Plate Tectonics Study Guide
Name:_________________________
Date of Test:__________________ Number of minutes studied: ___________
Parent Signature: _______________________________
I.
Earth’s interior
A. Earth’s interior has 3 main layers
1.
2.
3.
B. The mantle is made up of 2 layers (List and identify information about
each)
1.
2.
C. There are 2 parts that make up Earth’s Core (List and identify information
about each)
1.
2.
D. As depth beneath Earth’s surface increases,
____________________________________ both increase.
E. Geologists observe earth’s interior by studying ___________________,
which are an example of indirect evidence.
F. Geologists observe earth’s interior by studying rocks, which are an
example of indirect _____________________________.
II.
Convection currents and the mantle
A. Heat can be transferred in three ways
1.
2.
3.
B. Differences in temperature and density within a fluid cause convection
currents.
III.
Drifting continents
A. ________________________developed the idea that the continents were
once joined together as a super-continent called _____________and have
since drifted apart.
B. Most scientists rejected Wegener’s theory because he could not identify a
force that could move the continents.
C. Continental drift occurs because of seafloor spreading.
IV.
Sea floor spreading
A. In sea floor spreading, molten material forms new rock along the midocean ridge, which was mapped by _____________in the mid-1900’s.
B. In______________, the ocean floor sinks back to the mantle beneath the
deep ocean trenches.
C. Molten Material erupts at the _______________ ___________
__________ during sea floor spreading
D. The age of the rocks far away from the mid-ocean ridge was determined
by taking _______________ __________________ of the rocks
E. Mid ocean ridges are located in ____________ ocean(s)
F. The youngest rocks in the ocean floor are located at the
__________________.
V.
The theory of plate tectonics
A. Plates slip past each other at__________________, move apart at
_____________________ and come together at___________________,
the movement is caused by convection currents in the
__________________.
B. _______________________ is where one plate goes under another plate
C. Old ocean crust is more dense because it is _____________
D. The plates move because of ______________ ____________________
in the ________________
E. ________________ result from two pieces of continental crust colliding
F. The place where two plates come together is a _______________ plate
boundary
G. When continental plates pull apart a _____________ ____________
forms.
H. Earthquakes produce ___________ ________________ that travel
through the Earth, and geologists study these to “see” into the Earth
I. Where two of Earth’s plates slip past each other moving in opposite
directions
J. Rock that makes up oceanic crust ____________________.
Words to Know for Plate Tectonics
Continental Drift
Pangaea
Seafloor Spreading
Plate Tectonics
Convection Current
Divergent Boundaries
Convergent Boundaries
Transform Boundaries
Mid-Ocean Ridges
Subduction
Rifting
Magma
Volcanoes
Earthquakes
Fossils