Deck 13: Drifting Continents: Plate Tectonics

Question 1

As new seafloor rocks are formed, they record the direction of Earth's changing magnetic field.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Synclines usually form ridges and anticlines usually form valleys.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The oldest portions of continental crust are called shields.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Pangaea was a single large landmass.

Question 5

Plate movement is caused exclusively by friction from the mantle as it moves against the lithosphere.

Question 6

The uplift and building of mountains is called orogenesis.

Question 7

Mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys form at divergent plate boundaries.

Question 8

Relative plate velocity is the rate of plate movement relative to the movement of an adjoining plate.

Question 9

Subduction zone volcanoes make up the Ring of Fire.

Question 10

Plate movement can create volcanic eruptions.

Question 11

Hawai'i's newest forming island is occurring on the far northwestern end of the island chain.

Question 12

Earth's magnetic field reverses on average about every 2 million years.

Question 13

The most geographically extensive mountain ranges on Earth are the mid-ocean ridges.

Question 14

At hot spots, as the mantle flows upward it melts into magma because it encounters less pressure near the base of the lithosphere.

Question 15

The youngest seafloor is always along mid-ocean ridges.

Question 16

Plate tectonics is called a unifying theory because it explains many different and seemingly unrelated physical phenomena.

Question 17

The plates of the lithosphere are floating on molten rock.

Question 18

Mid-ocean ridges are usually volcanically active.

Question 19

The Tibetan Plateau and the mountains surrounding it contain the largest volume of ice outside of the polar regions.

Question 20

A tsunami is a large ocean wave generated by earthquakes.

Question 21

The Big Island of the Hawaiian islands is the oldest island in the chain.

Question 22

Plate tectonics theory describes the origin, movement, and recycling of the lithospheric plates.

Question 23

Rift valleys form at convergent plate boundaries.

Question 24

Folds in rocks can range from a few centimeters to hundreds of kilometers.

Question 25

Gondwana was a supercontinent in the Southern Hemisphere.

Question 26

Large volcanic mountains develop on transform plate boundaries.

Question 27

Deep-sea trenches are formed where two continental plates collide.

Question 28

The oceanic crust is generally older than the continental crust.

Question 29

Mid-ocean ridges form at transform plate boundaries.

Question 30

Collision zones are volcanically active.

Question 31

Some lithospheric plates are composed only of either continental or oceanic crust.

Question 32

Hot spot tracks form as a mantle plume melts through a stationary lithospheric plate.

Question 33

The Pacific Ocean surrounded Pangaea.

Question 34

Rift valleys are often volcanically active.

Question 35

Seamounts have both pointed peaks and flat tops.

Question 36

The Ring of Fire formed on transform plate boundaries.

Question 37

Absolute plate movement refers to the movement of a plate in relation to another plate's movement.

Question 38

Because of plate movement, Los Angeles and San Francisco could be joined in about 17 million years.

Question 39

Continental crust subducts.

Question 40

The Himalayas were formed on a hot spot.

Question 41

How do magnetic properties of seafloor rocks support the theory of plate tectonics?

A)As they cool, the rocks record reversals of magnetic north.
B)The magnetic properties of the rocks indicate where the seafloor is thickest and therefore oldest.
C)The magnetic field changed the chemical composition of the rocks through time, revealing plate movement.
D)The magnetized rocks first revealed where mid-ocean ridges were.

Question 42

The Indo-Australian plate is moving at an absolute rate of ______ cm per year.

A)4.5
B)6.9
C)8.2
D)12.3

Question 43

Hawai'i was formed by a geologic hot spot.

Question 44

__________ is often the most important factor in causing plate movement.

A)Mantle drag
B)Ridge push
C)Slab pull
D)Lateral force

Question 45

Seamounts are long mountain ranges on the ocean floor.

Question 46

The Tethys Sea developed by about __________ million years ago.

A)60
B)150
C)250
D)300

Question 47

Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding mountains is thought to have caused sea level rise.

Question 48

Where topography is inverted, anticlines may form valleys.

Question 49

A(n) __________ is a long chain of volcanoes formed on the margin of a continent where oceanic crust is subducting beneath continental crust.

A)Wadati-Benioff zone
B)continental arc
C)island arc
D)hotspot track

Question 50

Referring to the figure, as you cross the Atlantic Ocean basin from North America to northern Africa, which describes the age pattern of rocks?

A)old-younger-youngest
B)youngest-old-oldest
C)young-old-young
D)old-young-old

Question 51

On a __________ plate boundary two plates slip laterally past each other.

