Name:_____________________
Core _______
Plate Tectonics Test
_____________, 2012
Targets
Possible
The Earth System (1.1)
Earth’s Interior (1.2)
Convection in the Mantle (1.3)
Drifting Continents (3.1)
Sea-floor Spreading (3.2)
The Theory of Plate Tectonics (3.3)
Total
Ch 1 Sec 1: The Earth System (pages 8 - 9)
Key terms – you should be able to define and apply each key term
 Constructive forces
 Destructive forces
Key Concepts-you should be able to explain or apply each key concept
 How do constructive and destructive forces change Earth’s surface?
 Give examples of constructive forces and the landforms they create.
 Give examples of destructive forces and the landforms they create.
Ch 1, Sec 2: Earth’s Interior (pages 10 - 17)
Key terms – you should be able to define and apply each key term
 Crust
 Asthenosphere
 Mantle
 Lower Mantle
(mesosphere)
 Core (inner and outer)
 Lithosphere
Key Concepts-you should be able to explain or apply each key concept
 Identify direct and indirect ways scientists know about Earth’s interior.
 Identify characteristics of the Earth’s layers.
Ch 1, Sec 3: Convection in the Mantle (pages 18 - 21)
Key terms – you should be able to define and apply each key term
 Convection
 Radiation
 Conduction
 Density
Key Concepts-you should be able to explain or apply each key concept
 Explain how heat is transferred through radiation, conduction and convection.
 How and where do convection currents form in Earth?
Ch 3, Sec 1: Drifting Continents (pages 76 - 79)
Key terms – you should be able to define and apply each key term
 Pangaea
 Continental drift
Key Concepts-you should be able to explain or apply each key concept
 Explain Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift.
 What evidence was there to support Wegener’s hypothesis?
 Why did the scientific community not accept Wegener’s hypothesis?
Ch 3, Sec 2: Sea-floor Spreading (pages 80 - 85)
Key terms – you should be able to define and apply each key term
 Mid-ocean ridge
 Deep-ocean trench
 Sea-floor spreading
 Subduction
Key Concepts-you should be able to explain or apply each key concept
 What evidence is there for sea-floor spreading?
 Why does subduction occur at oceanic-continental boundaries?
 Describe how convection currents in Earth’s interior cause sea-floor spreading and
subduction.
 How does seafloor spreading and subduction work together to change the surface of the
Earth?
Ch 3, Sec 3: The Theory of Plate Tectonics (pages 86 - 91)
Key terms – you should be able to define and apply each key term
 Plate
 Transform boundary
 Divergent boundary (in ocean
 Fault
and on land)
 Rift valley
 Convergent boundary
(subduction and collisional)
Key Concepts-you should be able to explain or apply each key concept
 Explain the theory of plate tectonics.
 Why do Earth’s plates move?
 Describe how convection currents create the 3 boundary types.
 Describe the movement at the 3 boundary types
 Describe land features one might find at the 3 boundary types
 Locate where in the world one might find each of the 3 boundary types.
 Explain how seafloor-spreading and mountain-building are evidence of the movement of
crustal plates.