pass through Earth's liquid zones
15. State the latitude and longitude of Northridge, California. Include the correct units and
compass directions in your answer.
16. Explain why earthquakes are common in this region of California.
17. Of the cities shown on the map, explain why Oakland was the last city to receive P waves
from this earthquake.
18. List TWO actions that a homeowner could take to prepare the home or family for the next
earthquake.
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The locations of the earthquakes listed in the table are shown on the map below.
19. Explain how the locations of these earthquakes are related to tectonic plates.
20. Identify the process in Earth's asthenosphere that is inferred to be the cause of tectonic
plate motion.
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21. Which cross section above best represents the relative locations of Earth's asthenosphere,
rigid mantle and stiffer mantle?
22. In the United States, most of the major damage expected from a future earthquake is
predicted to occur near a
A. divergent plate boundary only
B. convergent plate boundary only
C. mid-ocean ridge and a divergent plate boundary
D. transform plate boundary and a hot spot
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The map shows a portion of the Indian Ocean and surrounding landmasses. The location of the
epicenter of a large undersea earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004, is shown by an
X. The isolines surrounding the epicenter show the approximate location of the first tsunami
wave produced by this earthquake in half-hour intervals after the initial earthquake. Cross
sections I and II illustrate how this undersea earthquake produced the tsunami. Cross section
III shows the tsunami approaching a shoreline. The cross sections are not drawn to scale.
Cross sections on next page…………….
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23. According to the map, how long after this earthquake did the first tsunami wave arrive at
Bengkulu, Sumatra?
24. State the latitude and longitude of the epicenter of this earthquake. Include the units and
compass directions in your answer.
25. Identify the overriding tectonic plate at the convergent plate boundary where this
earthquake occurred.
26. Based on cross section III, describe the ocean water-level change at the shoreline that
people observed just before the first tsunami wave approached the shore.
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The map shows the outlines and ages of several calderas created as a result of volcanic activity
over the last 16 million years as the North American Plate moved over the Yellowstone Hot
Spot. A and B represent locations within the calderas.
The Yellowstone Hot Spot has interacted with the North American Plate, causing widespread
outpourings of basalt that buried about 200,000 square miles under layers of lava flows that
are a half mile or more thick. Some of the basaltic magma produced by the hot spot
accumulates near the base of the plate, where it melts the crust above. The melted crust, in
turn, rises closer to the surface to form large reservoirs of potentially explosive rhyolite
magma. Catastrophic eruptions have partly emptied some of these reservoirs, causing their
roofs to collapse. The resulting craters, some of which are more than 30 miles across, are
known as volcanic calderas.
27. Describe the texture and color of the basalt produced by the Yellowstone Hot Spot.
28. Identify two minerals found in the igneous rock that is produced from the explosive
rhyolite magma.
29. Based on the age pattern of the calderas shown on the map, in which compass direction has
the North American Plate moved during the last 16 million years?
30. Calculate, in miles per million years, the rate at which the North American Plate has moved
over the Yellowstone Hot Spot between point A and point B.
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The block diagram below shows a tectonic plate boundary. Points A and B represent locations on
Earth's surface.
31. Which graph best shows the depths of most major earthquakes whose epicenters lie
between A and B?
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32. The geographic position of Australia on
Earth's surface has been changing mainly
because
A. the gravitational force of the Moon
has been pulling on Earth's landmasses
B. heat energy has been creating
convection currents in Earth's interior
C. Earth's rotation has spun Australia
into different locations
D. the tilt of Earth's axis has changed
several times
The map shows the location of North Island in New Zealand. The block diagram shows a portion
of North Island. The Hikurangi Trench is shown forming at the edge of the Pacific Plate. Point
X is at the boundary between the lithosphere and the asthenosphere.
33. State the approximate temperature at point X.
34. On what tectonic plate are both North Island and White Island located?
35. Describe the type of tectonic plate motion that formed the Hikurangi Trench.
36. Describe one action the people on North Island should take if a tsunami warning is issued.
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Use the following 3 seismograms to estimate the S-P time interval for each of the recording
stations. Record your measurement for the S-P interval on your answer sheet.
37. Eureka, CA
Time is in minutes
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
7
8
8
9
9
10 11
10 11
12
12
38. Elko, NV
Time is in minutes
39. Las Vegas, NV
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11
12
Time is in minutes
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Determine the distance to the epicenter from each of the seismic stations.
40. distance from Eureka, CA station
41. distance from Elko, NV station
42. distance from Las Vegas, NV station
43. On your answer sheet is a map of volcanic ash thickness from Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines.
Draw thickness contours at 1, 5, 10, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 50 cm.
Write on the ash map the names of the following locations:
44. San Fernando
15º02' N
120º41'E
45. Lubao
14º55' N
120º37'E
46. Manila
14º37' N
120º58'E
47. On the ash map, draw an arrow from the caldera downwind to indicate the average wind
direction during it's eruption.
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