A)convergent
B)divergent
C)transform
D)hot spot

Question 52

Alfred Wegener's theory was accepted by his scientific peers while he was alive.

Question 53

The Atlantic Ocean and the Tethys Sea split Pangaea into Laurasia and Gondwana.

Question 54

As oceanic plate subducts, sediments on the seafloor may pile up into heaps called a(n) __________.

A)accretionary prism
B)continental arc
C)island archipelago
D)mid-ocean ridge

Question 55

__________ occurs when the mantle beneath the plates moves and drags the lithosphere.

A)Mantle drag
B)Ridge push
C)Slab pull
D)Lateral force

Question 56

The relative velocity of the Pacific and North American plates in the vicinity of San Francisco and Los Angeles is about 5 cm per year.

Question 57

Wadati-Benioff zones are found only in regions where __________ is occurring.

A)uplift
B)collision
C)subduction
D)erosion

Question 58

A(n) __________ is a mass of crust that is transported and fused onto the margin of a continent.

A)accreted terrane
B)island arc
C)anticline
D)orogenic belt

Question 59

Most lithospheric plates are composed of both continental and oceanic crust.

Question 60

The Canadian Shield is about __________ years old.

A)570 million
B)1 billion
C)2 billion
D)4 billion

Question 61

A __________ is a wrinkle in rock layers resulting from deformation due to geologic stress.

A)fault
B)fold
C)rift
D)fault block

Question 62

Yellowstone's active geologic features are the result of what?

A)a hot spot
B)plate subduction
C)rifting
D)transform plate movement

Question 63

The rivers on the Tibetan Plateau provide water for about __________ percent of the world's rice exports.

A)30
B)55
C)60
D)75

Question 64

Ocean basins grow larger in areas of __________.

A)seafloor spreading
B)subduction
C)collision
D)hotspots

Question 65

California's San Andreas Fault occurs on what type of plate boundary?

A)a divergent plate boundary
B)a convergent plate boundary
C)a transform plate boundary
D)It does not occur on a plate boundary

Question 66

A(n) __________ is a long chain of volcanoes formed on the margin of a continent where oceanic crust is subducting beneath oceanic crust.

A)Wadati-Benioff zone
B)continental arc
C)island arc
D)hotspot track

Question 67

Which modern region was not a part of Gondwana?

A)Eurasia
B)South America
C)Australia
D)India

Question 68

Glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding mountains are now experiencing __________.

A)net loss
B)net gain
C)The glaciers are not changing.
D)Scientists are still uncertain if the glaciers are changing.

Question 69

Why does subducting oceanic crust melt into magma?

A)because the crust is hotter in subduction zones
B)because seawater mixes with and lowers the melting point of rock
C)because the crust is chemically different in subduction zones
D)because of the weight of the overlying continental crust

Question 70

__________ occurs where the continental crusts of two different plates converge.

A)Subduction
B)Collision
C)Transform movement
D)Hot spots

Question 71

Which process consumes and recycles oceanic crust?

A)rifting
B)collision
C)subduction
D)transform plate movement

Question 72

The world's largest lake by volume is __________.

A)Lake Malawi
B)Lake Tanganyika
C)Lake Superior
D)Lake Baikal

Question 73

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Referring to the figure, the Rocky Mountains were formed through which process?

A)subduction
B)faulting
C)collision
D)hot spots

Question 74

Referring to the figure, which plate is mainly of oceanic crust?

A)the North American plate
B)the Indo-Australian plate
C)the African plate
D)the Cocos plate

Question 75

According to the figure, eastern Africa could likely one day become what?

A)a new sea
B)a mountain range
C)a large plateau
D)a subduction region

Question 76

Which is not addressed by plate tectonics theory?

A)mountain building
B)the geographic locations of volcanoes
C)patterns of earthquakes
D)climate patterns

Question 77

The Appalachian Mountains were formed about 280 million years ago through the process of __________.

A)subduction
B)collision
C)transform movement
D)hot spot activity

Question 78

About __________ percent of the world's population uses freshwater from the Tibetan Plateau.

A)10
B)20
C)30
D)40

Question 79

If the absolute velocity of two plates is 5 centimeters per year and they are moving away from each other, what is their relative velocity in centimeters per year?

A)0
B)5
C)10
D)15

Question 80

__________ occurs when the weight of sinking oceanic lithosphere accelerates plate motion.

A)Mantle drag
B)Ridge push
C)Slab pull
D)Lateral force